Keep It Wild: Our Plan for Environmental Conservation & Climate Resilience

Endorsed by the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida as well as Austin Nichols, Secretary and Board Member-at-Large of the Environmental Caucus of Sarasota County.

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For Allen Spence, protecting Florida's environment is personal. As a Florida native and resident of Babcock Ranch, America's first solar-powered town, he has chosen to raise his family in a community that values smart growth and environmental stewardship. As a Scouting America Leader in Punta Gorda, where his son is also a Scout, he teaches young people to respect and care for the outdoors.

Florida's beaches, wetlands, rivers, farms, forests, and wildlife support our economy, protect our quality of life, and define what makes our state unique. Spence believes protecting these resources is about keeping our communities healthy, supporting local jobs, and preserving Florida for future generations.

Florida faces growing challenges from overdevelopment, declining water quality, rising insurance costs, and stronger storms. Spence believes these challenges require responsible leadership, smart planning, and practical solutions that protect both our environment and our economy. 

The Problem

We face environmental and economic challenges that threaten both our communities and Florida’s future.

Florida families are struggling to insure their homes due to greater risk of natural disasters and high insurance costs. Florida homeowners now pay an average of more than $5,000 each year for home insurance, more than three times the national average.

Our water is in crisis. Drinking water has become increasingly unsafe due to inadequate regulation and industrial contamination, and more than 2,000 Florida river and lake segments are officially classified as damaged.

That same pollution, fertilizer runoff, sewage, and discharges from Lake Okeechobee, has turned toxic algal blooms and red tide into an almost annual crisis along our coasts. These blooms kill marine life by the ton, foul our beaches, and put our health at risk through contaminated water and airborne toxins. The economic toll is just as severe. Florida lost almost $3 billion in tourism revenue in 2018 alone because of red tide, and a single bloom has been projected to cost Lee County more than $5 billion in losses related to outdoor recreation and quality of life.

As our waters suffer, so does our land. Preserved lands and wildlife like the panther, sea turtle, and woodpecker are at greater risk of disappearing due to unchecked development, and at current rates, Florida is projected to lose nearly two million acres of farmland in our lifetime.

These pressures are mounting just as our safety net is shrinking. Federal disaster relief has become less available and less reliable due to funding cuts. At the same time, rapid development and industrial expansion, including gigantic AI data centers, are placing new demands on Florida's water, electrical grid, and public infrastructure.

Goals

We will fight for clean water and clean air for every Florida family. We will stand with our farmers and fishers, whose livelihoods depend on healthy land and healthy water. 

• Protect Florida’s water for all to enjoy

• Preserve and grow Florida’s wildlife corridor

• Promote responsible growth and smart development

• Build climate and hurricane resilience

• Advance clean energy and responsible infrastructure

• Support conservation, agriculture, and outdoor heritage

• Hold polluters accountable and protect public health

1. AI Data Centers

Artificial intelligence and data centers present enormous economic opportunities, but growth must occur responsibly. If done incorrectly, this could severely damage not just the environment but also the communities that provide this infrastructure. As your Congressman, Spence will ensure the environmental and infrastructure costs of AI are borne by those who use it, shifting those costs to AI companies rather than local communities and taxpayers.

Support a national moratorium on new AI data center construction until enforceable environmental protections are in place.

Data centers are being built faster than the rules to govern them. Spence will co-sponsor federal legislation pausing approval of new large-scale AI data center projects until Congress establishes binding national standards for water use, energy demand, and environmental review.

Require large data centers to meet the same environmental review standards as other major industrial facilities.

Spence will close the loophole that allows data centers to avoid the scrutiny applied to power plants, refineries, and manufacturing sites by requiring comprehensive federal environmental impact reviews before permitting.

Mandate federal disclosure of water use before permitting.

Companies must publicly disclose projected water consumption and demonstrate that their operations will not jeopardize local water supplies.

Protect local control over land use decisions.

Spence will oppose federal efforts to override local zoning decisions and support funding for independent environmental and infrastructure impact assessments before large projects move forward.

Require AI data centers to connect to the regulated electric grid.

Spence opposes large AI data centers operating their own power generation facilities outside the traditional regulated system, where there is no oversight.

Require AI data centers to pay higher electricity rates than residential customers.

AI companies should pay the true cost of the massive electricity they consume instead of shifting those costs onto families and small businesses.

End federal subsidies and tax breaks for high-energy AI data centers.

Taxpayers should not subsidize the power and water demands of some of the world's largest technology companies.

Require compensation for neighboring property owners.

Communities affected by AI data centers should be fairly compensated for impacts such as noise, traffic, air pollution, water pollution, and other negative effects.

2. Hurricane Preparedness & Response

It is essential to keep communities safe before, during, and after a disaster strikes. This means having the right warning, funds, insurance, and relief systems. Keep It Wild targets all sections to make sure our families are prepared, protected, and responded to through these factors.

Insurance Accountability

Stop the National Flood Insurance Program bailout loophole.

Flood insurance companies get paid by the government to sell policies, but when a hurricane hits, taxpayers cover the losses, not the insurers. We'll require insurance companies to share the risk, not just the profits.

Prohibit the accounting tricks that large insurance companies do to justify premium increases.

Stop large insurers from using state-level subsidiaries or other corporate structures to shift risk and justify excessive premium increases.

Mandate all large insurance companies to write homeowners policies across the United States. 

Require insurers that participate in the national property insurance market to offer coverage fairly across regions, rather than cherry-picking only the most profitable areas while abandoning communities vulnerable to hurricanes, floods, or wildfires. Lower insurance rates are achieved through spreading the risk among as many policy holders as possible.  

Strengthen Federal Disaster Relief and Funds 

• Support and strengthen the FEMA Reauthorization Act, which aims to reduce bureaucratic red tape and expedite disaster aid delivery.

• Require FEMA to reimburse eligible state disaster response within 90 days.

• Require annual Congressional audits of FEMA disaster funding allocations.

  • Require annual congressional audits to ensure disaster funds are spent as intended and are not redirected to unrelated projects.

  • Criminal penalties for FEMA officials who spend assistance dollars in a political manner.

Build Smarter

• Encourage states to adopt updated hurricane-resilient building codes.

• Expand voluntary retrofit tax credits so homeowners can strengthen existing homes without imposing unfunded mandates.

  • Cover up to 75% of retrofit costs for at-risk homeowners, capped at $15,000.

3. Responsible Growth, Coastal Resilience, & Land Preservation

Corporate developers shouldn't get to decide Florida's future. At the current pace, our state is projected to lose more than two million acres of farmland by 2070. We need responsible, community-led growth that protects our clean water, wildlife, and open spaces — not policies that put developers' profits ahead of Floridians.

Conservation

• Expand federal conservation grants that allow states to purchase environmentally significant lands like Babcock Ranch before they are permanently developed.

• Protect an additional 250,000 acres within the Florida Wildlife Corridor by 2035.

• Preserve productive agricultural lands that support Florida’s economy while providing valuable wildlife habitat through a national Greenbelt property tax credit for farmers.

  
  

Responsible Development and Keeping Local Power

Require a comprehensive environmental impact review for developments exceeding 100 acres or projects expected to significantly increase water or energy demand.

Coastal Resilience 

• Restore 100,000 acres of wetlands, mangrove forests, and salt marshes over the next 10 years.

  • Increase funding for state inspectors, double penalties for illegal wetland destruction under the Clean Water Act, and require violators to fully restore damaged ecosystems.

• Increase annual federal funding for beach re-nourishment and coastal resilience grants by $500 million nationwide through coordinated federal and state resilience programs, such as the NOAA Coastal Resilience Grants, the National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF), and FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance, which all aim to mitigate these impacts.

4. Safe Drinking Water

Clean water is an issue that surrounds all areas: public health, economic health, and environmental health. Today, nearly 2,230 Florida water segments are officially classified as impaired, and more than 1,360 still require restoration plans. We deserve the confidence to believe that our water is safe. This plan targets just that.

End Drinking Water Risks 

• Strengthen water quality testing requirements for municipalities by requiring monthly tests.

• Require 72 hour follow-up testing whenever contamination exceeds safety standards. 

• Increase transparency by requiring publishing of water quality reports so residents know exactly what is in their water.

• Mandatory notification to residents within 24 hours when water quality levels deteriorate. 

PFAS, the “Forever Chemical” 

• Track PFAS contamination nationwide through state environmental and research institutions.

  • Increasing monitoring in areas that show much higher risks or rates.

• Place cleanup costs on the polluter, not the tax-payer or municipality. 

  
  

Protecting State Waters

• Require state nutrient management plans for large agricultural operations.

• Tie municipal stormwater funding to measurable improvements in water quality.

5. Clean Air & Environmental Accountability

Landfill Accountability

Fully enforce and raise penalties for the Clean Air Act against facilities that repeatedly violate air quality standards.

Hold Polluters Accountable

• Pollution is a market failure. When companies pollute without consequence, families pay the cost. Pollution should be priced through market-based solutions that reward innovation instead of waste.

• Expand carbon pricing and cap-and-trade programs, and create a fertilizer runoff permit market for agriculture. Farms would receive runoff permits based on their size, with efficient farms able to sell unused permits to others, creating a financial incentive to reduce nutrient pollution.

• Double civil penalties for repeat environmental violations and maintain strong environmental enforcement.

Read more on Spence’s Substack,“When Polluters Don’t Pay. How Hidden Costs Create Inefficient Markets and Harm America.”

6. Clean Energy Innovation & Workforce Development

America should lead the world in developing the next generation of cleaner energy technologies while creating good-paying jobs here at home. We can strengthen our economy, improve energy reliability, and reduce costs without sacrificing innovation.

• Build upon the bipartisan Energy Act of 2020 by expanding competitive research grants for advanced batteries, grid storage, geothermal energy, next-generation nuclear technologies, and carbon capture.

• Expand apprenticeships, workforce training, and community college partnerships to prepare Americans for high-demand careers. Expand access to career and technical education, computer science, digital literacy, and AI skills to prepare students for good-paying jobs in a rapidly changing economy.

• Support investments in grid modernization and energy efficiency that improve reliability, strengthen resilience against hurricanes, and help keep electricity affordable for families and businesses.

  
  

Oppose the expansion of commercial nuclear power. The lessons of Fukushima and Chernobyl show the need for strict safety oversight and long-term planning.

Moving Forward

Protecting our environment is not a partisan issue. It is central to living in Florida and enjoying everything the state has to offer. 

Healthy beaches, clean water, preserved agricultural land, thriving wildlife, and resilient communities are essential to our economy and our way of life. Florida can continue growing while protecting the natural resources that make our state unique. Still, only if growth is responsible, the government remains accountable, and those who profit from our natural resources also share responsibility for protecting them.

Allen Spence is committed to practical environmental protection that protects families, strengthens local communities, preserves natural heritage, and ensures future generations inherit a state that is healthier, safer, and more resilient than the one we have today.

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