Florida officials 'not even close' to solving our environmental problems

Alex Gillen

During Hurricane Dorian, we often heard our elected officials talk about how we should prepare for the worst and hope for the best. 

It makes sense: When you are dealing with life-threatening situations, it is better to err on the side of caution. Be over-prepared and hope for good fortune. 

So why don’t we take this same approach in Florida when creating and enforcing our environmental laws that protect human health?  

Many people have been quick to praise our elected officials recently for their work on Florida’s environment. Gov. Ron DeSantis rightfully deserves recognition for changing the approach after eight years of Gov. Rick Scott's administration. DeSantis’ newly appointed governing board at the South Florida Water Management District was a significant course correction. 

Surrounded by supporters, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds up a newly signed bill that will transfer primary powers and duties of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission relating to certain environmental crimes and the enforcement of related laws to the division of law enforcement within the Department of Environmental Protection on Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at the Sea Turtle Pavilion at the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center in Stuart. "It made sense that the agency who is primarily in charge of protecting our natural resources would be the one where you have the criminal enforcement," DeSantis said.

How well our elected officials are doing depends on who you ask. Some in Florida’s environmental community are covering for political leaders as if Florida became the nation’s leader in environmental protection overnight. Spoiler alert: It hasn’t. Laws regulating the environment today are no different than in 2016, when we had toxic-algae discharges on both coasts. 

This year, we heard countless elected officials tout record funding for the Everglades, requested by the governor and appropriated by the Legislature. It is true that some money was well spent, but overall environmental funding was basically flat — at a .003% increase. Completing funding for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is likely 30 to 40 years away, even with the new funding levels, which is far from the immediate relief Floridians need.

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And it doesn’t address our water-quality problem. 

Floridians need to be clear about our expectations for all elected officials: It is their job to solve the environmental catastrophe that we face in Florida because of poor planning, bad laws, weak enforcement and under-investment in our environment that is harming our health, environment and economy. It is why we elected you.

The question our elected officials should be asking themselves is, "Am I doing everything I can to solve Florida’s health, pollution and water-management problems?" The answer for DeSantis, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Legislature is, "No, not even close." 

Alex Gillen

Sure, they can all point to some good things here and there, but nothing that is close to resembling the massive shift needed in Florida environmental policy to get Florida back on track.  

As Floridians, it is our job to demand better from our elected officials.  

Has anyone actually told us why Lake Okeechobee was covered in a 90 percent algal bloom in 2018? No. Has the Florida Legislature held hearings into the states of emergencies from toxic-algae discharges in 2016 and 2018? No. Have any of our laws changed regulating polluters since the states of emergency? No. Have we seen quality legislative proposals for changes to laws from DeSantis or Fried? No.

Floridians must ask more from our elected officials. And our elected officials need to get serious about solving our environmental problems. Saying things like, our pollution problems are “everyone’s fault,” something you hear, is overly simplistic and suggests everyone pollutes at the same rate. How about one of our elected officials criticize another’s failed policies or bad planning? How about we actually see a debate on what failed policies got us into this mess?

The fact is we make decisions and choices when it comes to our environment. Not all decisions and choices are going to be perfect. But one thing we could do to make big improvements in the way we regulate our environment is to plan: Plan for the worst and hope for the best.   

Alex Gillen resides in Stuart and is executive director of Friends of the Everglades. He also is a former congressional staffer and member of the Florida Bar.