What Environmental Topics and Programs Are Covered on the Florida DEP Website?

Updated

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (floridadep.gov) is the state's lead agency for environmental management and stewardship, and its website organizes that work into five main areas: Air, Lands, Parks & Rec, Waste, and Water. Each section links to the specific permitting, monitoring, conservation, and grant programs the agency runs. The site also highlights large-scale initiatives such as Everglades restoration and the Resilient Florida Program, plus a Document Resource Hub for finding public publications and forms.

The five core topic areas

The homepage presents these as the agency's primary functions, each with its own "Learn More" entry point:

Topic What it covers (per the site)
Air Air quality monitoring; air emission permitting and compliance; certification of power plants, transmission lines, and natural gas pipelines
Lands Buying, selling, and leasing state lands; land management and conservation programs; Florida Forever
Parks & Rec State parks, trails, aquatic preserves, and national estuarine research reserves; ecotourism
Waste Solid and hazardous waste permitting and compliance; petroleum storage systems; the state recycling program; contaminated site cleanup
Water State water policy; water resources permitting and compliance; water quality standards and restoration plans; grant and loan programs

If you are trying to figure out which part of the site applies to you, start from the topic that matches your activity — for example, a business seeking an emissions permit goes to Air, while someone researching public recreation options goes to Parks & Rec.

Featured programs and initiatives

Beyond the five categories, the site spotlights several named efforts:

  • Restoring America's Everglades — described as the world's largest ecosystem restoration project, aimed at restoring the Everglades' natural water flow and improving water quality.
  • Florida Forever — a land acquisition program intended to strengthen landscape connectivity, enhance ecosystem resilience, and protect natural heritage.
  • Protecting Florida Together (ProtectingFloridaTogether.gov) — provides up-to-date water quality data from across Florida for the public.
  • Resilient Florida — helps communities identify risks through planning grants and supports adaptation and mitigation strategies via a Statewide Resilience Plan.
  • Florida's Section 404 Program — a permitting program the site notes was halted by a federal court order on Feb. 15, 2024, pausing all activity.

Finding documents and forms

The site includes a Document Resource Hub that searches two types of documents available to the public: Publications and Forms. This is the place to look if you need an official form or a published report rather than a program overview.

About the agency

A separate "About DEP" area covers the agency's mission, vision and goals, the Office of the Secretary, an organization chart, a performance dashboard, and career opportunities. The site also offers a Sign Up link (floridadep.gov/subscribe) for updates.

In short, the site functions as both a public information portal and a working entry point for permits, compliance, conservation programs, and environmental data across Florida's air, land, water, waste, and recreation systems.