Jeb Bush signs bill delaying Everglades cleanup deadline

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-- Jeb Bush signs bill delaying Everglades cleanup deadline

Posted by LiquidX on May-22-2003 01:25:

Jeb Bush signs bill delaying Everglades cleanup deadline

quote:
Jeb Bush signs bill delaying Everglades cleanup deadline

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) --Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill that could extend the deadline for cleaning up the Everglades by 10 years, despite objections from environmentalists and a judge's warning that the law may violate a federal agreement.

Bush said the cleanup will be more than 95 percent complete by the original deadline of 2006. A related bill that Bush says will address environmentalists' concerns was approved by a Senate committee after Bush signed the bill Tuesday.

"We are committed like never before to restoring the Everglades," Bush said before signing.

Environmentalists had called for a veto, fearing the bill would loosen water standards and delay cleanup of phosphorus pollution running into the Everglades from sugar farms and cities. Some Republicans also warned the measure could jeopardize the federal government's commitment to pay half the $8 billion cleanup cost.

Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, one of several Democrats vying to take on Bush's brother in the 2004 presidential election, said the bill was like "a divorce filing in the federal-state partnership for Everglades restoration."

However, Bush said he is convinced the measure does not violate a 1992 agreement with Washington calling for phosphorus levels in the Everglades to reach acceptable levels by 2006. The new law extends that deadline to 2016 or the earliest practicable date.

U.S. District Judge William M. Hoeveler, the judge who oversaw the agreement, threatened earlier this month to ignore the state law if it contradicts the plan, calling the new law "clearly defective."

The sugar industry, which is paying for much of the cleanup, also was lukewarm to the plan, saying it makes too many concessions to environmentalists.

The related bill passed by the Senate committee would eliminate wording that makes the deadline and water standards less rigid, provisions farmers said were needed to avoid litigation.

Phosphorus is a problem in the Everglades because it feeds the growth of cattails, choking out native plants and wildlife.
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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/scienc...s.ap/index.html

- BASTAAAAAAAARD ! ! HE DID IT!!!!!!! A BIG FFFF UUUUUU TO JEB BUSH!

And Yes, I do Apreciate the last clean natural sources.