After 3-week delay telling public of sinkhole, Gov. Scott changes the rules to speed up notice

[TexasTowelie]

For three weeks, Florida Department of Environmental Protection officials kept mum about a phosphate mine's 300-foot-deep sinkhole that dumped 215 million gallons of contaminated water into the state's aquifer last month. When they did at last announce it publicly, they called that going "above and beyond" what they were required to do.

Now Gov. Rick Scott has changed what's required of the DEP.

Scott announced that, effective immediately, he wants DEP to make a new rule to require the owner or operator of any facility, including a city or county government, "to provide notification of incidents of pollution within 24 hours to DEP, local governments and the general public through the media."

Scott said he was taking this step because of the delay in reporting the Mulberry sinkhole incident to neighbors of the plant, as well as St. Petersburg's continuing sewage dumps into Tampa Bay.

Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/water/after-3-week-delay-telling-public-of-sinkhole-gov-scott-changes-the-rules/2295263

[packman]

1. Can't praise anything this ass does

He's no friend of the environment or wildlife. His whole mantra is "Jobs at any cost". St. Petersburg dumped sewage into Tampa Bay because they weren't policed or monitored - thanks to Scott cutting the budget of any agency that had even the remotest responsibility to do so.