Despite pending legal challenges, Florida officials are expecting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to sign off on new water quality standards for the state’s lakes and streams.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency is still reviewing Florida’s revamped criteria for measuring water quality, called Numeric Nutrient Standards. It was adopted last December and was quickly challenged by some environmental groups that claimed it wasn’t strict enough. Director of the Florida Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration Support, Drew Bartlett, says that’s not the case:
“What you have to understand is we used the same science EPA used when adopting our rules and so we put the same numbers on the books, we added some additional provisions to look at biology and look at other important measures.”
Environmental groups like EarthJustice want the agency to impose quantifiable and enforceable limits for nutrient contaminants in the state. It’s not clear when the federal agency will rule.
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