News & Public Affairs

All four regions of Tampa Bay met water quality standards in 2012 listen

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Tags: water, Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Estuary Program, nitrogen, fertilizer, pollution, seagrass, fertilizer ordinance

The water quality in Tampa Bay continues to improve.

Tuesday the Tampa Bay Estuary Program released results of their 2012 water quality survey and for the fourth time since assessments began in 1974 all geographic regions of the bay met quality targets.

Ed Sherwood is senior scientist at Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

Sarasota County promotes environmental awareness about Florida’s seagrass meadows listen

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Tags: environment, beaches, Sarasota County Beaches, Conservation, seagrass

Environmentally engaged volunteers are acquainting the public to the importance of Florida’s unique animals and plants. At an event for seagrass Awareness Month in Siesta Key, organizers said protecting and preserving Florida’s coastal regions starts at the grassroots level.

The volunteers, calling themselves, “beach ambassadors,” have adopted a simple goal. They serve residents who are interested in knowing more about ...

Developers, environmentalists at odds about proposed Terra Ceia development listen

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Tags: Terra Ceia, land development, Development, Sierra Club, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, seagrass, sea level rise

A small group of landowners has proposed developing a resort and marine center along Tampa Bay at the southern end of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. As proposed, the development would be hinged on a land swap with the state. Some environmentalists worry that building would be harmful to the area’s ecology.

Owners of the private land want to give the state just shy of 1,000 acres. In return they are asking the state to hand over only 77 acres. And the tract of land on the table for the sta...

Environmentalists seek summer ban on lawn fertilizer

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Tags: fertilizers, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, seagrass, nitrogen pollution, Hillsborough County Commission, algae, Hillsborough EPC

Some local governments are trying to ban lawn fertilizing in the summer months. Runoff from lawns pollutes the bays, rivers , streams and lakes. Tomorrow, the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission will discuss the issue in a workshop.

Joining us now, Phil Compton, Regional Representative in the Sierra Club Florida Regional Office and Cathy Harrelson, chair of the Sierra Club’s Coastal Task Force.

Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s model recommendations went to all local ...