Bush signs bill removing Keys from state list of critical areas

Jun 14, 2006


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The Florida Keys could be removed from the state's list of critical areas if officials there address environmental and development ills, under a bill Gov. Jeb Bush signed into law Wednesday.

Monroe County officials have until 2009 to clean up wastewater, meet hurricane evacuation standards, build affordable housing for area employees and provide needed habitat for fragile native species before losing the designation as a critical area of state concern.

The region - home to about 80,000 residents and a vacation spot for about 4 million tourists annually - has been under increased state oversight for more than 30 years because of these problems.

Being a critical area of state concern means local governments must complete state reviews to show they've met environmental and development goals, according to the Department of Community Affairs, which administers the program. The City of Key West, Apalachicola, Big Cyprus and Green Swamp are the state's other four critical areas.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_BUSH_BILL_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

First the manatee and the bald eagle, now the Keys will lose much needed protection and oversight. Way to go Jebbie.

Sorry, they deserve to lose it. Just picking up trash on the side of the road would placate this nazi. No excuse not to meet those standards.

If that's true, they deserve to have their state money yanked. Sorry, that little chain of islands make millions every year from tourists, they can afford to clean up the garbage and bring buildings up to code.

You'd rather see the habitat lost than have the state enforce meaningful rules?

The problem is over-development, the destruction of habitat and the pollution that results. If the state no longer enforces any protection at all, just means that Jeb's developer friends can cover over the rest of the place in concrete.

nt

Development has gotten out of hand down there. Every time I go back, they look more and more like Myrtle Beach... more and more reef dies... more and more Key Deer are killed...