I’m not going to sugarcoat this: the Florida legislature has just wrapped up another session with no meaningful reform to protect Florida’s waterways.
You may have heard about a bill called SB 2508, which was a bill designed to give more water control to the sugar industry to the detriment of Florida’s environment. While this bill was ultimately amended after intense public pressure to remove some of the worst parts, it’s still a crap bill that will make it harder for water managers to protect Florida’s natural resources.
And, while SB 2508 grabbed many of the headlines from this session, the biggest news story is probably what didn’t happen: no increased efforts to curb pollution, no policy changes to combat toxic algal blooms and nothing that will help send more water south into the Everglades.
Governor DeSantis has been an absolutely fierce warrior to secure the funding needed for Everglades restoration. Unfortunately, he is being hamstrung by a legislature that cares more about protecting the profits of the sugar industry than protecting Florida’s environment.
So, what do we do now?
We must keep fighting! The reality is that changing water policy in Florida requires changing the politics of water.
So, if you’d like to stay up to date on the latest news impacting our waterways, please sign up below:
Together, we can turn the tides!
Thank you,
Brian Mast