Indian River Lagoon fared 'better' this legislative session, but serious work remains | Rangel

Brevard County's portion of the Indian River Lagoon has been the red-headed stepchild in the Florida Legislature.

Lawmakers across the state are quick to rally behind Everglades restoration and the need to reduce Lake Okeechobee discharges, which spur blue-green algae blooms in the southern part of the lagoon. But when it comes to the Space Coast — which covers more than 70 percent of the estuary — it's hard to get traction for our environmental issues in Tallahassee.

We have some good news this year contained in the $682 million environmental budget the Legislature passed last week, exceeding Gov. Ron DeSantis' dollar request for clean water. 

More opinion:Dear Gov. Ron DeSantis, please do 4 things to help fix the Indian River Lagoon

The lagoon did "better than in the last two years," Virginia Barker, Brevard County Natural Resources Management director, told me.

There's money to study algal blooms, address red tide, which reached our coast last year, and local projects received funding: one to conduct a study on how to restore Turkey Creek in Palm Bay back to its pre-1950 condition; another to connect sewer lines to septic tanks. DeSantis has the final say on whether the projects get funded.

"Better" doesn't necessarily mean enough. 

Bills to regulate septic tank pollution didn't go anywhere. We have yet to see a stable, annual fund for the lagoon and millions we used to get for muck dredging in the past disappeared. But it's progress considering Brevard has received little help from the state since it passed a sales tax to clean up the lagoon in 2016. Brevard County-based state Sen. Debbie Mayfield chaired the committee that allocates money for the environment this year and that was certainly a boost for our cause.

To help you understand the good and the bad of the 2019 legislative session, here's my summary:

Once you're done reading this column, scroll down to take our survey to grade lawmakers' performance. 

Septic tanks/sewer

Septic systems are the second-largest source of Indian River Lagoon pollution in Brevard County, behind muck.

Thumbs up: The $500,000 allocated this year in the state budget will help Brevard County convert more than 1,000 of the most polluting septic systems in the area to sewer. 

Thumbs up: The budget also gives $25 million for a grant program to upgrade  wastewater treatment the state.

Thumbs down: An annual fund to help communities pay for septic-to-sewer conversions along the lagoon is long overdue, and lawmakers failed to make it happen. The Everglades, springs and Lake Apopka have their own dedicated funds, so it's about time the lagoon gets its share.

House Bill 141, filed by Brevard County state Rep. Randy Fine, would have created a lagoon grant program for wastewater infrastructure improvements but died (a similar Mayfield proposal didn't make it either). Fine's bill also contained a controversial provision to fine local governments and utilities that unlawfully discharge sewage into waterways.

While the bill gave utilities the alternative to invest in wastewater infrastructure instead, it made it cheaper for them to pay the fines. A lot of these kinks could have been ironed out had the Legislature given the proposal a fair shot.

Thumbs down:Legislation to require the Florida Department of Health to identify all septic systems in the state, set minimum standards and inspect them every five years starting in 2022 also died.   

Thumbs down: Efforts to regulate the dumping of biosolids, partially treated human sewage sludge used as fertilizer, near the St. Johns River failed. 

More:County Commission supports Fine bill with sanctions for sewage spills into lagoon

Algae blooms

Thumbs up: There are $10 million in the state budget for "innovative technologies and short-term solutions to address harmful algal blooms," such as the brown tide and blue-green algae that have affected the Space Coast. There's also money to study the long-term health implications of long exposure to blue-green algae and red tide. 

More:Task Force embarking on a journey to stop toxic algae

Land conservation 

Voters passed the Water and Land Conservation amendment in 2014 to set aside dollars in the state budget for this specific purpose. 

Mixed: Environmentalists say the Legislature has failed to follow voters' mandate to provide robust funding for the state's main land acquisition program, Florida Forever. There are $33 million allocated this year. That's a far cry from the $100 million DeSantis proposed and the $300 million the program used to received annually before the Great Recession. Still, it's more than the $0 the program received in 2011 and in 2017.

Maybe I'm a glass-half-full type of person, but we've seen worse. 

Thumbs down: Lawmakers defunded the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, which pays farmers not to develop their land through conservation easements. The program ensures large tracts aren't sold for urban development while leaving government out of managing them. 

Environmentalist:Why won’t the Florida Legislature fund land conservation?

Everglades restoration

Thumbs up: The more than $300 million for the river of grass and Lake Okeechobee were the highlight of this session. I said above that Everglades restoration isn't a Brevard issue, but the sooner we address that mammoth problem down south, the faster we free up money for our portion of the lagoon, Barker pointed out to me. We love the Everglades but we are competing with it for dollars. 

Growth management 

Thumbs down: Smart growth is not in the vocabulary of Florida lawmakers. Our Editorial Board asked DeSantis to rethink growth strategies as the state gains nearly 1,000 new residents per day. The Legislature has taken the opposite direction by passing a bill that's every developer's dream.

House Bill 7103 makes citizens who lose their challenge to development proposals automatically liable for paying for the prevailing party’s attorney fees. Conservation group 1000 Friends of Florida is asking DeSantis to veto it. 

Isadora Rangel is FLORIDA TODAY's public affairs and engagement editor and a member of the Editorial Board. Her columns reflect her opinion. Readers may reach her at irangel@floridatoday.com, by phone at 321-242-3631 or via Facebook at /IsadoraRangel.