Every step Gov. Ron DeSantis takes is magnified because he wants to be president. His every move is of major national concern on everything from abortion to school vouchers to freedom of speech.
The environment is of critical importance.
President DeSantis would manage Everglades policy, national parks, climate change, air and water pollution and conservation. He would appoint the secretary of the Department of the Interior and the director of the Environmental Protection Agency. The most reliable indication of a DeSantis administration in Washington is what he has done in Florida.
In the coming days, DeSantis will make an environmental decision that will help answer this question: Will he look out for public health or side with polluters and profits?
On its way to the governor’s desk is House Bill 1191, one of the final bills awaiting his signature with about a week until the new fiscal year begins July 1. HB 1191 requires the state Department of Transportation to study the suitability of using phosphogypsum as an aggregate in road construction in Florida. Phosphogypsum, a waste byproduct created in the manufacturing of fertilizer, is stored in giant stacks, mostly in Hillsborough, Polk and Manatee counties, and is described as mildly radioactive.
A water breach two years ago at a Manatee phosphate plant, Piney Point, put the region at risk of an environmental catastrophe. In 2017, another narrowly averted disaster nearly sent 200 million gallons of dirty water into the drinking water supply for much of Southwest Florida.
By far the largest producer of phosphogypsum in Florida is The Mosaic Company, a Fortune 500 mining giant, which also was the driving force behind the legislation. In recent months, Mosaic donated $200,000 to the Republican Party of Florida and a statewide phosphate industry political committee headed by a Mosaic executive also gave $200,000 to DeSantis. It was the biggest contribution the Florida Phosphate Political Committee has ever made.
Vehement opposition
The bill overwhelmingly passed both houses of the Legislature with strong bipartisan support, but don’t assume that this means it is good public policy. It isn’t. HB 1191 has drawn vehement opposition from leading environmental organizations in Florida, with dire warnings about Floridians driving on “radioactive roads.”
Florida Conservation Voters, a statewide advocacy group, calls the proposal “reckless” and warns it would allow radioactive materials into the environment without a thorough study of the impacts on public health and worker safety. The group urges Florida residents to sign its online petition and relay their opposition to the governor.
“Because the phosphate mining industry is running out of places to put the toxic waste it has been accumulating for decades, using it in road construction material would reduce the cost of phosphate production, which could ultimately lead to more mining in sensitive areas of Florida, putting people and our environment at risk,” the group asserts.
According to the legislation, the DOT study must be complete by April 1, 2024. The brief, four-page bill stipulates that the use of phosphogypsum must be “in accordance” with EPA rules. The federal agency two years ago prohibited the limited use of phosphogypsum in road construction, reversing a decision made by the Trump administration.
“Paving roads with radioactive phosphogypsum is a threat to the health and safety of Floridians and our water quality,” Ragan Whitlock, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Tampa Bay Times. “The EPA should deny Mosaic’s request to re-use its toxic waste in roads near the problematic New Wales facility. This is yet another industry attempt to generate revenue from its toxic waste at the expense of public health.”
Broad political reach
As investigative journalist Jason Garcia reports on his Seeking Rents website and podcast, Mosaic exerts significant influence in the halls of the state Capitol in Tallahassee. The chief sponsor of the “radioactive roads” bill in the Florida House was Rep. Lawrence McClure of Dover, east of Tampa. Wouldn’t you know, about one week after the session ended, Mosaic contributed $28,400 worth of in-kind donations of food, beverages and lodging at an upscale golf getaway to a political committee McClure controls.
If this looked like a five-figure expression of gratitude by Mosaic, that’s what it was. McClure represents a district where a lot of Mosaic employees live, a company spokesman told the Tampa Bay Times, and he has long been a supporter of the company. Mosaic’s generosity is another illustration of the influence of big corporate money at the Capitol in Tallahassee.
A few days ago, DeSantis vetoed a $950,000 budget item for a Central Florida study of phosphogypsum reclamation that was sponsored by a pair of Republican lawmakers. Despite that veto, it’s expected that DeSantis will sign HB 1191 into law, giving Mosaic a taxpayer-funded study that will show, in all likelihood, the road-building benefits of phosphogypsum.
Then, presumably armed with a favorable study, Mosaic will be in a prime position to seek legislation next year to require use of its toxic byproduct in highway construction in Florida. Rep. McClure, who serves as vice chairman of the House budget subcommittee and is a possible choice to be its next chairman, will surely be happy to help.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email to .
