Environment Florida’s 2024 Priorities

The #1 known cause of panther deaths in the state is vehicle collisions. 71 panthers have been killed on our roads in the last 3 years, and the population is only estimated to be 150-250. Funding wildlife crossings for panther collision “hotspots” identified on the FDOT ESRI map would reduce panther deaths, human injuries and costly cleanups on our roads. These crossings are highly effective and need to be implemented in the places where they will be most effective at saving panther lives.

The critically endangered panther is predominantly found in Southwest Florida. Adding new communities like the proposed 10,000 home Kingston development in eastern Lee County is a mistake. It divides currently connected panther habitat, guaranteeing more human/animal conflict, and bringing an extra 96,000 trips on local roads. These roads already contain hotspots where panther vehicle collisions occur most. Florida must enforce stronger protections and limit development in panther habitat.

UPDATE 3/18/24 – A federal judge halted permitting on the Kingston development in February. The judge said the developer had not done enough to mitigate the impact Kingston would have on the endangered species found on federal wetlands that were a part of the new footprint. The judge put wetlands permitting back into the hands of the federal EPA instead of allowing the state to issue permits on federal lands.

• Giving local governments the ability to enact stronger rules regarding single-use plastic. Ultimately we need Florida to take action at the state level. Right now many coastal communities are fighting against an onslaught of plastic on our beaches and in our waterways. Until then, giving authority to our local elected officials to enact regulations regarding single-use plastic is a move in the right direction.  SB 698 requires the DEP to provide retail bag reports and recommendations to the legislature. And it gives coastal communities the ability to pilot regulations on single-use plastic products. 

UPDATE 3/18/24 – This legislation did not pass this session, however we are continuing to organize around this as a priority. We will use the momentum gathered in defeating SB1126 (see below) to create a stronger campaign aimed at giving local governments the ability to regulate single-use plastic.

• But there is also bad legislation HB 1641/SB 1126 seeking to block the notion of updating our retail bag report and prevent our local municipalities from creating any container regulations including single-use plastic. For example, this would make it illegal for any local government to enact a plastic bag ban. A new report from the Environment America Research and Policy Center shows that bag bans can save 300 bags per person from entering our environment and waste systems each year. And our research shows that bans can reduce polystyrene foam litter by up to 61%.

UPDATE 3/18/24 – By organizing a media blitz of opposition, engaging our members with an action email to legislators and joining our coalition partners to speak against this legislation in committee, we were able to keep HB1641/SB1126 from moving past committee to a floor vote.

We strongly support HB 321/SB 602 prohibiting the intentional release of balloons outdoors. Balloons are a common type of litter found along the Florida coastline and pose a significant danger to wildlife. Fish, sea turtles, birds, and marine mammals are all at risk of ingesting this type of plastic because it looks similar to things they eat. We need more of this type of legislation to help fight plastic pollution and protect our coastal wildlife.

UPDATE 3/18/24 – This bill passed with little opposition, showing a strong bi-partisan win for Florida’s environment. This could signal that the legislature is ready to take the next steps in working to phase out single-use plastic in our coastal communities.

While offshore drilling anywhere poses significant risk to ocean wildlife, we are especially mindful of protecting our abundant Florida shores. The federal Florida Coastal Protection Act would permanently ban any oil or gas related activity off the Florida coast. While oil spills can still impact our state as we saw from the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010, banning drilling activity from our coasts permanently is a top priority.

The highly anticipated Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary Restoration Blueprint is expected to be released by NOAA mid 2024. It includes new marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Keys and stronger protections for some existing MPAs. We are encouraging the state’s Coral Reef Coordination and Restoration Team to work closely with NOAA so the most effective restoration is achieved in a swift manner. And we encourage the expansion of MPAs to coastal areas where animal strikes occur most often and ecosystems are being destroyed by boating activity.

Having clear and accurate information about fecal bacteria levels in the places we swim is important, not only for public health but also to get a clear idea of how much of this pollution is entering into our waters. HB 165 /SB 338 would transfer the duties related to bacteriological sampling of beach waters from the Department of Health to the Department of Environmental Protection. It also requires adoption and enforcement of rules to protect public health for everyone who swims in beach waters and requires public advisories be issued when they have high levels of fecal bacteria. Communicating those advisories has historically been a problem and this legislation calls for a public-facing database for fecal bacteria statewide.  In our Safe for Swimming report published in 2022, of the 244 Florida beaches tested, 170 had potentially unsafe levels of fecal bacteria on at least one testing day.

UPDATE 3/18/24 – This legislation passed both the house and the senate under a new name: Sampling of Beach Waters and Public Bathing Spaces. We know that good data is the best way to secure funding for environmental work. This legislation will help establish a good base line of data that will be available for public heath and environmental work.

Florida wetlands are essential to filtering out pollution before it reaches our bays, rivers and oceans. They are home to hundreds of birds, bringing enjoyment to our residents everyday. Protecting each municipality’s right to create buffer zones from development around these sensitive lands is a priority. Proposed bills like HB 527/SB 664 will reduce protections to these precious natural resources. We strongly oppose legislative language like this, that reduces the ability of local governments to protect their natural resources.

UPDATE 3/18/24 – After a well researched article on how wetlands effect on our manatee feeding grounds and asking our members to take action with a letter to legislators, this legislation died early in committee meetings.

Manatee populations have decreased year over year since 2017, one major reason is the reduction of seagrass, their primary source of food. Declining water quality from pollution like nitrogen is causing harmful algal blooms that kill the seagrass. We need stricter permits and expanded protections for our waterways, focusing on tributaries that drain into manatee feeding grounds first, like the Indian River Lagoon, our central Florida springs and Tampa Bay.

To enforce current environmental laws that protect our waterways, we also need to make sure that public participation in environmental permitting is protected, as outlined in the Clean Water Act and EPA regulations. Legislation proposed in SB 738/HB 789 would require anyone, including  nonprofits or individuals who bring a lawsuit against the state Department of Environmental Protection or water districts, to pay the court costs and attorney fees for the prevailing winner of the case. This would make it extremely difficult for nonprofits like Environment Florida and our coalition partners to make sure environmental permitting laws are enforced.

UPDATE 3/18/24 – Environment Florida took action with letters to state legislature committee members urging them not to support this bad bill. We joined forces with coalition members to alert DEP secretary Shawn Hamilton that this bill could violate the Clean Water Act. The language that shifted attorney fees was dropped from this bill, signaling a win for Florida’s environment watchdogs.

The Everglades are one of largest wetlands in the world, a national treasure and recognized as a Wetland of International Importance. The preserve provides protected habitat for more than 2,000 species, many of which are endangered species like the manatee, panther and American crocodile. It’s one of our most visited natural sites in the state of Florida and provides most of the drinking water for 9M South Florida residents. Protecting this environmental preserve from development and the pollution that comes with it is a top priority. We support HB 723/SB 1364 because it would require any proposed amendments within 2 miles of the protected Everglades to be reviewed by the Department of Environmental Protection for anything that could harm the ecosystem.

UPDATE 3/18/24 – Sadly this bill did not pass this session. However, appropriations in the budget for Everglades restoration passed both the house and senate with a record $614M in funding. This a win to keep restoration moving forward.

The Florida Department of Transportation owns and maintains significant land areas along highways. These “right-of-way” areas are perfect spots for solar energy development. They are usually in direct sun, they are easy to access and they are publicly owned lands. Creating “solar fields” in these spots will help reduce the state’s energy costs, reduce land maintenance costs, create new revenue streams, and get us closer to renewable energy goals.

Shifting public transportation away from dirty diesel to clean electric models helps create cleaner air for our communities and reduces greenhouse gasses, the number one contributor to climate change. Environment Florida supports initiatives to to bring electric buses to Florida school districts through the Clean School Bus Program and municipalities implementing electric transit like St. Petersburg’s eLooper bus. We support legislation that will make it easier to implement charging infrastructure and incentives for public and private transportation to go electric.

UPDATE 3/18/24 – Unfortunately SB1084/HB1071 was passed this session that will make it harder for local governments to implement charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Now, no local government is allowed to enact or enforce an ordinance or regulation related to EV charging stations.

HB 455/SB 36 outlines a way forward for recycling in our state. The bill focuses on implementing three DEP recommendations: development of markets for recycled materials, education and outreach, and funding to support local government recycling efforts. It also requires the DEP to set a new recycling goal by 2025.

UPDATE 3/18/24 – While this bill was strongly supported in early committee meetings in the house, it did not make it out of committee this session, despite efforts of support. Which means Florida will continue to struggle through it’s waste management and recycling problems with no clear strategy or plan to move forward in waste reduction.

Beverage containers are among the most littered items in Florida and “Bottle Bills” are proven to reduce litter and improve recycling efforts. We support Florida pursuing this solution.