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Today, the House Environmental Protection Committee considered proposed committee bill ENRC 13 Relating to Resource Extraction. This is the House’s first attempt to deal with the aggregate mining issue, which was the subject of a study commission last year. Aggregate refers to the raw materials used for building roads and other construction projects. As a starting point, the Committee proposed a one page draft of a bill simply stating that comprehensive planning and zoning issues remains the jurisdiction of local government, but all issues dealing with certain environmental issues- surface and ground water- are the exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Protection and subject to their regulation only.
After much testimony from local government touting a parade of "horribles", the committee voted unanimously to formally bring the proposal forward as a bill, promising to "flesh it out" with more of the proposals from the Aggregate Task Force. The bill promises to be contentious between miners, local governments, and environmentalists as it proceeds. Yesterday the Senate Transportation Committee, while considering a transportation bill, rejected an amendment by Chairman Carey Baker (R-Eustis) seeking to extend the prohibition against local government moratoriums of rock mining permits.
AIF supports efforts by the Legislature to develop new supplies of aggregate and to do whatever possible to expedite the availability of aggregate from the Lake Belt region of Florida. Producing aggregate and constructing roads provides jobs and supports the development of a healthy and competitive construction industry.
The House Conservation & State Lands Committee continued their workshop on a successor program (ENRC 09) for Florida Forever today. Florida Forever was created by the Florida Legislature in 2001 and is an acquisition program designed to purchase lands for the preservation of the state’s natural resources. Florida Forever is scheduled to end in 2009; therefore, the Legislature will decide this year whether or not to continue the program as is or make changes. Draft language was considered today, which dealt with a proposed land management plan that would consolidate all state lands under one state agency - the Department of Agriculture. Currently, state lands are managed by three state agencies: the Department of Environmental Protection, the Fish and Wildlife Commission, and the Department of Agriculture. There are those in the Legislature who believe that Florida would be better served if all state lands were managed under one entity.
Representatives from the environmental community and others testified to the contrary. Their general belief was that it would be counterproductive for land management to be under one “roof” and that each agency responsible for managing state lands had their own mission and philosophy on how to take care of the land.
Chairman Will Kendrick (R-Carrabelle), explained that this was only one piece of the puzzle and that the Committee would not be considering the land acquisition portion of the successor program because they were waiting on the Senate to provide them with language on this portion of the plan. Chairman Kendrick urged all interested parties to work with staff on any ideas for the successor program.
Reenacting a successor program to Florida Forever is important to the business community because Florida’s natural beauty is a strong selling point for businesses looking to relocate to our state. The millions of acres of public land represent an opportunity for growth in our economy through expanded recreational use and eco-tourism.
AIF and the Florida Coalition for Responsible Preservation of Public Land support adding additional uses of public lands that would include alternative water supply programs, expanding the use of mitigation programs for imperiled species, allowing for utility infrastructure access to public lands, and emphasizing public access to water for outdoor recreational opportunities.
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