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Water permit control now in the hands of SRWMD
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David Still
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When Governor Charlie Crist signed Senate Bill 2080 into law on June 30 he gave the executive directors of Florida’s five water management districts the power to approve or deny water use permits.
Conservationists throughout the state thought Crist would veto SB 2080 simply because the new bill takes the power away from water management governing boards, who up until now have had all water use permits come before them in public hearings for approval or denial.
According to SB 2080, the five water management district managers will consider each permit and if they approve it then that is the end of the story; only if they deny the permit will it go before the water management’s district governing board. At that time the public will have an opportunity to comment.
On the local level Gilchrist County Administrator Ron McQueen expressed concern over SB 2080 and its potential effect on Gilchrist County’s resources.
“We have always felt like we’ve had a local voice on the governing board who would look our for us,” McQueen said. “We’re concerned about all the information coming in. We may have access to water, but all the information coming in says we don’t have as much as we think we do.”
McQueen said that while the Suwannee River Water Management District has always had a good executive director, he questions what will happen in the future if an executive director who is not looking out for the best interest of this district is appointed by the governor.
“Our fear in North Florida is that South Florida doesn’t understand that we want to preserve our resources,” McQueen said. “They have already lost there’s and if they get ours then there will be none left.”
The county administrator also said that public comment should not be taken out of the process.