DeSantis signs bill to protect waterways

The sewage spills that fouled Fort Lauderdale waterways last year will result in heavier fines if they happen again, under a bill signed Tuesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The legislation will increase state penalties for sewage spills by up to 50%, with the governor saying such fines were necessary to protect Florida’s waterways from neglected sewage systems.

“Many wastewater treatment systems in Florida are poorly maintained, and the network of pipes supporting them has fallen into disrepair,” DeSantis said, speaking at a news conference at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach. “As a result of this, even relatively moderate rain events can cause a system to be flooded, forcing a discharge of raw sewage into waterways and estuaries.”

The governor invoked the spills in Fort Lauderdale, which drew international attention, as pipe break after pipe break released more than 200 million gallons of sewage into canals, killing fish and making life unbearable for residents.

The legislation gives the state Department of Environmental Protection more frontend authority to inspect systems and require better maintenance, rather than coming in after a spill occurs, DeSantis said. In Fort Lauderdale’s case, the city came under severe criticism for siphoning money from its utility fund to pay unrelated day-to-day expenses for pensions, salaries and parks.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said he understood the governor’s actions but questioned his decision to veto local water and sewer projects that could have helped cities maintain their systems.

“I fully understand the state’s concern for the public welfare if cities are not owning up to their responsibility to ensure the safety and welfare of people in their communities when it comes to the quality of their waterways,” he said. “The history of what happened in Fort Lauderdale is clear and my objection to the policy of the previous commission,

which postponed many of our public works initiatives and resulted in the calamity that we suffered last year.”

Although the state levied a record $2.1 million fine on the city several weeks ago, he said the city is being allowed to use that money to improve its system.

“That’s a very good way of trying to correct a bad situation, and we appreciate the governor’s office in working with us in going in that direction rather than just penalizing the city,” he said “Having said that, I’m concerned that many of the budget vetoes the governor signed actually took away money from water and sewer projects that many of the municipalities were engaged in.”