Scott unveils election-year environmental plan

LAKELAND -- Dogged by questions about his environmental record, Gov. Rick Scott unveiled an election-year proposal this week to spend more than $1 billion improving water quality in Florida and expanding land conservation efforts, while also cracking down on polluters.

Scott wants to spend $500 million over a decade protecting the state’s natural springs, $500 million on alternative water supplies during the same time period and $150 million annually on conservation purchases. He also is pitching Everglades restoration efforts and — most surprisingly for environmentalists — a stronger regulatory approach with increased penalties for pollution violations.

“We’ll ensure that Florida’s treasures are protected for generations to come,” the Republican governor said Monday in a statement announcing his plan.

Critics mocked the proposal, seeing it as a cynical attempt to remake the image of a governor engaged in a close election contest after clashing repeatedly with environmental advocates during his first term. Scott signed a bill repealing Florida’s growth management regulations and abolished the state agency responsible for overseeing development, slashed spending at water management districts and rolled back springs protection legislation, among other controversial environmental decisions.

Paula Dockery, a former Republican state senator from Polk County who is known for her environmental protection efforts, said Scott simply is trying to deflect attention from his poor environmental record with the new proposal.

“It’s a little bit frustrating and a lot disingenuous on his part to try and portray himself in any way shape or form as being an advocate for the environment,” Dockery said.

But even some of the governor’s past critics say his “Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful” proposal represents a substantial commitment to environmental issues.

Audubon Florida Executive Director Eric Draper said Scott’s willingness to increase penalties for polluters in the new plan is significant for a governor seen as especially friendly toward industry and wary of government regulation, Draper said.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has taken a soft stance on permitting and regulatory issues under Scott, he said.

“I think that was a surprising part of the announcement because that reflects a shift in the way the governor has approached environmental policy,” Draper said.

Specific new penalties are not outlined in Scott’s plan, although the plan notes that oil companies can only be fined $10,000 a day.

Scott’s proposal also talks about tying the $500 million in funding for alternative water supplies to increased water conservation efforts, an incentive-based approach that would establish new regulations for water utilities.

But Dockery said Scott cemented his environmental legacy during an “abysmal” stretch of policymaking early in his term. That included repealing growth management rules that had stood for decades and pushing the state’s water management districts to reduce property taxes and make dramatic budget cuts.

Dockery also noted that Scott appointed a former shipping company executive to run the DEP, backed a plan to sell state conservation land and supported Everglades legislation that some environmental advocates say does not require polluters to pay enough for clean up.

Scott’s latest environmental policy proposal still does not address climate change or sea level rise, issues that could have major economic and environmental consequences in low-lying Florida.

Instead, the plan seems to mirror much of what environmental groups are pitching in a constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot this November that would require the state to allocate real estate transaction tax money for land conservation and other environmental protection.