EPA may step in

Regarding Rachel Silverstein’s July 22 oped, “State of Florida wants to add more dangerous chemicals to our water”:

On July 26, Florida’s Environmental Regulation Commission approved Gov. Scott’s plan to gut Florida’s surface water toxicity standards by a 3-to-2 vote.

This assault on clean water creates serious health risks for Floridians and threatens our treasured ecosystem. The governor shortened the standard 30-day public comment period, fast-tracked the process by several months and refused to fill two vacancies on the commission — reserved for the environmental community and local governments — before the vote.

This giveaway to polluters also opens a backdoor to fracking (hydraulic fracturing) in the state. While efforts to permit fracking statewide in Florida were defeated this year in Tallahassee, tripling the level of permissible discharge of benzene lays out the welcome mat for fracking and the dumping of its waste products into our waters.

I have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to step in as the last line of defense against the governor’s blatant disregard for the health of our waterways and risks to our families.

This story was originally published August 7, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "EPA may step in."