To the protest of state leaders, the federal government has given Florida 15 months to create a plan for cleaning its waterways.
On Monday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted Florida the delay to meet the new pollution limits set on the state’s rivers, lakes and springs.
The EPA wants the state to reduce the levels of phosphorous and nitrogen in many state waterways. High levels of the nutrients can kill wildlife and make humans sick.
Environmental engineering professor Joseph Delfino said the EPA took over the process after the Florida Department of Environmental Protection did not clean up the water.
The standards include setting new limits for nutrients allowed in the state’s waterways and vary by region. The EPA will also classify lakes into three groups (colored, clear alkaline and clear acidic) and set standards for each.
The EPA granted the extension in hopes the state will make accommodations and to appease political opposition to the standards.
“While we appreciate the delay, Florida will continue to fight these heavy-handed Washington, D.C., measures,” state Senate President Mike Haridopolos said in a statement. “Clearly the Florida-only water standards will cost Floridians jobs, and I will do everything I can to not just delay this unneeded federal intervention, but permanently stop them from taking effect.”
But UF Wetlands and Water Quality Extension Specialist Mark Clark believes the cost to the state is inevitable — the state can pay monetarily now or later in resources.
In Gainesville and Alachua County, several waterways are listed as impaired, and efforts are underway to restore these bodies.
“The longer the state waits to implement some kind of nutrient control regulations, the further the water quality deteriorates,” Delfino said.
