Governor Rick Scott continues effort to put together a strong Economic Action Team as he develops new leadership for a new energized Florida Department of Environmental Protection.  Known for Truth and Effective Straight Talk, Hershel Vinyard Jr. appointment is confirmed by the Florida Senate.  Governor receives "A+" from Florida Tax Watch.  EDC Florida sets a goal to develop Florida Tourism with a DEP Parks Base.  Theme is Best Visit Adventure.

Governor also kicked off the 500 Year Celebration Viva Florida.  Marion County is Central Florida headquarters with Viva La Florida.  Art, Adventure, History and our Future are linked to the celebration of Columbus setting foot on the new world, La Florida. 

 Sponsors: Best Florida Visit   Viva La Florida   Best Florida Bank   Cool Spring Ocala®  Ocala/Marion   Springs Protection  

 World Solutions   Marion Sun Times   EDC Marion County   My Ocala   Silver Springs Working Group   

Central Florida Public Policy Institute   Heart of Florida  Marion County EDC   TDC Marion 

 Discover Marion County   Ocala Best   Browning's List  Marion County Visitor's Bureau

Water Czar Walter Pine Named 2011 Water Czar Technical Wizzard.  Muriel Carty, Walter Pine and Team Conservation salute Representative Trudi Williams and Senator Alan Hays for their keen legislative leadership in blocking an EPA takeover of Florida's clean water programs.  Together with Gov. Scott they offered renewed efforts to promote Florida's Economy through better stewardship, historical understanding and valuing of Florida's Environment.  

Newly appointed DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard has already assembled a team to re-energize Florida's front line environmental agency.  Legislators and the Florida Cabinet join Governor Rick Scott in organizing a central theme of cooperation for Florida's 5 water districts to develop a central coordinated policy of creating a healthy economic opportunity while protecting Florida's environment.  EPA has already become well entrenched in Florida with the Everglades planning program that spends millions.  Reducing EPA's bureaucratic takeover is also high on Florida's priority list.

Just in:  Marion County Commissioners consider World Wide marketing of The Ocala Dome Mineral Water enjoyed for centuries in Historic Marion County.   How many billions of clean fresh mineral water do we need to send to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean before we consider fresh water's value.  Florida is moving closer to a stable consistent water policy for the state.  Five Water Districts of Florida have sometimes functioned erratically setting policy that conflicts and kills investment between near by districts.  Fundamental value and stewardship principles must be coordinated state wide.  Building a desal plant to produce fresh water while discharging a billion gallons of fresh water daily from a near by county is shows the need for state wide coordination of policy.  Florida has a long history of Flowing Springs that must be saved by a beneficial recharge of some of the water that currently goes out to the Gulf and Atlantic.

Governor Rick Scott's recent appointment of Herschel Vinyard is key to creating a structure of consistency across water district boundaries.  Melissa Meeker is being tapped to help coordinate policy between Florida's 5 districts.  An example of typographical features dictating geologic and hydro-logic boundaries is Swiftmud to the west of I 75 in Marion County, and St Johns District to the east of I 75.  Stretching north through central Florida I-75 sets an imaginary bureaucratic boundary down through the Surficial and Floridan Aquifer.  

Confused citizens attempt to navigate sometimes mind numbing contradictory policies.  Businesses are unwilling to invest because policy can change with the shift of single district regulation votes. Even within a district one county can send Sewer Effluent into the Aquifer feeding First Magnitude Springs while new springs protection regulations in the receiving county can fall short of regulating the pollution.   Inconsistent Water Policy is opening the door to arguments for EPA control of Florida policy.  Governor Scott is establishing a structure of consistent policy long advocated by Florida Water Czar founders Team Conservation.  A lack of consistent policy resulted from Water District Board appointments of persons with no real understanding of regional or state water issues.  Staff wars between districts sometimes resulted in detrimental policy for a region and even the entire State of Florida.  

Billion Dollar Water District empire budget growth has actually reduced chances of a positive outcome in many cases.  Staff expansion building regulation on bad policy has resulted in a clear understanding by the voters that reform is needed.  Sending Governor Rick Scott to Tallahassee to reenergize Florida Government is having the positive effect that voters hoped for.  Clearly government at all levels has gotten out of control.  Bidding wars within state funded agencies is causing an imbalance between Government job pay and Private Sector job pay.  Clearly finding a job in government kills private sector jobs and business investment.  Clever terms like doing more with less, environmentalism, globalism, sustainability and best management practices have been hijacked by anti Economic Growth interest now identified as the Axis of Unemployment.  Florida is fighting its way back to a vital healthy private economy under the leadership of Governor Rick Scott and a new breed effective team players.  The new Economic Action Team is on track to revitalize Florida's Economic Vitality.

 World Class Artesian Mineral Water may be saved from dumping by improved policy.  Jobs and revenue to the State of Florida could result from more consistent valuing of Florida's Natural Treasures.

Along the old route 19 near Lake George is example after example of Artesian Spring Magic.

Marion County Commissioners are attempting to work with residents who live out in the Ocala Forest to insure that Bottled Mineral Water distribution will be installed properly.  Viva La Florida is the 500 year celebration of Florida's rich history. 

 Ocala LimeStone Dome® Mineral Water has long been recognized as a Natural Treasure.  Now the Central Florida Area will benefit by inviting the world to enjoy our treasured water.  Citizens are beginning to calculate the value of watering the Ocklawaha and the Withlacoochee rivers with clean drinking water bubbling out at our springs.

Demand for Water and Calls for Conservation  Suggest Ocala may be targeting Silver Springs from below.  Ocala's Water Director eyes Silver Springs as water source.  Currently Ocala "big gulp" wells draw aquifer water away as it inters Silver Springs reducing flow.  Save Silver Springs Executive Director Stephen Hunter points to the 1 billion gallons of fresh drinking water lost daily to the gulf and ocean from Silver and Rainbow Springs.  Ocala is drawing Silver Springs down from underneath at a rate of $1.50 per thousand gallons.  Taking the water from above or below is the same, the water is worth millions and Ocala's city limits can expand below the ground.  Silver Springs is in Marion County, outside the City of Ocala.  Drawing from Silver Springs above ground would create a water war with Marion County residents.  Drawing from below the ground 

Marion County Commissioners may not allow Ocala to take water from under Silver Springs as County Residents begin to understand the value of drinking water.  

 Marion County has two springs Silver and Rainbow that send water valued at $1.50 per thousand gallons to the gulf and Atlantic daily.  1 Billion Gallons is valued at $1,500,000 daily goes to sea and Ocala is looking for water.

Much like Cuba side drilling ( or Slant Drilling ), under U. S. A. Gulf oil fields from underneath, Ocala Utilities is currently able do draw water from inside the Springs Protection Zone out of sight of Marion County Residents.  Much as Cuba cannot drill into U S oil fields from above, they can slant drill and draw out the valuable oil.  Ocala Utilities can't draw from the springs above but they can draw the same water from below.  St Johns Water Management has actual jurisdiction and has allowed Ocala draining storm water into the aquifer as replacement for the drinking water taken at a lower depth.  Called Beneficial Recharge both Gainesville and Ocala send their storm water into the drinking water aquifer feeding Silver and Rainbow Springs.

Ocala Marion County is usually the name given to a Marion County initiative because of the long history of Ocala City as the county seat, however when it comes to water, residents are concerned that Ocala may be the problem rather than the solution.  

 Excess pumping of the Floridan that feeds the Springs is drawing Silver and Rainbow Springs water away from underneath.  A battle is brewing between Ocala residents and Marion County residents over the draw down of surface waters by Ocala Utilities.  1 billion gallons that is wasted daily flowing out to the Ocklawaha especially is egregious.  Ocala has their eye on the 500,000 gallons that daily flows out of Marion County.  Yes it is pretty to look at but Ocala keeps hinting that they need a new fresh water source.  Step one in using the drinking water of Silver Springs is to stop draining the City of Ocala storm water into the spring.  In 2009 Ocala stopped dumping a 60 inch pipe that drained most of Ocala city streets into the Silver River.   Many water experts saw Ocala's admission of Drainage Wells and Surface draining into Silver Springs as the necessary cleanup so the water could be used by Ocala Utilities.  

 Ocala Star Banner calls for repairing old City of Ocala infrastructure that is leaking clean drinking water.   Plagued with chronic utility failures and old drainage well storm-water utilities, Ocala residents are faced with even higher water bills in the future.  Wasted drinking water will ultimately accelerate the population loss in Ocala as city utility waste the drinking water pumped from the Floridan Aquifer.  Experts have pointed to Ocala draining Aquifer water causing a drop in Silver Springs flow.  For years Ocala has attempted to stop growth in Marion County as the city wealthy and educated move out of Ocala.  

In the past few decades Ocala has fallen from 60% of the population to the current 17% estimate.  Losing water at city watering meters all across the city is causing increased utility bills for the folks left in Ocala.  Bad management systems have the Ocala water officials hoping to keep the economy from growing.  Ocala Star Banner writer Susan Latham Carr writes that the current economy has slowed and that is helping the city of Ocala Utilities, however the reduction in growth can't last indefinitely writes Ms Latham Carr.

1 Billion  Gallons of Ocala Cool Mineral Water boils out at Silver and Rainbow Springs Daily wasting a true Florida Resource.  We must Save 10% as beneficial recharge.

Efforts are underway to return up to 10% of the Spring Water back to beneficial recharge of the Floridan and Surficial Aquifers that make up the Ocala LimeStone Dome.   Marion County Commissioners have received a report from Florida Experts that outlines the plan to take and sell Silver Springs water currently suggested in the Ocala Star Banner "Ocala Utilities Looks for New Water Source".  Ocala Water Official looks for new Water Source.

New Water Czar Named by Team Conservation.  Agenda 21 Expert, Bob Burton Takes up the Challenge.  

Water Czar Emeritus Burton vows to end the Gainesville City Discharge of Sewer Effluent into the Aquifer at Kanapaha Sewer Plant.

Second Goal is to call for an investigation of the no bid contracts given to the Springs Protection political action groups operating out of FDEP. 

An agency as big as FDEP should not have to hire spokespersons to promote political agendas.  All of the separate water and environmental

agencies should become a single down sized agency.  Lobbying by agencies should stop.  Why can't an agency speak for themselves.  Six figure

executives should be able to make an appointment and speak for themselves.   

 Ending Sustainable Development is key to reducing regulation on Floridans.   Study Agenda 21 to understand how Springs Protection is responsible for one of the prime reasons for liberty loss in Florida. 

Old news: Florida Department of Environmental Protection leader Mike Sole is requiring sewage from the Silver Springs Attraction Ross Allen Island not be discharged into Springs Lagoon.  The practice of dumping into the Springs waters is considered an important reason for the increase of algae in the Springs and Silver River.  Coupled with Acres of parking delivering millions of gallons of storm sewer runoff and local urban drain pits, Silver Springs has fallen on hard times.  Sec. Mike Sole is attempting to turn around a bad situation.

Team Conservation's Florida Water Czar and Springs Protection Working Group . Com Director Don Browning has been working with the Marion County Commission to correct several major pollution issues at Silver Springs.