Gov. DeSantis Announces Clean Water Proposal For State Legislature

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Visits Hurricane Center Ahead Of Hurricane Dorian

Governor Ron DeSantis has laid out proposals that he'll be sending to the Legislature in hopes of cleaning up Florida's waterways.

"We will be championing in the next Legislative Session a comprehensive piece of water quality legislation that incorporates the recommendations of the task force."

DeSantis was at the Loxahatchee River District in Palm Beach County on Wednesday.

He created the Blue-Green Algae Task Force in an effort to find ways to fight water woes, including the toxic algae that showed up on both coasts last year.

The proposals include changes to how the Department of Environmental Protection deals with waste water treatment systems.

"In the last (20)17 and (20)18, sewer overflows into our waters totaled over 320 million gallons."

The governor wants the DEP to be able to inspect the systems before any problems crop up. Current law gives the agency the authority only to intervene once a spill has occurred.

Another provision would address septic tanks, with 2.6 million of them in Florida. That's more than ten percent of the septic systems in the entire country.

"Septic tanks are a large source of nutrient intrusion in our waterways and we need to pay more attention to them."

DeSantis wants to transfer the inspections of those systems in Florida to the Department of Environmental Protection. That's currently under the perview of the Florida Department of Health.

"The Department of Health does not look at any environmental impacts of the septic systems."

The four-pronged package will be given to lawmakers, who will begin to discuss them after the session convenes in January.

Photo: Getty Images


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