Proposed Manatee Rules To Be Debated In Public Hearings

The proposed federal regulations, part of a legal settlement between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and a coalition of environmental groups, will be debated during public hearings in Melbourne, Florida and Daytona Beach. Environmentalists say the Army Corps of Engineers has issued permits for years without considering impacts on manatees. Wildlife Service spokesman Chuck Underwood says counties such as Brevard and Volusia may only require additional speed zones and enforcement. Underwood predicts the hearings in those counties will be tame compared with hearings in southwest Florida. Underwood predicts a loss of nearly 1,000 jobs in five years in that part of the state, and plummeting waterfront property values.