Florida Laws and Regulations | Water Quality Standards | US EPA

Stakeholder Input on Proposed Rulemaking

EPA is holding three public hearings in Florida during the public comment period for the proposed rule. The public hearings will afford an opportunity for the public to provide comments on EPA's proposed rule. Brief oral comments and written comments will be accepted at the hearings. Due to the large number of expected commenters, EPA expects to limit each oral comment to five minutes or less in order to give everyone an opportunity to speak. You do not have to be present at the hearings in order to provide written comments on the proposed rule (the proposed rule contains information on how you can submit written comments). EPA must receive all written comments on or before March 29, 2010.

The dates of the hearings remain the same, but EPA has expanded the times for the hearings, and was able to move the Tallahassee hearing to a new, larger space. Below are the current times and locations for each date. Even with these changes, the afternoon sessions may be at capacity. Those concerned about seating or long waits should consider attending an earlier or later session.

February 16, 2010 at the Florida State University (FSU) Conference Center (NEW location)
555 West Pensacola Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1640
- 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (NEW session)
- 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
February 17, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Orlando Universal
7800 Universal Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32819
- 1:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (this session has been extended 1.5 hours)
- 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (this session will begin 30 minutes later than originally planned)
February 18, 2010 at the Holiday Inn Palm Beach Airport
1301 Belvedere Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33405
- 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. (this session will begin 1 hour earlier than originally planned)
- 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (this session will begin 1 hour earlier than originally planned)

Participation in Public Hearings

EPA encourages you to preregister for this hearing. Preregistration is strongly encouraged, as we expect a large number of participants. Everyone who attends will have the opportunity to speak, however those who have registered will be able to speak first. New information on the hearing process is provided below.
Hearing Process

All participants will be required to sign in upon arrival at the hearing. If you are planning to speak, please read the following paragraphs. Everyone who wishes to will have a chance to speak at some point during the hearing.

Those who have preregistered to speak will have the opportunity to speak before those who are not preregistered. Once you have signed in, you will be given a number indicating the order in which you will speak. The order will be based on your time of arrival.

Individuals who have not preregistered will have an opportunity to speak after all preregistered participants have spoken. However, in the afternoon sessions, there may not be enough time for unregistered speakers to provide oral comments before each session ends. In that case, you will have the opportunity to speak in the evening session. Please remember that EPA will also accept written comments at the hearing and throughout the comment period.

EPA expects to limit each oral comment to five minutes or less.

A sign language interpreter will be available at all the hearings. A Spanish translator will also be available at all the hearings.

If you have questions about the public hearings contact Sharon Frey (frey.sharon@epa.gov) at 202-566-1480.
Brief background:
Environmentalist sued in 2008 to get the EPA to enforce the Clean Water Act.
75 business and utility groups have formed an organization called “Don’t Tax Florida.”
So basically we have a showdown between South Florida businesses and Washington.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection spent eight years collecting data and planned to present a draft proposal to a group of scientists and industry representatives last August. But the department abandoned the effort when the federal government interceded.

The EPA proposed standards are based on geography and the type of water body using the state's data and its own methodology, which was reviewed by an independent authority, said the 197-page report.

The agency's numbers don't deviate too greatly from what state regulators intended, though the federal standards are tougher when it comes to pollution in rivers and streams.

Take, for example, the Suwannee River basin: the state wanted to allow 1.730 parts per million of total nitrogen but the EPA set the number lower at 1.479 parts per million.

The EPA also went further than state regulators by proposing water quality standards for South Florida canals and creating more rigid standards on upstream nutrient levels to protect downstream lakes and estuaries.

In other areas, the rules would give Florida flexibility by establishing a procedure for gradual compliance and allowing the state to set limits in certain areas.

Federal analysts estimated it would cost polluters $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion to comply — but emphasized the state's draft proposal would have cost nearly the same. The cost estimates don't include the price for upgrading municipal stormwater systems.
A 2008 report concluded that in Florida, 16 percent of rivers, 36 percent of lakes and 25 percent of estuaries are "impaired". Nutrient pollution is the most prevalent water pollution problem in the state, contributing to algae blooms that kill fish and cause respiratory problems and infections among boaters and beach goers. It also causes economic damage to property values, tourism and commercial fishing.

FYI, over-fertilization (of lawns and crops) is often cited and one of the biggest problems and is something individual homeowners can immediately take action on.