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Drop in state's pollution fines irks group

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By WILLIAM MARCH

wmarch@tampatrib.com

Published: June 6, 2009

TAMPA - An environmental group says that Florida Department of Environmental Protection enforcement actions against polluters have declined.

During 2008, for the second year in a row, the number of civil penalties assessed by the department went down, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

The dollar amounts of penalties assessed and collected both declined during 2008 compared with 2007 levels, PEER says.

A spokesman for the department didn't dispute the figures but said the environmental group misinterpreted them.

"PEER is inaccurate in its interpretation of the facts that DEP's enforcement numbers tell," said DEP spokesman Doug Tobin.

He said DEP protects the environment "by preventing pollution and promoting compliance with Florida's laws through a wide range of programs."

But PEER said the figures mean "the Crist administration's touted 2007 pledge to toughen anti-pollution enforcement in Florida has been a failure."

The organization also said that much of the decline in enforcement numbers came from the DEP's Southwest District, which includes the Tampa Bay area.

PEER's report states:

•DEP collected $5.48 million in civil penalties in 2008, a decline of $599,213, or 9.8 percent, from 2007.

•DEP assessed civil penalties in 1,408 cases in 2008, down from 1,472 in 2007 - the second straight year of declines in this figure.

•DEP's civil penalty assessments totaled $11.66 million in 2008, $663,557 less than in 2007, also the second straight year of decline.

Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761.

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