Florida environmentalists on Thursday slammed Congress for voting this week on a bill aimed at curtailing federal environmental regulations on state waters.
The House on Wednesday passed a bill to block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from tightening water pollution limits without state approval.
Florida is in a fight with the EPA over proposed numeric standards for how much pollution can go into state freshwater bodies.
“It is hard to imagine that Florida Rep. John Mica sponsored legislation that makes it harder to clean up toxic algae outbreaks like the ones that cover the St. Johns River and the Caloosahatchee River with toxic green slime,” Earthjustice attorney Monica Reimer said. “Where does he think our drinking water comes from? There’s a water plant in Southwest Florida right now shut down because of toxic algae. It should be serving 30,000 taxpaying citizens, but the water is too polluted.”
