New Basin Management Action Plans, or BMAPs, are taking shape to help freshwater springs plagued by pollution in the Sunshine State. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday wrapped up a series of public meetings the agency has held over recent months, to discuss required updates to the BMAPs ahead of a July deadline.
The new BMAPs are due because of a court ruling issued in 2023, finding FDEP's original BMAPs violated state law. The appeals court found the plans failed to identify different sources of pollution for each springshed.
Now, the updated BMAPs will assign specific pollution reduction amounts to different entities — from cities to private golf courses and septic systems — based on FDEP's analyses of how much pollution each source is contributing to a given springshed.
In 24 of Florida's 30 Outstanding Florida Springs identified by state law, levels of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are high enough to negatively impact water quality.
For example, in all three of Volusia County's Outstanding Florida Springs — DeLeon, Gemini and Volusia Blue — the biggest source of nitrogen pollution is septic systems, according to FDEP. That's especially true for Volusia Blue, where septic systems contribute 74% of nitrogen pollution each year.
Urban turfgrass fertilizer often used in residential areas makes up a much smaller chunk, 15%. But those "seemingly small pieces of the pie" are still a concern for Florida springs, Beth Robertson with FDEP said Thursday.
The new BMAPs also factor in the impact of projected population growth.
"The Volusia Blue BMAP will likely see the most growth, at more than 14,000 people, and thus will also likely have the greatest impacts to water quality," said Robertson, the new coordinator for all three Volusia County BMAPs.
FDEP's analyses are available for review online in the new pending BMAPs, still technically in draft form. Members of the public can still weigh in on the drafts through May 2 by emailing BMAPProgram@FloridaDEP.gov.
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