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Banning fertilizer bans: Dirty trick by Legislature will lead to dirtier water

May 3, 2023

Sneaky. Devious. Underhanded. Duplicitous. Can you think of a better word to describe the stunt just pulled by the Florida Legislature? We’d love to hear it — and we suggest you let THEM hear it, too. Tucked inside an “implementing…

Tallahassee report: We came, we lobbied – and we’ll be back

April 27, 2023

VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart was in the state capital of Tallahassee last week, speaking to key Florida legislators about clean-water issues and bills that are now under consideration in the state House and Senate. Alongside Friends of the Everglades…

Pro-sprawl Senate Bill 540: Here’s who voted for it

April 21, 2023

Given the clout the sprawl industry wields in Florida, it’s hardly surprising the Florida Senate passed controversial Senate Bill 540 on April 19, over the objections of conservation groups (like VoteWater) and citizen advocates around Florida. The bill, which may…

VoteWater Deep Dive: Will septic-to-sewer conversions solve our water quality problems?

April 20, 2023

Nobody likes to think about what happens after they flush the toilet. But that out-of-sight-out-of-mind waste can cause serious problems to Florida’s environmentally fragile waterways. A lot of the people who have been thinking about the problem think the state…

Legislative update: ‘Session of sprawl?’ You’re soaking in it

April 13, 2023

We hate it when we’re right. Back in February, before the Florida Legislature even convened, we predicted this would be a “Session of Sprawl.” Just as we feared, bad bills that make paving over natural Florida that much easier are…

How the federal Sugar Program leads to dirtier water

April 6, 2023

If the federal government treated you the way it treats Big Sugar — life would be sweet indeed. Federal policy in the form of the Sugar Program — part of the Farm Bill, which is reauthorized every five or so…

Speak out against this pro-‘sprawl’ bill that’s gotten worse

April 4, 2023

You’ve heard the term “from bad to worse?” This is the story of one proposal in the Florida Legislature that’s gone from outrageous — to offensive. House Bill 359 and its companion bill, Senate Bill 540, titled “Local Government Comprehensive…

A clean-water governor wouldn’t sign these dirty-water bills

March 30, 2023

So what’s it going to be, Gov. DeSantis? You’ve styled yourself as a Teddy Roosevelt-style Republican with an eye for conservation. And frankly, we appreciate the record funding you’ve helped secure for Everglades restoration and other water quality projects around…

Judge tosses Big Sugar lawsuit – but a big question remains

March 27, 2023

Big Sugar just took it on the chin in court. But one of their central issues has yet to be fully addressed — and could have big implications for water storage south of Lake Okeechobee. In a March 21 ruling,…

Red tide: Not out of sight, but out of mind in Tallahassee

March 23, 2023

As red tide burns, our Legislature fiddles – and considers bills that could make things worse For months a nasty red tide has bloomed up and down much of Florida’s west coast, killing fish, causing respiratory distress and worse. You…

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