by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Utility estimates $1.3 billion impact
A proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency that many think will eventually become a mandatory federal regulation could cost JEA $1.3 billion.
That cost, says JEA Managing Director/CEO Jim Dickenson, will be passed on to the utility’s customers.
The issue has been discussed internally for awhile, but became public Tuesday during the monthly meeting of the JEA board. The regulation, called the Numeric Nutrient Criteria, deals with the nutrient content of the state’s bodies of water.
“Specifically, the issue is one that pits State control versus Federal control,” said Dickenson in a March 26 letter to Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater. “The State of Florida is a leader in this field, having some of the most progressive nutrient regulation in the nation. However, the current track being taken by the EPA is the proposal of criteria that are not met in many cases even with the pristine environments, and that are both scientifically and financially unattainable for the State of Florida.”
According to Dickenson, if the EPA regulation passes, it could mean a rate increase for JEA customers of 60 percent over a 10-year period. He said the total cost of the utilities in the state is between $25 billion and $50 billion, meaning most Floridians would see an increase in their water and sewer bills of about $700 a year.
“These are trains coming at us from both the state and federal level,” said JEA Board member Mike Hightower.
Earlier this month, Dickenson appealed to U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown for help. He told Brown the Florida Department of Environmental Protection conducted an analysis that showed, if passed, the regulation would “declare over 80 percent of Florida’s pristine bodies of water as impaired and would require the nonsensical cleanup of waters in their best natural condition. With the current state of the economy, clearly the last thing we need to be doing in Florida is fixing problems where they don’t exist.”
It may be a couple of years or more before the legislation passes at the national level. That, according to Hightower, gives JEA and the state’s other utilities time to lobby newly elected officials.
“The election in November will give us a brand new cabinet,” he said, adding some cabinet members may retain positions with the new governor, but likely will be in new jobs. “We will have new House leadership, a new cabinet and a new governor.”
Paul Steinbrecher, JEA director of permitting and regulatory conformance, said there are serious flaws with the proposed EPA regulation.
“There are two big problems,” he said. “One, the EPA’s underlying science is very poor and it’s going to be torn apart,” he said. “Two, the poor standards are going to unseat the existing good standards.”
Steinbrecher said JEA will submit its comments to the EPA, but his expectations are low.
“Our comments have fallen on deaf ears and we don’t expect that to change,” said Steinbrecher. “The EPA has not been transparent at all about what the costs will be.”
Dickenson said another effect of the EPA regulation will be the loss of jobs because of the increase in costs incurred by the state.
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