Politics
DEP: Permit Brouhaha Not Why Wetlands Expert is on Paid Leave
Around the State
A Florida Department of Environmental Protection wetlands expert wasn’t suspended for refusing to issue a wetlands credit permit as a newspaper contends, the state agency announced Thursday.
In fact, the DEP states, the permit application has yet to be completed.
However, the reason wetlands expert Connie Bersok has been put on paid leave, with an internal investigation under way, wasn’t revealed.
“It is not the department’s policy to discuss employee personnel matters in the newspaper or with the general public,” the two-page release from the DEP stated.
The Tampa Bay Times on Monday reported that Bersok claimed in a May 9 memo that the business, Highlands Ranch, wanted wetlands credits for preserving land that isn’t considered wet.
Two days later, May 11, Bersok was suspended.
The credits are part of the state’s land mitigation bank program that requires a builder to restore designated wetlands in exchange for work that could hinder other wetlands. The credits are only issued after the restoration work is completed, the DEP noted.
The Times report accused the department of bending its rules to accommodate Highlands Ranch.
The DEP dismissed the Times contention, responding that the permit review is ongoing.
“Any decision made about this permit will be based on sound science and within the confines of Florida law and the environmental rules that govern the department’s action,” the DEP release stated.
Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday, when asked if he is satisfied in how the matter has been handled, defended DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard.
“He’s done a real good job making sure we care about the environment,” Scott said.
Scott noted he had been apprised of the matter by the DEP.
On Thursday, the DEP issued the following response to the Times coverage:
“On May 28, the Tampa Bay Times ran an article about the state’s mitigation bank program that accused the department of bending the state’s environmental rules, suspending an employee because she refused to issue a permit and failing to protect the environment. Nothing could be further from the truth. In addition to a letter to the editor submitted by the department to the newspaper on May 30, the following is the department’s full response to that article and the subsequent column and editorial published in the Times.
“Personnel Action
“Ms. Bersok was not suspended because she refused to issue a permit. She was placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation by the department’s inspector general. It is not the department’s policy to discuss employee personnel matters in the newspaper or with the general public.
“Status of Permit Application
“The permit has not been issued. In fact, the department has not completed its review of the Highlands Ranch Mitigation Bank permit application. Any decision made about this permit will be based on sound science and within the confines of Florida law and the environmental rules that govern the department’s action.
“Mitigation Banking
“Mitigation banking is the restoration, creation, enhancement or preservation of a wetland or a combination of wetlands and uplands as intact ecosystems, which can offset impacts to similar nearby ecosystems, due to road construction or other development. The goal is to replace the functions and values of the wetland habitats that are lost with equal or better wetland habitat that is located within a larger ecosystem.
“As a part of Florida’s Environmental Reorganization Act of 1993, the Florida Legislature directed the department and the water management districts to adopt rules governing mitigation banking throughout the state. The department’s mitigation banking rule went into effect in February 1994. Mitigation banks are permitted by the department or one of the water management districts based on the location of the bank. Once permitted, the bank operator can sell “credits” which represent the wetland ecological value equivalent to the complete restoration of one acre. Credits have been released based on fixed dates on a calendar, rather than the actual environmental result.
“Mitigation Bank Permitting
“For years, environmental groups, staff at the department and water management districts, and even the Tampa Bay Times, have questioned the effectiveness of the state’s existing mitigation banking system.
“According to a University of Florida report issued in 2007, the principal shortcomings of the existing system were related to credit release schedules that relied too heavily on future restoration actions, rather than the actual ecological results. In fact, the system that has been in place for many years has allowed for the release of mitigation “credits” before the wetlands restoration is fully completed.
“The department’s proposed new approach to mitigation bank permitting holds the bank operator more accountable to the required environmental result and allows for the release of credits only after environmental restoration is completed and verified to be successful. Instead of scheduling the release of mitigation credits based primarily on restoration activities or fixed dates on a calendar, we are developing success criteria based on the achievement of ecological milestones. This approach provides more certainty that when wetland impacts happen, those impacts are being fully offset through our mitigation bank permitting program.
“Permit Evaluation
“In 2009, the St. Johns River Water Management District issued a mitigation bank permit to Highlands Ranch to construct and manage a more than 1,500-acre wetland mitigation bank in Clay County. That permit was challenged by the applicant, who was dissatisfied over the number of credits received.
“As identified in the 2007 report and in the 2006 series of articles published by the Times, there have historically been widely different interpretations of credit scoring between the department, water management districts and consultants. This is unfair to the public and to the environment. Because the department recognized the inconsistencies in the current system, we agreed to review the modified mitigation bank project at Highlands Ranch.
“The 2007 report also recommended that credit release schedules be linked more with ecological results than construction activities, and we agree. The department followed proper procedure during the transfer of the project, and worked to process the application using an environmental results-based approach. As noted above, our focus during the review of the application is on the development of comprehensive, specific and measurable ecological conditions.
"Final agency action on the application is still pending.
“If the permit is issued, potential credits identified in the permit will not be guaranteed. It will be up to the bank operator to prove to the department that they can achieve these environmental results and only then will the credits be released.
“The Department’s Commitment
“The department is committed to upholding Florida’s stringent environmental standards, while at the same time evaluating our processes for efficiencies and consistency. Despite the Times’ mischaracterization of the department’s actions and environmental policies, the department and its employees are committed to doing the right thing by the rules and statutes that govern its actions, by Florida taxpayers and by the environment.”
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
In fact, the DEP states, the permit application has yet to be completed.
However, the reason wetlands expert Connie Bersok has been put on paid leave, with an internal investigation under way, wasn’t revealed.
“It is not the department’s policy to discuss employee personnel matters in the newspaper or with the general public,” the two-page release from the DEP stated.
The Tampa Bay Times on Monday reported that Bersok claimed in a May 9 memo that the business, Highlands Ranch, wanted wetlands credits for preserving land that isn’t considered wet.
Two days later, May 11, Bersok was suspended.
The credits are part of the state’s land mitigation bank program that requires a builder to restore designated wetlands in exchange for work that could hinder other wetlands. The credits are only issued after the restoration work is completed, the DEP noted.
The Times report accused the department of bending its rules to accommodate Highlands Ranch.
The DEP dismissed the Times contention, responding that the permit review is ongoing.
“Any decision made about this permit will be based on sound science and within the confines of Florida law and the environmental rules that govern the department’s action,” the DEP release stated.
Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday, when asked if he is satisfied in how the matter has been handled, defended DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard.
“He’s done a real good job making sure we care about the environment,” Scott said.
Scott noted he had been apprised of the matter by the DEP.
On Thursday, the DEP issued the following response to the Times coverage:
“On May 28, the Tampa Bay Times ran an article about the state’s mitigation bank program that accused the department of bending the state’s environmental rules, suspending an employee because she refused to issue a permit and failing to protect the environment. Nothing could be further from the truth. In addition to a letter to the editor submitted by the department to the newspaper on May 30, the following is the department’s full response to that article and the subsequent column and editorial published in the Times.
“Personnel Action
“Ms. Bersok was not suspended because she refused to issue a permit. She was placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation by the department’s inspector general. It is not the department’s policy to discuss employee personnel matters in the newspaper or with the general public.
“Status of Permit Application
“The permit has not been issued. In fact, the department has not completed its review of the Highlands Ranch Mitigation Bank permit application. Any decision made about this permit will be based on sound science and within the confines of Florida law and the environmental rules that govern the department’s action.
“Mitigation Banking
“Mitigation banking is the restoration, creation, enhancement or preservation of a wetland or a combination of wetlands and uplands as intact ecosystems, which can offset impacts to similar nearby ecosystems, due to road construction or other development. The goal is to replace the functions and values of the wetland habitats that are lost with equal or better wetland habitat that is located within a larger ecosystem.
“As a part of Florida’s Environmental Reorganization Act of 1993, the Florida Legislature directed the department and the water management districts to adopt rules governing mitigation banking throughout the state. The department’s mitigation banking rule went into effect in February 1994. Mitigation banks are permitted by the department or one of the water management districts based on the location of the bank. Once permitted, the bank operator can sell “credits” which represent the wetland ecological value equivalent to the complete restoration of one acre. Credits have been released based on fixed dates on a calendar, rather than the actual environmental result.
“Mitigation Bank Permitting
“For years, environmental groups, staff at the department and water management districts, and even the Tampa Bay Times, have questioned the effectiveness of the state’s existing mitigation banking system.
“According to a University of Florida report issued in 2007, the principal shortcomings of the existing system were related to credit release schedules that relied too heavily on future restoration actions, rather than the actual ecological results. In fact, the system that has been in place for many years has allowed for the release of mitigation “credits” before the wetlands restoration is fully completed.
“The department’s proposed new approach to mitigation bank permitting holds the bank operator more accountable to the required environmental result and allows for the release of credits only after environmental restoration is completed and verified to be successful. Instead of scheduling the release of mitigation credits based primarily on restoration activities or fixed dates on a calendar, we are developing success criteria based on the achievement of ecological milestones. This approach provides more certainty that when wetland impacts happen, those impacts are being fully offset through our mitigation bank permitting program.
“Permit Evaluation
“In 2009, the St. Johns River Water Management District issued a mitigation bank permit to Highlands Ranch to construct and manage a more than 1,500-acre wetland mitigation bank in Clay County. That permit was challenged by the applicant, who was dissatisfied over the number of credits received.
“As identified in the 2007 report and in the 2006 series of articles published by the Times, there have historically been widely different interpretations of credit scoring between the department, water management districts and consultants. This is unfair to the public and to the environment. Because the department recognized the inconsistencies in the current system, we agreed to review the modified mitigation bank project at Highlands Ranch.
“The 2007 report also recommended that credit release schedules be linked more with ecological results than construction activities, and we agree. The department followed proper procedure during the transfer of the project, and worked to process the application using an environmental results-based approach. As noted above, our focus during the review of the application is on the development of comprehensive, specific and measurable ecological conditions.
"Final agency action on the application is still pending.
“If the permit is issued, potential credits identified in the permit will not be guaranteed. It will be up to the bank operator to prove to the department that they can achieve these environmental results and only then will the credits be released.
“The Department’s Commitment
“The department is committed to upholding Florida’s stringent environmental standards, while at the same time evaluating our processes for efficiencies and consistency. Despite the Times’ mischaracterization of the department’s actions and environmental policies, the department and its employees are committed to doing the right thing by the rules and statutes that govern its actions, by Florida taxpayers and by the environment.”
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
Comments (5)
By stating the DEP spokesperson's statement, which is easily seen as a lie, as the title of your article, you are admitting right away that you are not a journalist, just a propagandist. I'm not sure if for propaganda to be illegal, that the government pays for it, or what. But you're admitting, by not including all the relevant facts that show that your headline is nonsense, that you are a propagandist, not a journalist.
Sorry, but when you are paid with taxes YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS. We are the bosses (at least in theory now days) and we should be fully informed or they need to resign.
(1) This is the Tea Party Republican administration who has supposedly committed themselves to open and transparent government.
(2) They are perfectly willing to provide the media headline that the "wetlands expert wasn’t suspended for refusing to issue a wetlands credit permit" for the press, while at the same time spouting that it isn't policy to discuss employee matters with the press.
Does anyone know what the word 'HYPOCRITE" means?
Perhaps someone can explain that meaning to the Scott administration, because they don't have a clue.
They have plans for a huge equestrian residential development on this property.
If they "preserved" the wetlands and put a conservation easement on the property, they would not be able to develop much of the property.
They were not awarded their demanded credits for this reason.
The company continues harvesting the cypress trees in the wetlands and pines in the uplands.
Water resources and wildlife habitat are being exploited and damaged here, not improved.
And clearly, this has NOTHING to do with the Highlands Ranch permit, or mitigation banks, or anything else DEP wants to hide when there's a muzzle on the scientist to refute, right?
But of course, DEP can't say that because that would be a provable lie, wouldn't it?
I think the Scott administration has badly under-estimated the respect Ms. Bersok has out there in the development and environmental permitting fields.
Interestingly, it's reopened the whole Vinyard appointment issue and its potential conflict with federal law.
As Old Abe Lincoln used to say - You can't fool all the people all the time.
Sometimes your politics of the Big Lie come home to roost - - especially when they start becoming one too many disprovable whoopers.
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