A major lawsuit filed by a coalition environmentalists over the polluting of Florida springs has resulted in a ruling favoring state regulators but the springs advocates vow to fight on.
Location Moved For Meeting Surrounding Ginnie Springs Bottling Permit
By Kendall Brandt
February 9, 2021
In order to provide options for in-person and virtual attendance, the Suwannee River Management District moved the location of the Feb. 23 and 24 special meeting. The event was moved from the Suwannee River Fair Pavilion in Fanning Springs to the district headquarters in Live Oak.
The meeting surrounds the water bottling permit for Seven Springs Water Company, a company contracted by multinational corporation Nestlé, to take nearly one million gallons of water a day from Ginnie Springs. The Suwannee River Management District previously opposed the renewal of the bottling permit. On Jan. 22, a judge recommended renewing the company’s permit.
Tubers may face ban from part of Ichetucknee Springs: report orlandosentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from orlandosentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tubing from the north entrance at Ichetucknee Springs State Park, a major regional attraction, may be coming to an end though some paddling would still be allowed.
The park believes tubing needs to stop on the shallower upper river because of damage to the aquatic grasses that are crucial to the health of the ecosystem, including wildlife such as fish, turtles and otters.
But others say the move will be another hit to vendors who rent inflatable tubes and is not needed to repair the grasses.
An absence of tubing in the 2019/20 winter season and during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that grasses will grow back if left undisturbed by humans.