The race to become Florida’s agriculture commissioner has received little media notice, but the winner of the campaign will play an important role in the debate over efforts to protect Florida’s water quality. Neither major party candidate, though, has expressed support for the EPA’s efforts to regulate the amount of waste dumped in Florida waterbodies, and one — Republican candidate Adam Putnam — has in fact led efforts to block those rules.
Along with the governor, attorney general and state CFO, the commissioner of agriculture acts as a member of the Florida cabinet. As such, the commissioner has the authority to rule on appeals challenging regulations issued by state agencies like the Department of Environmental Protection. According to the agriculture commissioner’s website, the winner of next week’s election will oversee “state land-buying programs, clemency issues and direct the operations of several state agencies.”
After the EPA initially signed a consent decree, agreeing to set legal limits for nutrients entering Florida waters, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and its current head, Commissioner Charles Bronson, objected. Bronson went so far as to say that if the rules go live, “We may not have much in the way of farming left in the state of Florida.”
The next agriculture commissioner will have an opportunity to either help heal Florida waters, or side with the industries blamed for polluting them.
Read More: The Florida Independent
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