Senate Committee to discuss water issues in Ocala

State senators to visit Ocala to talk about water issues
Comprehensive water policy proposals will be considered in 2010 session.

By Fred Hiers
Staff writer

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Florida lawmakers on the powerful Senate Select Committee on Inland Waters will make Ocala their first stop next week as part of a statewide tour and public meetings to discuss water issues.

The Ocala meeting, organized in part by Sen. Charlie Dean (R-Inverness), will give residents an opportunity to tell the legislators about water issues currently debated in Marion County, such as springs protection and keeping Central Florida from siphoning water from the upper Ocklawaha River.

The series of public meetings are being scheduled as the committee is slated during the 2010 legislative session to consider comprehensive water policy proposals. The policies could include issues such as new local sources first legislation, overhauling water management district authority and setting water quality standards.

During the senate's last session, select committee chairman Lee Constantine proposed springs protection and watershed restoration legislation. The bill did not pass the senate, but the select committee is expected to build on the failed proposal next year and again propose similar legislation. The bill set standards for nutrient levels that pollute springs and set time lines for their restoration.

Dean, who requested three public meetings in his district, said it is imperative that members of the public come to the meetings and tell lawmakers they want local water sources, including the springs, protected from outside use.

"When the public comes before our committee ... I think the lasting impression on lawmakers is the importance of these issues from the people back home," Dean said. "We need to be participants ... having them know that these are some of our primary concerns."

Dean said now is a good time to hold water meetings because the recession and Florida's housing slowdown gives lawmakers additional time to consider smarter water policies.

Constantine's office said the purpose of the meetings is to listen to constituents, rather than for lawmakers to set the tone and direction of the meetings.

More meetings will be scheduled during the next few months, but none have yet been formalized, according to Constantine's staff.

"The select committee of Florida's inland waters is going to be coming to Ocala to hear from the people of Marion County," Constantine said in a prepared statement. "The focus is to listen to the concerns of the people."

His staff said they did not want to elaborate on water use proposals the select committee might bring up during next year's session.

Marion County is home to Silver Springs, one of the largest artesian spring formations in the world, producing nearly 550 million gallons of water daily.

Silver Springs forms the headwaters of the Silver River, the largest tributary to the Ocklawaha River, which empties into the St. Johns River. Polluting nutrient levels have been rising in those waters for the past few decades due to fertilizer and septic use in the area.

Marion County Commissioner Stan McClain said a common fear is that the select committee next year proposes too many changes to current Florida law requiring that communities first exhaust their own water resources before crossing county borders for more.

"That's why it's important to continue to solidify our position" to keep local sources first legislation in place, he said.

Marion County also needs to continue putting pressure on Tallahassee lawmakers to stop targeting the Ocklawaha River as a water source for Central Florida, he said.

"That's one of the things the select committee ... will look at," he said.

"But anytime people have the opportunity to attend these public meetings, it's imperative for them to go," McClain said. "And I think Sen. Dean has done the right thing by asking them to come here."

Contact Fred Hiers at 867-4157 or fred.hiers@starbanner.com.

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