FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 13, 2012
ERC APPROVES NUMERIC NUTRIENT CRITERIA FOR FLORIDA'S SIX MAJOR PANHANDLE ESTUARIES
~Rigorous
standards now in place for more than 72 percent of the state’s estuaries~
TALLAHASSEE– The Environmental Regulation
Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved numeric nutrient criteria for
Florida’s six major Panhandle estuaries, further building
on the already comprehensive nutrient standards set for Florida late
last year. The action means the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
has set rigorous nutrient criteria for more than 3,100 of the state’s estimated
4,290 coastal miles of estuaries, or 72 percent coverage. Data
collection and analysis continues for the remainder of the estuaries.
“Floridians depend on healthy
water resources for their livelihoods and everyday enjoyment. We have
demonstrated once again, through cutting-edge science and aggressive action,
that the Department meets its responsibilities to protect those resources ahead
of its own and EPA’s schedules,” said Drew Bartlett, Director of the Department's
Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration. “We are gratified by the
ERC’s action.”
These are the numeric nutrient
standards for the Panhandle estuaries, which includes Perdido Bay, Pensacola
Bay (including Escambia Bay), Choctawhatchee Bay, St. Andrew Bay, St. Joseph
Bay and Apalachicola Bay. The nutrient water quality standards adopted in 2011
included a schedule for the development of estuary specific numeric
nutrient criteria for the Panhandle estuaries by June 30, 2013, and the
Department has developed nutrient standards for total phosphorus, total
nitrogen and chlorophyll a for individual estuary segments in each of the
estuaries.
The numeric nutrient standards
come nearly seven months before the Department's own deadline and 10
months before The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's schedule for
setting standards. And they come five months after the Department's overall
numeric nutrient standards set last year were
upheld by an Administrative Law judge in their entirety and
submitted to EPA for review. EPA confirmed last
year that the Department's rules are accurate and will serve to protect
and improve Florida's water quality.
Florida taxpayers have invested
millions of dollars to create the nation's most comprehensive rules, which
account for the diversity and complexity of Florida’s waters and the challenge
that nutrient pollution represents. These rules afford local communities and
private interests the tools essential to cleaning up and
protecting rivers, lakes and estuaries. The Department is committed to
working with affected stakeholders to finish the job.
For more information
visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wqssp/nutrients.
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