A recent string of opinion columns proves just how intense the debate over new water rules proposed by the EPA have become in Florida. # The “numeric nutrient criteria” are currently mandated by the EPA, which has been calling on states to develop stringent measurements of nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen (which cause algal blooms and fish kills) since 1998. In January 2009, following a lawsuit in which a judge determined that the state of Florida was not meeting requirements in the Clean Water Act, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection committed to a deadline to establish numeric criteria in the state. # Despite an extended deadline, the department was unable to draft the criteria in time — forcing the EPA to step in and draft the criteria itself