The South Florida and Treasure Regional Planning Councils (RPC) met on Friday, October 16th at 10:00 a.m. in Joint Session. The meeting was co-chaired by The Honorable Steve Geller, First Vice Chair, South Florida RPC, and Council Member Michael Houston, Chair, Treasure Coast RPC.

The Councils considered testimony and discussed the Future Water Supply for Southeast Florida; Biscayne Bay’s Recovery Plan Case Study; Southeast Florida Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Area Water Quality Monitoring Program; and Florida’s Coral Reef. The Council’s unanimously passed and adopted:

  • Joint Resolution TCSF #20-01, related to the Florida’s DEP Coral Reef Protection and Restoration Program.
  • Joint Resolution TCSF #20-02, related to Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Investment.
  • Joint Resolution TCSF #20-03, related to Human Wastewater and Biosolids Management. Also discussed was an Innovative Technology to Remove Biomass and Accumulated Nutrients from water.
  • Lastly, the Councils adopted Joint Resolution TCSF #20-04, related to Affordable Housing, urging the Florida Legislature to continue to support local housing programs by appropriating 100% of the monies deposited in the State and Local Housing Trust Funds for housing for Fiscal Year 2021-2022.

The public was encouraged to attend and contributed a number of comments to show their support for the advancement and improvement of South Florida’s waterways. Approximately 175 people attended the webinar. Meeting information can be found at www.sfrpc.com/agenda.

“We were delighted to recently meet with our counterparts at the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. Together the South Florida and Treasure Coast RPCs serve seven counties and 6.8 million residents representing one-third of Florida’s population. We understand the importance of a regional approach on many major issues. Today’s meeting focused on Water issues, including drinking water, the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, flood control, environmental, and other water issues critical to life in South Florida. The Councils will continue their multi-year collaboration to work together to address critical issues facing Southeast Florida and create a better future and quality of life for our residents.”

Steve Geller, SFRPC Chair

 

“Representatives of the communities in Southeast Florida from Sebastian in the north to Key West in the south came together to discuss the challenges facing our region in the critically important issues of drinking water supply, storm water , wastewater , water quality, and the health and survival of coral reefs and to reach consensus on what to do today to improve outcomes in the future. While progress is being made in many of these areas, there is still much to do and by working together and taking action now we can make real and meaningful progress for our collective future.”

Michael Houston, TCRPC Chair

The membership of the Regional Planning Councils consists of county and municipal elected officials, gubernatorial appointees, and ex-officio members from the Florida of Department Economic Opportunity, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Transportation, and the South Florida Water Management District. The South Florida RPC represents Monroe, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties. The Treasure Coast RPC represents Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties. The Councils support the region’s elected leaders and public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders through regional, collaborative planning and the development and implementation of programs and strategies shaping a better future for South Florida.

For more information about the programs available through the SFRPC, please visit www.sfregionalcouncil.org and for programs available with the

TCRPC, please visit www.tcrpc.org.