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Bill puts wetlands protection at risk

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published April 3, 2007

Florida wetlands protect people from pollution and flooding, and they breathe life into Florida's valuable habitat. But some Florida House members clearly don't appreciate their importance and would lessen the protections of these irreplaceable resources. The Environment and Natural Resources Council has adopted a one-sentence amendment to HB 957 that would eliminate local protection for wetlands in 20 counties. These natural filters keep what's left of Florida's precious environment from being completely spoiled by growth.

House supporters say local protections are unnecessary duplication, because developers need state and federal permits to wipe out wetlands. But the driving force here is not improving government but making it easier and cheaper for builders to destroy sensitive lands. Communities adopted tighter restrictions over the years to strengthen the state's standards, not to duplicate them. Florida, for example, does not protect wetlands of a half-acre or less. But Hillsborough County does. Hillsborough also forces developers to make the case up-front for destroying wetlands. The building industry wants to strip local governments of their authority because local ordinances have teeth.

State and federal policies are supposed to ensure no net loss of wetlands. But an analysis of satellite imagery by the St. Petersburg Times found that 84,000 acres of wetlands have been wiped out in Florida since 1990. Destroying wetlands is not too difficult; it's too easy. Two Hillsborough Republicans, Reps. Faye Culp of Tampa and Richard Glorioso of Plant City, did their communities a disservice by voting for the change. Local restrictions are not onerous or cost-prohibitive. Protecting water supplies, the coastal habitat and the drainage basin are vital if Florida hopes to remain a destination and a hot market for developers.

Nineteen other counties, including Pinellas and Hernando, also have their own rules. Local communities have stepped up because they realize cookie-cutter approaches do not work for counties whose problems are unique to their geography. Tallahassee should not be obliterating local control, endangering the environment and building a wall between local officials and their constituents. If the House insists on passing this anti-environment bill, the Senate should kill it.

[Last modified April 3, 2007, 01:15:49]