Okaloosa County BOCC — November 1, 2016 — Resolution.Conservation Funds final

RESOLUTION NO. 16-___ A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE AND CABINET TO DEDICATE CONSERVATION FUNDS FOR WATER CONSERVATION PROJECTS IN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS IN A MANNER THAT ASSURES THAT THE NORTH AND CENTRAL FLORIDA AREAS RECEIVE THEIR FAIR AND EQUITABLE SHARE OF THAT FUNDING; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: WHEREAS, the Florida Water and Land Conservation Amendment was passed favorably by seventy-five percent of Florida voters, providing a guaranteed revenue source of conservation funds for the purpose of protecting all of Florida’s vital water resources; and WHEREAS, with forty percent of Florida’s acreage covered by water, including more than 1,000 natural springs, 27,561 miles of rivers and streams, and 1.6 million acres of lakes, reservoirs and ponds, Florida’s water is one of its most unique and important features; and WHEREAS, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has found that eighty percent of Florida’s lakes and seventy percent of Florida’s springs are considered “impaired” by excessive levels of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus; and WHEREAS, North and Central Florida are home to seventy percent of Florida's river watersheds, the majority of Florida’s springs, and provides nearly all of the recharge to the Floridian aquifer; and WHEREAS, it is of statewide importance to ensure clear-water systems like the freshwater springs, lakes and rivers throughout North and Central Florida are protected from excessive nutrient impairment; and WHEREAS, the Legislature should fund and finish existing water improvement programs across Florida to prevent delays that would unnecessarily jeopardize nutrient reduction programs, best management practices, & other restorative efforts that are working; and WHEREAS, in 2016 the Everglades and southern estuaries received 380 percent, or 4.8 times, more Land Acquisition Trust Fund (Amendment 1) funding than statewide springs protection did; and WHEREAS, a supermajority of conservation funding should not be dedicated to one project or Water Management district, and it is essential that no one project jeopardize funding for other essential projects and priorities across Florida; and WHEREAS, the Legislature should allocate funds from the Land Acquisition Trust Funds (Amendment 1) in a manner that assures that the North and Central Florida areas receive their fair and equitable share of that funding. 1  NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA as follows: Section 1: The Board of County Commissioners hereby urges the Florida Legislature and Cabinet to dedicate conservation funds allocated through the Land Acquisition Trust Fund each year for water conservation projects in the environmentally sensitive areas in a manner to assure that North and Central Florida receive their fair and equitable share of that funding. Section 2: The Board of County Commissioners hereby authorizes the Clerk to transmit this Resolution to the Florida Legislature and Cabinet. Section 3: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS _______ DAY OF November, 2016. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA By: Charles K. Windes, Jr.