My office has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the State of Florida against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the agency’s intrusion into Florida’s previously approved clean water program. Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson joined our suit. We argue the EPA’s action is inconsistent with the intent of Congress when it passed the Clean Water Act, which says states would be responsible for the control of water quality with EPA oversight.
The Cabinet approved the final certification to a 100-megawatt wood burning power plant near Gainesville. This is a step forward in our efforts to use new biomass technology to burn waste wood from nearby tree farms that would otherwise be burned in the field or land filled. Long championed by Agriculture Commissioner Bronson, this is one piece of the alternative energy puzzle worth exploring.
The Cabinet unanimously approved the donation and conveyance of 29,412.88 acres of state-owned land in the Big Cypress to the federal government for management as a Preserve by the National Park Service. This finalizes an effort started with a federal law enacted in 1974 to assure the Big Cypress is protected for generations to come. While some issues remain over details of trail use and access for hunting and fishing, the land transfer was the right thing to do and will go down as an important and historic act by the Cabinet.