Florida Notes
Florida Notes rounds up regional environmental news from around the state, including expanded SJRWMD springs monitoring, a paused Port Everglades dredging project, The Reef Institute’s coral biobank visit and Mote Marine’s Keys-wide coral rescue effort.
Preserving What Matters: Sustainability in Action at The Breakers Palm Beach
The Florida Recycling Partnership Foundation hosted an exclusive sustainability program at The Breakers Palm Beach, highlighting the resort’s water management, oyster shell recycling and waste diversion programs.
Section 404 and the Limits of Cooperative Federalism
As Florida’s Section 404 wetlands permitting case heads toward a possible rehearing, this editorial argues the dispute exposes a deeper sequencing problem in how federal law lets states assume delegated environmental programs while satisfying the Endangered Species Act.
In Memoriam: James “Jim” R. Maher
The Florida Specifier remembers James “Jim” R. Maher, a longtime Florida Department of Environmental Protection engineer who retired from the agency’s Northeast District Office in 2023 after 35 years of service, following his death on Aug. 15, 2026.
Lake Yale Alum Application Update, Phosphorus Reducing
The Lake County Water Authority’s four-year alum treatment program at Lake Yale, the first large-scale project of its kind on state-owned submerged lands in Florida, has cut total phosphorus from 37 ppb to under 10 ppb in post-treatment samples.
Water Quality Monitoring – Your Questions Answered
The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Water Quality Monitoring Program Manager Catherine Wolden answers common questions about how the District collects and uses its roughly 2,700 annual water samples across more than 950 monitoring stations.
Building Florida’s Coastal Corridor Beneath the Waves
FWC and the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida are advancing Florida’s Coastal Corridor, a coordinated statewide initiative to link artificial reef habitat zones along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to boost fisheries and expand public access to fishing and diving.
NWFWMD Launches Water Conservation Cost-Share Grant Funding Program
The Northwest Florida Water Management District is offering $250,000 in cost-share grants of up to $50,000 per project for water conservation measures, with applications accepted until 2 p.m. on Sept. 17.
In Other News
In Other News rounds up statewide items including a University of Miami effort using black soldier flies to recycle sargassum seaweed, a new 1,564-acre conservation easement protecting a Highlands County cattle ranch, and SFWMD facts for National Water Quality Month.
Federal Government Seeks Review in Florida Section 404 Case
The U.S. Department of Justice has petitioned the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to rehear a March 2026 ruling that upheld the vacating of the EPA’s 2020 approval of Florida’s Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting program. The petition argues the panel’s decision conflicts with existing precedent and threatens the framework for state-administered environmental permitting nationwide.
A Recipe for Restoration: How Collaboration, Innovation and Nature are Helping the IRL Recover
The St. Johns River Water Management District highlights how regional collaboration, restoration projects, and science-based planning are improving water quality and supporting the recovery of the Indian River Lagoon and Upper St. Johns River Basin.
Florida’s Proposed Expansion of the Homestead Tax Exemption Creates Budgetary Challenges, May Not Survive Legal Scrutiny
Sean Parker and Owen Parker examine the potential impacts of Florida’s proposed property tax amendment, warning that while it would expand homestead tax exemptions, it could significantly reduce municipal revenue and force local governments to cut essential public services.
