TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida's chief environmental regulator is leaving his job to join a law firm that is part of the legal team representing the state in its high-stakes water battle with Georgia.
Jon Steverson, the secretary for the Department of Environmental Protection for the past two years, submitted his resignation letter to Gov. Rick Scott last week.
He did not say in his letter where he was headed, but an agency spokeswoman said Monday he has "accepted an opportunity" with the firm of Foley & Lardner.
Foley & Lardner has had a contract with DEP since 2008. In the last two years, the firm has been paid roughly $2.6 million for its work on a water dispute that has pitted Florida against Georgia over the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint river systems.
