PHOTO PROVIDED Holly Schwartz

The environmental bill updates from the fifth week of the legislative session included:

– Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve Boundary bill passes its second Senate Committee.

– Safe Waterways Act advances in the Senate.

– Senate Auxiliary Container (single-use plastics) bill is temporarily postponed due to lack of committee time.

We’ve reached the halfway point of this legislative session with only four weeks remaining. Many of the subcommittees will no longer meet, effectively ending the potential for a bill to advance if it has not yet been heard in its first committee. However, a bill can be still added as an amendment to a similar bill, so any issue could return up until the very last day of session.

Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve Boundary — SB 1210 by Sen. Jonathan Martin passed its second of three assigned committees. Several environmental advocacy groups, including the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, have asked for additional clarification on the bill which aims to reduce the boundary of the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve.

One concern is that any reduction to the preserve increases the potential for development within the current boundary and reduces the ecological function of this sensitive area.

Another concern is that any change in the preserve boundary should be rigorously vetted with ample evidence provided for the boundary change. As it stands, that evidence is not provided in the bill or in the bill analysis. The SCCF and partners are continuing to pursue additional information and are advocating for transparency on this potentially statewide, precedent setting bill. The House version, HB 957 by Rep. Adam Botana, had not yet been heard in its first committee but could be amended on to a similar bill.

Safe Water Ways Act — SB 338 by Sen. Lori Berman passed unanimously through its first committee stop in the Senate Health Policy Committee. Similar bills were introduced and strongly supported two years ago by Southwest Florida water quality advocacy groups working closely with Berman at the time.

The bill is designed to dramatically improve public notification of imminent danger as it relates to swimming at beaches and “public bathing places” — the legal term used for designated public swimming areas. It requires timely and visible notice of bacteriological water quality impairments from sources such as malfunctioning sewage treatment plants, septic tank leaks and animal waste.

The bill also requires the Department of Health to specify a timeframe to notify the local municipality or county, the local office of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the local affiliates of national television networks of areas affected. The bill heads next to its second stop at the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and General Government. The House version, HB 165 by Reps. Lindsay Cross and Peggy Gossett-Siedman, also passed its first committee and heads to the House Appropriations Committee next.

Regulation of Auxiliary Containers — SB 1126 by Martin was scheduled to be heard in the Senate Community Affairs Committee — its second committee. The committee agenda was packed and included a few controversial bills relating to immigration, confederate monuments, and production and sale of cultivated meat. Discussion of those bills resulted in a five 1/2-hour meeting, which went significantly longer than its scheduled meeting time.

Unfortunately, many people who traveled to Tallahassee to testify against the bill were disappointed when it was one of two bills that were temporarily postponed to be heard the next time the Senate Community Affairs Committee meets.

The bill preempts local governments from regulating re-usable or single use plastics or packaging and requires any regulation to be done by the state. The state, however, must adopt DEP recommendations before regulating any “auxiliary containers,” which is woefully overdue as DEP recommendations were submitted as far back as 2010. The House version, HB 1641 by Rep. Brad Yeager, passed its first committee and heads to the House State Affairs Committee next.

Visit the 2024 SCCF Legislative Tracker at https://sccf.org/what-we-do/environmental-policy/.

Holly Schwartz is policy associate for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. Founded in 1967, the SCCF’s mission is to protect and care for Southwest Florida’s coastal ecosystems. For more information, visit www.sccf.org.