Gov. Voldemort Squawks About Green Credentials; Gutted DEP, Cut Permit Times To 2 Days
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One accomplishment Scott singled out: making it easier than ever to obtain a permit for filling in wetlands, pumping water out of the aquifer or pouring pollutants into the water and air. "Recently Florida has successfully reduced its environmental permitting time down to just two days, and that's great!" Scott said. "We take care of our environment, but when we know we're going to give a permit, give it to them quickly."
When Jeb Bush was governor, it took an average of 44 days for the DEP to approve a permit. Cutting that to two days means it's now as easy to get a pollution permit from Scott's DEP as it is to buy a Coke from a vending machine, said Jerry Phillips, a former DEP attorney who's now in charge of the Florida chapter of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. "That's sad on so many levels," he said.
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The DEP regulates about 75,000 facilities, everything from wastewater treatment plants to car repair shops to phosphate mines. In 2013, the number the DEP considered to be in significant compliance with all of its regulations hit 96 percent. That's 8 percent higher than the 88 percent rate in 2006, the last year of Bush's term as governor — when, despite Bush's own pro-business stance, the DEP pursued far more enforcement. In 2006, the DEP opened about 1,500 enforcement cases. Last year, under Scott, the DEP opened only 225 — a drop of 85 percent.
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When the Hughes Co. violated its permit in December, DEP officials kept it quiet until April, after they had negotiated an agreement for a $25,000 fine and a plan to monitor for pollution. Then in June, the DEP became far more aggressive toward Hughes over its use of a process similar to fracking called "acid stimulation." By July, upset Hughes officials had pulled out of Florida. Cowie, DEP's press secretary, said the agency has been consistent throughout: "Our number one priority at DEP has always been and continues to be ensuring Collier County families are safe and that the environment is protected."
But local residents say they saw a change in DEP, and it was driven by the gubernatorial race. After a Times/Herald article pointed out that Scott had a six-figure stake in a French energy company that worked on the Collier drilling project, residents said, the DEP abruptly got tougher on Hughes.
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http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/under-scott-department-of-environmental-protection-undergoes-drastic-change/2202776