Florida has more wetlands than any state except Alaska.
Will that be the case if the state Department of Environmental Protection succeeds in getting full responsibility for issuing permits to developers who want to fill in wetlands?
The DEP says it will be. Environmentalists worry it won't be. Even an official from an engineering firm that works with developers said he has "mixed emotions."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one of two federal agencies whose oversight would be eliminated, is expected to decide on DEP's official request for sole authority as early as mid-December. The other agency is the Army Corps of Engineers.