Environmentalists decry deregulation bill that FL House GOP suddenly fast-tracked

[seafan]

Christine Stapleton writes at the Palm Beach Post:

April 28, 2011

The Florida House is poised to vote Friday on a bill that environmentalists are calling a Frankenstein, an eclectic collection of 34 regulatory changes that would make it easier and faster for various industries to obtain environmental permits.

The goal jibes with Gov. Rick Scott's push to make Florida a business-friendly state, but environmentalists say it would create "a monstrous threat to Florida's environment."

.....

House Republican leaders decided to skip two committees in considering this bill, and jammed it onto today's schedule for a full House vote.

They don't need no steenkin' committees.

.....

WHAT HB 991 WOULD DO

* Provide incentives, such as fewer inspections and longer-lasting permits, to companies with clean environmental records.
* Limit reasons for revoking permits.
* Require the person or organization challenging an environmental permit to prove the project would harm the environment rather than the permit applicant having to prove the project is safe.
* Expand the use of internet-based self-certification services for some exemptions and permits.
* Reduce the permit review process from 90 to 60 days.
* Limit the number of times state agencies can request additional information from permit applicants to two requests.
* Prohibit local governments from requiring companies to obtain federal and state permits as a condition of granting a development permit.

The conservation groups Audubon of Florida, 1000 Friends of Florida, the Sierra Club, the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Nature Conservancy and the National Parks Conservation Association are pursuing a last-ditch effort to stop this Republican bill to "streamline" environmental permitting, but it doesn't look good.


And the worst part of this bill?

.....

(This bill's) most objectionable feature, critics say, is the way it reverses a traditional legal standard that requires permit applicants – like a phosphate mining operation – to prove that they will NOT do irreparable harm to the environment.

The measure would instead force neighborhood groups who object to the operation to prove that the operation WILL be harmful.

“This is the bill that will do the most harm to a citizen’s right to participate in the process,” said Audubon executive director Eric Draper. “This is Big Government, Big Utilities, Big Developers and Big Polluters coming together to squeeze out the little guy.”

.....

House Speaker Dean Cannon(R) and sidekick Senate President Mike Haridopolos(R)



Again, the question: When will it be enough, Florida?

[FSogol]

1. My new favorite metaphor: "shakier than an environmental bill fast tracked by the FL GOP"

:shrug:

[seafan]

2. Republican legislative gang assault on Florida is in full throttle.

From gimleteye at Eye On Miami blog on the radical conservatives' "Frankenstein Bill":

HB 991: comprised of scores of special interest changes to long-standing environmental policies. The bill limits local regulation of mining, affirms that groundwater can be contaminated by landfills, allows increased development in wetlands, and excuses some owners of underground tanks from protecting groundwater from leaking fuel, while greatly diminishing the rights of citizens to challenge environmentally harmful projects.

.....

This bill changes 34 different sections of environmental laws.


HB 991:

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Undermines Peoples’ Rights to Challenge Environmental Permits (Section 1),
The bill stacks the deck against citizens who challenge permits, even if harmed by the permitted activity. Current law requires the applicant and the agency to defend the issuance of permits and is very specific in the order of presentation of evidence and arguments in hearings. The bill shifts the complete burden on those persons challenging permits and therefore reduces the rights of citizens to protect themselves.

Damage to the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve (Section 8)
The bill threatens the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve, which is a uniquely beautiful and protected area that is threatened by a relaxation in permitting. Municipal applicants want to bypass state laws that would prevent dredging and filling of sensitive waterfront land to allow a new development.

Limits Local Regulation of Stormwater & Wetlands Protection (Section 18)
The bill forces local governments to give up stormwater and wetlands protection programs if they have not received state delegation. This limits the ability of communities to protect and provide for their own resources when state rules fall short.

Limits Local Governments from Regulating Mines (Section 21)
Local governments know best when mining operations need oversight and their own watchful eye. Under this bill, all counties and cities would be preempted from regulating aggregate mining operations except in the Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Area. Citizens often turn to their local officials to protect water resources.

Citizens Lose More Say Over Landfills (Section 29)
Solid waste permits, such as landfills, are typically permitted for 5-10 year periods and often draw a lot of community involvement in the permitting process. This bill would extend the life of these permits to 20 years which means fewer opportunities for citizen involvement in the permitting process.

Allows Underground Storage Tanks More Time to Pollute (Section 34)
Underground storage tanks have had 20 years to upgrade underground tanks to protect groundwater. This bill would extend the deadline to December 31, 2012…a full two years after the original date for compliance thereby increasing the likelihood of contaminants leaking into the state’s drinking water.

At the Eye On Miami link are the phone numbers and email addresses of all Florida legislators.