You watched the Lower Santa Fe
River almost dry up in a recent drought. You’ve heard about pollution and
reduced flows that plague our springs. You’ve noticed brown algae on the
eelgrass and murky water in the Ichetucknee. You’re worried about how
industrial-strength agriculture might affect your well water. You don’t always
trust your city water. But do you know how your vote in federal, state, and
local elections affects our water?
All Floridians need to understand
that the choices we make at the polls, including the people we elect to
represent us, can either help or hurt our water. We should know who makes which
decisions about water, how much they understand about Florida’s hydrology, what
motivates them, and how to hold them accountable for their decisions.
Federal Government. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
is the organization charged with enforcing the Clean Water Act that was passed
by Congress in 1972. The act was passed in response to growing public concern
for controlling water pollution. When the EPA was challenged by environmental
organizations in a recent lawsuit here in Florida, however, the courts allowed that
agency to punt enforcement of water pollution standards back to the State of
Florida.
Other federal laws have
historically been interpreted to mean that state and federal laws pre-empt
local laws and that business and commerce take precedence over environmental
health.
Members of the U.S. Senate and
U.S. House of Representatives are the people who enact federal laws, which may
then be signed or vetoed by the president of the United States.
State Government. The state agency charged with controlling water
pollution is the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The
agencies that issue water use permits and are charged with making sure that we
all have enough water are the five water management districts. Here in our
area, that’s the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) headquartered
in Live Oak.
The person who appoints both the head
of FDEP and the directors of the water management districts—the leading
decision makers in those agencies—is the governor of Florida. Because the
agencies are allowed to exercise a certain amount of discretion over how they
enforce our water laws, that puts a lot of power over our water in the hands of
one person, the governor of Florida.
Members of the state legislature, the
Florida Senate and the Florida House of Representatives, make the laws that
affect our water. Those laws may then be signed into law or vetoed by the
governor.
Local Governments. Local (city and county) governments are
responsible for enacting zoning laws and land use development regulations that
determine where farms, residential developments, businesses and heavy industry
can be sited. These governments also make decisions about the placement of city
wells, wastewater treatment and utility plants, spray fields, and biosolids
spreading areas. Depending upon whether the local utility company is publicly
or privately owned, local governments may also be involved in decisions related
to the operations of those companies.
What does this mean for us? While
we won’t elect a new governor until 2018, there are opportunities to “vote for
water” in the upcoming November elections. Here are some questions to consider.
Do you know the candidates in your
federal, state, and local races? Do you know how they have voted on water
issues in the past and whether their votes dovetailed with policies that were
supported by local water advocacy organizations? (Remember that the best
predictor of future behavior is past behavior.) If you don’t know the answers
to those questions, can you find out, perhaps through the new accountability
tools being developed by Florida Conservation Voters?
Many nonprofit organizations cannot
endorse or oppose candidates for public office, but they can tell you what
policies they support. Florida Conservation Voters is a new statewide organization
that is allowed to endorse and oppose candidates because of how they are
structured under federal law.
Some other important questions to
ask about your candidates: Who is
supporting them? Who are the biggest donors to their campaigns? If they already
hold public office, do they vote with a bloc or are they independent thinkers who
can give examples of situations when they had the courage to make controversial
decisions? Do they understand Florida’s hydrology enough to describe how our
springs, aquifer and drinking water are connected? Can they name three
long-term trends affecting the water in their district? Will they admit that a
healthy economy depends on a healthy environment, or do they see “environment”
and “jobs” as opposing forces? When was the last time they swam in a spring or
paddled a local river?
Perhaps most important of
all: Do you trust them to make
wise decisions about our water?
To learn more about…
The U.S. EPA:
The Clean Water Act:
Florida DEP:
The Suwannee River Water Management District:
Florida Conservation Voters:
This article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of "The Observer," a free monthly tabloid (circulation 5000 copies) distributed in the High Springs/Alachua/Newberry/Jonesville/Fort White areas of North Florida. Many thanks to publisher Barbara Llewellyn for her kind permission to post it here.
