Governor Scott, always seeking to preserve jobs and financial interests, has not factored Negron’s $1.2 billion into his Budget request because of the economic impact on the sugar industry. Instead, his office reportedly wrote SB874. Governor Scott’s team has held that the water quality of Okeechobee can be increased by switching many people from septic tanks to central sewage because of the decreased chemical runoff that would result. While DEP has agreed that this would help, they have been clear that this would only be a drop in the bucket, and have provided data to back up this claim. SB874 was unanimously passed through the Senate Environmental Preservation & Conservation Committee yesterday. While Governor Scott’s team may be hoping that SB874 will completely take the place of SB10, whispers around the Capitol suggest that SB10 is gaining ground.
Originally posted 2017-03-15 21:59:38.
