Florida Notes
Florida Notes rounds up statewide environmental updates, from water management districts reporting rainfall relief and a federal order preserving coal power at OUC’s Stanton Energy Center to university research on sea-level rise and pelagic Sargassum, Florida’s ranking for clean air, and a milestone in Everglades restoration.
Around the Gulf
Around the Gulf covers regional energy and environmental news, including new natural gas capacity and data center fights in Texas, Louisiana’s ban on climate lawsuits against oil and gas companies, a DOJ-backed data center pollution case in Mississippi, and a coal ash lawsuit moving forward in Alabama.
EPSS Turns 40: A Florida Environmental Institution
The Environmental Permitting Summer School marks its 40th anniversary this July, having grown from a small Tallahassee permitting course into Florida’s largest environmental conference, drawing more than 1,400 regulators, consultants and policymakers each year.
New Courses, Key Speakers Highlight Florida’s Largest Environmental Conference
The 40th Annual Environmental Permitting Summer School adds five new courses covering stormwater nutrient trading, water resource collaboration and expert testimony, alongside speakers from the Army Corps, EPA, DEP and Miami-Dade County.
District’s Leave No Litter Campaign Ramps Up
The Suwannee River Water Management District is promoting its annual Leave No Litter campaign as summer crowds increase along the Ichetucknee, Suwannee and Santa Fe rivers, urging visitors to pack out trash and protect fragile aquatic habitats.
It is Florida Bat Protection Season
All 13 of Florida’s bat species are protected under state law, with roost exclusion prohibited from April 16 through August 14 to safeguard maternity colonies during pup-rearing season, according to FWC regulations covered in this report.
Florida Advances New Performance-Based Projects to Restore Lake Okeechobee
DEP is partnering with five contractors on performance-based restoration projects for Lake Okeechobee, paying out only as phosphorus and nutrient-laden muck removal is demonstrated, with methods ranging from biofiltration wetlands to iron-based extraction and flocculant treatments.
Progress in Motion: The Continuing Restoration of Lake Apopka
More than 40 years of restoration work by the St. Johns River Water Management District has cut phosphorus concentrations in Lake Apopka by 66 percent and restored native submerged vegetation along 95 percent of its shoreline, transforming the once heavily polluted lake into a fishing and wildlife destination.
In Other News
In Other News rounds up smaller Florida stories, including an 860-acre land preservation in Bradford County, a study on robotic mowers and lawn health, and new FSU research improving the accuracy of satellite ocean surface measurements.
The Florida Legislature Should Ensure Utility Payments Aren’t Used for Parades
Some Florida local governments are diverting utility ratepayer revenue meant for water infrastructure upgrades into their General Funds while still seeking state grants for the same unfunded projects, a practice the authors argue should disqualify those utilities from future state funding.
Why Florida Needs the Safe Battery Collection and Recovery Act
SB 912, which would have created a statewide battery stewardship program to modernize Florida’s outdated battery disposal laws and reduce lithium-ion fires at recycling facilities, failed to pass this session but is expected to be refiled in 2027.
Florida Fungi Network Courtesy of SPUN Earth Underground Atlas
A new mapping application from the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks shows Florida sits atop a dense arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal network, part of a global dataset drawn from 322 studies and more than 16,000 soil cores used to predict soil biodiversity and inform conservation planning.
