Slideshow from Sept. 11-12 Meeting
See Meeting materials and photos on left column
The Florida Water Resources Monitoring Council (FWRMC) inaugural meeting took place on October 11, 2006. The FWRMC was created by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to F.S. §373.026(2) and (3) which charges the FDEP with responsibility and authority to establish “standards” for water resource data and with authority to establish an advisory group. The FWRMC was created to advise FDEP in setting data and monitoring standards and help link existing monitoring programs with expanded coastal and ocean monitoring to form a comprehensive, integrated monitoring program. The FDEP is seeking advice and general consensus from its sister agencies on the best ways to proceed in this effort. Prior to the formation of the Council, previous efforts to accomplish these goals were based on a need for mutually agreed-upon standards. Monitoring efforts on a local level may be successful but integration with other regional and state efforts isn’t a priority and is often overlooked.
The current challenges to the Council will be to:
Provide data that can be shared (standardization);
Collect data that can be combined with data from other programs;
Adopt a means to distinguish data that is appropriate for the users purposes;
Identify and describe current monitoring programs;
Identify areas where coordination of efforts is feasible and cost effective;
Identify gaps and what method of “closing” them is most cost effective.
FLASH Resolutions has been retained to design the process and facilitate the meetings of the FWRMC.
Janice M. Fleischer, J.D. • 0ffices in Tallahassee and Miami 400 Capital Circle SE Suite 18-143 • Tallahassee, Florida 32301 • Office: 850-877-8939 Fax: 850-216-2568
Miami office: 305-815-4855 janice@flashresolutions.com
