The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is holding a public hearing in the state capitol Monday morning about the agency’s recently-proposed rules to better protect the state’s freshwater springs.
But springs advocates say FDEP’s proposal still needs more work, because as currently written, it wouldn’t effectively change anything about how the state currently regulates pumping groundwater from vulnerable Florida springs. Although a 2016 state law directed FDEP to develop new rules to better protect those springs, the agency only proposed new rules last month, after the Florida Springs Council filed a lawsuit demanding that it do so.
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That lawsuit filed in November was later voluntarily dismissed by both parties without prejudice, meaning the complaint could potentially be brought again at a later time, according to FSC. In the meantime, FSC Executive Director Ryan Smart said he’s hoping FDEP will “fix the rule” before submitting it to the state for adoption.
“They can still modify it at this point: that’s what we’ll be asking them to do on [January 6],” Smart said. “If FDEP insists on going forward with an invalid rule, we’re prepared to take legal action.”
FDEP’s proposed rules are invalid because they do not meet the demand of the state law enacted in 2016, Smart said. That law calls for “urgent,” “remedial action” to avoid further water quality and quantity declines.
“FDEP has not been urgent and is not taking remedial action,” Smart said.
Following Monday’s hearing, FDEP could make changes to its proposal or, alternatively, move forward with submitting it to the state for adoption in its current form. If the agency chooses to submit the proposed rules as-written, without changing them, FSC is prepared to take more legal action, Smart said.
Within 10 days after a proposed rule’s final public hearing, Florida statute allows for the proposed rule to be challenged, via a petition for an administrative hearing.
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