Tag: mary walker

Thursday’s action formally transfers permitting authority under CWA Section 404 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to the state of Florida for a broad range of water resources within the state. This action allows the state to more effectively and efficiently evaluate and issue permits under the CWA to support the health of Florida’s waters, residents, and economy.

The MOU between EPA and FDACS includes education and outreach, communication and coordination, and a recognition of environmental stewardship activities, and signifies a strengthened partnership between the two agencies in their shared mission of protecting and conserving natural lands and waterways.

“EPA has determined that the required cleanup is complete and no further remediation is necessary to protect human health and the environment. This site was one of the 27 Superfund sites fully or partially deleted in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. During the first term of the Trump administration, EPA has deleted all or part of 82 sites from the NPL matching the site year total over two terms of the previous administration,” the EPA noted.

The Florida Aquarium tour, in coordination with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Sec. Noah Valenstein and Roger Germann, the president and CEO of the Florida Aquarium, provided an opportunity for discussions concerning the aquarium’s coral reef restoration work in South Florida. Also discussed were National Estuary Program activities that work to protect and restore water quality in the Tampa area.

Florida State University’s FNAI is working to “establish and assess wetland reference sites for priority Florida wetland community types” and the funds--which total $174,079--will add to these efforts.

Last week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., announced $40 million in federal funds through a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  to the Toho Water Authority in Kissimmee.

This week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler tapped Mary Walker as regional administrator for Region 4 which includes Florida, Alabama Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.