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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Florida’s Republican congressional delegation today joined in urging the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw its job-killing numeric nutrient regulation in Florida.
On July 29, 2011, the EPA denied a 2008 petition to move forward with Federal regulation of nutrients in the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB). In their denial, the EPA cited the several other ways the Agency was addressing nutrients in these water bodies in cooperation with the states. With this petition response, Florida remains the only state in the country with Federal regulations regarding numeric nutrient criteria.
Previously, on June 13, 2011, the EPA chose not to grant or deny a petition from the State of Florida that would allow the state to move forward with their own rulemaking regarding nutrients. The EPA’s lack of response has left industry in the state subject to the kind of continued regulatory uncertainty that negatively impacts Florida’s job creators.
Addressing this matter, Rubio and all Florida congressional Republicans wrote to Administrator Jackson asking her to grant the petition to the State of Florida and withdraw the federal regulation. The letter states that, in EPA’s own words, “the most effective and sustainable way to address widespread and pervasive nutrient pollution in the MARB and elsewhere is to build on these efforts and work cooperatively with states and tribes to strengthen nutrient management programs.”
The letter further states that “the State of Florida is the only state that EPA has overtaken with Federal regulations to address nutrients in water bodies. Notably, all of the national efforts outlined in the Agency’s July 29th letter…equally apply to Florida.
“Consistent with the cooperative federalism envisioned by Congress in the Clean Water Act, we ask that the EPA immediately withdraw its decision to impose numeric nutrient criteria in Florida and place our state on a level playing field with states in the Mississippi River watershed and throughout the rest of the nation. Specifically, and to this end, we respectfully request that you immediately grant the petition filed on April 22nd by the State of Florida so that the state can move forward in protecting Florida’s waters and businesses can move forward in creating more jobs in our state with newfound regulatory certainty.”
The full letter is below and available in a PDF on our website.