FPMA Committee Chair Rallies for Florida Cleanup Funds
The chair of the Florida Petroleum Marketers Association’s (FPMA) Environmental Committee last week told participants at the association’s annual convention at Shingle Creek that the industry must lobby Tallahassee legislators to free up more than $150 million in funds to clean up critical pollution spills located throughout Florida.
Irv Heath, chair of the committee and president of Mount Dora-based HCR (Handex Consulting & Remediation, LLC) said that over $200 million in the Florida Inland Protection Trust Fund was swept into the general fund for other programs by Florida legislators during their last session.
“While we fully understand the current horrific and unprecedented economic situation, we cannot overlook our problems with the potential for contaminating Florida’s drinking water,” Heath told the group.
Heath presented a legislative impact action plan and urged FPMA members to lobby legislators to restore the Florida Inland Protection Trust Fund. The committee also implemented its “Adopt a Legislator” program, which encourages members and citizens to adopt and contact legislators to urge them to protect Florida’s waters and citizens and the IPTF.
Established in 1982 to clean up petroleum contaminated sites, the Florida Inland Protection Trust Fund is funded by the major oil companies that import petroleum into the state of Florida.