>>This week on NewsNight after last year's hurricanes, Florida lawmakers passed restrictions on local government development rules.

But now counties, municipalities and others are pushing back.

Plus, a key milestone in cutting stormwater pollution in the Indian River lagoon.

NewsNight starts now.

[MUSIC] Hello, I'm Steve Mort welcome to NewsNight, where we take an in-depth look at the top stories and issues in Central Florida and how they shape our community.

Well, Florida is in the midst o a legal and policy battle over how communities plan for growth and recover from disasters.

At the center of the debate i Senate Bill 180, signed into law this year, which has prompted lawsuits and raised questions about local control.

Two separate challenges are now before the courts.

Critics say the law is pro-developer, and that a provisio included in the legislation ties the hands of local governments trying to manage growth.

But supporters say it's designed to help communities recover in the aftermath of storms.

>>106 yays, zero nays, Mr.

Speaker.

>>So the bill passes.

>>Senate Bill 180 was signed into law earlier this year as part of a broader effort to speed up rebuilding after hurricanes.

One part of the law limit what counties and cities can do when it comes to land use and zoning changes.

>>A restriction on counties passing a comp plan amendment that is more burdensome or restrictive to the property owner for a year after the hurricane.

>>The law, drawn up after the devastation of Hurricanes Milton, Debbie and Helene remains in effect for a county or municipality for a year after any hurricane passe within roughly 100 miles of it.

It prevents local governments from imposing stricter rules than those already in place, applying retroactively from Augus last year through October 2027.

That effectively invalidates city and county comprehensive plans and land development regulations, such as Orange County's Vision 2050.

The state declared that plan null and void, and the county says it's working to bring it into compliance.

Supporters say the law is about consistency and efficiency.

They argue that after majo storms, homeowners and builders need clear, predictable rules to avoid delays.

>>There' so many good things in this bill that are going to make Florida a better place to be.

It's going to be a safer place to be.

It's going to be easier for citizens to navigate after after tragedies, after hurricanes, after bad events, whether it's hurricanes or tornadoes, everything will be better.

>>But it's precisely the work of making recover from emergencies like hurricanes easier in the future that some counties and cities say their comprehensive plans or development restrictions are designed to aid by improving resiliency.

Critics say the law undermines home rule guaranteed by the state constitution and could weaken environmental protections.

Orange County and two dozen other local governments have filed suit.

That lawsuit reads: SB 180 purports to be an act related to emergencies supposedly designed to assist people rebuilding propertie that were damaged in hurricanes.

But, it goes on, as the resul of a last minute amendment (And in a classic example of log rolling and stealth legislating) SB 180 goes much further, freezing all local land development regulations and comprehensive plans in place on August 1st, 2024.

A secon lawsuit, backed by a nonprofit and an Orange Count resident, claims the law's vague and improperly bundled with unrelated provisions.

Critic say it could accelerate sprawl and increase risks in flood prone areas.

Some places, like Volusia County, though, are not suing but want legislators to narrow the law so it does not apply to entire jurisdictions, just properties damaged by hurricanes.

All right.

Well, let's bring in our panel now to break it all down.

And joining us in the studio this week, two environmental reporters, some of the best in the business, Amy Green from Inside Climate News.

Thanks so much for coming in, Amy.

>>Thanks for having me.

>>Appreciate it.

And Molly Duerig covers the environment for Central Florida Public Media.

Good to see you as well Molly.

>>Great to be back.

>>Thanks for coming in, guys, appreciate it.

Molly let me start with you on this.

I mean, there was broad support as we saw in my piece just now for, for SB 180 in the legislature this year.

Why do supporters of this law and developers, I guess, sa it's needed in its current form?

>>So it's a really interesting question, Steve.

So this bill is titled emergencies.

And it came to be because as your piece, explored, the goal was to help communities build back quicker after hurricanes and not be encumbered by some moratoriums or really over overbroad, restrictions.

But at the very end of the legislative session, there was this languag added in about more restrictive or burdensome local land use planning, basically restricting all of that.

So it was sort of was at the very end, from what I've heard from folks, in the in Orange County for example, local governments folks have been saying that some the lawmaker may not have fully understood, like the breadth and scope of this law, which is maybe a little hard to believe because, I mean, you'r you're reading the law and like, you're signing off-- >>Hopefully.

>>Hopefully you do know what it says.

But this happened literally at the very end.

This change was made at the very end of the legislative session.

I just have a line in here that that is really stands out to me.

It was from a comprehensive legal analysis that was done by a land use attorney, now representing, 1,000 Friends of Florida and an Orange County resident in a lawsuit challenging the bill.

But before that, he did-- >>Yeah we'll talk about that in a moment.

>>He did a, a legal analysis, and he wrote "The enormous breadth and scope of the law's prohibitions on local planning and zoning authority suggests that many, even perhaps most legislators, did not understand its implications."

Again, that has, you know, that brings about its own concerns, but.

>>Sure.

>>Seems like perhaps lawmaker weren't aware of just how broad scope this law.

>>Interesting.

I mean, what about it, though, Amy?

I mean, SB 180, as Molly mentioned, it was kind of pitched as a way to to strengthen, disaster recovery.

And you've covered the impacts of this new law, I think, in Manatee County.

What have you found?

>>Yeah.

So as Molly said, you know, it was billed as a way to help hurricane stricken communities, but a las minute amendment goes further, and it prohibits any local land development policies that are more restrictive and burdensome.

It applies retroactively going back to 2024 and extends to 2027.

And because of the way the law is written, and because of the widespread impacts of last year' three hurricanes Debbie, Helene and Milton, it applies to ever local government in the state.

And so what it means is that it freezes in place according to people who were concerned about the law.

It freezes in plac local land development policies as they were in 2024.

And so any stage, any steps that a local government wants to take to b more resilient or sustainable, this law makes that harder.

And so it really creates a situation where it hamstrings local governments ability to balance growth and development while balancing climate impacts like more damaging storms, rising seas and flooding.

>>Yeah.

Well, Manatee County that you reported from and Orange County as well.

They're both parties to that first lawsuit brought by local governments.

SB 180, as you alluded to before, has now drawn a second challenge.

Tell us about that lawsuit.

>>Right.

And so, the second lawsuit was filed by 1,000 Friends of Florida, which was a smart growth planning advocacy group and also an Orange County resident who lives within the rural boundary area of Orange County, which, is one of the things that this la apparently stops in its place, even though that rural boundary kind of a protected area-- >>Approved by voters.

>>Yes, it was approved by voters in November of 2024.

And since the SB 180 applies retroactively to August 1st of 2024, i apparently goes against the law.

And I just wanted to also add Amy.

And I know you've seen this in your reporting, too.

In some cases, the law is actually stopping policies that are eve in some cases older than 2024.

Orange County's new vision 2050 plan has been halted.

That's its new comprehensive plan for the future.

And in speaking with staff there, they said some of the policies that were, pinpointed by the state as is violating SB 180 have actually been in place for a while.

They might have been reworded a little bit, but the policy itself, for example, Wekiva River.

Certain parts of that watershed, there's more strict development, standards ther that's been there for a while.

So in some cases, even older, policies are being halted or encumbered by this law.

>>Well, what are you hearing in Orange County about what this means for vision 2050 compliance?

I think they're working with the county on trying to working with the state and tryin to bring that into compliance.

Right?

>>They are, that said, Orange County is also part of the coalition of cities and counties challengin the constitutionality of SB 180.

So it's sort of a dual effort going on there.

And when I asked Orange County, you know, they said they don't typically comment on pending litigation.

So I guess there's sort of this, double pronged approach that they're taking.

They are in conversations with the state trying to come to a balance, trying to maybe like rewrite, reword some things, and, it sounds like so far those conversations are going well, which is good, but, it's certainly a very tricky situation.

>>I mean, vision 2050, just to be clear, is the comprehensive plan, right, that that the commission had worked for quite a long time on.

>>Nearly ten years they spent working on that.

And that is, the vision 2050 is sort of like the vision for the future, sort of the plan for how orange County should develop.

And, it was going to be kind of putting a lot of the more heavy development into urbanized areas and keeping it out of the rural areas.

That's just one element of the plan.

And then the orange code is the the way that that vision will actually be implemented.

So all that got halted in its place earlier this summer when the state Department of Commerce sent Orange County notice.

And those conversations are ongoing.

>>Really interesting to see how that pans out.

I mean, there are plenty of municipalities, though, Amy, that aren't suing.

I mentioned, Volusia County, just now.

I wonder what kind of remedie are being suggested elsewhere.

>>Yeah.

Well, you know, like we said, you know, this this law really goes to the heart of a dialog that arises often after a destructive hurricane in Florida, which is that, you know, we, you know, we always have this like, you know, stoic widespread resolve to rebuild.

But at the same time, you know, people want to rebuild, you know, smarter and more resiliently because people are aware that probably there's going to be another hurricane.

And so, like after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, very devastating hurricane in South Florida, building codes were strengthened, that would not be allowed under this law.

And so last year I did a story on Cedar Key, which is just this wonderful little island village on Florida's Gulf Coast- >>Beautiful part of the world.

>>Northwest Florida.

And, that is a region of the stat that sustained three hurricanes.

They weathered three hurricanes in 13 months Idalia, Debbie, and Helene.

And Helene was the most destructive.

And so for Cedar Key, you know, a tiny little fishing village on the Gulf Coast, this has created an existential situation.

And it's created a situation where residents, you know, basically, you know, the future that they had kind of collectively envisioned for their community is over.

And and at least when I visite last year, there really wasn't strong consensus around what a new future should be.

And people were asking questions like, how do we rebuild and be more resilient and how do we, you know, retain our old Florida charm and and but but I think what's relevant to this conversation is that, you know, these community conversations are extraordinarily personal to each community.

And the needs in Cedar Key are very different than in Orlando, in South Florida.

And so SB 180, it makes all of these conversations harder.

>>You can find a link to Orange County' Vision 2050 comprehensive plan and the letter from the state declaring it null and void on our website, you'll also find links to recent reporting from Molly and Amy on SB 180 there too, it's all at wucf.org/newsnight.

Okay, next tonight, a recentl completed infrastructure project in Melbourne is hopin to cut the amount of pollution entering the Indian River lagoon.

The Crane Creek M1 Canal restoration project took two years to complete.

It diverts stormwater, sending it through a treatment system and toward the Saint Johns River.

Official say the effort will keep large amounts of harmful nutrients out of the lagoon each year.

As Krystal Knowles reports, it's designed to protect one of Florida's most fragile ecosystems.

>>This is all new.

So prior to this project... >>About 100 years ago, the M1 canal didn't exist.

It was created to mitigate flooding in the area, but it had unintended consequences that would only come to light decades later.

>>This canal that cuts through that ridge, it diverts the water that would have naturally gone to the Saint Johns River into the Indian River lagoon.

>>Mark van Heyden, from the Saint Johns Water Management District, says a 2017 feasibility analysis showed just how damaging one manmade canal could be to the Indian River lagoon ecosystem.

Annually, stormwater from 5,300 acres of land drained into Crane Creek and ended up in the lagoon.

>>What is this project hoping to accomplish?

>>Really it kind of comes back to the to the seagrass is kind of th canary in the in the coal mine.

For the Indian River lagoon.

So the point of this project is to reduce the nutrients.

That's the nitrogen and phosphorus that are harmful nutrients because they cause, algae blooms in the Indian River lagoon.

Along with that, salinity is wrong.

So this project helps create the conditions that are better for the seagrasses to grow in the in the Indian River lagoon.

>>The Crane Creek M-1 Canal flow restoration project cost about $24 million.

Shared between Brevard County, FDEP and the Saint Johns Water Management District.

Here's how the project works.

>>This location here raises the water in this - in this canal, the M1 canal.

>>The stormwater then flows a couple of miles away to its next stop.

>>The water comes from the canal, into this inflow structure.

And then by gravity, it goes to the pump station right over there.

And and that pipeline was about 30ft under I-95.

There, the water's clean enough so that a second pump station picks that water up again and pumps it through a second 2 inch force main and diverts it back to Saint Johns River where it always intended to go.

>>This should preven about 24,000 pounds of nitrogen and more than 3,000 pounds of phosphorus from polluting the Indian River lagoon, and from fueling damaging algae blooms that kill seagrass.

One of the main food sources of marine wildlife.

>>So by putting the structure, we're restoring that natural flow back to the Saint Johns River.

>>The Crane Creek M- Canal Flow Restoration project will pump about 7 million gallons of fresh water into the lagoon every day.

Since 2019, the state states put roughly $3 billio into more than 1,000 projects, all aimed at bringing the Indian River lagoon back to life.

>>Krystel Knowles reporting there.

Okay, Molly, you've also been covering this story as well.

I mean, what is the specific damag that this is trying to reverse?

And do officials believe this is a major environmental win?

>>Absolutely.

I think it was describe as a double whammy of goodness by at least one official, on the day that this the completion of this project was announced.

And so historically, as we just heard, the water was being diverted into the Indian River lagoon and carrying with i many nutrients from agriculture and other sources.

And so we all know the Indian River lagoon is struggling.

And a lot of the reason why is because of the nitrogen and phosphorus levels that are being discharged into the lagoon.

Historically, we were discharging sewage directly into the lagoon which isn't happening anymore.

But that happened for a while.

And so that that, create some legacy nutrients as well.

So now it's getting pumped back the way God intended.

Another quote from an official that day, back into the Saint Johns River watershed.

So it'll be providing more freshwater to that watershed and also sendin fewer nutrients into the lagoon.

>>I mean, this is, as you alluded to, that part of a broader effort, to restore the lagoon.

There have been several other initiatives that have received funding just this year.

>>Yes.

There was lots of lots of funding that was awarded to water projects, hundreds of millions of dollar for water projects, including, some funding for the Indian River lagoon.

One of the main focuses focus areas for the Save Our Indian River Lagoon program, which is a sales tax funded program in Brevard County has been, septic to sewer conversions.

And so there are many, many homes on septic tanks in the area.

And as gradually some of those, some of the largest, budget items that were funded this year were for converting many of those users over to centralized, sewer.

So that's one of the main focuses.

>>Well as we've heard, this project is expected to prevent, I think, thousands of pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus, from entering the lagoon annually.

The state, though, has been accused of of not doing enough, on nutrient pollution.

And you covered that recently.

>>That's right.

There was litigation ove the state's wastewater discharge regulations and how these regulations, you know, have failed to prevent nutrient pollution from flowing into the Indian River lagoon.

And the litigation had to do with this horrible manatee die off that we experienced in the state of Florida in 2021 and 2022.

This nutrient pollution has led to a lot of problems in the Indian River lagoon.

It's led to widespread water quality problems and seagrass losse that left the manatees starving.

And, federal and state officials initiated this supplemental lettuce program to help nourish the manatees.

So this litigation argued that the wastewater treatment regulations violated the Endangered Species Act because they failed to protect, endangered or, excuse me, threatened manatees from, this nutrient pollution and the nutrient pollution led to this, this die off.

And so earlier this year, a federal judge agreed.

And he ordered the state to, clean up the nutrient pollution.

And, and so that could lead some changes in the lead to some changes in the Indian River lagoon.

>>Well, what are the results of of all of this kind of years long effort, I guess, to to clean up the lagoon?

Do we know where things stand?

Do we have a current health status for the lagoon?

>>It's a really hard proble because in the northern Indian River lagoon, there's really no good outlet for the water to flow in exchange with the Atlantic Ocean.

And so what flows int the lagoon stays in the lagoon.

And that's why the northern lagoon is so troubled.

It's just decades of nutrient pollution that have flowed into there.

And accumulated in there.

And projects like the one that Molly reported, you know, are great, but it's a really hard problem there.

>>What are you hearing?

>>There's different parts of the lagoon that are struggling more than others.

As is Amy mentioned, the low circulation in the northern part of the lagoon is a big problem, particularly, also for the legacy muck build ups that have collecte there again, largely over time, from the times when we had fewer laws and regulations about discharging wastewater directly into the lagoon.

>>There's been quite a lot of dredging work done.

>>Yes.

And so we're working on dredging up that muck and, but yeah, different parts are struggling with different things.

Some areas are starting to see seagrass bouncing back.

Some areas are still struggling.

There's as, as Amy said, layers of challenges and different parts of th lagoon with different needs so.

>>Yeah, we'll definitely keep an eye on the updated manatee numbers as well.

When they come out as it pertains to the Indian River lagoon.

Meanwhile, be sure to find us on social media.

We're at WUC TV, on Facebook and Instagram.

You'll also find us on X, @NewsNightWUCF.

Okay, finally tonigh the legal battle over Florida's Alligator Alcatraz immigratio detention site has hit a snag.

Justice Department attorneys are asking an appeals court to pause the case, citing the ongoing federal shutdown.

To note, we record the show on Thursday morning.

Environmental groups are still pushing for the closure of Alligator Alcatraz, which sits in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Collier County.

Advocate say federal environmental rules must be adhered to, and construction of the immigration detention site.

They argue construction continues and say a delay could worsen harm to fragil wetlands and endangered species.

The detention center, buil in the heart of the Everglades, has been ordered to wind down operations, but a federal appeals court paused that order.

Environmental groups say the delicate ecosystem of the river of grass is under threat from construction, pollutio and damage to wildlife habitats.

Governor DeSantis who's long championed Everglades restoration, has said there will be, quote, zero impact on the environment from the construction of the site designed to aid the Trump administration's deportation efforts.

>>All right.

Well, let's dig into this important issue in the southern part of our state.

Amy, of course, you've covered the Everglades extensively.

What our groups most concerned that the about when it comes to the impact o alligator on the trust.

>>Yeah.

So at the heart of the environmental groups litigation over Alligator Alcatraz and there's other litigatio involving human rights concerns.

We're just focusing on the environmental aspect.

And at the heart of that complaint is NEPA or the National Environmental Policy Act.

A lot of people call it NEPA.

And this is a federal law that requires an environmental impact study on major federal actions.

So when it comes to Alligator Alcatraz, no one disputes that there was no NEPA review as this detention center hastily was opened in July.

What is in dispute is whether this is a federal or state facility.

And because if it's a state facility, it's a much less stringent environmental review.

Environmental groups have raised a lot of concerns about Alligator Alcatraz.

They say that there's been a lot of pavement, new pavement added to that site with no storm water system that would prevent pollutants from flowing into the fragile-- >>Runoff.

>>River of grass.

Exactly.

That area is an importan habitat for the Florida panther, which is endangered.

And it's also the official state animal.

And also, it's important to point out the obvious, which is tha this is a region of the state.

The Everglades is the subject of a massive multi-billion dollar federal and state restoration effort.

And this facility obviously stands to, influence that.

>>I mean, that court fight took a turn, right?

Earlier this month, Molly, FEMA issued, a reimbursement to Florida for that facility.

What do the plaintiffs in this case say about that.

What does it mean for the case?

>>So it's very interesting because earlier, whenever the federal appeals court decided it's okay, you don't need to stop.

You know, you don't you don't need to take down the center.

It was because in part because it wasn't clear, you know, is it subject to the federal environmental review?

Is it is it a federal project?

Well, the FEM funding kind of clears that up.

You know, this is a federally funded project indicating the plaintiffs say that a federal environmental review is necessary.

Now, of course, at the same time, you've had Governor Ron DeSantis saying that's not necessary, that maybe federal officials could do, I believe he said, a very quick impact statement, but a full scale review isn't necessary.

So it's it's definitely taken a turn, but with that FEMA money which, by the way, comes from, billions of dollars funneled to Florida for immigration enforcement.

There's a lot of a lot of questions about about that.

>>What about the Miccousukee Tribe and the people that live near there, they're part of, I think, the challenge to this detention center.

I mean, talk about the significance of this discussion to them.

And you know what they say the impact on their ancestral lands is.

>>Well, this is their land.

You know, I mean, for many generations, the Miccosukee have inhabited this land.

During the First and Second Seminole Wars, they were pushed into the deep Everglades, and they found safety on the tree islands there.

And for them, this land is sacred because it saved their tribe from annihilation during the removal era era.

And so, you know, for example, I traveled down there, I talked with, Betty Osceola who for all her life has lived, within three mile of the Alligator Alcatraz site.

And, after darkness, she can see the light emanating through the wilderness from that site.

There are several Miccosukee camps, within a close radiance.

Within a close radius of that site.

There's a school bus that stops at each of them, Miccosukee camps and picks up the kids and takes them to school on the reservation ten miles away.

And so you know it really is a situation where, you know, we're hearing this rhetoric from our state and federal officials that this is an area that's, you know, it's a treacherous swamp.

You know, there's there's, you know, just alligators and pythons, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

Well, to the Miccosukee this is home.

>>Well worth noting, of course, that the the governor has been a champion of Everglades restoration.

Of course, over the course of his term.

We will keep an eye on that court case.

I'm sure you guys will, too.

A reminder be sure to check out Amy and Molly's reporting on our website wucf.org/newsnigh along the bottom of your screen.

But that is all the time we have for this week.

My thanks to Amy Green from Inside Climate News, Molly Duerig from Central Florida Public Media, thanks so much for coming in, guys.

Really appreciate it.

>>Nice to see you.

>>Good conversation today.

We'll see you next Friday night at 8:30 here on WUCF.

In the meantime, from all of us here at NewsNight, take care and have a great week.