Bay County — Conservation groups have sued to force a review of Federal Aviation Administration action in approving plans for the new Bay County International Airport on 4,000 undeveloped acres. Federal law requires the FAA to choose the alternative causing the least environmental damage, Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Melanie Shepherson says. The airport is relocating from Panama City, where it is hemmed in by water and residential development.

Madison County — The Nestlé Waters North America bottling facility is Florida’s first manufacturing plant awarded a green building award under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design program. The certification recognizes designs that conserve resources and use energy efficiently.

Tallahassee — New Jersey-based LS Power Group’s plans for a 1,200-megawatt coal-fired plant on the Chattahoochee River in Georgia, some 80 miles from the Florida capital, are raising Floridians’ concern over water usage and the impact on air quality. The Longleaf Energy Associates plant will use some 20 million gallons of water daily that currently feed into the Apalachicola River.

» Voters rejected a half-cent sales tax increase to provide healthcare for an estimated 9,000 working poor, uninsured adults.

Walton County — Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort cut 70 positions.