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Senate bill clears final committee stop despite concerns from counties, environmentalists

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A Senate water bill passed its final committee stop on Tuesday despite continuing concerns raised by counties and environmentalists. SB 918 replaces a Lake Okeechobee pollution permitting program with more reliance on water cleanup plans, sets deadlines for establishing minimum flow levels for springs, sets timelines for springs cleanup plans and creates a statewide advisory council to recommend funding for water projects. Sen. Charlie Dean, a Republican from Inverness who is bill sponsor, said SB 918 is close to matching…

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Offshore oil drilling has been off the table in Florida since 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill

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The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 likely shut the door politically on oil drilling in Florida waters, a Florida State University oceanography professor said Monday on the five-year anniversary of the spill. In April 2010, a Florida House committee led by future House Speaker Dean Cannon was considering draft legislation to allow drilling in state waters 10.6 miles off the Gulf Coast. But the Senate said it wouldn’t take up a bill. Then the Deepwater Horizon explosion 42 miles off…

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Bill delay septic waste ban passes House with calls for study, springs protection

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A bill that delays a ban on the disposal of septic tank waste on farm fields across the state passed the House in anticipation of a state study of the waste disposal practice. Florida has 2.6 million septic tanks scattered across the state that annually produce 100 million gallons of waste, called septage, when they are pumped out. About 40 percent is spread at 88 land application sites across the state, according to the Florida Department of Health. In 2010,…

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House vote could allow septic tank waste to continue spreading on land

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A bill that would allow septic tank maintenance firms to continue spreading waste on fields for two more years is teed up for approval in the House on Thursday. In 2010, the Legislature voted to ban the land application of septic tank waste beginning in 2016 as part of a bill that supporters said would protect springs and waterways from nutrient pollution. Septic tank waste haulers and representatives of rural counties now say the ban could cause the price of septic tank pump-outs…

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Dry cleaning, hazardous waste sites among those falling through budget cracks, group says

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With the focus on big-spending items in the House and Senate budgets this week, some smaller but important spending issues are going unnoticed. For example, the proposed House and Senate budgets each contain $6.5 million for dry-cleaning sites and $3.5 million for cleaning up hazardous waste sites. But site cleanup professionals say more is needed. “That (funding) doesn’t help with the dilemma or potential crisis we are facing,” said Phil Leary, a lobbyist for the Florida Ground Water Association. “Its almost like they…

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Fracking bills pass Senate committee with DEP support

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Bills dealing with oil and gas hydraulic fracturing in Florida passed their first Senate committee stop on Tuesday after a state environmental official said they would provide needed regulation for the industry. SB 1468 by state Sen. Garrett Richter, a Republican from Bradenton, requires the state to develop rules for permitting “high-pressure well-stimulation,” which includes hydraulic fracturing — also called fracking. SB 1582 provides for a public records exemption for fracking “trade secrets.” Paula Cobb, the Florida Department of Environmental…

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Senate committee chair seeks to ban fracking during study

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An amendment that was filed Monday — and later withdrawn — by the chairman of a Senate committee would have placed a ban on state permits for oil and gas fracking until a study of the practice can be completed in 2016. SB 1468 by Sen. Garrett Richter, a Republican from Bradenton, requires the state to develop rules for permitting “high-pressure well-stimulation,” which includes hydraulic fracturing — also called fracking. The bill is scheduled to be considered Tuesday by the Senate Committee…

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