City wants more environmental say

Council members say they should have a seat on the county's EPC.

By JANET ZINK
Published June 29, 2007

TAMPA -- The Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission is supposed to serve the entire county, including its cities, so Tampa should have a seat on the EPC's board, Tampa City Council members said Thursday.

Right now, the EPC board consists solely of Hillsborough County commissioners.

The City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to send a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist and the county's legislative delegation asking them to change the makeup of the board.

The motion by Council member Mary Mulhern comes on the heels of a preliminary 4-3 vote last week by the EPC board to eliminate the agency's wetlands division. Commissioners Rose Ferlita, Mark Sharpe and Al Higginbotham voted against the measure.

Commissioners who voted in favor of killing the division say it duplicates work done by the state to regulate the development of wetlands. Opponents say the EPC's wetlands regulations are more rigorous than the state's.

Commissioners still must schedule a public hearing before eliminating the division.

"I feel a real sense of urgency about this," Mulhern said.

She said she was bothered that commissioners voted without hearing public comments, which EPC Chairman Brian Blair initially said he would allow. Three commissioners later reconvened to hear from residents.

"It was not appropriate or fair," Mulhern said.

She said she wants EPC head Rick Garrity to come to the council in July to explain what role wetlands play in the ecosystem of the Hillsborough River, the city's primary source of drinking water.

She also said city leaders should have a seat on the EPC board.

"They're overseeing our land, too, " she said.

Council member John Dingfelder said it's important for the city to send a message to the County Commission that the wetlands division is important to the city.

"This is not something that just affects the county," he said.

Blair said that the council was entitled to do what it wants, but framed the commission's decision as a budgetary matter.

"The mayor cut jobs today," Blair said Thursday. "As Mayor Iorio said, we're being forced to make a lot of tough decisions that aren't always popular."

Council member Tom Scott, a former county commissioner, voted for Mulhern's motion, but after the meeting said it's premature to criticize commissioners.

"There's a public hearing coming up," he said. Still, he said there's nothing wrong with asking for city representation on the EPC board.

In general, the county and the three municipalities should work together more closely, Scott said.

He pointed out that as a commissioner, he pushed for that board to have representation on the city's Community Redevelopment Agency, which is comprised solely of City Council members.

"I am for a better relationship between cities and the county. I'm a strong advocate for that," he said. "By and large we represent the same constituency."

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3401.

[Last modified June 29, 2007, 03:05:18]