Environmental & Land Use Law
Florida’s Water Quality Rules Under The Clean Waterways Act
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently adopted (pending ratification) the most significant rules in its history pertaining to stormwater[1]...
Water Quality Enhancement Areas: A New Tool to Improve Water Quality
Following unanimous passage by the Florida Legislature,[1] on June 24, 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law HB 965,[2] creating...
Let the Sunshine In: Is There a Future for Residential Rooftop Solar Energy in Florida?
In an interesting and somewhat shocking development, on April 28, 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed legislation that would have altered...
The New Scope of Florida’s Water Quality Assurance Act
Florida has long prioritized the preservation of its coastal waters and lands, ground water, and surface waters. In 1970, the...
Modernization of Stormwater Quality Rules
In 2020, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 712, the Clean Waterways Act,[1] requiring the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)...
State Assumption of the Clean Water Act Section 404 Permitting Program: Part I, an Overview
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), Title 33 of the U.S. Code (U.S.C.) §1251, et seq., governs discharges...
There Will Be Floods: Armoring the People of Florida to Make Informed Decisions on Flood Risk
In Florida, a peninsula surrounded by water with the second-lowest mean elevation in the country, there will be floods.[1] A...
PFApocalypSe Now: The PFAS Firestorm and Implications for Florida
Per and polyfluoro alkyl substances (PFAS), are a class of chemicals in wide use throughout the nation and rapidly gaining...
Waters of the United States: A New Era for Federal Wetland Jurisdiction
For more than 45 years, all three branches of government have struggled with how to interpret the meaning of “waters...
New Evolutions in the Law of Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise
Climate change and sea-level rise law continue to evolve. Federal and state regulatory and policy responses involve expanding and evolving...
