Environment

The Alachua County Library Headquarters Branch hosted an event to educate on local sustainability to reduce plastic waste after the repeal of the plastic bag ban.

The scorned smell that wafts from Cabot-Koppers Superfund site on Northwest 23rd Avenue in Gainesville is from the excavation of the odorous pine tar still in the ground where charcoal facilities used to be on the Cabot Corp.’s 50-acre portion of the site.

The Suwannee County Water Management District will vote on the renewal of the Seven Springs Water Company’s contract later this year.

The first class in October consisted of an overview of Florida’s springs. It detailed how human interaction has affected springs, rivers and lakes over the years and how efforts can be made to repair damages already done. 

The Varroa destructor, an aggressive mite, is the leading cause of bee decline and colony collapse. But a new research method at the University of Florida may give the bees a fighting chance.

Local lawns might not look as green this fall due to an updated Alachua County fertilizer ordinance, and lawn care companies are starting to feel the effects. The amended ordinance, which took effect on Oct. 1, implemented a seasonal ban on the use of fertilizers containing nitrogen – a main …

The Chemours Company proposed a special permit in September to mine on 886 acres of land.

Read the judge's full ruling from Monday here.

The permit, if approved, would allow Nestlé to pump about 1.2 million gallons of water a day from Ginnie Springs. The spring is already classified as impaired, and local environmentalists argue that the permit would further damage the recovering waterway and surrounding community.

Recent additions to the Alachua County airboating ordinance and an additional $20,000 budget allows for additional lake patrolling.