2014 Spring Newsletter

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LLW In the News: Western Communities Council hires lobbyist to push State Road 7 project

ROYAL PALM BEACH — The Western Communities Council tapped the law firm Lewis, Longman & Walker to throw some political muscle behind the $80 million SR 7 expansion project and to temper West Palm Beach’s opposition to it.  The firm, which has offices in West Palm Beach, Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Tampa Bay, specializes in environmental issues — one of the main reasons why the council selected it, said Councilman David Swift.

“They submitted an excellent résumé,” Swift said. “They have an excellent environmental background … and we think a lot of the State Road 7 expansion will be about environmental issues.”

Click the link to view the full article http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/western-communities-council-hires-lobbyist-to-push/nd9SL/

Florida’s New Crop: Is Water Farming For You?

By: Michelle Diffenderfer and Kathryn B. Rossmell

One of the biggest challenges of water management is getting water in the right place at the right time in the right amount. Government agencies and water users are constantly seeking alternative ways to expand the “water pie” during dry times and avoiding flooding during the wet season.

As with any commodity, there are supply-side and demand-side approaches—in this case ranging from water conservation to desalination to aquifer storage and recovery, and myriad creative solutions in between. One supply-side alternative being explored in South Florida attempts to control the flow and storage of water through contracts with private landowners in a water farming program known as dispersed water management (DWM). DWM is defined as “shallow water distributed across parcel landscapes using relatively simple structures.”

HOW DWM WORKS

Under the DWM model, the government is using privately owned land to store water for public benefit through the use of cost-sharing agreements and easements with landowners. The landowners and government sign fixed-term contracts, agreeing to the cooperative project to retain or detain water on the land in exchange for payment. The land becomes a highly sophisticated rain barrel that gathers water when it is plentiful and releases water when it is needed.

To obtain these services, the government “buyer” announces a solicitation inviting landowners to apply and negotiate over the terms of the agreement. In all cases, payment for DWM services is contingent on documentation throughout the term of the contract, and the services provided must be above and beyond any regulatory requirements the landowner already has.

DWM’S HISTORY

The DWM project’s origins extend back to 2005 when the South Florida Water Management District

(SFWMD), the World Wildlife Fund, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and a group of Florida ranchers signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to create a payment- for-environmental-services (PES) program.

The agreement led to a six-year pilot project called the Florida Ranchlands Environmental Services Project (NE – PES).  Eight “environmental pioneer” ranchers field-tested design elements and concepts. These projects were largely focused on water farming in low-intensity agricultural areas such as pastures.

The pilot project was considered successful, and in 2010 the Northern Everglades Payment for Environmental Services (NE-PES) program was launched.  Today the project partners comprise an assortment of government, agricultural, and research groups, and the project is supported by environmental organizations.

Seeing the Complete FOG Picture

By: Kevin S. Hennessy

FOG (fats, oils, and grease) is a major component of discharges from certain food service establishments. Homes and large food processing facilities can also be significant contributors of FOG, the leading cause of public sewer system blockages and treatment plant upsets. The resulting sewer backups, access-hole overflows, and wastewater spills in turn lead to contamination and damage to homes, businesses, and the environment. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in a report to Congress (2004) stated that “grease from restaurants, homes and industrial sources are the most common cause (47%) of reported blockages.” More recent data compiled by USEPA indicated that more than 65% of spills nationwide may be caused by FOG (USEPA, 2009).  However, although the need to stop FOG from clogging sewers and treatment plants is certainly an important challenge for local governments and publicly owned treatment works (POTWs), it is just the first step in what should be a comprehensive, cradle-to-grave approach to handling FOG.

Historically, FOG control was not a distinct management activity for POTWs’ collection-system operation and maintenance, Collection systems clogged with FOG often went undetected until an overflow actually occurred. Clogs were simply pushed open to reestablish flow, and the FOG flowed in a slug to a treatment plant. As a result, there were severe problems at the plant such as handling FOG, odor from FOG, and clogging of plant equipment. Large amounts of FOG in a treatment plant also increase treatment costs for aerobic treatment processes and stimulate growth of undesirable and harmful filamentous microorganisms in the activated sludge process.

As the adverse effects of FOG in sewer systems have increased over time and utilities have identified FOG as the culprit in the majority of their spills, overflows, and maintenance costs, some local governments have taken action to protect facilities and educate the public about the problems caused by FOG. Grease is especially problematic because when it is hot, it is liquid and stays dissolved in water; however, as grease cools it solidifies, reduces conveyance capacity, and can ultimately block the flow of sewer water. The costs to perform sewer system maintenance associated with keeping sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) clear of FOG can run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for an average-sized sewer system.

The initial response by local governments on the cutting edge of this nationwide FOG dilemma has been to enact or modify pretreatment ordinances to impose and enforce FOG regulatory controls for food service establishments in an attempt to reduce interferences with WWTP operations. Some efforts have included establishing numeric pretreatment limits and/or requiring best management practices, such as the use and proper maintenance of interceptor or collection devices.

Firm News

On March 26th, LLW held a reception to honor the firm’s 20th Anniversary at the YachtSea Grille in Bradenton, Florida.  The event also welcomed new hire Matthew B. Taylor to the firm.  Over 75 clients and friends attended this special event.  LLW plans to celebrate its 20th Anniversary with receptions in each of its four office locations.

The Sunshine 811 Golf Tournament will be held May 23, 2014 in Lake Mary, Florida. The mission of Sunshine 811 is to promote excavation safety and utility damage prevention by providing a dependable and efficient 811 communications center.  Click here for more information about Sunshine 811.

The 40th Anniversary Equal Opportunity Day Awards Luncheon will be held May 15, 2014 in West Palm Beach, Florida.  The luncheon is co-hosted by the Urban League of Palm Beach County.  Al Malefatto serves on the Board of Directors for the Urban League of Palm Beach County.  Click here for more information about the organization.

The Moments Luncheon & Silent Auction, hosted by Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County will be held May 9, 2014 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to providing education and access to care for uninsured and underinsured pregnant women and teens in Palm Beach County. Tara Duhy is a co-chair of the event and LLW is a sponsor. Click here for more information about the organization.

Kim Ayers, Human Resource Manager at LLW, was recently appointed treasurer of the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators. Ed Ratka, Chief Operating Officer of LLW, was recently appointed co-chair of the Speaker’s Committee. The Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) is a global organization of more than 9,000 members, whose professional concern is the effective management of government, corporate and private agencies and departments devoted to the delivery of legal services. Click here for more information about the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators.

LLW will sponsor the 10th Annual Leadership Excellence Award on April 25, 2014 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The event is hosted by Leadership Palm Beach County. Click here for more information about Leadership Palm Beach County.

The 41st Annual JIAMC Chris Forner Invitational Golf Tournament will be held April 14, 2014 in Jacksonville, Florida. Sean Alveshire will participate in the event. JIAMC is a business networking organization that has been active for more than 35 years at the Jacksonville Airport.

LLW was a proud sponsor of the Pine Jog Masquerade Ball on April 12, 2014 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Proceeds from the event will support the Pine Jog Environmental Education Center. Bob Diffenderfer serves on the Board of Directors for the Pine Jog Environmental Education Center. Click here for more information.

Brenna Durden and Sean Alveshire will participate in the FCMA Golf Tournament on April 11, 2014 in Jacksonville, Florida.  The Golf Tournament is hosted by the First Coast Manufacturers Association.  All proceeds from the event support the FCMA UCF Engineering School Scholarship Fund.  Click here for more information about FCMA.

On April 10, Deborah Getzoff and Kathryn Rossmell spoke at the three-day National Association of Environmental Professionals Annual Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida. Deborah moderated a panel on the Implementation of Numeric Nutrient Criteria with speakers from USEPA in Washington, D.C. and the states of Ohio and Florida. She provided an overview of national efforts to establish numeric nutrient criteria and addressed the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone and current federal litigation; Kathryn provided the legal background for the establishment of numeric nutrient criteria in Florida. The effect of Florida’s rulemaking is still on hold until EPA completes the withdrawal of its previously adopted nutrient standards in Florida. The Notice of Withdrawal was issued April 2, 2014 with a 60-day comment period ending on June 2, 2014.

LLW is a 2014 Sponsor of the Treasure Coast Chapter of the Florida Association of Environmental Professionals (FAEP).  FAEP is a multidisciplinary professional association of Environmental Professionals from a variety of disciplines including: biologists, scientist, geologists, environmental engineers, environmental attorneys,   environmental attorneys, wetland scientists, botanists, planners, and many other disciplines that perform environmental work.  Click here for more information about the organization.

The Bay Area Manufacturers Association Scholarship Golf Tournament was held April 7, 2014 in Odessa, Florida.  Since 1992 more than $135,000 has been raised by the BAMA Golf Scholarship Golf Tournament for scholarships in the community.  Sean Alveshire and Kevin Hennessy attended the golf tournament and LLW was a sponsor. Click here to read more.

The annual Tax & Securities Law Institute of the National Association of Bond Lawyers was held in Boston, MA, March 26-28, 2014. Jack McWilliams participated in panel discussions at the event regarding recommended disclosure policies and procedures for local governments that issue municipal securities in order to comply with the federal securities laws applicable to such issuers both in the initial offering of the municipal securities and in the continuing disclosure reports required to be disseminated to the municipal market for the entire time that such municipal securities are outstanding.

The LLW Tallahassee Office hosted the Florida Library Association (FLA) Library Days Advocates’ Reception on March 25, 2014 as a part of this year’s Library Days at the Legislature event.  Click here for more information about the event.

Steve Walker, Al Malefatto and Sean Alveshire participated in the 2014 South Florida Manufacturers’ Association (SFMA) Excellence Awards Banquet held March 20, 2014 in Dania Beach, Florida.

A Pair to Remember event was held March 20, 2014 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The event is hosted by Easter Seals Florida, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing exceptional services, education, outreach and advocacy for people living with autism. Tara Duhy serves on the Easter Seals Board of Directors and is a member of the Event Committee. LLW is a proud sponsor of the event. Click here to read more.

The Palm Beach International Boat Show Kickoff Party was held March 19, 2014 in West Palm Beach, Florida.  The event is hosted by the Marine Industries of Palm Beach County, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the growth of the marine industry in Palm Beach County.  LLW was a proud sponsor of the event.  Click here for more information about the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County.

Matt Taylor participated in the 7th Annual Construction Law Institute was held March 20-22, 2014 in Orlando, Florida. The Construction Law Institute is a seminar hosted by the Florida Bar. Click here to read more about the Construction Law Institute.

Jim Linn and Glenn Thomas spoke at the Florida Public Employer Labor Relations Association annual conference in Orlando in February. The presentation addressed topics such as recent changes to the Florida Retirement System, the 2014 legislative session and pension reform options for local governments.