110 W. New York Ave., DeLand, FL
386-734-4622
BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
A shift of decision-making — The Water Management District Governing Board, facing the camera, listens to a staff presentation at the May 12 meeting. Under provisions of a last-minute amendment to Senate Bill 2080, decisions about water-use permits for developers and other large projects would be made by the water agency’s executive director, not the Governing Board. Public hearings would be held only if a big project’s water permit was denied.
BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
They meet again — In the photo at left, County Council Member Andy Kelly, left, greets Gov. Charlie Crist at the command center set up at Victoria Square in south DeLand after the devastating February 2007 tornado. Now, Kelly is in touch with Gov. Crist again. Kelly and others across the state who are concerned about water are urging the governor to veto Senate Bill 2080, which puts decisions about big water-users in the hands of Water Management District staff. Currently, those decisions are made in public hearings.
Environmentalists call for veto; bill sponsor says last-minute amendment was news to him
By Pat Hatfield
posted May 21, 2009 - 8:50:40am
Calls are coming from across Florida for Gov. Charlie Crist to veto Senate Bill 2080.
Critics say the bill started out as a harmless measure aimed at helping homeowners replace St. Augustine grass and other water-hogging vegetation with Florida-friendly vegetation.
These critics say Senate Bill 2080 was sabotaged.
A last-minute amendment to the bill gives the executive directors of Florida’s five water-management districts the power to approve water-use permits for large projects and developments. Currently, the water-management governing boards, in public hearings, have the power to approve or deny those permits.
The amendment requires “a water management district’s governing board to delegate to the executive director its authority to approve certain permits or grant variances or waivers of permitting requirements; authorizing the executive director to execute such delegated authority through designated staff members.”
No more would the nine-member St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board conduct hearings in an open forum, with public input. Instead, the executive director, currently Kirby Green, or his staff, would make the decision — without any public input.
If they approve a permit, it will be “case closed, permit issued.”
Only if they deny a permit will it go to the Governing Board, with an opportunity for public comments.
The five district managers of the five water-management districts in Florida would wield the authority to decide who gets water, where and how much, for the whole state.
Last-minute addition
Sen. Carey Baker of Eustis, who co-introduced the bill with Republican colleague Sen. J.D. Alexander of Winter Haven, said he was not aware of this change in the bill. It was made at the last minute.
“My bill didn’t originally include it,” Baker said. “None of us on the Senate side even caught it. ... I don’t like it. I think the board should have the final say.”
The bill’s wording about “Florida-friendly landscaping” was his, Baker said.
The bill overrides all homeowners association rules that require homes to have St. Augustine or other water-guzzling grasses and plants. It allows homeowners to replace those plants with drought-tolerant varieties that require little or no watering.
“Everybody loved it,” Baker said.
Despite the last-minute addition, Baker stopped short of joining the call for Crist to veto the bill.
“If the governor doesn’t veto it, I’m going to work on fixing it next year,” Baker said.
At press time, Alexander had not responded to The Beacon’s request for comment about the bill. Some published accounts say Alexander added the amendment. Baker said he thought the amendment got in when Senate and House versions of the bill were combined.
Calls for a veto
Volusia County Council Member Andy Kelly is the County Council’s representative on the Water Authority of Volusia.
“I am against any bill which removes or reduces the opportunity for public participation and public input,” Kelly said. “I am one of those voices calling for the governor to veto the bill.”
When Crist visited the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach May 19, Kelly asked the governor if he intended to veto the bill, based on that last-minute amendment.
Crist told Kelly he believes in public participation. He said he will look into it, Kelly reported.
Kelly noted the change would put a lot of political pressure on water-management executive directors, when large, for-profit developers come to them with permit applications.
“I know that I wouldn’t want to be in that position. I would deny each one, so that it would go back to the Governing Board for public input and broad public discussion,” Kelly said.
St. Johns Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon asked the governor to veto the bill.
“Certainly, we’ve sent comments to the governor. We’re working with groups statewide to ask the governor to veto this,” the river watchdog said. “Here’s why it is so bad. It would place control of the entire water supply in Florida in the hands of five people, none of which are elected.”
Audubon of Florida Director of Advocacy Charles Lee called the bill “a stinker.”
It will concentrate power in the hands of a few, while denying opportunities for environmental groups and the general public to address concerns, Lee said. It will give developers — not the public — an opportunity to overturn staff decisions.
“Developers and water-users will enjoy an unequal chance to influence the approval of permits, while depriving conservation groups and the public of the same opportunity,” he said.
This comes as Florida faces a water crisis, Lee noted.
Lee said his fear is that if Crist does not veto the bill, public outrage over the new law will be the beginning of the end for water-management districts. They would become increasingly vulnerable to charges of isolation and non-responsiveness to the public.
Lee said organizations like his don’t want the water-management districts to disappear.
He would like to see controversial plans, or those that have objections, go to the governing boards. The majority of applications could be handled routinely by staff or the executive directors, he said.
Kirby Green’s take
At a May 12 meeting of the St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board, Lee and other environmentalists asked the board to send a letter to the governor, requesting a veto of Senate Bill 2080. Their request was denied, as being too political.
Executive Director Kirby Green said, historically, the Governing Board actually deals with only about 15 percent of the applications that come before it.
When the subject was discussed in the Legislature, Green said, “We advocated for a quantity split.”
For example, a permit affecting fewer than 10 acres of wetland, or fewer than 100 acres of land, or fewer than 5 million gallons a day for a consumptive-use permit, would be handled by staff, including the executive director. Larger projects would go to the governing board.
“It was discussed roundly in the House, and the House Environmental Protection Committee started talking about streamlining,” Green said.
It isn’t a matter he can decide.
“The Legislature makes policy, and we carry it out,” Green said.
If the governor doesn’t veto the bill, changes will be made to keep the public in the loop, Green added. Those changes are still being worked out.
The permit application will be available online. There may be a pop-up page explaining the change in law with a click key to let staff know how many people are looking at the application. A place to leave a comment may be created.
“All that is on the table,” he said.
There’s not a lot of time left, Green said. Unless Gov. Crist vetoes the bill, it will become law July 1.
On May 18, Sterling Ivey, spokesman for Crist, said the bill had not yet arrived at the governor’s office. Bills are staged coming to the office, so they don’t all arrive at one time.
Once the governor has the bill, he has 15 days to either sign it or veto it.
Reader Comments
The comments posted below are posted by readers, not by The Beacon staff. These comments express the views and opinions of the authors, and not the administrators, moderators or webmaster. The comments forum is governed by these rules. Please use the report abuse link if you find offensive comments.
Yet, for all his apologies and excuses, Sen. Baker refuses to ask Governor Crist for a veto, saying he will work on fixing the bill in the next legislative session. Senator, that is too little, too late. Doing nothing, now, which is your stated position, allows a bad bill, a bill you co-sponsored, a bill you failed to monitor carefully, to become law. Your sideshow distraction is doublespeak, and your Lake County district, under the gun of the St. Johns Water Management District in the Niagara bottled water outrage, will not fail to notice.
Just imagine how your constituents will like one man, a water Czar of your creation, handing out water permits; no public voice, no vote of the governing board, while they continue funding the District with their hard-earned tax dollors. I'm sure they will be grateful for your wonderful arrangement.
BTW: No partial forgiveness for not knowing what was in your bill when it went through.
Comment on this article
Commenting is closed for this article.
If you would like to contribute a letter to the editor, please click here.
Did you find this story interesting or informative? Subscribe to The DeLand-Deltona Beacon to read more stories by Pat Hatfield, along with others from our award-winning writers. Subscribe now!
Photos - Real Estate - Newcomer's Guide - Beacon Magazines - Advertise - Local Web Sites - About Us - Beacon Archives