March 2001 


Everglades Village News

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SFWMD Currents weekly e-newsletter
http://www.sfwmd.gov/misce/cyber/index.html

  News  

Florida Trend

- MARCH 2001 ISSUE

Fragile How the $8-billion restoration deal will work — and how it could fall apart. By Cynthia Barnett and Mike Vogel   No wonder the champagne corks were popping. An unlikely group of environmentalists, water managers, political appointees and industry representatives celebrated in January at an Everglades Coalition meeting on Hutchinson Island in southeast Florida. Just the month before, then-President Bill Clinton, with Gov. Jeb Bush in attendance, had signed into law a $7.8-billion program to save the Everglades — presumably ending years of fighting among environmental groups, the sugar industry and urban water users. Representatives of business and environmental causes had practically held hands while selling the plan to Congress as a way to end the disarray, delay and confusion over the Everglades’ fate. “This is a group of people that had been at war with each other for a generation,” says Michael Collins, chairman of the South Florida Water Management District Board, who became involved in Everglades policy in 1976, when as a fishing guide he began to notice changes in sea grasses in Florida Bay. “Over the years it was ugly and it was brutal, but in the end this coalition produced a miracle.”

http://www.floridatrend.com/issue/default.asp?a=4303&s=1&d=3/1/2001
Copyright  © 2001 Florida Trend  All rights reserved.



08-March-01

Utilities fight water rules
Limits on development raise objections

South Florida's utilities are balking at pending state rules to protect the Everglades, warning they could jack up consumer costs and force building moratoriums over the coming decades.  Miami-Dade County utility directors consider the potential impact on grand suburban expansion plans so sweeping they are asking the County Commission today to pass a resolution urging that the South Florida Water Management District put the rules, already nearly 30 years overdue, on indefinite hold.  ``This is a very, very critical rule,'' said Jorge Rodriguez, assistant director of Miami-Dade's Water and Sewer Department. ``In the case of Miami-Dade County, we'd have to wait 20 years for the water we need.''  Environmentalists scoff, saying the rules help ensure survival of water resources. They contend that booming urban communities, even in the face of a historic drought and a monumental $8 billion federal and state plan to restore the Everglades, refuse to confront the reality of a limited water supply.
 Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

07-March-01

Settlement Will Reduce Lake Okeechobee Pollution by 70 Percent
© Earthjustice
Tallahassee, FL-- Earthjustice today announced that as a result of a settlement agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, there will be a 70 percent reduction of phosphorus pollution permitted into Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee County, Florida. Today’s announcement is the culmination of a four-year effort by Earthjustice on behalf of Florida Wildlife Federation and National Wildlife Federation to clean up and improve water quality in Lake Okeechobee. "This is excellent science by the Department of Environmental Protection and it’s a milestone toward protecting the lake," said David Guest, lead attorney for Earthjustice. "For years now, there’s been almost 400 tons annually of phosphorus being absorbed into this most vital lake. It’s been much too much for the lake to handle, and it has been slowly dying. Because it is such an important body of water for all Floridians, what we’ve accomplished here today is huge."  Read more

 

  Litigation

28-August-01

(Filed on 08-Feb-01)

BARLEY vs. SFWMD

The Supreme Court of Florida accepts jurisdiction and sets calendar for oral argument 
Case No.: SC00-1998 Lower Tribunal No.: 5D98-3178

MARY BARLEY, ETC., ET AL. vs. SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT Petitioners Respondents

ORDER ACCEPTING JURISDICTION AND SETTING ORAL ARGUMENT

The Court has accepted jurisdiction of this case and will hear oral argument at 9:00 a.m. TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2001. A maximum of TWENTY minutes to the side is allowed, but counsel is expected to use only so much of that time as is necessary. Petitioners' brief on the merits shall be served on or before MARCH 5, 2001; Respondent's brief on the merits shall be served 20 days after service of petitioners' brief on the merits; and petitioners' reply brief on the merits shall be served 20 days after service of respondent's brief on the merits. Please file an original and seven copies of all briefs. UNLESS BRIEFS ARE TIMELY FILED, THE PRIVILEGE OF ORAL ARGUMENT WILL BE FORFEITED. The Clerk of the District Court of Appeal, FIFTH District, shall file the original record on or before MARCH 26, 2001. NO CONTINUANCES WILL BE GRANTED EXCEPT UPON A SHOWING OF EXTREME HARDSHIP.

HARDING, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE AND QUINCE, JJ., concur. LEWIS, J., dissents.

[signed] Thomas D. Hall Clerk, Supreme Court

Served: HON. FRANK J. HABERSHAW, CLECK JON MILS PAUL L. NETTLETON REBECCA O'HARA RICHARD A. KELLER RUTH P. CLEMENTS WILLIAM L. HYDE

Notes:

The above notice is posted here in pdf download format under February 2001: http://www.flcourts.org/sct/clerk/Review%20Granted/index.html

Fifth District Court of Appeal opinions are not online.
To watch/hear oral arguments live: http://wfsu.org/gavel2gavel/

  Legislation

  New Bills

Senate action:

 

•  Search Thomas 

  Congressional Testimony

 

 

March 2001

Alligators and Litigators : A Recent History of Everglades Regulation and Litigation
by Keith W. Rizzardi

To many Florida lawyers, litigation in the Everglades seems as old as the Everglades itself. Its history can be traced back to the 1800s when Hamilton Disston and Henry Flagler were draining, dredging, and filling Florida's land while fighting in the courts with shareholders, speculators, and state land administrators.¹ The modern history of litigation in the Everglades is dominated by agricultural interests, environmental interest groups, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, and state and federal agencies. Along the way, important precedents have been created, affecting the Everglades as well as Florida administrative and environmental law in general.

Copyright  © 2001  The Florida Bar Journal 

  Reports

Committee on Restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem

  Aquifer Storage and Recovery in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan: A Critique of the Pilot Projects and Related Plans for ASR in the Lake Okeechobee and Western Hillsboro Areas.  A federal law enacted in December calls for a multi-billion dollar effort to restore the Florida Everglades' natural ecosystem. This report offers advice on restoration pilot projects that would involve storing excess surface water underground and pumping it back up for use during droughts.

Aquifer Storage and Recovery in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan: A Critique of the Pilot Projects and Related Plans for ASR in the Lake Okeechobee and Western Hillsboro Areas

Copyright  © 2000 National Academies  All rights reserved.

 

01-Nov--00
Missing Pieces in Ecosystem Restoration: The Case of the Florida Everglades  
Economic Systems Research, VoL 12, No. 3, 2000
RICHARD WEISSKOFF
(Received January 1999; revised November 1999)

ABSTRACT The largest ecosystem restoration in the world-a $7.8 billion rescue package-is now beginning in the Florida Everglades. This paper examines both the economic impact of the restoration itself and those pieces that are 'missing' from the official project analysis; namely, increased tourism, urban construction, in-migration, and changing agricultural patterns. These pieces comprise a variety of scenarios that are tested for a 45 year planning period with an augmented input-output model derived from a regional SAM. The new output and employment generated by the 'missing pieces', which are small relative to the vast economic base of the region, do represent a considerable increase over the annual growth, especially by the year 2045. We conclude with a discussion of ways in which a growing regional economy might be reconciled with ecosystem restoration.


  Conferences, Hearings 

19, 20-Feb-01

22-Mar-01

All Eyes on Florida: Revitalizing, Restoring and Revisiting
The seventh annual public interest environmental conference

University Conference Center Doubletree
Gainesville, FL
March 22-24, 2001

This student-run conference brings together diverse interests to take part in panels discussing a multitude of environmental issues. This form of interaction allows the parties to develop understanding and even cooperation on difficult environmental conflicts that may otherwise be impossible.   The University of Florida College of Law's Environmental and Land Use Law Society in cooperation with the Florida Bar

05-Sep-01

Wetlands and Remediation: The Second International Conference

Background: In November, 1999, Battelle Memorial Institute, a not-for-profit research organization based in Columbus, Ohio, sponsored and organized a wetlands and remediation conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, that brought together more than 300 wetlands and remediation experts to discuss common issues related to cleaning up contaminated wetlands and using wetlands (both natural and constructed) for treating contaminated ground-, surface-, and wastewater. Based on the success of that meeting, Battelle is pleased to announce that Wetlands and Remediation: The Second International Conference will be held September
5-6, 2001, at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington, Vermont.

Organization: Karl Nehring of Battelle (614/424-6510, nehringk@battelle.org), Conference Chairman, will be responsible for coordinating the development of the technical program. Carol Young (614/424-7604, youngc@battelle.org) will be the Conference Coordinator, responsible for scheduling, correspondence, and issues involving abstract and manuscript submittal and preparation. The Conference Group (800/783-6338, conferencegroup@compuserve.com) of Columbus, Ohio, is
handling the meeting logistics.

Format: After an opening plenary session, there will be multiple platform sessions (two or three concurrent tracks), and a poster session on Wednesday evening. Speakers at the Plenary Session will include Dr. Jean-Paul Schwitzguebel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Dr. Barry Warner of the University of Waterloo (current vice president of the Society of Wetland Scientists) and Dr. John Pardue of Louisiana State University.

Sponsorship: Battelle is the sponsor and organizer, and we are hoping to add co-sponsors for the 2001 conference. Parsons Engineering Science, Morrison Knudsen Corporation, the U.S. DoD Environmental Security Technical Certification Program/Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program, and the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command were co-sponsors of the 1999 Conference. Organizations interested in co-sponsoring the 2001 Conference should contact The Conference Group.

Participating Organizations: Organizations committed to helping with publicity for the conference and encouraging participation should contact The Conference Group at 800/783-6338. Participating organizations for the 1999 meeting included The Center for Wetlands and Riparian Design (University of Utah), Environmental Business Journal, the USDA NRCS Wetlands Science Institute, the University of Florida Center for Wetlands, The Michigan State University Institute of Water
Research, the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park (The Ohio State University), The Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences/Coastal
Ecology Institute (Louisiana State University), The U.S. Army Construction Engineering Laboratory, the Utah Water Research Laboratory (Utah State University), the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the New York State Wetlands Forum.

Exhibitors: Companies or organizations interested in having an exhibit booth at the conference should contact The Conference Group at 800/783-6338.

Schedule: The Call for Abstracts will be mailed in November 2000; the deadline for submitting abstracts will be March 5, 2001. Once the program has been finalized and accepted presenters have been sent acceptance letters, a preliminary program will be mailed. 

Proceedings: A proceedings volume will be prepared and then published by Battelle Press and mailed to registrants shortly after the conference. Proceedings papers will be optional but strongly encouraged from all presenters, both platform and poster. Authors wishing to have their papers appear in the proceedings will be requested to provide camera-ready copies of their papers by July 13.

Registration: Because registration fees are by far the major source of funding for the conference and a significant percentage of registrants will make presentations, all presenting authors and session chairs are expected to register and pay the standard fees.  Potential topics for this conference include:

- Natural Attenuation in Wetlands
- Biological and Ecological Considerations
- Risk-Based Wetlands Remediation
- Regulatory Trends 
- Economic Factors in Wetlands Remediation and Restoration 
- Wetlands Hydrology and Morphology 
- Wetlands Microbial Ecology 
- Phytoremediation and Macrophytes in Wetlands 
- Wetlands for the Remediation and Treatment of Wastewater 
- Wetlands Treatment of Contaminated Sediments 
- GIS and Remediation 
- Innovative Technologies for Wetlands Investigations 
- Non-point Source Pollution and Agricultural Runoff 
- Redox Processes in Wetlands 
- Contaminant Fate and Environmentally Acceptable Endpoints 
- Wetlands Design and Construction 
- Creating Wetlands using Dredge Spoils 
- Wetlands Restoration and Mitigation 
- Explosives and Wetlands 
- Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Wetlands 
- Mine Waste Considerations 
- Metals and Inorganics in Wetlands 
- Perchlorate-Contaminated Wetlands 
- Groundwater/Surface Water Interfaces

 

08-March-01

Florida State University
The Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis Center (FREAC) 

Established in 1969, is the original center within the Institute of Science and Public Affairs (ISPA) at Florida State University (FSU). FREAC professionals conduct research in the general areas of resource management and environmental analysis, as well as provide advice and technical assistance to state and local agencies. Public lands research and analysis, geographic information system development, and graphic representation of digital databases are current and long-range FREAC research interests. FREAC also trains university students in these areas through direct involvement in projects, providing real-world experiences.

             •   FREAC - Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis Center  

08-March-01

Water Resources Atlas of Florida (1998) Florida State University Editors:
Edward A. Fernald and Elizabeth D. Purdum

Library of Congress Catalog Number 98-072985
ISBN 0-9606708-2-3

Complete update and revision of the widely acclaimed 1984 atlas. The comprehensive reference on Florida's water resources and their management.  Hundreds of full-color maps, photos, charts, and graphs.  Contributors are from U.S. Geological Survey, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Water Management Districts of Florida and universities. Information on purchasing the Water Resources Atlas of Florida and other publications can be obtained here:
http://www.freac.fsu.edu/atlases.html

Section I: Introduction

1 Water Issues: Global, National, State, Ecosystem

Section II: Florida's Water Resources

2 Weather and Climate
3 Groundwater
4 Surface Water
5 Natural Systems
6 Water Use
7 Water Quality

Section III: Management and Regional Diversity

 8 History of Water Management
 9 Northwest Florida Water Management District
10 Suwanee River Water Management District
11 St. Johns River Water Management District
12 Southwest Florida Water Management District
13 South Florida Water Management District

Section IV: Issues and Conflicts

14 Water Economics and Finance
15 Law and Policy in Managing Water Resources

Illustration Examples

Photo album (direct links below)
http://www.photoloft.com/view/Album.asp?s=plft&u=71267&a=967559

Florida topography (light-to-dark)
0-50-100-150-200-250-300 feet above sea level
http://www.photoloft.com/view/Image.asp?s=plft&u=71267&a=967559&i=6417964

Florida wetlands (1989)
http://www.photoloft.com/view/Image.asp?s=plft&u=71267&a=967559&i=6417973

Florida water management districts
http://www.photoloft.com/view/Image.asp?s=plft&u=71267&a=967559&i=6417973

More illustrations can be seen here:
http://www.evergladesvillage.net/atlas_of_fla/atlas.html

 

10-Feb-01

The American Association of Law Libraries  

The American Association of Law Libraries was founded in 1906 to promote and enhance the value of law libraries to the legal and public communities, to foster the profession of law librarianship, and to provide leadership in the field of legal information.

Today, with over 4,800 members, the Association represents law librarians and related professionals who are affiliated with a wide range of institutions: law firms; law schools; corporate legal departments; courts; and local, state and federal government agencies.

http://www.aallnet.org/

SEAALL 

the Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries.  SEAALL is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in Florida with the purposes of promoting law librarianship and developing and increasing the usefulness of law libraries, particularly those in the Southeastern area of the United States.

SEAALL was originally established in 1954 -- an expansion of the Carolinas Chapter (established in 1939 as AALL's first chapter).   Today our membership is over 500 strong, representing law librarians from the private sector, the government, academia, and more. For more on the history of SEAALL, please see From the SEAALL Attic, by Hazel Johnson. A continuing mission for SEAALL has always been to provide educational services for its members.  This is primarily accomplished through the many educational offerings at our annual meeting and through instructive articles, pathfinders, and bibliographies in our newsletter, The Southeastern Law Librarian.

http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/seaall/index.shtml

 

06-Feb-01

•  Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Ramsar and Wetlands International 1999 Directory of Wetlands of International Importance

Web directory

 

 

•  UNEP/GPA News Forum

United Nations Environment Programme
A News and Information Service of the Global Programme of Action (GPA) for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities

•  Environmental News Network

Education site
Only one in three adult Americans has a passing understanding of our most pressing environmental issues.  National Environmental Education and Training Foundation

•   League of Conservation voters, Presidential profiles

Political analysis of Presidential candidates' environmental platform
New section on Cheney's record (07-24-00)

•  Everglades Restoration Plan

Comprehensive site dedicated to educating the public about the restoration plan

•  Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division (DMRD)
The controversy surrounding dihydrogen monoxide has never been more widely debated, and the goal of this site is to provide an unbiased data clearinghouse and a forum for public discussion. The success of this site depends on you, the citizen concerned about Dihydrogen Monoxide. We welcome your comments and suggestions.
http://www.dhmo.org/


•  Living on Earth, 10/26/00
http://www.loe.org/thisweek/highlight.htm#1

Revised:  11/28/03