- Wilton Simpson is tapping West Gregory to lead FDACS’ Office of Agricultural Water Policy
- Gregory has past experience with the FDEP and as a lawyer for the Florida House
- The FDACS Office of Agricultural Water Policy works with agricultural producers, industry groups, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the university system, and the Florida water management districts to develop and implement agricultural BMPs addressing both water quality and water conservation
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is appointing West Gregory to be the next Director of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ (FDACS) Office of Agricultural Water Policy.
“I’m honored to appoint West Gregory to lead our Office of Agricultural Water Policy. West Gregory has the unique experience and skillset – having worked in the Florida Legislature and at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection – to set a new, cooperative tone with our colleagues at the Department of Environmental Protection and other key stakeholders,” Simpson said in a statement. “Florida’s continued prosperity is dependent on Florida’s leaders providing a long-term, comprehensive, and science-based approach to protecting and restoring our water resources, and I’m confident West Gregory can help Florida achieve this vision.”
Gregory most recently served as deputy general counsel at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), assisting in rulemaking, litigation, and policy development across a wide variety of environmental and water issues. He also worked as a senior attorney for the Florida House of Representatives’ Agricultural and Natural Resources Subcommittee from 2014-2018 and was involved in the research, review, and development of agriculture and natural resources legislation.
Gregory graduated from the University of Florida with his juris doctorate with an environmental and land use law certificate.
The FDACS Office of Agricultural Water Policy works with agricultural producers, industry groups, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the university system, and the Florida water management districts to develop and implement agricultural BMPs addressing both water quality and water conservation. Agricultural BMPs are practical, cost-effective actions that agricultural producers can take to conserve water and reduce the amount of pesticides, fertilizers, animal waste, and other pollutants entering our water resources.
I hope Wilton will change the culture and the attitude of the OAWP and certain leaders within Department of Agriculture under former Commissioner Fried, and help them understand that their job is to help farmers comply, not to play gotcha with our farmers, Simpson’s predecessor completely changed the OAWP mission from support and cooperation to a de facto regulatory agency. There also needs to be a change in management, specifically firing Bonnie Wolf-Pelaez and Clegg Hooks, the two main senior managers at OAWP who worked under Fried and were anti-farmer and all about implementing command and control regulatory programs.