Florida Rep. Ross talks radiation monitoring, water rules with EPA administrator

Following a meeting with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson today, Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, said in a press release that the federal agency tasked with protecting the environment has “taken the broad authority irresponsibly ceded to them by Congress, and run wild with it.” Ross also said that the agency “must realize that moms and dads cannot afford thousands more in power bills or plummeting home values.”

According to his press release, Ross’ conversation with Jackson centered mostly on the federally mandated numeric nutrient criteria and the future of radiation flyovers.

The nutrient criteria were mandated by the EPA after a lawsuit brought by several environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the St. Johns Riverkeeper, due to Florida’s failure to meet requirements of the Clean Water Act. Ross said the implementation of the criteria was akin to “bowing to a lawsuit by a radical environmental group” and was “unacceptable.”

Ross also lashed out at the agency for conducting radiation monitoring at mining sites in Central Florida. “I made clear that decades of study, from industry to University, show that radiation levels at mining sites in central Florida contain less radiation than living in the suburbs of Denver, and that any radiation monitoring must be done with agreed upon benchmarks based on accepted scientific standards,” Ross said.

“EPAs commitment to conduct no future radiation flyovers was a giant step in the right direction,” Ross said about commitments made by Jackson at the meeting. ”The commitment to transparency with all parties when it comes to the data collected will also benefit all the parties involved. In addition, EPAs commitment to work with industry, from Agriculture to Phosphate, as well as with the Florida DEP, is something I believe will alleviate many of EPAs concerns.”