Florida Department of Environmental Protections:

Florida Department of Environmental Protections: Mission, Powers, Budget, And Operations

Environmental issues have been a growing concern for nations around the world over the past several decades, and the United States is no exception. The 1970s saw the passage in Congress of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, the creation of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, and the Supreme Court's affirmation of the EPA's role in monitoring and regulating environmental issues. These milestones were all huge advancements in environmental regulation and awareness, and are still heralded as such due to the major break with existing patterns that they represented, yet at the same time many felt -- and still feel -- that the EPA is a rather toothless organization and that many businesses still find it easier and cheaper to pollute either legally or illegally, as the fines and punishments put in place for such behavior are generally lighter than the costs of clean operations.

There has been somewhat greater success with the creation of state environmental agencies, which have generally greater latitude than the federal government both in the degree to which they are allowed to regulate business activities and in the they it can take to protect specific areas of land. From creating more stringent emission standards to creating state parks systems that often rival the national parks in size and protection efforts, state environmental agencies have been able to accomplish many more reforms than the federal government when they have been attempted. There are several states that stand as examples in this regard.

Florida is one such state; especially in the area of land preservation and natural habitat protection, the Sunshine State truly outshines most other states and even countries with many of its efforts. Despite continuing battles between protection and development in areas like the Florida Everglades, the state system of parks and trails has won numerous awards and serves as a testament to the state's commitment to environmental protection. With a succinct mission statement of, "more protection, less process," the small-government mentality of the state is clearly a part of its efforts, though they remain highly successful nonetheless. This paper will examine certain basic attributes of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and illuminate exactly how the agency has been mandated to do what achieves, and how it carries out the practicalities of fulfilling this mandate.

Source of Authority

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection was originally established as the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation in the 1970s, following the passing of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts by the United States Congress. The current Secretary in charge of the Department, Mimi a. Drew, actually joined the Department in 1977 and was largely responsible for overseeing the administering of the Clean Water Act in the state. Her continued career within the Department has led to numerous recognitions and her experience is a great source of political authority for the Department. This does not mean that the Department and Ms. Drew are entirely able to enforce regulations as they see fit, however.

The primary foundations for the establishment of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is found in chapter twenty of the Florida statutes, and the major functions of the Department are spread out amongst a multitude of other chapters, many added decades after the Department was initially established. Like most large state agencies, the exact role and authority of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection changes on a fairly regular basis as new laws are passed, repealed, or allowed to expire. The very changing list of statutes affecting the powers and responsibilities of the Department's evidence of the changeable nature of state agencies generally, and tehse issues are exacerbated by the changing economic forces and tides of public opinion regarding environmental issues.

Budget

Despite cutbacks in the current economic climate, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has enjoyed a fairly substantial budget, including over two billion dollars annually for various projects over the past several years. Budget allocations are relatively specific, with large amounts of money being devoted to land purchasing and preserving programs that form the bulk of the Department's protection efforts. In keeping with the concept of small government that is a part of the Department's mission statement, rather than overregulation the state attempts to simply purchase land and water resources to prevent development that would cause pollution, and devotes a great deal of its resources to rehabilitating these areas once they are purchased. There are other significant budget items as well.

Other major spending items in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's budget include improving public access to nature areas and ensuring public as well as wildlife safety in places like the Everglades and the development and marketing of more diverse and more sustainable energy sources, which has been a major source of controversy in the state as in the country at large. Ultimately, of course, the budget for the Department comes primarily from state taxpayers, both from income tax and sales tax collected by the state, with some additional funding provided directly by the federal government or indirectly in the form of grants or subsidies. The substantial cash amounts that are disbursed to the Department allow it to maintain its land purchasing programs as well as fulfilling its regulatory and administrative functions with a great deal of security and efficiency.

Rule Making Procedures

The great majority of the rules enforced and regulated by the Flrodia Department of Environmental Protection are not actually created by the Department itself, but rather are the result of either specific sections Florida State Code or other laws passed by the Florida legislature. The procedures in this regard are thus quite simple, as in reality they are non-existent to a large extent. The legislature defines, usually with a great deal of clarity and specificity, exactly what the regulations are to be and how far the Department of Environmental Protections is allowed to go in ensuring they will be met. A standard of "reasonable assurance" that laws and environmental regulations will be complied with is often all the Department can demand.