Gov. Rick Scott named former BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards executive Herschel Vinyard of Jacksonville as secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in January.
Vinyard most recently served as director of business operations at BAE Systems, where he was responsible for strategic planning, business development and regulatory and government affairs.
He joined Atlantic Marine, which was bought by BAE Systems, in 1999 after almost a decade as an attorney and shareholder with the Smith Hulsey & Busey firm in Jacksonville.
Additionally, he also has been active in professional and civic organizations, including serving on the board of the Jacksonville Port Authority and in leadership roles in the JAX Chamber, the First Coast Manufacturers Association and the Manufacturers Association of Florida. He also served on the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.
He was appointed by Scott after the Republican governor won the election against Democrat Alex Sink.
One of the issues Vinyard is dealing with is the wastewater discharge permit for Georgia-Pacific’s Palatka paper mill.
Opponents are asking the department to delay issuing the permit, which would allow the facility to discharge treated wastewater directly into the St. Johns River. It currently discharges into Rice Creek, a tributary of the St. Johns.
Georgia-Pacific is building a four-mile wastewater discharge pipeline to the St. Johns River and opponents want further study of the economic and environmental impacts of the discharge.
An administrative judge ordered the mill to complete a pipeline to the St. Johns River by October 2012 if it couldn’t meet water standards in Rice Creek.
Vinyard met Monday with the Daily Record.
What are your goals at the Department of Environmental Protection?
We have three top priority objectives. First is regulatory certainty and consistency. Second is getting the water right, and the third one is providing better access for Floridians to our award-winning state parks.
Regulatory certainty and consistency: One, we want to follow the law — that’s always important — and we want to enforce the law. And we want to follow the law and enforce it consistently. I’ve got six DEP offices and five water management districts.
Our objective is, if you apply for a permit in Jacksonville, you’ll have the same evaluation process that you would get if you applied in Orlando. The regulatory certainty part, also, is if you’re entitled to a permit — you meet all the Florida standards — then you’re entitled to it in an efficient, timely manner, and if you don’t meet the standards, then you need to get a quick denial.
So often businesses have to go through a process where they have to wait years for a decision, and I want to make that decision quicker one way or the other, because that way they don’t have to hire the lawyers and consultants for years on end, and then if they’re not entitled to the permit, they can go on to something different.
The second item, getting the water right, is we have to improve our water quality, and also water quantity. We’ve been kind of blessed in North Florida with an abundance of water. It won’t be that way forever. And of course South Florida, sometimes they already struggle with the sufficient amount of water on the quantity side.
Then lastly, we have 160 state parks. We need to get more people out there. We have beautiful stuff — parks around springs, coral reefs, we’ve got the caverns over there in the Marianna area, miles and miles of beaches. A lot of our parks have an educational component.
We’re trying to encourage more folks to get out. I’m a believer that if you’re out in nature, you’ll be more inclined to value it, and ultimately, protect it. And it is a fantastic low cost way for families to have vacations. We have cabins and tent areas, and things like that.
Could you comment on the status of the Georgia-Pacific pipeline?
It’s important to recognize that the pipeline is different from the permit. Not all folks understand that. And also that Rice Creek runs into the St. Johns River. Also, I’m not sure everybody appreciates that.
So if the DEP was wiped off the map today, there is a judge’s order that says you are authorized to construct and operate a pipeline, if you don’t meet standards in Rice Creek.
And right now, they are failing for Rice Creek for color, and something called specific conductivity, which is salt. They’re still working on that, and we’re still working on those issues.
But the deadline the judge established was October of 2012. They’ve got to have that pipeline built by that time in order to comply with the judge’s order.
We are still pursuing solutions to see if we can scratch off and get rid of the color and conductivity issue in the meantime, but we’re trying.
The reason why both color and conductivity are not an issue in the St. Johns River where they are in Rice Creek is Rice Creek is more fresh, so on the salt side, the St. Johns River is a little saltier, it’s not an issue, and the St. Johns River is a little darker in color, and so the color and conductivity today of GP’s effluent meets the standards of St. Johns River where they don’t for Rice Creek.
Are you working with the St. Johns Riverkeeper, Neil Armingeon? He’s opposed to this.
Absolutely we’re working with him. I’ve met with him. Our staff has really reached out to him.
What about City Council? Council member Jim Love introduced a resolution asking the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to delay issuing the wastewater discharge permit for Georgia-Pacific. Have you spoken to him?
No. I have plenty on my plate without getting involved with local politics.
What’s the transition been like to move from private industry, at BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards, to head the state Department of Environmental Protection?
I tell people that I’m six inches shorter now than I was in January.
Why do you say that?
It’s an exciting, challenging job, and it’s seven days a week. I’ve never worked so hard at anything in my life, but it’s important. We’ve got a big state and environmental protection is clearly important, and it’s a passion for so many people, including me and the folks at DEP.
One thing I think has been the nicest surprise is DEP is blessed with a number of dedicated, talented people that are engineers and biologists, and they care deeply about what they do. They can maybe make more money doing something different, but they’re a huge resource for the state of Florida. I mean they’re not Alex Sink people or Rick Scott people; they’re just dedicated public servants. And they do a fantastic job.
How have state budget cuts affected your organization?
All in all, the Department of Environmental Protection has fared pretty well. A lot of states across the country are closing state parks, and we have 160 state parks, and none of them is going to be closed. The governor values DEP and our parks highly. That helps.
Any surprises? It had to have been an interesting job to take.
There are surprises every day. Again, the commitment of the employees I think was the biggest surprise, and the level of outreach that I need to do to make certain that folks know and understand what we’re doing.
Is Scott as committed to environmental protection as he should be? What are you finding when you take your tours?
I can certainly tell you that Governor Scott is committed to the environment. He has been so supportive of our activities. We’re trying to move forward on Everglades restoration in a way that hasn’t been done in a while. He moved to Florida because Florida is a beautiful place to live, and has a healthy environment, one that we can continue to improve upon.
What are the challenges that you see to the environment in Florida?
People.
How so?
We have 17 million in the state, and so we’ve got to balance the need for folks to live in a safe place. I’m going to talk about South Florida a little bit, but you have 7 million people down in southeast Florida. Flood control is a big issue, but the need to have the water move off of the land into the ocean is contrary to the need to actually hold water back and store it for the ecosystem requirements, and that’s the water recharge area. It’s a real challenge for not only DEP, but the South Florida Water Management District and the Corps of Engineers to balance. We’ve got to hold back a certain amount of water, but we can’t hold as much as we would like, because it would flood a lot of these neighborhoods down there.
It’s been said in the past that “South Florida wants our water up here in North Florida.” What’s the status of that?
I have not heard of any interdistrict water transfer proposals. At least since I’ve been in office.
Do you expect to? Maybe the economy has stopped some of the movement because there’s less development.
It’s probably some of the economy and some conservation. Per capita water consumption in Florida has dropped between 2005 and 2010 by about 20 percent. And you’re right. There’s not as much activity going on. You’d like to think some of it is some of the restrictions that we’re under at St. Johns River Management District. Actually, we had no watering restrictions in part of South Florida. But they have them now.
How did Gov. Scott come to choose you for this position?
I had the opportunity to talk to him on a couple of occasions about DEP processes, and the processes could be more efficient and yet remain protective of the environment, and that led to the question, well, why don’t you come help me? And so here I am.
Did you have to think twice about taking the appointment?
We had to pray about it, because I didn’t want to have my son leave school, and move — he’s a junior and he didn’t want to move. I don’t want to be away from my family, and so I really had to evaluate the offer.
What’s a typical week?
Last Sunday I drove to Destin and met with a group over there, and then I made my way over to Pensacola — we’re cleaning up this water body in Pensacola. I was in Tallahassee for a day, in Jacksonville, then I went to Fort Lauderdale. I’m on the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, and that was Thursday and Friday, and I flew back to Jacksonville Friday night in time to watch my son’s kickoff, which is a priority for me.
This week, I talked to the scientists out at Sawgrass, and I’ll spend today and tomorrow in Jacksonville, and I’ll drive to South Carolina to meet with the Region 4 administrator, which is the EPA person in charge of all the southeastern states. Then I’m on the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, which is a federal body, and Friday, we’re going to kick off a groundbreaking for an Everglades restoration project.
What’s the status of the state parks system?
We have the same challenge. We’re just like every business, every family in Florida, you’re trying to do more, or keep up, with fewer resources. But like I said, the governor and the Legislature have been supportive of our parks system, and we’re getting it done. We have a very committed group of parks people.
What do you see as far as the economy of the state? What is your department doing to prepare for the eventual recovery of the economy?
I think probably the efficiency and certainty that we talked about, regulatory certainty and consistency is important. So when the economy returns and folks want to start a business, that we will one, protect the environment, but two, they’re entitled to a permit before they spend all their money on lawyers and consultants. The governor is very focused on job creation. He’s in Brazil right now. I’ve never seen somebody so concerned about the 900,000 Floridians that don’t have a job. Growing up, he did not have a lot of resources, and so I think he’s been in those shoes before.
When you hear that some people think it’s too easy to get an environmental permit to grow, to expand, to develop, what do you say?
Bull. We’re not changing our standards. We’re just changing the process. We have, and will continue to have, folks that are dedicated to protecting the environment, and that’s the way it’s going to be.
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