The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment and General Government unveiled the Senate’s $1.7 billion environmental protection budget this morning and accepted it without comment.

“This is the day we’ve all been waiting for. It’s like Christmas," Committee Chair Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, said. “Everybody’s been up all night waiting for this.”

The environmental budget is part of a $5.9 billion package that includes spending plans for other state departments, including Business and Professional Regulation, Agriculture and Consumer Services, Citrus, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, the Lottery, Insurance Regulation, Financial Services, the Public Service Commission and Management Services.

A more detailed, formal summary will be published by the Appropriations Committee when the bill is printed on Friday, officials said.

Generally, the measures being promoted have enjoyed mostly bi-partisan support.

"This is just a first recommendation," committee member Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, said. "Certainly there are areas we would like to see increased, but there are more discussions to come."

More from the legislative session:

The major items in the Senate’s environmental budget include $656 million in water quality and protection, about $30 million more than Gov. Ron DeSantis had requested from the Legislature. The House version comes close to the governor’s request.

That amount includes $325 million for Everglades restoration, which has $107 million earmarked for the Everglades Agricultural Area storage reservoir project – a Senate bill from 2017.

DeSantis had requested $360 million for Everglades restoration, saying, “This is not a partisan issue.This is something that Floridians from all walks of life and political persuasions think needs to be done.”

The budget also has $100 million for springs restoration, $129 million for water quality projects that include $25 million for septic to sewer programs, $50 million for the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration and $29 million for other water projects.

Another $27.4 million is tapped for things like the Blue/Green Algae Task Force and Red Tide Research, in addition to $40 million in alternative water supply.

The budget includes $45 million for Florida Forever to acquire land and $44.4 million for beach restoration. It also has $9 million for Deepwater Horizon restoration projects.

Other highlights include $90 million for petroleum tank cleanup program, $171 million for the drinking and wastewater revolving loan programs, and $48 million in federal grants for Hurricane Irma.

Contact Schweers at jschweers@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffschweers.