FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, September 23, 2019

For more information Contact:

Dan Hilliard – President, Florida Springs Council

352-527-2003

 

Ryan Smart - Executive Director, Florida Springs Council

561.358.7191, smart@floridaspringscouncil.org

 

 

September 23, 2019: Florida Springs Council President Dan Hilliard sent an open letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, questioning the Governor’s commitment to restoring the waters of central and north Florida and criticizing his progress on protecting Florida’s environment.

 

Hilliard, a lifelong conservative Republican, writes, “it appears your administration has left the springs, rivers and voters of north and central Florida behind. Although we applaud and appreciate your efforts on behalf of the Everglades, we believe that the waters of central and north Florida are worth protecting, too.”

 

Hilliard continues, “Florida’s waters are nearly all polluted and becoming more so. We are in, or on the verge of, a water supply crisis in many areas of our state that are still trying to grow. We are losing acreage daily to development, without corresponding effort to offset the impacts. Local governments are being impeded from trying to take actions to protect our rivers and coasts. The average Floridian has never had less power to influence environmental and growth decisions from the local to state level than today. I implore you to not let this be your environmental legacy.”

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The letter ends with five requests for Governor DeSantis:

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• Recommend an environmental budget that restores and protects all of Florida’s waters

• Seek out innovative and equitable means to increase revenue for water restoration projects

• Ensure that state funding decisions are based on the best available science

• Instruct DEP to adopt springs BMAPs that achieve water quality goals, allocate pollution reductions and improve agricultural best management practices

• Restore diversity and balance to water management districts

 

See the full letter HERE

The letter can also be accessed from https://www.floridaspringscouncil.org/press-resources

 

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The Florida Springs Council, a coalition of 53 organizations, is the leading advocate for the restoration of Florida’s world-class springs and the protection of the Floridan aquifer. Find out more about the Florida Springs Council at www.floridaspringscouncil.org