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Res No 144-20-15584RESOLUTION NO.144-20-1SS84 A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commissioners of the City of South Miami in opposition to the rollback of the existing Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") protections for waterways and streams and in opposition to the ceding of the authority of the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. WHEREAS, the Clean Water Act establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters; and WHEREAS, wetlands have long been protected under the Clean Water Act because they filter pollution out of storm runoff, soak up flood waters before they can cause damage, recharge the aquifees drinking water supply and provide crucial habitat for important species; and WHEREAS, Florida is covered by wetlands - more than any other state - and there is a great diversity of wetland types in Florida, ranging from the tupelo swamps of the Panhandle to the tidal flats of the Keys; and WHEREAS, currently, under the Clean Water Act, any developer who wants to drain and fill a federal wetland needs a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ("Army Corps"). The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA'J can veto that permit if it believes that the project will harm fresh -water sources, for example, or destroy habitat critical to panthers and other endangered wildlife; and WHEREAS, in April 2020, while the nation was shut down due to COVID-19 restrictions, protections for some wetlands and streams were rolled back by the EPA; and WHEREAS, the affected areas are ephemeral streams, which only flow part of the year, and isolated wetlands, which are not directly connected to larger bodies of water. They are no longer considered "waters of the United States" under the Navigable Waters Protection Rule within the Clean Water Act; and WHEREAS, both the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are now poised to cede their authority to Florida's Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP"), which was gutted by then Governor Rick Scott in 2011 at the urging of lobbyists for developers; and WHEREAS, more than 600 positions were cut at the DEP, which handles permit requests involving state -designated wetlands. Governor Scott also took an ax to the staff of the regional water -management districts, after packing the governing boards with pro -development appointees; and WHEREAS, many who lost their jobs at the DEP and the water districts were long - serving wetland experts; and Page 1 of 3 Res. No. 144-20-15584 WHEREAS, the skeletonized DEP already is swamped with applications, and there is no way it can effectively take on the additional permitting workload of the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA; and WHEREAS, we in Florida already deal with a huge amount of clean water issues, from red tide to blue green algal outbreaks over the last couple of summers; and WHEREAS, the wetlands function as the kidneys of the ecosystems in Florida. They help filter out pollutants so that when water does reach our larger bodies of water, there are less pollutants in that water to begin with. That means there is less work that the water treatment facilities have to do, downstream waters are cleaner, groundwater is cleaner -- all of that is helpful to the health of our waterways in Florida; and WHEREAS, the rollback of protections for wetlands and streams can do nothing to help the situation. It can only make the situation worse; and WHEREAS, the protections of our wetlands and streams across the country must be restored to ensure cleaner and safer waterways for all Americans. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH M1AMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The foregoing recitals are hereby ratified and confirmed as being true and they are incorporated into this resolution by reference as if set forth in full herein. Section 2. The Mayor and City Commissioners of the City of South Miami hereby oppose the rollback of Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") protections for waterways and streams and oppose the ceding of the authority of the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Section 3. Corrections. Conforming language or technical scrivener -type corrections may be made by the City Attorney for any conforming amendments to be incorporated into the final resolution for signature. Section 4. Instructions to the City Clerk, The City Clerk is instructed to forward a copy of this Resolution to: Governor Ronald Dion DeSantis; U. S. Senator for the State of Florida; U. S. Representative for the State of Florida; State Senate President.; State Speaker of the House; U.S. Interior Secretary David L. Bernhardt; U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross; Director of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, Andrew R. Wheeler; All municipalities in Miami -Dade County; Page 2 of 3 Res No. 144-20-15584 Members of the governing bodies of all 67 counties and their respective league of cities; Florida Cabinet; Florida League of Cities; Miami -Dade County League of Cities; All members of the Miami -Dade Legislative Delegation; Miami -Dade County League of Cities; All members of the Miami -Dade County Board of County Commissioners; Miami -Dade County Manager; and Miami -Dade County Mayor. Section 5. Instructions to the City Attorney. The City Attorney is instructed to transmit this Resolution to the EPA by submitting it as a public comment within the time allowed. Section 6. Severability. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution. Section 7. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 20' day of October. 2020. ATTEST: APPROVED: ( I Jel IT LE MAYOR READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM, LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND EXECUTION EREOF _J CITY ATTORNEY COMMISSION VOTE: 5-0 Mayor Philips: Yea Vice Mayor Welsh: Yea Commissioner Hams: Yea Commissioner Liebman: Yea Commissioner Gil: Yea Page 3 of 3 Agenda Item No:Ba. City Commission Agenda Item Report Meeting Date: October 20, 2020 Submitted by: Thomas Pepe Submitting Department: City Attorney Item Type: Resolution Agenda Section: Subject: A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commissioners of the City of South Miami in opposition to the rollback of the existing Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") protections for waterways and streams and in opposition to the ceding of the authority of the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. 3/5 (City Attorney) Suggested Action: Attachments: Memo re EPA Ceding Wetlands to Fla..docx Reso in Opp to EPA re wetlands.doc CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM To: The Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor and Members of the City Commission Cc: Nkenga A. Payne, City Clerk From: Thomas F. Pepe, City Attorney Date: October 15, 2020 ITEM No. 1144. SUBJECT: A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commissioners of the City of South Miami in opposition to the rollback of the existing Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") protections for waterways and streams and in opposition to the ceding of the authority of the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Carl Hiaasen writes: Currently, under the Clean Water Act, any developer who wants to drain and fill a federal wetland needs a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The EPA can veto that permit if it believes that the project will harm fresh -water sources, for example, or destroy habitat critical to panthers and other endangered wildlife. Both agencies are now poised to cede their authority to Florida 's anemic Department of Environmental Protection, which Scott gutted in 2011 at the urging of lobbyists for developers. More than 600 positions were cut at the DEP, which handles permit requests involving state -designated wetlands. Scott also took an ax to the staff of the 2 regional water -management districts, after packing the governing boards with pro - development appointees. Many who lost their jobs at DEP and the water districts were long -serving wetland experts, which was no accident. Most major developers hate environmental -impact reviews, so Scott's solution was to dump the scientists who were most knowledgeable about environmental impacts. His political mission was to make the permitting process for paving state wetlands as easy as buying a scratch -off ticket. The next logical target was Florida's federal wetlands, and the Trump administration seems thrilled to hand them over. The skeletonized DEP already is swamped with applications, and there's no way it can effectively take on the permitting workload of the Army Corps and the EPA. And that's the dream scenario for Scott. The goal was never to help the DEP effectively protect the environment, but rather to transform the agency into a drive - through speed lane for developers. Think about it. For a politically connected builder or resort company, it's much easier to put pressure on some overworked department head in Tallahassee than it is to navigate the vast structure of the Army Corps or EPA in Washington . In 2018, Florida's Republican -led Legislature passed a bill that paved the way for Scott's hungry grab of federal wetlands — "the Holy Grail," in the words of one lobbyist for developers. Hopeful conservationists asked DeSantis to veto the measure, but he didn't. And this year, the DEP — his DEP —conveniently scheduled "public hearings" on the issue during the first surge of the pandemic, when most Floridians were preoccupied with not ending up in an ICU. "Nonstop shenanigans," says Tania Galloni, an attorney with Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm that has offices in Florida. Galloni says state officials haven't yet identified which federally designated wetlands they seek to control, but adds, "They are going to grab whatever they can." 3 Meanwhile the Army Corps, which had asserted primary authority over certain important bodies of water, reportedly has been ordered by the Pentagon to pare that list and yield more to Florida. The EPA has scheduled virtual hearings for Oct. 21 and Oct. 27. People can pre - register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4295139229196503819. The Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0640. You can also send in comments using that same docket code up until Nov. 2, at http://regulations.gov. The agency says it will make its final decision on the state's application no later than Dec. 17. There's not much time left for the public to be heard, but that was the plan from the beginning. All that water and those wild places are yours, but nobody in charge truly yearns to hear your voice. And if you're waiting for our green governor to step forward, don't hold your breath. Yellow is his true color when facing up to the big developers and lobbyists who are helping to bankroll his political future. Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/article246348390.html#storylink=cpy Links to additional information • https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act • https:Hwusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/environment/2020-06-19/epa-removes-protections-for- some-wetla nds-a nd-streams • https://www.tamPabay.com/environment/trump-wetlands-rule-rollback-makes-about- 6-m i I I io n-a cres-i n-florida-un protected-20181213/ L!