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County hedges on DCA offer
By TRAVIS JAMES
TRITTEN
keysnews.com
The state's offer
Wednesday to spend $113 million on protecting natural lands would be
universally welcomed by Florida Keys residents.
But the county
commission is still leery of dishing out the $200 million required in
return to upgrade wastewater treatment in the islands.
Department of
Community Affairs Secretary Colleen Castille presented the landmark
offer in person to the county commission at its meeting in Key Largo
Wednesday.
"We are all concerned
about the water here," Commissioner Charles "Sonny" McCoy said. "The
problem comes down when you say 'this is how much it will cost.'"
Environmental groups
and activists roundly urged the county to accept the deal and take the
major steps to protect the fragile environment of the archipelago.
"I think there is a
great opportunity for progress," said Nancy Klingener, Keys program
director for the Ocean Conservancy. "We've seen in the past when local
government moves forward, federal help is forthcoming."
The $113 million is
sorely needed to buy up tracts of Keys hammock and uplands that are
endangered by development.
Monroe County is also
under state mandate to upgrade sewer treatment from Key Largo to Stock
Island by 2010. Sewage pollution has degraded nearshore waters and some
claim it is affecting the coral reefs, though scientists disagree on
that point.
The Keys have fallen
behind their environmental responsibilities as an Area of Critical State
Concern -- one of only a handful of areas in the state -- and Castille
said the offer is a solution to the lack of funding that has stymied
conservation and sewage treatment efforts.
Commissioner Dixie
Spehar said running up $200 million in debt all at once may not be a
wise move for the county.
"It is fearful to
strap us that tight for the future," Spehar said.
Bonding money
incrementally as projects come up could be a better way to go, she said.
Castille said bonding
the money is only one solution.
The county could
collect $82 million from the infrastructure sales tax and raise $10
million to $20 million by creating special taxing districts, she said.
DCA is offering $20
million in the first year and $93 million from the state Department of
Environmental Protection over three years. The deal would also include
help with affordable housing, possibly through more state-issued
building rights.
Though the state is
offering a $113 million carrot, it is also wielding a sizable stick.
Castille will report
on Keys environmental progress to Gov. Jeb Bush and his cabinet next
month. She said the report will not be favorable if the county does not
accept the deal.
Bush can cut the
county's yearly allotment of building permits by 20 percent for
noncompliance with its environmental work plan, which is comprised of a
list of goals that must be met each year.
While the county did
not make a decision Wednesday, the commission indicated it will continue
working with DCA to negotiate a deal on conservation and wastewater.
ttritten@keysnews.com
This
story published on Thu, Nov 20, 2003
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