State DEP issues projection on potential risks of rising sea levels up through 2100
News 12 Staff
Updated on:Mar 31, 2021, 8:01pm EDT
The state Department of Environmental Protection is working on land regulations and is considering the impact of climate changes up to the year 2100.
But some business leaders say that the regulations could lead banks to demand that homeowners buy flood insurance on land that won’t flood for at least another 80 years.
“We lose acres of wetlands every week along our Delaware Bayshore, as a function of sea level rise and subsidence,” says acting DEP administrator Shawn LaTourette. “We are sinking, quite literally, and the sea is rising.”
When Monroe County Commissioners discussed future development, or the lack there of it, on Wednesday, they finally voiced opposition about taking any more state-issued building allocations called ROGO (Rate of Growth Ordinance) units.
They cited current traffic levels on U.S. 1 and impacts to residentsâ quality of life for not accepting new ROGO units, which are needed to turn vacant lots into residences.
âI donât want the perception that we are looking for new ROGO units,â Commissioner Mike Forster said. âWeâre at buildout. I hope we donât get any more ROGO allocations. I live with gridlock every day.â
On Wednesday our team got a closer look with Suncoast Water Keepers at exactly where this water is going and how environmentalist in our area say it affects our ecosystem.
State approves emergency dump of wastewater from old phosphate mine
An estimated 480-million gallons of water will go into a ditch at Port Manatee that leads to Tampa Bay. Author: Beau Zimmer Updated: 7:47 PM EDT March 31, 2021
PALMETTO, Fla. Years after a phosphate mine closed down near Port Manatee, state environmental regulators approved something they never wanted to do the release of nearly 480-million gallons of contaminated wastewater into Tampa Bay.
The water had been pooled up for years in the old gypsum stacks across the street from Port Manatee and over the years had mixed with rain and even saltwater that was accidentally allowed to enter the holding pools. As a result, all of the water was considered contaminated.
Broward County’s way of treating its wastewater the leftovers from sinks, toilets, showers and washing machines needs fixes to make sure that polluted water doesn’t ever leak into our drinking water supply, the state says.