From: TC Palm
“IScott’s appointees brought with them a new approach to regulation, articulated in a 2011 memo by then-DEP Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs Jeff Littlejohn. When violations occur, he wrote, regulators’ first consideration “should be whether you can bring about a return to compliance without enforcement.” Enforcement subsequently fell off a cliff. In 2010, DEP opened nearly 1,600 enforcement cases, according to data compiled by the Florida chapter of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. In 2017, that number was 220.”