MIAMI HERALD
April 5, 2007

MIAMI ATTORNEY NAMED TO WATER BOARD

By Curtis Morgan
cmorgan@miamiherald.com

http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/64873.html

A Miami attorney was named Thursday to the board of the South Florida Water Management District by Gov Charlie Crist.

Eric Buermann, 55, with the international law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey and former general counsel for the Republican Party of Florida, joins the appointed board that oversees the powerful, often controversial agency. The district manages the water supply for 16 counties and directs Everglades restoration and cleanup. ''He is a devout environmentalist,'' Crist said in a statement, ``but also a businessman who understands organizations, finance and controlled development.''

Buermann, who has served on the Miami River Commission and Florida Elections Commission, said a role examining environmental issues for Crist's transition team had grounded him in the ''jillions of issues'' facing water managers -- from polluted Lake Okeechobee to regional supply shortages. ''I come to this board without any agenda other than to do the best job I can,'' said Buermann, who enjoys boating in Biscayne Bay and camping in the Everglades . ``In this this role, I'm not a Republican, I'm a Floridian.''

Crist also appointed Charles Dauray, 64, chairman of the College of Life Foundation in Estero. Both five-year terms start in April.

Though Buermann is well-connected politically, Thom Rumberger, a Tallahassee attorney and chairman of The Everglades Foundation who discussed district appointments with the Crist administration, said Buermann had no clear ties to current board members or major industries regulated by the district. ''Overall, Mr. Buermann will be more than a fair and decent appointment,'' he said.

Rumberger said Dauray was not ''the first choice'' of environmentalists but not necessarily a bad one. ''It's really wait and see,'' Rumberger said ``At least he's not the vice president of U.S. Sugar.''