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Florida’s Right to Clean Water Movement Resumes
The effort to grant Floridians a right to clean and healthy water has resumed, this time aiming to secure a state constitutional amendment through a 2026 ballot initiative.
The Florida Right to Clean Water ballot initiative was originally proposed for the 2024 ballot, but ultimately fell short of the 900,000 signatures necessary for review by the Florida Supreme Court. However, the initiative is back with revised language and an energized group of professionals and volunteers.
If you already signed the Florida Right Clean Water petition, you will have to do so again to be counted for the 2026 initiative. If you are a Lee county resident who signed, you can expect to receive a petition in the mail, along with additional petitions to hand out to your friends and neighbors.
The Right to Clean Water amendment would grant Floridians standing to sue state executive agencies who are tasked with ensuring that Florida’s water is clean when these efforts are falling short, explained Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis.
“Many of Florida’s waterways are impaired, and under the Clean Water Act, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is tasked with crafting plans to clean the water,” DePaolis said. “Currently, there is little the average Floridian can do to hold their leaders accountable if no progress is being made. This initiative would change that.”
On April 18, SCCF Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis joined the Friends of the Everglades’ live panel to discuss the Florida Right to Clean Water movement. Register here or watch live on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or X.
“Here in South Florida our environment, our economy, and our way of life requires clean water, and this amendment would be a great tool to ensuring that our water is clean for generations to come,” DePaolis said.