Bonefish & Tarpon Trust thanks Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature for continuing to prioritize our state’s natural resources. This year the Legislature:
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- Unanimously passed Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s proposed update to the state’s stormwater rules and design criteria (SB 7040/HB 7053). These new rules were an outcome of the Clean Waterways Act (2020) and set new minimum performance standards and new requirements for the maintenance and operation of stormwater systems.
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- Unanimously passed Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s agency bill (HB 1557/SB 1386) that:
- Establishes a new aquatic preserve to enhance protections for Florida’s northern coral reef tract
- Improves the treatment of reclaimed water and strengthens Florida’s resilience planning
- Creates a new program to review new and innovative enhanced nutrient-reducing septic systems.
- Passed the state’s fiscal year ’24-’25 budget that provides continued, robust funding for water quality, including:
- $740 million for Everglades restoration
- $75 million for the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program
- $20 million for water quality in Biscayne Bay
- $25 million for water quality in the Caloosahatchee River
- $20 million for water quality in the Florida Keys
- $2 million to research and address a suspected toxin affecting multiple Keys fish species with “spinning” behaviors and called for by BTT, Lower Keys Guides Association and other partners
- Funding for habitat, oyster, and coral positions for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to better integrate habitat into fisheries management and ensure robust aquatic habitats in Florida
- $250,000 for Rookery Bay hydrologic restoration projects led by BTT and partners
- Did not pass toxic spill legislation (HB 789/SB 738) that could have impacted citizens’ ability to recover impacts from toxic spills that cause economic or medical damages.
- Unanimously passed Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s agency bill (HB 1557/SB 1386) that:
