While in Naples, Thursday, to announce three new appointments to the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board, Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke about his dedication to improving water quality in the state.
DeSantis said he is actively looking to fill the roles of Chief Science and Resilience officers, has spoken to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize the prevention of discharges of nutrient-laden water from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers, and is dedicated to staffing a blue green algae task force.
Nutrient pollution is largely blamed for the severe toxic blue-green algae conditions that plagued Southwest Florida waters last summer.
DeSantis commented on a recent Broward County Court decision that allowed a new oil drilling operation in the Everglades near Miramar.
“The Court said ‘well, it’s kind of in a degraded place and blah, blah, blah.’ I just think it’s better to just keep the Everglades clear from that ," Desantis said. "So, we’ve appealed and we’ll see how that shakes out. But yeah, we want to stop it.”
DeSantis’ statement comes one day after he received a letter from local lawmakers and conservation groups asking him to appeal the court decision.
