Investing in Water Quality Essential for Protecting Florida’s Environment, Representative Bobby Payne Says on Florida Chamber’s Bottom Line

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (March 5, 2020) – With 4.5 million more Floridians expected to call Florida home between now and 2030, long-term investments in water will be essential, Representative Bobby Payne says on the latest edition of the Florida Chamber’s Bottom Line.

HB 1330, sponsored by Representative Bobby Payne, is specifically designed to protect the health of Florida’s water systems by collecting improved data, increasing inspections and investing in septic to sewer conversations.

“I would say it’s a comprehensive package that really looks at how we’re going to address nutrient loading coming from our water bodies,” Representative Payne said. “Those loadings are coming from on-site sewage treatment systems, sanitary sewer overflows, domestic wastewater overflows, some agricultural BNPs that we need to tighten up and get some better records on. Let’s face it, we know we’re at a point, and the Governor pointed it out, if we don’t do some things now, we’ll continue to have problems in the future.”

Representative Payne also discusses the importance of not allowing the “Rights of Nature” to have legal standing.

“This bill prohibits local communities, local municipalities, or districts from granting rights to trees or water bodies,” Representative Payne said. “Rights are granted to humans. Rights are of humans, they’re not of those things in nature.”

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Established in 1916 as Florida’s first statewide business advocacy organization, the Florida Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business and the state’s largest federation of employers, chambers of commerce and associations aggressively representing small and large businesses from every industry and every region. The Florida Chamber works within all branches of government to affect those changes set forth in the annual Florida Business Agenda, and which are seen as critical to secure Florida’s future. The Florida Chamber works closely with its Florida Political Operations and the Florida Chamber Foundation. Visit www.FloridaChamber.com for more information.