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The Florida House moved a water bill forward this week that was praised as a good step forward. But environmentalists say it’s lacking.

“They’re moving this through the House like a carrot through wet ground and there’s going to be public outcry,” said Earth Justice attorney David Guest.

The bill focuses on polluted springs and freshwater runoff.  House State Affairs Committee Chairman Matt Caldwell says they need to get the proposal moving.

“Well, our goal in the House is to get this moving through and into the early weeks of session and give our Senate partners time to digest it and give us time to hopefully join us with the good ideas we’re putting out,” he said Wednesday after they passed the bill.

But the speed of the bill may be the problem. Guest says pollution regulation issues are still out there.

“What we have is a substitution of a planning process where the polluting industries decide what they’re willing to do, and even after that it’s voluntary,” said Guest.

Democrats are calling for a slowdown so they can really fix springs and rivers throughout the state.

“This is the moment in Florida to put all of our energy into a bill that can really improve quality of life of Floridians, the industries that can really require water, and so we need to take our time,” said House Democratic Leader Mark Pafford.

The bill relies largely on the Department of Environmental Protection regulations that environmentalists say may be too loose. Conservationists are hoping the Senate produces a stronger bill.