Department of Environmental Protection secretary resigns

Jon Steverson, Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, resigned from his post on Friday. His resignation will take effect on February 3rd.

In his letter to Scott, Steverson wrote:

"Thank you so much for the opportunity to serve you and the people of the great state of Florida in this role for the last two years. In this time, the Department has worked tirelessly to meet our vision of creating strong community partnerships, safeguarding Florida's natural resources and enhancing its ecosystems. Your leadership and laser focus on actually completing projects that improve the environment and people's quality of life provided the foundation and motivation for the Department's success in those endeavors."

In his statement regarding Steverson's departure, Scott said:

“I want to thank Jon Steverson for his hard work. Jon has devoted his career to protecting Florida’s pristine environment and I am proud of the tremendous and historic strides we have made toward safeguarding Florida’s natural resources during his time at DEP. Under his leadership, we have invested in Florida’s natural lands and completed projects which will ensure protection of our springs, restoration of the Everglades and the continued enhancement of our award-winning state parks for years to come.”

Jon Steverson

Steverson has been a controversial figure in Tallahassee politics. He started as an interim FDEP Secretary in December 2014. The Florida Senate declined to confirm him in 2015, though he finally won confirmation January of 2016.He also caused tensions by proposing to turn state parks into cattle ranches, logging operations, and hunting grounds. Then, he attempted to hire Gary Clark, whose only qualifications was a degree he received online, owner of Subway franchises, but no environmental experience. More recently, he did not immediately notify the public that a huge sinkhole formed under the Mosaic phosphate fertilizer plant in Mulberry that may have dumped 215 million gallons of contaminated water into the Floridan Aquifer.

Before becoming FDEP secretary, Steverson was the executive director of the Northwest Florida Water Management District since 2012. Before that, he served at FDEP from 2011 to 2012 as a special counsel on policy and legislative affairs and acting deputy secretary for water policy and ecosystem restoration. He also served in the Executive Office of the Governor from 2005 to 2009 in multiple roles, including environmental policy coordinator.

FDEP officials met with Apopka City Administrator Glenn Irby and Assistant Public Services Director Kevin Burgess on Thursday in regards to a warning letter it sent to the City in December. There were no new details according to Apopka Public Information Officer Robert Sargent. State officials are continuing their review.

Several news organizations contributed to this report.