New Bill Threaten the Environment, Lunch Jan. 28, and more
- IRNA
- 12 minutes ago
- 5 min read
January 17, 2025 Weekly Newsletter
Florida Bills SB 718 and HB 479
Threaten Local Environmental Protections
Florida Senate Bill 718 (Sen. Stan McClain) and its identical House companion, HB 479 (Rep. Randy Maggard), would strip local governments of their authority to protect water quality, wetlands, and watersheds. While neither bill has moved significantly through committee, these proposals are an existential threat to communities fighting to restore imperiled water bodies like the Indian River Lagoon.
The bills establish "field preemption." This is a complete state takeover that prohibits counties and cities from enacting any regulations related to water quality, water quantity, pollution control, or wetlands. It is an all out assault intended to eliminate local protections that go beyond the weak state minimums.
The enforcement mechanism is particularly insidious. If the Department of Environmental Protection determines a local government is violating this preemption, the Chief Financial Officer must withhold state funds (including revenue sharing and sales tax distributions worth millions of dollars.) For Indian River County, this could mean losing $13.8 million annually, forcing preemptive repeal of any impacted environmental ordinances to avoid fiscal collapse.
Specific impacts include:
Fertilizer ordinances invalidated: Indian River County's successful summer fertilizer blackout (June-September) would likely be voided, allowing nutrient loading during the rainy season when runoff directly fuels toxic algal blooms.
Wetland buffers weakened: The county's protective 50-foot buffers would drop to the state's inadequate 25-foot standard, reducing filtration and destroying critical habitat.
Accountability eliminated: The bills repeal Land Management Review Teams, removing independent oversight of public conservation lands allowing for increased corruption.
The sponsors' conflicts are glaring. McClain is a residential contractor; Maggard reportedly faced wetland restrictions on family property. Both receive significant campaign contributions from development interests.
These bills privatize deregulation's benefits for developers while socializing pollution's costs onto local taxpayers. You can use the information below to reach out to our elected officials.
So far the Senate Bill has not moved, but the House Bill is moving through committee. Late in the week massive changes to the preemptions were removed from the bill. The new text only prohibits local governments from restricting "adjacent upland activities" that are outside of a specific wetland buffer zone. The financial penalties were also removed in the house bill. The Senate Bill has not changed and we will be watching these bills as the Session continues.
State Elected Officials Contact Information:
Sen. Erin Grall
Phone: 850-487-5025
Email: Grall.Erin.Web@flsenate.gov
Address: 3209 Virginia Avenue, Suite A149, Fort Pierce, FL 34981
Rep. Robbie Brackett
Phone: 772-778-5005
Address: Suite B2-203, 1801 27th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960
Governor Ron DeSantis
Phone: 850-717-9337
Address: The Capitol, 400 S. Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Join IRNA at Lagoonapalooza!
IRNA will be at Lagoonapalooza on Saturday, January 24th from 10 AM to 5 PM at the Environmental Learning Center in Vero Beach. This free festival features live music, eco-activities, touch tanks, pontoon rides, and food vendors—all celebrating the Indian River Lagoon.
Stop by our booth to meet the team, learn about our advocacy work, and discover how you can help protect our waterways. Whether you're already a member or just lagoon-curious, we'd love to see you there!
Environmental Learning Center, Vero Beach
Saturday, January 24 • 10 AM - 5 PM • FREE
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Join the IRNA in building a stronger voice for our community. Your support empowers us to safeguard our natural resources, demand transparency from elected officials, and champion the changes we need to see—together, we can create lasting impact.
Update: Engaging Congress on Wetlands Protection
Following the Supreme Court's Sackett decision, which removed federal protections from many Florida wetlands, last week we reached out to Representative Haridopolos's office to discuss the crisis facing our water resources.
The stakes are significant. According to Natural Resources Defense Council analysis, under the most damaging scenario, Indian River County could lose federal protection for 5,429 wetlands covering 62,791 acres.
The congressman's office responded positively. His staffer met with us and will help connect us with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee staff and Representative Mast's water policy advisor. She also suggested engaging the Florida Legislature, though the receptiveness there remains uncertain. She was willing to work with us as we did all of this, which will lend our efforts more credence.
Her key advice, which might benefit anyone advocating in Florida: approach these conversations by asking "how can we do it?" rather than making demands. We need to build relationships and demonstrate our willingness to work together on solutions.
We're cautiously optimistic. While there's currently little appetite in Congress to amend the Clean Water Act (with many members supporting the Sackett decision) having congressional office support strengthens our position. We may not achieve major breakthroughs in this political environment, but moving the needle matters.
Sometimes advocacy means planting seeds for future action. We are working to lay the groundwork and hope something invaluable may come of it. But for today, we engage, we educate, and we persist.
County P&Z approves Bluewater Bay modifications | Indian River County (Hometown News TC) - The Indian River County Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously approved modifications to the long-delayed Bluewater Bay development’s conceptual plan, replacing a contested canal bridge with alternative public benefits and updated access points to accommodate legal and logistical changes.
Watch construction of the Oslo Road interchange in Indian River County (TCPalm) - Drone video shows the $96 million I-95 interchange project under construction in Indian River County. It is expected to be completed in 2027.
Frog Leg Festival - How it all began 35 years ago (TCPalm) - The Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival, started 35 years ago to honor local frog giggers and raise funds for youth recreation, has grown into a major annual event featuring thousands of pounds of frog legs, games, rides, and food for all ages.
Florida agriculture bills could help Big Sugar intimidate critics (VoteWater.org) - Proposed Florida legislation backed by Big Sugar would expand the state’s food libel laws to allow lawsuits over criticism of farming practices like sugarcane burning, raising concerns about silencing activists amid the industry’s massive political influence.
Join Us for a Luncheon on January 28!
Learn about Beach Restoration in Vero Beach from Quintin Bergman, Coastal Resource Manager with the Indian River County Natural Resources Department. There will be time for questions following the presentation.
Details:
Cost: $25 per person
Location: Bethel Creek House, 4405 A1A, Vero Beach, FL 32963 (across from Jaycee Beach Park)
Sign up at IndianRiverNA.com/lunch
You can pay online when you register, or bring a check or exact change the day of. Please sign up in advance, we cannot guarantee walk-ins will be able to eat.
We hope to see you there!
New wetlands rule: A done deal? (VoteWater.org) - A forthcoming EPA rule change, prompted by the Supreme Court's Sackett decision, is expected to strip federal Clean Water Act protections from millions of acres of wetlands—potentially exposing vulnerable Florida ecosystems to increased development amid weakening state-level environmental oversight.
January 2026 Peligram – Pelican Island Audubon Society (Pelican Island Audubon Society) - The January 2026 Peligram highlights upcoming Pelican Island Audubon programs and events, features a column on a rare Wood Stork sighting along Oslo Road, includes a detailed advocacy article opposing renewed offshore drilling in the Eastern Gulf, showcases student reflections from the Audubon Advocates program, and more.
Leader in Conservation (Vero Beach Magazine) - Ken Grudens, with over 30 years of conservation experience, has led the Indian River Land Trust in permanently protecting over 1,300 acres and 12 miles of lagoon shoreline while championing public access and coastal habitat restoration in Indian River County.
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