Lax enforcement of environmental regulation, no different from failure to identify risk in financial markets... by gimleteye

In fact: in Florida, the one could not do without the other. We could not have had the gigantism of suburban sprawl without a willful intent by political officials, to steer enforcement of regulations away from criminal behavior. We could not have had criminality by some mortgage brokers (as shown by the excellent Miami Herald series, "Borrowers Betrayed"), despite warnings to the state, absent a political atmosphere that penalized law enforcement regulators from doing their jobs.

Florida Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) recently issued a report with statistical data showing the trend away from enforcement actions; outlining the aura of faith in free enterprise to "self-regulate". That's what triggered the worst economic crisis since the Depression; the failure of risk analysis and failure to enforce regulations.

This is the legacy of Jeb Bush terms as governor of Florida. If you don't think that an anti-law enforcement agenda prevails in environmental regulation at county government; ask your county commissioner and Mayor Alvarez how many law enforcement actions have been brought against polluters in the past ten years, how many fines have been levied and to what extent, and how many environmental regulators at the county are doing law enforcement rounds of pollutors, right now.


By TCPalm Staff

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The state of Florida is more lenient with polluters today than it was 20 years ago.

If you've suspected as much, there are now statistical data and analysis to support this proposition.

The data, dating to 1987, have been compiled over the years by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. An analysis — including several disturbing conclusions — is found in the "Report on Enforcement Efforts by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection: A Historical Perspective," produced by Jerry Phillips.

The author, who is now the director of the Florida branch of the national nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, is quite familiar with DEP. He was previously employed by the agency as an enforcement attorney.

Phillips' conclusions should serve as a wake-up call to Florida lawmakers and those who care deeply about protecting and preserving our state's natural resources.

The 87-page report finds, among other things:

• While the number of enforcement cases the DEP initiates each year has steadily increased from 1987 to the present, the civil penalties assessed by DEP's Division of Law Enforcement — when adjusted for inflation — "are now less than those that were assessed when the agency first began. A very disturbing find."

• There has been a "significant drop in requirements that violators perform restoration or other actions that actually reduce the pollution discharges."

The report paints a picture of a state agency soft on environmental crime and extremely forgiving of those who pollute the environment. It also contains several key recommendations, including:

• Amending the state's penalty policy, set by the 2001 Legislature, and establishing civil penalties reflective of today's dollar.

• Placing greater emphasis on oversight and pursuing litigation against polluters — especially when violators have a history of non-compliance.

• Increasing enforcement by adding more personnel. (Though Phillips doesn't suggest it, funding for such hires could be derived in part through the collection of stiffer, steeper fines.)

"If our leaders truly wish to preserve this environment," the report concludes, "it will be necessary for them to get beyond slogans and gimmicks and move down a path that tells the public they are serious in their beliefs."

If ... indeed.

WAKE-UP CALL

"Simply stated, the (Florida Department of Environmental Protection's) data points to a conclusion that the agency has progressed little in effective environmental enforcement and, if anything, has become markedly less effective than it was in its infancy."

Report on Enforcement Efforts by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection