On the campaign trail, Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis said he supported moving components of state water quality regulation from the agriculture department to the environmental protection department.

When rolling out his environmental policy platform, the idea drew interest from some environmentalists and ire from others.

More: Did Florida's environment win or lose on Nov. 6?

That stance has disappeared from the environmental policy recommendations on his campaign website and it's unclear whether he still supports a change. DeSantis' campaign did not respond to multiple inquiries from TCPalm about the proposal.

If he supports the efforts, it would be a major shakeup in how the state regulates pollution from agriculture, a major factor in the toxic red tide and blue-green algae blooms plaguing the Treasure Coast and Southwest Florida for decades.

More: Here's what we could expect DeSantis to do for Florida's environment

DeSantis hasn't discussed the idea with Commissioner of Agriculture-elect Nikki Fried, but she doesn't support the move, according to her spokesman.

“Much of Florida’s water policy intersects directly with the state’s agriculture community, Max Flugrath said, adding Fried "believes oversight by the commissioner of agriculture on these policies is the correct approach and would strongly oppose moving it."

The potential battle over water quality wouldn't be the only challenge Fried faces over her job responsibilities as commissioner of agriculture.

Fried supports moving the department's Division of Licensing for firearms to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, an independent agency not headed by an elected official.

Democrats in the Florida Senate filed a bill Thursday that would move the division.

The Miami Herald reported this week that NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer is leading efforts to have the permitting responsibilities moved to the chief financial officer's office, currently headed by Republican Jimmy Patronis.

Ag department duties

The department's Office of Agricultural Water Policy institutes "best management practices" for farmers, including reducing pollution from pesticide and fertilizer use and limiting how much water farmers use.

The program is voluntary, and while many companies have followed the department's recommendations, others have not.

Agricultural pollution is the largest contributor of nutrients that feed algae blooms, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

In 2016, the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott passed a law that calls for the agriculture commissioner to adopt ways to verify whether companies are following best management practices, including "enforcement procedures" for violaters. The Department of Agriculture hasn't adopted any enforcement procedures, however.

More: State puts St. Lucie River polluters on honor system to reduce nitrogen

On the campaign trail, Fried called for stronger oversight of pollution caused by agriculture, and more tools and resources for farmers to reduce their nutrient waste.

Mixed opinions

Some environmentalists are open to the idea of changing oversight of clean water.

Everglades Trust Executive Director Kimberly Mitchell supports the idea because the agriculture industry is the largest polluter. The group endorsed DeSantis.

"We are talking about water quality and that has huge environmental implications," Mitchell said. "Right now, you have the fox guarding the hen house."

It makes sense to have one department managing pollution and holding industries accountable, said Alex Gillen of Bullsugar, a grassroots nonprofit that opposes Lake Okeechobee discharges. However, he said he hasn't seen anything from DeSantis' transition team other than the pledge he made during the campaign.

No matter what happens, the state's models and voluntary programs aren't working and need to be overhauled, Gillen said.

"When you have an ongoing human health and environmental crisis like Florida is experiencing, every elected official needs to get to work identifying where the breakdowns happened and proposing immediate solutions to avoid them in the future," Gillen said. "There should be a robust debate."

Florida Conservation Voters Executive Director Aliki Moncrief said the state should place more emphasis on limiting pollution in waterways.

“Moving components of water quality regulations from one agency to another is a lot like the captain of the Titanic focusing on rearranging the deck chairs while the ship is sinking," Moncrief said. "We should focus on real solutions like increasing funding for water quality monitoring and enforcement, passing strong science-based safeguards to protect our waters, reinstating a statewide growth management program and conserving lands that buffer our waterways from polluted runoff.”

Sierra Club Florida Chapter Director Frank Jackalone said he has "no doubt there will be a power struggle between DeSantis and Fried," since even governors and agriculture commissioners of the same party often disagree on water quality issues.

"We would support those programs of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and give Nikki Fried a chance to do them right," Jackalone said.

Both the Sierra Club and Florida Conservation Voters supported Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum over DeSantis.