Will the Everglades ever be restored to its natural splendor? Among The Miami Herald’s editorial priorities is the protection of the area’s natural resources, especially the River of Grass, and ensuring Miami-Dade County’s urban development boundary, or UDB, stays put unless there’s sufficient growth to require construction in the far west portions of the county that border on the Glades.
Similarly, Biscayne Bay remains a jewel that warrants protection in the midst of the Port of Miami’s port-tunnel construction and deep dredge plans — both important projects that will rev up South Florida’s economy. Today we look back at this year’s environmental battles to prepare for 2012.
Sadly, in the case of the Everglades, commitment — especially from the state level — has been missing in the fight to preserve this national treasure. Earlier this year, Gov. Rick Scott vetoed $615 million in projects that he called “shortsighted, frivolous, wasteful spending.”
What’s alarming is that more than half of the funds vetoed would have been used to buy land to help clean up the Everglades after decades of abuse. Remember, this battle started back in 1988.
Protecting the River of Grass is not a frivolity. The Everglades is a life-sustaining system that supports wildlife, generates tourism revenue and recreation and provides us with drinking water through Lake Okeechobee.
The governor signed a bill that took an ax to the South Florida Water Management District’s funding, cutting it by 30 percent. Mr. Scott called it a “tax cut” yet the savings for most property owners was minuscule. Busting the district’s budget was a foolhardy move, for it cut into its ability to provide high-quality water-management services, better regulating, for instance, the cycle of drought-flood-drought-flood that plagues our region.
The state’s long-delayed plans to reduce the flow of phosphorus, a debilitating nutrient that runs off of farms after it rains, is still stalled. The feds don’t think the state’s curtailed proposal goes far enough. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a huge expansion of artificial marshes that would clean phosphorous from water flowing into the Everglades. The governor’s plan scales it way back and adds another two years to the 2020 deadline. Add to that the lack of restrictions on fertilizer use and the 10-year delay imposed by the state under a previous administration, and it’s clear there’s lack of serious commitment to this most vital resource.
Hold the line
In an astonishing move this month, the Miami-Dade Commission staged yet another assault on the Urban Development Boundary — which holds the line between development in the westernmost part of the county and the Everglades.
The Ferro Investment Group again is seeking to move the line farther west — and a majority of the commission, unfortunately, agreed to send the application up to the state for review.
The community has fought this battle before and, in holding the line, emerged the winner in the fight against rampant growth. This time, Ferro’s request comes amid a changed dynamic — changed for the worse. A new state law, with Gov. Scott’s blessing, severely waters down Florida’s 25-year-old growth-management regulations, giving counties and municipalities greater freedom to amend their local comprehensive development plans that were put in place to control sprawl.
via miamiherald.com