Budget allocations are relatively specific, with large amounts of money being devoted to land purchasing and preserving programs that form the bulk of the Department's protection efforts. In keeping with the concept of small government that is a part of the Department's mission statement, rather than overregulation the state attempts to simply purchase land and water resources to prevent development that would cause pollution, and devotes a great deal of its resources to rehabilitating these areas once they are purchased. There are other significant budget items as well.
Other major spending items in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's budget include improving public access to nature areas and ensuring public as well as wildlife safety in places like the Everglades and the development and marketing of more diverse and more sustainable energy sources, which has been a major source of controversy in the state as in the country at large. Ultimately, of course, the budget for the Department comes primarily from state taxpayers, both from income tax and sales tax collected by the state, with some additional funding provided directly by the federal government or indirectly in the form of grants or subsidies. The substantial cash amounts that are disbursed to the Department allow it to maintain its land purchasing programs as well as fulfilling its regulatory and administrative functions with a great deal of security and efficiency.
Rule Making Procedures
The great majority of the rules enforced and regulated by the Flrodia Department of Environmental Protection are not actually created by the Department itself, but rather are the result of either specific sections Florida State Code or other laws passed by the Florida legislature. The procedures in this regard are thus quite simple, as in reality they are non-existent to a large extent. The legislature...
A standard of "reasonable assurance" that laws and environmental regulations will be complied with is often all the Department can demand.
There are also some general duties with which the Florida Department of Environmental Protections has been tasked and that it must continually redefine as far as the specific practices and regulations that these duties create. General mandates to improve the condition of water resources has led to rules regarding the testing of water, the setting of acceptable levels of various elements and chemicals in different waterways and systems depending on a number of environmental factors, and rules regarding detection and enforcement procedures when clean water rules are found to have been violated. Rules regarding air and land pollution have developed along similar lines. Still, even as these rules have been developed through a process of observation, analysis, interpretation, and judicial decisions, they have been constrained by the larger system of rules put in place by the state's legislature that sets clear limits on what the Department is able and supposed to do.
Conclusion
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection does a remarkably efficient job despite its lack of abundant regulatory authority. Its land and waterway purchasing programs have done much to preserve the natural resources of the state both for public enjoyment and for the continued health of Florida altogether. The large annual budget that the Department enjoys is certainly one reason behind its success, but the continued support of the Florida taxpayers and the state's elected and appointed officials is definitely at the heart of its success, as well.
