Florida Department of Environment Protection Office of District & Business Support Reviewer

Florida Department of Ecology Protection

Bureau overview
Preceding agencies	Florida Department of Environmental Regulation Florida Department of Natural Resources
Jurisdiction	State of Florida
Employees	2974.50 Career Service, Selected Exempt/Management Service (SES/SMS) Positions (FY15–16) 800+ Other Personnel Services (OPS) Positions
Annual budget	US$1.44 billion (FY15–16)
Bureau executive	Secretary
Website	www.floridadep.gov

The Florida Section of Ecology Protection (FDEP) is the Florida government bureau charged with environmental protection.

History [edit]

By the mid-1960s, when the federal government was becoming increasingly involved in initiatives designed to protect the country'south environmental interests, Florida had iv agencies involved with environmental protection: the Florida Lath of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (country land, including shores, beaches, wetlands, and bodies of water), the Department of Health (sewage treatment, drinking h2o quality), Florida Section of Natural Resources (country parks and recreation areas), and Game and Freshwater Fish Commission (hunting and line-fishing).^[1]

In the belatedly 1960s, the Florida Department of Air and H2o Pollution Command was created under Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr. Almost staff were beingness taken from the Bureau of Sanitary Engineering of the state Section of Health. The proper name of the new agency was simplified to the Florida Department of Pollution Control.^{[ citation needed ]}

In the mid-1970s, the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (FDER) was created from the Department of Pollution Control and portions of the Lath of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund and the Florida Department of Natural Resources. This revised agency was entrusted with the quality of the country'south air and h2o, and with making major land management decisions, primarily related to shorelines and wetlands.^{[ citation needed ]}

The FDER began supervising five water direction districts that had been established in 1972 under Affiliate 373 of Florida Statutes to command all freshwater located in the state: The Suwannee River H2o Management District, St. Johns River Water Management Commune, Southwest Florida Water Management District, Due south Florida Water Management District, and Northwest Florida Water Direction District.^{[ citation needed ]}

By 1992, it was the nation'due south tertiary-largest such state agency, with one,500 employees and a upkeep of some $650 million.^[2] In the mid-1990s, the state merged the DER with the substantially larger Department of Natural Resource, creating the Florida Department of Ecology Protection.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2004, it started the 'Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative', half dozen years after a presidential order had instructed 7 states with reefs to develop roadmaps of conservation.^{[iii] : seven}

During the menses from 2000 to 2005, the department functioned with a staff of well-nigh 3,600 employees and its annual budget averaged $1.9 billion ($1,899,731,705).^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2011, DEP suspended its wetlands manager "later on she refused to approve a permit to a failed effort to sell off surplus park land" and Everglades scientists. Leading positions have been filled by prior consultants for developers and polluting industries in revolving door (politics). The regulatory climate has changed from "prosecuting violations to helping industry avoid fines".^[iv]

Bureau of Park Patrol [edit]

Until July 1, 2012, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) had a police enforcement contingent, referred to as the Division of Law Enforcement (DLE), which included sworn state law enforcement officers and special agents as well as emergency responders to chancy materials incidents.^{[ citation needed ]}

The patrol agency was divided into 4 districts: NE, NW, SE & SW. The approximately xc sworn state officers assigned to the patrol bureau patrolled primarily land parks, land lands, state trails, wild fauna management areas (WMAs), rivers, coastline and both the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Officers utilized traditional patrol cars, 4x4 sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, ATVs, boats, airboats, personal watercraft (PWC'due south), dirt-bikes, and bicycles. The headquarters occupied the fifth floor of the DEP master offices in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas edifice in Tallahassee, Florida.^{[ commendation needed ]} Officers of the patrol agency were fully constituted constabulary enforcement officers of the state and possessed statewide authority. Although defended primarily to the protection and conservation of state lands, parks, properties and bodies of water, officers took law enforcement activeness statewide.^{[ citation needed ]}

On July ane, 2012 the Bureau, which past that time had been renamed the Bureau of Park Law, was merged into the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee and the sworn officers, too equally reserve officers and support staff, were transferred to FWC. The Bureau of Emergency Response was not function of the merger and remained with DEP as the Office of Emergency Response.^{[ citation needed ]}

Secretaries [edit]

The following have been secretaries of the DEP:

• Herschel Vinyard Jr. 2011– 2014^[4]
• Noah Valenstien 2017–2021

Functions and responsibilities [edit]

In its responsibilities for the state's natural surroundings, the section divides its function into three areas:^[v]

• Every bit a regulatory bureau, it regulates air pollution, h2o pollution, the use of wetlands and shorelines and the siting of hazardous waste facilities, ability plants, and natural gas pipeline.^[5]
• It manages more than x,000 acres (forty km²) of state lands, including Florida State Parks and recreation areas, greenways, trails, wildlife direction areas and restores the environmental quality of the Everglades.^[5] Information technology DEP oversees the Florida Reef Organization, from Biscayne National Park in Miami-Dade County to the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County, with its Coral Reef Conservation Plan.^[six]
• As planning agency it surveys the land's geological resources, oversees the direction of water resources past the h2o management districts, controls Invasive species, peculiarly aquatic plants, monitors the ecology quality of the land and oversees the reclamation of mined lands.^[5]

Everglades Restoration [edit]

The Florida DEP office responsible for FDEP'southward overseeing of Everglades restoration—including the Everglades Forever Act and the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan—is the Office of Ecosystem Projects.^[seven] In its largest wetland acquisition in a decade, in January 2020, the Florida governor announced the Florida Department of Environmental Protection would buy 20,000 acres of Everglades wetlands, ultimately with the intent of preventing oil drilling on that land.^[viii]

Global warming [edit]

A 1998 presidential executive gild created the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force. In 2002, Florida determined how to implement this locally.^{[3] : 7} Subsequently a meeting in 2002, the FDEP and the Florida Fish and Wild animals Conservation Committee formed a team of interagency marine resource professionals of all levels of Us government, of scientists and other stakeholders. From May to November 2003 this Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative Team (SEFCRI Team) developed a local activity strategy. In 2009, the FDEP's Coral Reef Conservation Programme prepared a climate change action plan for the Florida Reef Organisation 2010-2015, which was in sync with the federal NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Goals & Objectives 2010-2015.^[vi]

Subsequently Governor Scott took office in 2011, DEP employees were informed by regional administrators non to use the terms climate change, global warming or sustainability in publications or educational materials, because the DEP was the governor's agency.^[4] The Florida Oceans and Coastal Council'due south Annual Inquiry Plan 2014-15 avoided the term climate change and used 'climate drivers' and 'climate-driven changes' instead. Some critical employees were terminated or gave their observe during that time. Until 2015, the term sea-level rise was not permitted and had to exist replaced by the term 'nuisance flooding'.^[four]

Upkeep and staff [edit]

Per the section'due south the Role of Inspector General annual report from fiscal twelvemonth 2011-2012, the DEP had more than 4,176 employees.^[9]

Florida Governor Rick Scott (Republican) recommended to decrease DEP's FY 2015-16 budget by about $29 meg to $one,535,984,614 compared to actual (non the Governor recommended) FY 2014-xv budget. His plan funded 2,939.5 positions, which is 155 positions less than the prior year.^[10]

Governor'due south recommendations Fiscal Yr	Budget in $	Positions	Deviation to prior year ($)	Difference in employees
2011–2012	i,460,214,322	3,450	dna	dna
2012–2013	i,313,686,038	3,364.	-146,528,284	-86
2013–2014	1,204,456,007	3,114.v	-198,253,717	-116
2014–2015	1,410,924,838	3,063	111,807,605	+54.5
2015–2016	1,535,984,614	2,939	-28,706,934	-155

Arrangement [edit]

In December 2014, Jon Steverson, a DEP lawyer was appointed.^[11]

As of 2006, the department divided itself into the post-obit 13 offices based on role, all operating primarily out of Tallahassee:

Administrative Services, Air resource management, Littoral and Aquatic Managed Areas, General counsel, Greenways and Trails, Law Enforcement, Office of the Secretarial assistant, Parks and Recreation, Resource Cess Management, Siting, State Lands, Waste management, Water resource management.^{[ citation needed ]}

The FDEP divides the state into half dozen districts with the following six commune offices: Central District (Orlando), Northeast District (Jacksonville), Northwest Commune (Pensacola), Southward District (Fort Myers), Southeast District (West Palm Embankment) and Southwest Commune (Tampa).^{[ citation needed ]}

Run across as well [edit]

• Bureau of Park Patrol
• List of police force enforcement agencies in Florida
• Surface Water Improvement and Management Program

References [edit]

1. ^ "FWC Overview". Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Committee . Retrieved 2020-09-02 .
2. ^ Ifill, Gwen (December 12, 1992). "Clinton Widens His Circle, Naming 4 Social Activists". The New York Times.
3. ^ ^{a b} Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative: A Local Action Strategy, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas Coral Reef Conservation Plan. Dec 2004, Miami, FL, p.19
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Tristram Korten (8 March 2015). "In Florida, officials ban term 'climate change'". MiamiHerald . Retrieved xi March 2015.
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Florida Department of Environmental Protection website 2012 Country of Florida
6. ^ ^{a b} Florida Reef Resilience Program (n.d.). "Climate Change Action Plan for the Florida Reef System" (PDF). FDEP. p. xx. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
7. ^ "Office of Ecosystem Projects". dep.country.fl.us. Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
8. ^ Torres, Ella (January 16, 2020), "Florida to purchase xx,000 acres of Everglades wetlands to prevent oil drilling", ABC News , retrieved January 18, 2020
9. ^ Office of Inspector General. "almanac report from Financial year 2011-2012" (PDF). Florida DEP. p. 47. Retrieved eleven March 2015.
10. ^ "Budget by agencies" (northward.d.). Go along FLORIDA WORKING. State of Florida. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
11. ^ Governor's Press Office (xi December 2014). "Gov. Scott Announces the Appointment of Jon Steverson every bit Secretary of DEP". State of Florida. Retrieved 11 March 2015. from 2011 to 2012 equally Special Counsel on Policy and Legislative Affairs and acting Deputy Secretary for Water Policy and Ecosystem Restoration. Jon besides served in the Executive Office of the Governor from 2005 to 2009 in multiple roles including Environmental Policy Coordinator.

External links [edit]

• Official website
• Florida Watersheds & Rivers Map - Florida'due south Water: Ours to Protect - Florida DEP
• Official FL DEP Hunting Regulations
• Official FL DEP Freshwater Fishing Regulations
• Official FL DEP DFW Marine Regulations

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Department_of_Environmental_Protection

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