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Jim Tatum: Why Florida's springs and rivers are doomed news-journalonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from news-journalonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Despite the impression given by a recent ruling on Nestle’s water-bottling operation near High Springs, the public’s right to clean and plentiful water has been protected by the Legislature. Previous legislative bodies (no, not the current one) were interested in protecting the public. Section 373 of the Florida Statutes, the section that governs water permitting, makes 46 references to “public interest.” What they forgot to do, unfortunately, is define “public interest.” Anywhere. Judge G.W. Chisenhall, the administrative judge ruling on the water-bottling permit, recently decided that Seven Springs Water Co. met requirements to pump water from the Ginnie Springs aquifer for Nestle. His decision was based on a part of the administrative code (Rule 40B-2.301) that cites “public interest” not once, but twice. ....