DEP Names New Water Policy Directors

The following media release was published yesterday (8.16.11) by DEP naming the folks who will head Water Policy and Ecosystem Restoration, and State Water Policy development and implementation for the state.

These are folks you'll want to keep on your radar.  From coordinating consistent water regulation and development policies among the five very different water management districts to restoration of the Everglades, they've got their work cut out. 

The major issue will be: to what extent will Florida's future quality of life be sacrificed?  Perhaps it won't.  Perhaps Florida's exceptional natural systems that set it apart from all others and which collectively are the draw that keep the state's growth engine running will not be sacrificed for short term profits and short minded job generation.

Reading what they're supposed to be doing, however, sounds an awful lot like what the districts have been directed to do by legislatures and governors over the last 40 years.  What will be new is how they will propose to manage in some new and mysterious way the perfectly appropriate tension between protection of the state's invaluable natural assets and the perennial pursuit of economic sustainability. 

Even though these two players could be the salvation of Florida from the slashing and burning of the water management districts and the methodical diminution of their ability to carry out historic statutory responsibilities, I'm not encouraged.  The word is out.  Florida is up for sale to the highest bidder. 

And there's that "core mission" nonsense again.
  What it is beginning to look like is, what statutory directives is Tallahassee going to have the water management districts ignore next?

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. today announced the appointments of Gregory M. Munson as Deputy Secretary for Water Policy and Ecosystem Restoration and Dr. Ann B. Shortelle as Water Policy Director. Deputy Secretary Munson and Dr. Shortelle will coordinate state water policy development and implementation, specifically as it relates to the Water Management Districts. Deputy Secretary Munson will start at DEP on August 22 and Dr. Shortelle will start at DEP on August 30.

“One of my top priorities is getting Florida’s water right, and DEP is committed to helping Florida’s Water Management Districts focus on their core mission responsibilities,” said Secretary Vinyard.  “This means that DEP will take a more active role in Water Management District water supply program development, protection of water resources and regulatory policies.”

On April 12, 2011, Governor Rick Scott directed DEP to exercise statutory obligation to supervise activities of the state’s five Water Management Districts, including their water supply and regulatory activities, to ensure statewide consistency is achieved. Further, DEP is directed to ensure that the core responsibilities of the Districts are consistent with Chapter 373, FS for managing the state’s water resources.

“It is my intention to collaborate with the Water Management Districts on these types of discussions and decisions as they are being made,” said Deputy Secretary Munson. “I fully anticipate sitting down with each district and discussing priorities and budget options, so that there is a common understanding of what the focus is going forward.”

The Deputy Secretary for Water Policy and Ecosystem Restoration is a new title within DEP. Previously, DEP had a Deputy Secretary for Policy and Planning. Those duties have been divided up between the Deputy Secretary for Water Policy and Ecosystem Restoration and the Chief of Staff.  The modification of this position confirms Governor Scott’s desire to focus on water and ecosystem priorities. In addition to working with the Water Management Districts, the Deputy Secretary for Water Policy and Ecosystem Restoration will also oversee the DEP’s Office of Ecosystem Projects, which coordinates and assists with the policy development and implementation of a variety of restoration projects, including Everglades restoration.

“I look forward to working with the Water Management Districts to develop clear and consistent policies to effectively manage our water resources across district lines,” said Dr. Shortelle. “By opening a regular, two-way dialogue with the Water Management Districts, I know we can work together to address flood protection, water supply and quality, and resource protection in a fiscally responsible manner.”

The Water Policy Director is a new position that will work directly with Secretary Vinyard and Deputy Secretary Munson on overseeing Water Management District activities, including water supply, water quality, management and resource regulation, guiding rulemaking activities and evaluating land acquisition programs. The Water Policy Director will also promote statewide water management consistency taking into account the differing, regional characteristics of Florida’s water resources.

About Gregory M. Munson

*Photo available upon request*

Deputy Secretary Munson began his career in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in 1989. He earned several Aerial Achievement Medals as a Mission Director on the RC-135 intelligence-gathering aircraft, and resigned from the Air Force as a Captain in 1995. He attended Vanderbilt University Law School. In 1998, Mr. Munson clerked for the Honorable J.L. Edmondson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Mr. Munson moved to Florida in 1999 to become an Assistant General Counsel to Governor Jeb Bush, where he served until 2002. In 2002, Mr. Munson became an assistant United States Attorney for the United States Department of Justice in Miami, Florida.  Mr. Munson became General Counsel for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 2004. As the state's chief environmental lawyer, he was involved in litigation and negotiations surrounding America's Everglades, Total Maximum Daily Load program, and the tri-state water dispute between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. He personally participated in the defense of Florida's rules to reduce emissions from utility plants, and the defense of Florida's beach restoration program, ultimately resolved in favor of FDEP by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010, in Stop the Beach Renourishment  Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

He became General Counsel for WRS Infrastructure & Environment, Inc., now WRScompass, in February, 2007. WRScompass is a full-service environmental remediation firm that performs large scale environmental remediation and civil construction projects, including restoration work in the Florida Everglades, cleaning up Superfund sites on behalf of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, expanding levees in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and performing technologically complex remediation for several Fortune 500 clients.

About Dr. Ann Shortelle

Dr. Shortelle has over 25 years of professional experience in lake, riverine, and reservoir management for water quantity and quality, surface water/wetlands restoration enhancing water quality and source water protection, surface water modeling, permitting and environmental assessments.  Since receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Shortelle has worked in the private sector as a consultant, serving recently as MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, Inc.’s (now AMEC E&I, Inc) Chief Scientist in Florida, and Water Practice Leader.  She joined MACTEC in 1988 and has served as a chief scientist, senior principal and senior project manager.

She has managed numerous projects related to restoration, siting/licensing, mitigation planning, source water evaluation, and natural resource damage assessment. She has served as a technical expert and reviewer, and has served as an expert witness.  She has conducted, participated in, managed, directed, and provided technical oversight for hundreds of projects in the State of Florida, the United States, and Puerto Rico. She has conducted trainings and workshops related to water quality, quantity, and sustainability, and given numerous papers at professional conferences. Shortelle has authored/ co-authored more than 40 publications and presentations on environmental and ecological topics.

Dr. Shortelle is a member of the North American Lake Management Society, the American Water Resources Association, and other professional organizations. She is currently serving on the North American Lake Management Society’s Board of Directors, and was a former two term member of the Florida Lake Management Society Board of Directors and served on the policy advisory committee to DEP for designated use and classification refinement for surface waters.  She holds a Ph.D. in limnology from the University of Notre Dame and a B.S. in biology from Mercer University.