Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Stop Florida House Bill 991

Sierra Club’s lobbyist Dave Cullen tells me that this session of the Florida Legislature has been a nightmare. There have been many bills dismantling environmental protections in Florida. One of the worst is HB 991-Environmental Permitting which passed the House and is making its way quickly to the Senate floor.

Dave says we can stop HB 991 if Sierra Club members and supporters all take action immediately and call our state senators!

HB 991 is a polluter’s dream come true. It provides for dredging in the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve, exempts phosphate mining from the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) process, and expedites wetlands destruction permitting for an inland port in the Everglades Agricultural Area.

On top of all that, it shifts the burden of proof to any citizen who challenges a license, permit, or conceptual approval and deprives them of due process at the same time!

Heard enough? Well, it’s hard to believe, but this bill could get even worse!

The bill’s backers are cutting and pasting it into every piece of bad environmental legislation they can find. Potential targets include an agriculture bill that would allow the wholesale leveling of wetlands for “agricultural purposes” and a bill that allows port dredging without requiring a permit for the spoil site.

Call your Senators (see list below) immediately and urge them to oppose HB 991.

Your action can make the difference between a state we can live in and a state that’s sold out from under us.

Sincerely,

Frank Jackalone
Senior Organizing Manager - FL & PR
Sierra Club

District State Senator Phone #
01 Anthony "Tony" Hill (850) 487-5024
02 Greg Evers, Greg (850) 487-5000
03 Charles Dean (850) 487-5017
04 Don Gaetz (850) 487-5009
05 Stephen Wise (850) 487-5027
06 Bill Montford (850) 487-5004
07 Evelyn Lynn (850) 487-5033
08 John Thrasher (850) 487-5030
09 Andy Gardiner (850) 487-5047
10 Ronda Storms (850) 487-5072
11 Mike Fasano (850) 487-5062
12 Jim Norman (850) 487-5068
13 Dennis Jones (850) 487-5065
14 Steve Oelrich (850) 487-5020
15 Paula Dockery (850) 487-5040
16 Jack Latvala (850) 487-5075
17 JD Alexander (850) 487-5044
18 Arthenia Joyner (850) 487-5059
19 Gary Siplin (850) 487-5190
20 Alan Hays (850) 487-5014
21 Michael "Mike" Bennett (850) 487-5078
22 David Simmons (850) 487-5050
23 Nancy Detert (850) 487-5081
24 Thad Altman (850) 487-5053
25 Ellyn Bogdanoff (850) 487-5100
26 Mike Haridopolos (850) 487-5056
27 Lizbeth Benacquisto (850) 487-5356
28 Joe Negron (850) 487-5088
29 Christopher Smith (850) 487-5112
30 Maria Sachs (850) 487-5091
31 Eleanor Sobel (850) 487-5097
32 Jeremy Ring (850) 487-5094
33 Oscar Braynon (850) 487-5116
34 Nan Rich (850) 487-5103
35 Gwen Margolis (850) 487-5121
36 Miguel Diaz de la Portilla (850) 487-5109
37 Garrett Richter (239) 338-2777
38 Anitere Flores (850) 487-5130
39 Larcenia Bullard (850) 487-5127
40 Rene Garcia (850) 487-5106
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Frank Jackalone
Senior Organizing Manager/ FL & PR
Sierra Club

111 Second Avenue, Suite 1001
St. Petersburg, FL 33701

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