(The Center Square) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has made water quality improvements through environmental regulation a priority of his administration.
In his 18 months in office, DeSantis has launched a four-year, $2.5 billion plan to address water quality issues in the Everglades, receiving more than $640 million in this year’s budget.
DeSantis also has prevailed upon lawmakers to adopt several key policy directives, such as the newly minted Clean Waterways Act, which includes initiatives to reduce nutrient-laden runoff into state waters and increases environmental fines by 50 percent.
As a part of that effort, DeSantis resigned House Bill 1061, which designates about 800 square miles of Gulf of Mexico coastal waters off Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties, including 400,000 acres of seagrass, as the Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve.
Sponsored by Rep. Ralph Massullo, R-Lecanto, HB 1061 was approved by the House, 117-1, and the Senate, 39-0, where that chamber’s version was spearheaded by Sen. Ben Albritton, R-Bartow.
The Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve is the first preserve created by Florida lawmakers in 32 years and the 42nd established since the Florida Aquatic Preserve Act of 1975 allowed state-owned submerged lands with “exceptional biological, aesthetic and scientific value” to be classified as aquatic preserves or sanctuaries.
All but four of the aquatic preserves are along the state’s 8,400-mile coastline, in shallow waters of marshes and estuaries, and collectively span more than 3 million acres.
The Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve will be joined with two existing aquatic preserves off the west coast to create a contiguous protected area spanning the Gulf of Mexico’s largest seagrass meadow from the Panhandle’s Big Bend south to Pinellas County.
According to HB 1061’s analysis, seagrass-dependent activities generate about $600 million annually for Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties’ economies, providing more than 10,000 jobs and directly supporting more than 500 businesses.
More than 100 businesses from the three counties, nine state and national recreational fishing and marine industry organizations, the Citrus and Hernando county commissions, and The Pew Charitable Trusts supported the legislation.
This region harbors 19 endangered species and is known for its manatee-watching, scalloping and fishing. Its sprawling seagrass beds are ideal nurseries for manatees, sea turtles, scallops, crabs, shrimp and about 70 percent of Florida gamefish species, including redfish, grouper and tarpon.
“The Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve is a win for the economy and environment that will safeguard valuable marine resources and support fishing, scalloping, and tourism businesses for generations to come,” said Holly Binns, director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ ocean and coastal conservation work in the southeast.
According to Pew, Florida seagrass beds contribute more than $20 billion annually to the state’s economy by providing habitat for commercial and recreational fisheries, stabilizing sea floors and filtering pollution.
Activities such as well drilling, dredging or filling lands and installing structures other than docks are prohibited or highly regulated within the preserves.
With President Donald Trump's administration reportedly poised to lift a federal moratorium on Gulf drilling off Florida after November's elections, despite vehement bipartisan opposition from Florida’s Congressional delegation and state lawmakers, the designation also could serve as a regulatory bulwark against oil development in the region.
Drilling of gas and oil wells, excavation for shell or minerals, or erection of structures other than docks are not permitted within the preserve.
The state can lease oil and gas rights in preserves and permit drilling from outside the preserve to explore for oil and gas, but only under restricted circumstances unlikely to approved.
Original stort at The Center Square.