Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Graham is chiding Florida environmental officials over their handling of the Mosaic sinkhole in Polk County. Nick Evans reports she’s applauding Governor Rick Scott’s changes to public notification requirements.
Mosaic reported the sinkhole to the Department of Environmental Protection within a day, but it took weeks for the potential risks to become public knowledge. Rep. Graham says that’s unacceptable.
“I was glad to see that the governor has taken the right steps today in putting in place the regulation that will require prompt notification,” Graham says. “It should not take a congressional member calling them out to get them to do what is right.”
State law requires officials notify the public when pollution moves off-site. But the governor is ordering a change to DEP’s notification rules and he’ll push for changes to the law next year. Graham filed a public records request with DEP last week after the agency failed to answer her questions about when nearby residents were notified of the sinkhole.
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