HM 1589

1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3	Congress to reject the numeric nutrient water quality
4	standards adopted by the United States Environmental
5	Protection Agency.
6
7	WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency
8	has adopted new and highly restrictive numeric nutrient water
9	quality standards for all inland water bodies in Florida, and
10	WHEREAS, the imposition of such standards would derail the
11	state's well-established and effective Total Maximum Daily Loads
12	Program, and
13	WHEREAS, Florida has served as a national role model for
14	water management and environmental restoration through such
15	efforts as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, and
16	WHEREAS, the state is responsible for more than one-third
17	of all the nutrient-related water quality samples in the
18	national water quality database, and
19	WHEREAS, despite its national leadership in water quality
20	improvement, Florida is the only state targeted by the
21	Environmental Protection Agency for the imposition of federal
22	water standards, and
23	WHEREAS, the new standards would have a price tag that
24	could devastate the state's fragile economy, and
25	WHEREAS, according to a report by the Environmental
26	Protection Agency's Inspector General, the cost of implementing
27	the new standards will primarily be borne by individuals and
28	businesses, and
29	WHEREAS, the consumers of the state cannot afford the
30	potential doubling of their water bills, especially in these
31	uncertain economic times, and
32	WHEREAS, the businesses in the state would be subjected to
33	unfair cost disadvantages that competitors do not face, NOW,
34	THEREFORE,
35
36	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
37
38	That the Congress of the United States is urged to join
39	Florida in its rejection of the arbitrary standards proposed by
40	the United States Environmental Protection Agency which are
41	unfair to Florida and its citizens and are potentially crippling
42	to the state's fragile economy.
43	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
44	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
45	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
46	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
47	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.