"TALLAHASSEE — Federal environmental officials underestimated the cost of implementing their new water pollution rules for Florida, just as critics have been saying, a National Research Council panel concluded in a report released Tuesday."

"The committee of scientists was not asked to offer its own estimate but wrote that whatever the expense turns out to be it would be small compared to the ultimate cost of restoring Florida's waters.

State officials as well as business, agriculture and utility interests have opposed the Environmental Protection Agency's rules, contending they would cost more than the agency's estimate and be too expensive to implement."

Bill Kaczor reports for the Associated Press March 6, 2012. [2]