EPA taps Florida's Hankinson as director of Gulf restoration panel

John H. Hankinson Jr., a Florida native and former regional U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator, was named Monday as executive director of the new federal Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force.

President Barack Obama signed an executive order earlier this month establishing the task force, which will coordinate restoration programs and projects following the BP oil spill last summer. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, a New Orleans native, was named as chair of the task force, which will hold its first meeting in Pensacola on Nov. 8.

Hankinson is chairman of Audubon of Florida and served as regional EPA administrator from 1994 to 2001. He previously was in charge of land acquisition at the St. Johns River Water Management District and was a staff director at the Florida House of Representatives.

“I spent my childhood on the Gulf and I am proud and honored to have the opportunity to carry out the president’s commitment to restoring this vital ecosystem,” Hankinson said in a statement, issued by the EPA, in which Jackson announced the appointment.

Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday praised Hankinson's selection.

"John understands the strong link between Florida’s economy and the Gulf, especially for our tourism and seafood industries. Nothing is more important to Florida’s future than cleaning up any oil that remains in the Gulf of Mexico,'' the governor said in a statement.

Information about the Nov. 8 task force meeting will be announced later, the EPA said. The president's order establishing the task force is available by clicking here.

(Story provided by the Florida Tribune. Photo provided by Audubon of Florida. Story copyrighted by Bruce Ritchie and FloridaEnvironments.com. Do not copy or redistribute without permission, which can be obtained by contacting brucebritchie@gmail.com.)

Federal official defends Gulf oil spill reporting

MISSOULA, Mont. -- NOAA Administrator Jane Lubcheco on Friday defended as "consistent" her description of the fate of oil spilled last summer in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, an oil industry representative told environmental journalists that the nation must continue deep-water oil drilling as an important economic driver in the Gulf region.

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and sank in April, causing more than 200 million gallons of oil to gush into the Gulf of Mexico until July 15, when the leaking well a mile beneath the surface was capped. The spill caused waves of oil to wash ashore near Pensacola and caused beach tourists to cancel vacation plans across Florida.

On Friday, Lubchenco was on a panel at the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference at the University of Montana to discuss lessons learned. In August, NOAA released a report showing that about 50 percent of the oil had been collected, burned or dispersed while another 50 percent remained in the environment or had been evaporated or dissolved.

White House Advisor Carol Browner, former secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation from 1991-93 and a former U.S. EPA administrator, told television audiences in August that 75 percent of the oil from the spill was gone.

Asked at the SEJ conference how that misrepresentation had been spread in the media, Lubchenco said, "There has been a lot of confusion about a lot of things different people said about it. I have been consistent in saying exactly what I just told you."

Some of the dispersed oil remains as microscopic droplets. But she said the water with the dispersed oil looks like drinking water and that there isn't an "undersea lake of black oil" that has been described in some press coverage.

"But dispersed and dilute (oil) does not mean benign," she cautioned. "That could still have very serious consequences to the small creatures and medium-size creatures in the ocean. That is what we remain very concerned about."

Doug Rader, chief oceans scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund, said that the worst-case fear of oil being delivered by the Gulf Loop Current into the Florida Keys, Cuba and around to the Atlantic coast had not been realized during the oil spill.

"I'm not trying to suggest that we actually dodged the bullet, because I don't think we did," he said. "I think the total impact, as Dr. Lubcheco suggested, has yet to be fully written. There are plenty of out-of-sight, out-of-mind ecological elements that took it on the chin."

The oil industry has been examining its practices to ensure that another such oil spill does not occur, said Kyle Isakower, vice president of policy analysis at the American Petroleum Institute.

"Clearly things went horribly wrong," he said. "This served to spur the oil and gas industry to reassess our activities. It has created an acknowledgement on behalf of the industry that we must improve."

But Isakower also said that deepwater drilling must continue. The Obama administration earlier this week lifted a moratorium on deepwater drilling in the western Gulf of Mexico, prompting criticism from Florida Gov. Charlie Crist who said such offshore drilling remains a threat to Florida's coast.

The oil industry, Isakower said, has created a start-up company with $1 billion to be used for oil spill containment.

"It is essential from both an economic and energy security standpoint that we resume operations in the Gulf," he said.

Panel moderator Mark Schleifstein, a reporter at the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, opened the discussion by saying that journalists deserved blame rather than praise for failing to report on the risk of oil drilling before the spill.

"The one thing (Hurricane) Katrina taught a number of people (including journalists) … was that ignoring residual risk -- you do only at your own peril," Schleifstein said. "Just like with the levee system of New Orleans, we ignored residual risk (of oil drilling) in the offshore community."

"We had the opportunity to write stories well in advance of this disaster about the potential residual risk," he said. "And to be honest, we blew it. There was no washing away (oil) washing up on shore from this event -- from any newspaper in the United States."

(Story and photo copyrighted by Bruce Ritchie and FloridaEnvironments.com. Do not copy or redistribute without permission, which can be obtained by contacting brucebritchie@gmail.com.)

Florida closes on scaled-back Everglades purchase

The South Florida Water Management District on Tuesday closed on the purchase of nearly 27,000 acres of U.S. Sugar Corp. land in a scaled-down version of the once-massive Everglades restoration project.

Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008 first proposed the purchase of 187,000 acres, which the district agreed to buy for $1.3 billion. But the economic downturn caused the state to twice scale back the purchase while critics, including the New York Times, suggested that the deal was payback for U. S. Sugar's support for Crist.

Crist and environmentalists maintained that the deal was a historic step forward for the Everglades, allowing the state to buy key parcels of land to restore flow between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades' "River of Grass." Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has supported the revised deal but her Republican opponent for governor, Rick Scott, spoke out against it in August.

The water management district on Tuesday completed the purchase for the 26,791 acres for $197.3 million. The governor said in a statement Tuesday the deal creates a brighter, more secure future for the Everglades.

“Today’s land purchase creates significant opportunities for Florida’s environment," Crist said. "With these 26,800 acres, we are one step closer to making our dreams of true restoration for the Everglades a reality."

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mimi Drew along with representatives of the South Florida Water Management District, the Earthjustice law firm and the Everglades Foundation also heralded the deal.

But U.S. Sugar's rival, Florida Crystals, said the purchase won't help the Everglades because the district doesn't have enough money to complete restoration projects. Florida Crystals executives have been raising money for Scott, who supports sticking with the earlier Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan that didn't include the U.S. Sugar land buy.

"Buying land doesn't solve anything for the Everglades," said Gaston Cantens, vice president of corporate relations at Florida Crystals. "They haven't built a single project."

(Photo provided by the South Florida Water Management District. Story provided by the Florida Tribune. Story copyrighted by Bruce Ritchie and FloridaEnvironments.com. Do not copy or redistribute without permission, which can be obtained by contacting brucebritchie@gmail.com.)

Argenziano quits Florida PSC to support Alex Sink for governor

Nancy Argenziano announced Tuesday she is resigning from the Florida Public Service Commission to support Democrat Alex Sink in her race against Republican Rick Scott for governor.

Argenziano -- who was elected as a Republican state senator -- told reporters she is resigning to speak out against what she considers to be a "catastrophe" facing the state if Scott is elected. State law prohibits commissioners from endorsing or supporting political candidates and causes, she said.

If Scott is elected, Argenziano said there would be no balance of power or check on the Republican-led Legislature. And she said Scott was scheming to raise electric rates on residential customers effectively by seeking to lower commercial rates and increase utilities' earnings.

"I do not know that I can effectively portray the immensity of the danger of a marriage between the clowns, cowboys and crooks of the current Republican-led state Legislature and Rick "the Fifth Amendment" Scott," she told reporters, reading from a prepared statement.

Argenziano was scheduled to leave office in January because she was passed over for re-appointment by the PSC Nominating Council in June. But she said her speaking out is not because of "sour grapes," rather she is angry at the corruption that she sees with the influence of utilities over the Legislature and the PSC.

Scott campaign spokesman Joe Kildea responded to Argenziano's endorsement by saying, "It's amazing that anyone would publicly support CFO Sink as reports are simultaneously emerging about her authorizing felons to work in the insurance field and access the sensitive and personal information of Floridians."

The Sink campaign issued a statement saying, "Alex Sink is proud to receive the endorsement of a proven consumer champion with a record of standing up for Floridians." Sink herself told reporters that the authorizing of people to work in insurance was required by state law.

Argenziano spoke to reporters for 45 minutes, firing criticism at, among others, the Republican Party of Florida, Senate President Jeff Atwater, incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos, PSC Commissioner Lisa Edgar and Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton and chairman of the PSC Nominating Council.

A spokesman for the Republican Party of Florida had no immediate comment nor did a spokesman for Atwater. Haridopolos declined to comment through a spokesman in the Senate president's office.

Later Tuesday, Argenziano said she also was endorsing "for equally good reasons" Gov. Charlie Crist, running as an independent for U.S. Senate, along with Democrats Dan Gelber for attorney general and Loranne Ausley for state chief financial officer.

Argenziano pointed out that she was giving up three months of her $130,036 annual salary to speak out against Scott and the Legislature. She said she will return to her home in Citrus County but added that she has no employment plans.

A spokesman for Crist said the PSC Nominating Council would have to recommend a replacement for the remainder of Argenziano's term. Julie I. Brown, an associate legal counsel for the First American Corp., was named by Crist last month to fill Argenziano's seat in January when her term was set to expire.

(Story provided by the Florida Tribune. Story and photo copyrighted by Bruce Ritchie and FloridaEnvironments.com. Do not copy or redistribute without permission, which can be obtained by contacting brucebritchie@gmail.com.)

State nixes bear workshops because of hunting controversy

State wildlife officials on Monday postponed workshops on black bear management because they said too many people wanted to talk about hunting bears. But it was a state wildlife official who publicly suggested that hunting should remain an option in the future.

The state banned bear hunting in 1994 because of an outcry from animal rights activists, environmentalists and news media that reported on bears being shot in trees where they fled from dogs during legal hunts.

Bears face continuing threats from development and are being killed on roads in increasing numbers while they occupy only 18 percent of their historic range in Florida, according to a draft management report. Still, some residents have raised concerns about there being too many of bears roaming through some rural residential areas and eating from trash cans.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it had intended for a series workshops across the state to focus on the draft plan to ensure "a sustainable and socially acceptable" bear population, according to an agency statement released Monday. Instead, the agency said much of the media attention and comments at the first three workshops has been on the topic of reintroducing bear hunting.

"Although there is significant interest from a wide range of perspectives, each of the workshops ended in debates on hunting rather than on discussions of the plan itself,” said Tim Breault, director of the commission's Division of Habitat and Species Conservation.

David Telesco, Florida's bear management coordinator, told WTSP News that hunting should remain an option in the future for controlling the population. Thirty-one of the 40 states with black bear populations allow hunting, according to the draft report.

Jen Hobgood, the Florida director of the Humane Society of the United States, disagreed in the WTSP report with allowing hunting as a method of controlling interaction with bears and people.

The agency on Monday issued a statement saying it was not proposing to allow hunting because wider stakeholder involvement would be needed to explore that option.

Agency staff will determine how they can bring the focus of the discussion back to the management plan and will hold workshops when senior leadership can attend, Breault said. The agency canceled public meetings scheduled for Tuesday in Naples and Oct. 19 in Perry.

To learn more about the draft report, got to http://share2.MyFWC.com/BearMP/default.aspx

(Black bear photo courtesy of FWC. Story provided by the Florida Tribune. Story copyrighted by Bruce Ritchie and FloridaEnvironments.com. Do not copy or redistribute without permission, which can be obtained by contacting brucebritchie@gmail.com.)

Environment a neglected issue in Florida governor's race

1000 Friends of Florida, a group focusing on growth management issues statewide, sent a questionnaire last month to the eight major party candidates in the state Cabinet races.

The number of responses: Zero, said Charles Pattison, the group's president.

That may be telling about the importance that growth and environmental issues are playing in this year's governor's race. With less than four weeks until the election, neither candidate in the governor's race has said much publicly about those issues.

Voters are telling pollsters that the economy and jobs are the top issue, with the environment and other social issues ranking very low, said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc.

There is some mention of jobs in the governor's race, but the environment is not alone among the issues being ignored, Coker said.

"The governor's race has become nothing more than a food fight," he said. "Nobody is talking about any issues."

Democrat Alex Sink last week quietly released her environmental platform to select groups. Republican Rick Scott has said little about the environment while championing "energy independence" including more nuclear power. And he supports offshore drilling, in contrast to Sink and most environmental groups.

The Sierra Club announced Friday it was endorsing Sink. Even voters who are most concerned about the economy should be able to tell from the BP oil spill how important Florida's environment is to its economy, said Cecilia Height, Sierra Club Florida's political chair.

"You can see how the environment and the economy are intricately linked in that scenario," Height said. "Those [Florida Panhandle residents affected by the oil spill] are still hurting and will be hurting for many, many years to come."

The Florida Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Scott, with chamber chairman Steve Halverson saying that Scott's experience in creating jobs "is the type of leadership that Florida's economy needs."

People are wanting jobs, not the "latest and greatest environmental regulation," said Adam Babington, the Chamber's vice president for governmental affairs.

Scott has on a few lines on the environmental issues section of his Web site. Regarding the economy, he says he is against "job killing regulations." That kind of talk doesn't provide comfort to growth management supporters, said Pattison, of 1000 Friends of Florida.

The group is concerned about the Florida Department of Community Affairs, whose future was left in question this year when the Legislature refused to reauthorize the agency as part of the "sunset review" process. Sink says she will support the agency, but Scott said in a St. Petersburg Times report on Friday that he favors getting rid of the agency.

"The reason we keep plugging away at it [growth management] is we think there will be a recovery at some point," Pattison said. "We don't want to see mistakes made again that we didn't learn from in the current situation."

To learn more about both candidates' positions on the environment and to find links to their campaign literature on the topic, go to, see "Sink quietly releases environmental Plan to Key Groups" by the Florida Tribune.

(Story provided by the Florida Tribune. Story copyrighted by Bruce Ritchie and FloridaEnvironments.com. Do not copy or redistribute without permission, which can be obtained by contacting brucebritchie@gmail.com.)

La Niña contributes to tough Florida wildfire season forecast

Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson on Friday predicted a tough wildfire season because of a long-range weather forecast calling for dry conditions.

Wildfire season typically peaks in January and extends until June, though fires can break out any time because of dry conditions. The dire forecast should cause state and federal parks and other land-management agencies to take notice along with local fire departments and rural landowners.

This year wildfires have burned nearly 39,000 acres, according to the Division of Forestry. A single wildfire in 2007 burned 600,000 acres in North Florida and South Georgia and forced evacuations in Columbia County.

A lack of any major tropical storms this year has contributed to dry conditions along with a La Niña weather pattern, which is expected to continue until at least early next year. La Niña is the name given to a weather pattern that is caused by unusually cold water temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

"This weather cycle calls for a warmer and drier winter here in Florida," Bronson said in a statement. "And when you combine that with the lack of any real rainfall associated with tropical systems so far this season, we have to expect a tough wildfire season ahead."

He said homeowners can protect themselves and their property by cleaning roofs and gutters to eliminate flammable debris, keeping areas directly next to their homes free of flammable materials and making sure their landscaping within 30 feet is sufficiently watered to deter flames. For more information, go to the Division of Forestry website.

(Photo by Mark Wolfe/FEMA via Wikipedia Commons. Story provided by the Florida Tribune. Story copyrighted by Bruce Ritchie and FloridaEnvironments.com. Do not copy or redistribute without permission, which can be obtained by contacting brucebritchie@gmail.com.)