"Thanks to the strong leadership of Governor DeSantis in 2020, DEP and our partners have expedited critical Everglades restoration projects, employed sound science to protect and restore our waterways, funded infrastructure projects to improve our state’s coastal resiliency, acquired lands through Florida Forever to safeguard Florida’s critical water supply and provided resource-based recreation to residents and visitors at a time when we needed it most," DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein said. "These accomplishments are just a few of the efforts our agency pursues every day. We take pride in our agency’s quick response to communities and public lands in the wake of damaging storms and in our long-term environmental programs to meet the needs of our unique and diverse state."  

As called for in the Governor’s Executive Order 19-12 and the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-2021 Bolder, Brighter, Better Future Budget provides more than $625 million in funding for targeted water quality improvements for springs and Everglades restoration, infrastructure improvements and investments in science based technologies to support the overarching goal of water quality protection statewide. 

With this funding, the state continues to take action every day to protect vital water resources. 

In 2020, DEP hosted the seventh and eighth meetings of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force on July 29, 2020, and Nov. 19, 2020, respectively. The task force builds on the success of its efforts in 2019 and will continue to develop detailed recommendations to protect Florida’s water quality through science-based, transparent initiatives. 

"Science-based decision-making is a hallmark of effective environmental policy," Chief Science Officer Dr. Tom Frazer said. "It is reassuring to know that science has figured prominently in Governor DeSantis' efforts to protect, conserve and restore degraded ecosystems." 

The Office of Environmental Accountability and Transparency (OEAT), in coordination
with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Department of
Health, developed signage to educate the public about blue-green algal blooms. The
signage, which was displayed and discussed at the Blue-Green Algae Task Force
meetings, helps increase public awareness of blue-green algae, provides information
on what to do when blooms are present, and explains how to get up-to-date information on blue-green algae blooms and other water quality issues through
ProtectingFloridaTogether.gov.

The Protecting Florida Together website is an online resource developed by DEP that allows the public to access the state’s first-ever comprehensive water quality dashboard that encompasses multi-agency water quality data and initiatives. This platform provides users access to water quality data and nutrient information, including active projects and the status of water quality in Florida communities.

Additionally, OEAT completed development of a preference center that allows
Floridians to sign up for blue-green algae and red tide email notifications, as well as an
education center. This site is in the final testing phase of production and being finalized
to go live.

After unanimous passage of the Clean Waterways Act through the Florida Legislature, Governor DeSantis signed this act into law in June 2020. This historic legislation, which is based on the scientific recommendations of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force, contains a wide range of water quality protection provisions aimed at minimizing the impacts of nutrient pollution. 

The implementation of this statute is a multi-faceted and comprehensive process that encompasses multiple state agencies and DEP's program areas. DEP is actively working to implement these initiatives to ensure long-term success, including holding public meetings to update its stormwater and biosolids rules, as well as working with the Florida Department of Health to transfer the septic tank permitting program to DEP. 

House Bill 1091, which also passed the Florida Legislature unanimously, was signed into law June 2020. This legislation increases penalties for sanitary sewer overflows by 100% and all other environmental penalties by 50%. 

The department is actively implementing the increased penalty provisions of HB 1091 through its enforcement actions. 

Springs are the window into the health of our groundwater, which is the source of 90%
of drinking water for Floridians. Some springs support entire ecosystems with unique plants and animals. Florida’s springs face various complex threats, including decreasing spring flows and excessive nutrients.

DEP, in conjunction with the state’s water management districts, has identified $50
million in statewide springs restoration projects to further protect Florida’s springs. DEP
is also implementing additional protection efforts, including increased monitoring,
enforcement and measures to ensure compliance with best management practices to
restore and protect water quality in springs statewide.

Many of the projects will benefit ongoing restoration efforts in springsheds. These
restoration efforts reflect a collaborative effort among the department, water management districts, community leaders and local stakeholders. Combining efforts and resources from various agencies across Florida allows for more efficient and comprehensive water restoration.

Under the Volkswagen Settlement, Florida was allotted $166 million to improve air
quality. Florida’s Beneficiary Mitigation Plan, which was finalized October 2019, outlines how the state intends to spend the full award under this settlement. This plan focuses on the construction of new electric vehicle charging stations, the procurement of electric buses for select school districts and transit agencies and funding Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) projects.

In July 2020, Governor DeSantis announced the first steps under this plan to
strengthen Florida’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVCI). With an investment
of approximately $9 million, this will support the state’s efforts to provide accessible
electric vehicle infrastructure while also improving air quality and expanding the state’s
charging stations by 50% along the most traveled corridors.

DEP reviewed the applications received for the electric vehicle charging stations and
selected 27 of the projects to receive the awarded funding. With this funding, 74
additional DC fast chargers will be installed statewide. Combined with the chargers
FDOT is installing along the Florida Turnpike, a total of 104 DC fast chargers will be
installed along over 1,200 miles of highway, covering the most traveled corridors in the
state. Each of the 34 locations will have at minimum two chargers each. This represents an approximately 50% statewide increase in publicly available DC charging stations. As of November 2020, all of the 27 segment winners have signed agreements with DEP to move these projects forward.

In November, the department also announced the launch of EVCI Phase II, which will
obligate the remaining $15.9 million to cover Interstate 10 and add additional charging
stations on the Phase I corridors. This is expected to add at least 32 new charging
stations in addition to the 27 funded under EVCI Phase I.

Also in November, the department published a new Notice of Funding Availability for
allocation of $57 million in funds to purchase electric school buses for school districts
within air quality priority areas, as specified in Florida’s Beneficiary Mitigation
Plan. This program will buy the first electric school buses in Florida.

The Diesel Emission Reduction Act Program funds projects that improve air quality by
reducing harmful emissions from diesel engines. The Key West Express, a catamaran
service operating from Fort Myers Beach and Marco Island, received $800,000 of
federal Diesel Emissions Reduction Act funding and $1 million of Volkswagen trust
funding toward the cost to replace four marine diesel engines on one of its two vessels
that transports over 500,000 visitors to and from Key West annually. The change to
low-emission engines will substantially reduce the emission of air pollutants, including
approximately 115 tons of nitrogen oxides annually and a 70% reduction in particulate
matter.

In 2019, the Governor established the vision of developing resilience goals for the state to help protect Florida’s coastal communities and fortify its path to continued
sustainability and prosperity. To establish these goals, the Governor appointed a Chief
Resilience Officer (CRO) with the direction to coordinate a statewide response to better
prepare for the environmental, physical and economic impacts of climate change.

The CRO began this task by identifying the changing impacts of water on the state
as its most immediate and pressing resilience issue. The CRO’s 2019 Annual Report
specifically highlighted the changing impacts of sea level rise and storm events
on our coastline, as well as recurrent flooding throughout the state.

In 2020, the Governor appointed Secretary Valenstein as the acting CRO to fulfill this
important role through continued coordination and advocating for resilience planning by
Florida’s local, regional and state entities. Additionally, Secretary Valenstein and DEP
initiated the necessary steps to implement Senate Bill 178, regarding public financing of construction projects within Florida’s coastal zone, to protect communities from the
effects of sea level rise. This law will require any public entity that commissions or manages a construction project within the coastal building zone, using funds appropriated from the state, to conduct a sea level impact projection (SLIP) study prior to commencing construction.

In implementing this law, DEP will be establishing, by rule, for the first time on a
statewide level, standards for the SLIP study, including sea level rise projections,
increased storm risk and the chance of substantial flood damage over the life of the
structure and will also provide ways to mitigate and adapt to those risks. DEP has
started work to develop a web-based tool that will not only serve to help entities subject
to the requirement to conduct a SLIP study but also serve as an educational tool for the public to help Florida become more resilient. DEP has engaged stakeholder groups for input on implementation of this new law and initiated formal rulemaking that will
continue into and be finalized in 2021.

All Florida State Parks that were temporarily closed as a result of COVID-19 have
reopened in a thoughtful, measured way to provide visitors with resource-based
recreational opportunities. During the temporary closure, Florida’s state parks were
able to focus their efforts on other important tasks, including:

• Expanding efforts to enhance natural ecosystems by treating land with
  prescribed fire and with invasive and exotic plant removal and treatment.
• Completing construction projects to improve visitor access to park amenities
  and facilities.
• Adjusting park management procedures to incorporate public health and safety protocols in preparation for reopening.   

Additionally, during 2020, DEP’s Florida State Parks completed:  

• Over 900 construction and maintenance projects. 
• Approximately 45,989 acres of prescribed fire treatment.   
• Approximately 7,619 acres of invasive/exotics removal.    

Florida Forever is Florida’s premier conservation and recreation lands acquisition
program, a blueprint for conserving natural resources and the state’s natural and
cultural heritage.

Florida Forever encompasses a wide range of goals, including water resource
development and supply, increased public access, public lands management and maintenance, and increased protection of land by acquisition of conservation
easements.

During 2020, DEP’s Division of State Lands closed on 74 parcels within 19 Florida
Forever parcels totaling more than 48,000 acres.

In 2020, the team also brought 30 items to the Governor and Cabinet sitting as the
Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, which included:

• Fifteen parcels within 11 Florida Forever projects, protecting over 42,000 acres of land through acquisition and conservation easements. 
• Stan Mayfield Working Waterfronts 2020 Project Ranking list, which includes $3.1 million in grant funding for land acquisition that supports Florida’s seafood harvesting and aquaculture industries.
• The 2020 Florida Forever Priority List, which includes 125 projects.
• The division’s Fiscal Year 2020-21 Annual Florida Forever Work Plan, which includes 65 projects.