Right to Clean Water

A petition drive is underway that will add an amendment to the Florida constitution that creates a fundamental right to clean and healthy waters for the residents of Florida. This will be voted on in the General Election of 2024. The amendment may be used to sue state executive agencies for harm or threatened harm to Florida’s waters, which include aquatic ecosystems such as the Rookery Bay Estuary and the 10,000 Islands.

There is currently no political will at the Florida state level to truly clean up the water pollution that is all around us. Massive amounts of funds are expended on “downstream” projects but due to special interests, nothing is done to eliminate the root sources of the nutrients that are polluting our waterways. Manatees are dying in alarming numbers.

Take Marco Island for example. We have determined that the oxygen declines in our waterways are directly a result of the nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) in the reuse water from our Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The Marco WWTP has a permit from FDEP that has no limits to the amounts of these pollutants that can be spread onto the island. No limits!

The WWTP permit issued by FDEP has a clause that prohibits harm: “This permit does not relieve the permittee from liabilities and penalties for harm or injury to human health or welfare, animal or plant life, or property caused by the construction or operation of this permitted source …” This is not enforced.

FDEP relaxed the impairment standard for low levels of oxygen in the waterways in 2013. Prior to 2013, the lowest limit for oxygen was defined as 5 mg/L measured by Dissolved Oxygen (DO). In 2013 FDEP changed the ruling to make the lowest limit for oxygen defined as 42% measured by Dissolved Oxygen Saturation (DOSAT). The new lower limit is about equal to 2.5 mg/L of dissolved oxygen, which is hypoxic water or a “dead zone.” FDEP dropped the oxygen limits for all of Florida by 50%. No warnings. FDEP will let you know when your waterway is completely dead.

Collier County is responsible for twenty-two water bodies. Eleven of these water bodies would be considered impaired even by the lower oxygen standards, however, FDEP has not officially set oxygen limits on twenty-one of these water bodies. No lower limits. If the higher standard from prior to 2013 were applied, only ONE of the Collier County water bodies would NOT be impaired. Regulatory gaps. A constitutional “Right to Clean and Healthy Waters” would enable the citizens to hold the state accountable.

To do its part in the statewide effort, Collier County needs to get 4,187 petitions signed by March 1, 2023, to help trigger a FL Supreme Court review of the amendment and a total of 16,748 petitions signed by November 30, 2023, to help qualify for the 2024 ballot. Please complete and mail the petition form provided here. Go to this web site to learn more: https://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org