ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida is spending more money than ever on environmental resilience projects.
The state has awarded more than $400 million through the Resilient Florida Grant Program to help communities fight the impact of flooding and storm surge. After this year’s legislative session, some more changes are on the way.
Most states are not prepared and don’t have any action plans for dealing with climate change, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. But Florida is getting on the path.
Florida lawmakers passed a bill to create a resiliency office under the governor. It’s charged with prioritizing resilience projects. The bill does a couple of other key things: The Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, has to assess statewide flood vulnerability and sea-level rise data. The Department of Transportation is tasked with developing a resilience action plan for highways based on the conditions.
Projects show different parts of Florida could see a sea-level rise of 1-11 feet over the next 100 years.
When it comes to making sure Florida’s more than 1,300 golf courses are ready for you to tee off, lawmakers are making sure they’re certified for Best Management Practices with the help of the turfgrass science program at the University of Florida. DEP will certify courses.
Bobby Jones Golf Club in Sarasota has been part of a big $20 million renovation. Not only is it surrounded by water, but the course would also often flood. Now, it’s getting a redesign to prevent that from happening.
If crews take proper care of the greens at all of the state’s fairways, they can help keep runoff with nutrients out of our waterways and reduce the use of fertilizers, which emit greenhouse gases.
The golf course certification is good for four years, and to renew it, the team will need continuing education which includes more time to learn about the best practices for using fertilizer.
