A law was passed back in 2016 that would have stopped the Seven Springs bottling permit (“Nestle” permit) at Ginnie Springs, if the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had actually done what the law required.
Part of the law (373.219(3), F.S.) says that DEP must “adopt uniform rules for issuing permits which prevent groundwater withdrawals that are harmful” to Outstanding Florida Springs.
But for eight years, DEP has Delayed Environmental Protection for Outstanding Florida Springs. They’ve ignored the law and failed to create the required rules to protect springs.
Action Alert - WRITE TO DEP
Update: The public comment period closed October 17, 2024.
FDEP hosted a public workshop regarding the Outstanding Florida Springs harm rule on Sept 12, 2024 in Apopka. Over 120 activists showed up at the meeting to hold the agency accountable for not following the law and preventing harm to our springs.
Following the meeting in Apopka, FDEP accepted public comments online until October 17. We made it easy to send a pre-written, but customizable, email to FDEP using our online advocacy system:
Over 1,300 springs advocates sent emails to DEP this year through our advocacy system! Thank you to everyone who has sent emails, posted online and shared information with your network.
Dive Deeper
In 2016, Governor Rick Scott signed Senate Bill 552 into law, which included the Florida Springs & Aquifer Protection Act. The authors of the bill, which included David Simmons (R), stated that "The Legislature recognizes that action is urgently needed" and tasked DEP to come up with a "harm rule" that would prevent harm to Outstanding Florida Springs due to water withdrawals.
Yet FDEP has flagrantly disregarded the law and refused to propose statutorily required rules to protect Outstanding Florida Springs. DEP’s failure has resulted in further declines in water quality and water quantity.
In 2022, after more than six years of delay, FDEP finally proposed a draft rule. Incredibly, it was essentially the same as the rules already adopted for all water bodies in 2014 (two years before SB 552 was signed into law.)
The proposed rule was clearly not consistent with the language or spirit of the law. Here’s what State Senator David Simmons, the co-sponsor and author of SB 552, said about the new harm standard back in 2015:
“It is something that is a major, major, step forward in the protection, preservation and clean-up of our springs… What we are doing, is we are putting together a new standard here, not something that has previously been done, but a new standard that defines what is going to control the issuance of the permits and it says we shall prevent groundwater withdrawals which are harmful… I don’t know how much better the Legislature can do in putting something together than this.”
Due to opposition from FSC, Sierra Club, Senator Simmons, and more, DEP withdrew the proposed rule - essentially acknowledging that it was invalid.
In 2023, eighteen months later, DEP came back with another proposed rule. Once again, it was nearly identical to the rules already adopted by DEP and the water management districts. It adds no new protections to Outstanding Florida Springs.
The only difference between the 2022 draft proposed rule and the 2023 draft proposed rule was one additional section, Section 62-41.403, which stated “Additional Protections Consistent with Local or Regional Conditions or Objectives.” Ironically, the section didn’t actually add “additional protections” nor did it require restricting allocations. The new section was an attempt to deceive the public by claiming “additional protections” that don’t actually exist in the rule.
The inclusion of this section was an acknowledgement that DEP has not followed the law in adopting rules to prevent harm to Outstanding Florida Springs. Instead, after seven years of incompetence and impotence, DEP is passing responsibility for protecting springs back to the water management districts in direct conflict with the Legislature’s finding that “coordinated statewide” action is necessary.
DEP, ultimately ended up withdrawing the 2023 proposed draft rule.
In 2024, for the third year in a row, FDEP’s draft rules are essentially a copy and paste of past, ineffective rules that will not provide the needed protections for Outstanding Florida Springs. During this year’s meeting, Ryan Smart said, “A rule that causes significant harm cannot possibly prevent harm. It’s absurd; it would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic.”
What should the rule actually look like?
The Florida Springs Council worked with attorneys, scientists, and policy experts to draft a water use permitting harm rule that will actually protect Outstanding Florida Springs. It prioritizes the protection of Outstanding Florida Springs, relies on existing regulatory programs, and recognizes the relationship between water quantity and water quality.
We stepped up where FDEP refused to act. We did the work for them, met with FDEP twice two years ago to explain it to them, and still no progress has been made.
On Friday Sept. 20, 2024, we sent a letter to DEP's Secretary Hamilton with our full analysis of DEP's draft rule. A permitting harm rule as written by the Florida Springs Council is attached as an appendix to the letter.
"However, considering the lack of any progress in proposing or adopting a valid rule, after more than eight years, it is clear that these notices are nothing more than a thin veil of deception to conceal the Department’s true intention of continuing to violate state law to benefit developers and regulated industries at the expense of Florida’s springs and rivers.
The Department’s impotence has caused untold damage to Florida’s springs and cost valuable time and money. The public is taking note."
Read both the letter and Florida Springs Council's draft of a reasonable rule to protect springs here:
Where are we now?
We will not let FDEP get away with only following the law when it benefits polluters and developers. We will continue until DEP implements the protections for springs that they were given by law, whether by working with DEP to create a reasonable rule or in court. Below is Executive Director Ryan Smart's comments at the rally on Oct. 12.