http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/oct/18/david-guest-us-environmental-protection-agency/
Continuous discharge of polluted freshwater from Lake Okeechobee created a dark plume of water visible in the St. Lucie Inlet and along the Atlantic Coast in 2003. The plume caused economic and environmental hardships. Will better rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency be helpful?
It is hard to imagine anyone defending the polluters that are turning our waters green and slimy like the creek shown above. But hey, money talks.
At long last, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is agreeing to set legal, enforceable limits on the nutrients that are poisoning Florida’s public waters. Now the state’s biggest polluters are trying to get out of complying.
Exploiters have been fattening their wallets by ruining the resources that belong to the public. State regulators — like former Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Virginia Wetherell — do little to stop it, year after year. Many of them, like Wetherell, work for polluters after they leave office (She’s lobbied for phosphate miners and utilities. Former DEP Secretary David Struhs went to work for polluter International Paper.)
When we — the public — finally win a victory for clean water, the polluters come out with the same stock arguments: No. 1, they say, “If we have to protect clean water, it will cost too much and we’ll go broke.” No. 2: “If we want to do anything to fix polluted waters, we have to do more studies for many more years.” And No. 3: “The fish like it!”
That third argument is now being peddled by a lobbyist for the Florida Farm Bureau, who claims cleaning nutrients out of Florida lakes will hurt fish populations. Huh? Florida was teeming with fish before fertilizer and cow manure spewed daily into our lakes and rivers, turning them pea-soup green.
A Florida DEP report last year found that half the state’s rivers and more than half of its lakes had poor water quality. When nutrient-poisoned waters are used as drinking water sources, disinfectants like chlorine react with dissolved organic compounds, contaminating drinking water with harmful chemical byproducts.
Exposure to blue-green algae toxins — when people drink the water, touch it, or inhale vapors from it — can cause rashes, skin and eye irritation, allergic reactions, gastrointestinal upset, serious illness, and even death. In June 2008, a water treatment plant serving 30,000 people shut down after a toxic blue-green algae bloom on the Caloosahatchee River threatened the plant’s water supply.
Florida polluters are trotting out their hackneyed arguments now because the U.S. EPA is finally acting. EPA’s decision came as a historic settlement with five environmental groups after we sued to stop polluters from continuing to slime our waters.
The polluters are now trying to block the settlement. Big Agriculture, developers, utilities, and phosphate miners have filed legal challenges to try to force the EPA to back down. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson is using our tax dollars to side with the polluters.
Remember: Polluters said the Clean Water Act would kill business. They said the Clean Air Act would bankrupt companies. Developers said the Growth Management Act would stop development. We can all plainly see that’s not true. Nutrient poisoning is Florida’s worst water pollution problem. We’ve got contaminated drinking water, beaches closed by dangerous bacteria, rivers fouled with green slime, dead fish, dead lakes, and excess nutrients bubbling out of our crystal springs.
It’s time to clean it up. It’s time to hold polluters accountable for what they are washing into our rivers, lakes, bays, and springs. The EPA is ready to do it, and so are Floridians.
Guest, of Tallahassee, is managing attorney for the Florida office of Earthjustice, an environmental-advocacy group.
Showing posts with label Everglades. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Everglades. Show all posts
Monday, October 19, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Polluters Pay to Play in Florida? State to Intervene Against EPA
www.earthjustice.org/news/press/2009/florida-agriculture-commissioner-
charles-bronson-sides-with-polluters.html
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson Sides With Polluters
Commissioner fights against cleaning up poisoned waters
Earthjustice
October 1, 2009
Tallahassee, FL -- Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson is siding
with the state's worst polluters to fight against cleaning up poisoned waters.
In August, in a historic move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
signed a consent decree in which it agreed to set legal limits for the
widespread nutrient poisoning that triggers harmful algae blooms, like the one
pictured to the right, in Florida waters.
Instead of working to make the public's water cleaner and safer, Bronson is
spending tax dollars to help special interests like the Florida Pulp and Paper
Association and Big Agriculture block the clean water settlement. The Florida
Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services filed a motion to intervene in
the case on the polluters' side.
"This is shameful," said Earthjustice Attorney David Guest. "There are toxic
algae blooms all over the state, water treatment plants closing due to nutrient
poisoning, and yet Bronson directs the state to work for the polluters and
against the people."
Nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen poison Florida's waters every time it
rains; running off agricultural operations, fertilized landscapes, and septic
systems. The poison runoff triggers algae outbreaks which foul Florida's
beaches, lakes, rivers, and springs more each year, threatening public health,
closing swimming areas, and even shutting down water plants.
In a 2008 report, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
concluded that half of the state's rivers and more than half of its lakes had
poor water quality.
The St. Johns River is currently under a health advisory due to a toxigenic
blue green algae bloom. In 2005, a similar bloom shut down all boat traffic on
the river.
Tampa Bay suffered an outbreak this year of Pyrodinium bahamense and
Takayama tuberculata has sullied waters around San Marco Island.
Potentially toxigenic cyanobacteria have been found statewide, including
Southwest Florida's Caloosahatchee River. In the Southeast, toxin levels in
the St. Lucie River and estuary during an algae bloom in 2005 were 300 times
above suggested drinking water limits and 60 times above suggested
recreational limits. Health authorities posted signs warning visitors and
residents not to come into contact with the water.
Lake Okeechobee, a South Florida drinking water source, is now subject to
almost year-round blue-green algae blooms due to nutrient pollution.
Nutrient pollution also fuels the explosive growth of invasive water plants like
hydrilla, which now clog countless springs, rivers and lakes.
The problem is compounded when nutrient-poisoned waters are used as
drinking water sources. Disinfectants like chlorine and chloramine can react
with the dissolved organic compounds, contaminating drinking water with
harmful chemical byproducts.
Exposure to these blue-green algae toxins -- when people drink the water,
touch it, or inhale vapors from it -- can cause rashes, skin and eye irritation,
allergic reactions, gastrointestinal upset, serious illness, and even death. In
June 2008, a water treatment plant serving 30,000 Florida residents was shut
down after a toxic blue-green algae bloom on the Caloosahatchee River
threatened the plant's water supply.
Florida and most other states have only vague limits regulating nutrient
pollution. Under the August agreement, the U.S. EPA agreed to begin the
process of imposing quantifiable -- and enforceable -- water quality standards
to tackle nutrient pollution.
"The federal government recognizes the urgency of cleaning up this pollution,"
Guest said. "But Charlie Bronson and the polluters wants to take us
backwards. The public won't stand for it."
The settlement with EPA came 13 months after five environmental groups filed
suit to compel the federal government to set strict limits on nutrient
poisoning in public waters.
The public interest law firm Earthjustice filed the suit in the Northern District
of Florida on behalf of the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Conservancy of
Southwest Florida, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, St.
John’s Riverkeeper, and the Sierra Club in July 2008.
Federal District Judge Robert Hinkle will hear arguments in the case on Nov.
16, at the federal courthouse in Tallahassee.
Contact:
David Guest, Earthjustice, (850) 681-0031
charles-bronson-sides-with-polluters.html
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson Sides With Polluters
Commissioner fights against cleaning up poisoned waters
Earthjustice
October 1, 2009
Tallahassee, FL -- Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson is siding
with the state's worst polluters to fight against cleaning up poisoned waters.
In August, in a historic move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
signed a consent decree in which it agreed to set legal limits for the
widespread nutrient poisoning that triggers harmful algae blooms, like the one
pictured to the right, in Florida waters.
Instead of working to make the public's water cleaner and safer, Bronson is
spending tax dollars to help special interests like the Florida Pulp and Paper
Association and Big Agriculture block the clean water settlement. The Florida
Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services filed a motion to intervene in
the case on the polluters' side.
"This is shameful," said Earthjustice Attorney David Guest. "There are toxic
algae blooms all over the state, water treatment plants closing due to nutrient
poisoning, and yet Bronson directs the state to work for the polluters and
against the people."
Nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen poison Florida's waters every time it
rains; running off agricultural operations, fertilized landscapes, and septic
systems. The poison runoff triggers algae outbreaks which foul Florida's
beaches, lakes, rivers, and springs more each year, threatening public health,
closing swimming areas, and even shutting down water plants.
In a 2008 report, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
concluded that half of the state's rivers and more than half of its lakes had
poor water quality.
The St. Johns River is currently under a health advisory due to a toxigenic
blue green algae bloom. In 2005, a similar bloom shut down all boat traffic on
the river.
Tampa Bay suffered an outbreak this year of Pyrodinium bahamense and
Takayama tuberculata has sullied waters around San Marco Island.
Potentially toxigenic cyanobacteria have been found statewide, including
Southwest Florida's Caloosahatchee River. In the Southeast, toxin levels in
the St. Lucie River and estuary during an algae bloom in 2005 were 300 times
above suggested drinking water limits and 60 times above suggested
recreational limits. Health authorities posted signs warning visitors and
residents not to come into contact with the water.
Lake Okeechobee, a South Florida drinking water source, is now subject to
almost year-round blue-green algae blooms due to nutrient pollution.
Nutrient pollution also fuels the explosive growth of invasive water plants like
hydrilla, which now clog countless springs, rivers and lakes.
The problem is compounded when nutrient-poisoned waters are used as
drinking water sources. Disinfectants like chlorine and chloramine can react
with the dissolved organic compounds, contaminating drinking water with
harmful chemical byproducts.
Exposure to these blue-green algae toxins -- when people drink the water,
touch it, or inhale vapors from it -- can cause rashes, skin and eye irritation,
allergic reactions, gastrointestinal upset, serious illness, and even death. In
June 2008, a water treatment plant serving 30,000 Florida residents was shut
down after a toxic blue-green algae bloom on the Caloosahatchee River
threatened the plant's water supply.
Florida and most other states have only vague limits regulating nutrient
pollution. Under the August agreement, the U.S. EPA agreed to begin the
process of imposing quantifiable -- and enforceable -- water quality standards
to tackle nutrient pollution.
"The federal government recognizes the urgency of cleaning up this pollution,"
Guest said. "But Charlie Bronson and the polluters wants to take us
backwards. The public won't stand for it."
The settlement with EPA came 13 months after five environmental groups filed
suit to compel the federal government to set strict limits on nutrient
poisoning in public waters.
The public interest law firm Earthjustice filed the suit in the Northern District
of Florida on behalf of the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Conservancy of
Southwest Florida, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, St.
John’s Riverkeeper, and the Sierra Club in July 2008.
Federal District Judge Robert Hinkle will hear arguments in the case on Nov.
16, at the federal courthouse in Tallahassee.
Contact:
David Guest, Earthjustice, (850) 681-0031
Friday, September 25, 2009
Newest Threat to the Everglades?
Venus, FL - - Save Our Creeks has reviewed the materials submitted to the Highlands County Board of County Commissioners and concludes that the proposed re-zoning and Comprehensive Plan Amendment required for the Eagle National Security Training Center poses a real threat to the natural environment of the Fisheating Creek watershed. Below are Save Our Creeks’ specific comments. Comments have been submitted to each of the five Highlands County Commissioners and are part of the public record.
1. Save Our Creeks agrees with and supports the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s comments of February 10, 2009. The re-zoning of the land and associated comprehensive plan amendment will have direct, foreseeable, negative impacts to existing wetlands, floodplains, water quality, and water quantity.
2. Save Our Creeks agrees with and supports the South Florida Water Management District’s comments of February 16, 2009. The proposed comprehensive plan amendment to the Future Land Use Map projects a water demand for which a sustainable source has not been identified. There is potential for negative impact due to decreased natural flow of water to the Fisheating Creek watershed.
3. Save Our Creeks agrees with and supports the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s comment of February 16, 2009, that the proposed project is adjacent to the Fisheating Creek Ecosystem Florida Forever project. Fisheating Creek continues to be a Group A project on the Florida Forever acquisition list. Fisheating Creek is one of the largest fairly natural areas in the Florida peninsula. It is important for the protection of rare plants and animals. The area includes large populations of three plants endemic to central Florida: Edison’s ascyrum (Hypericum edisonianum), cutthroat grass (Panicum abscissum), and nodding pinweed (Lechea cernua). Fisheating Creek is extremely important as a Strategic Habitat Conservation Area for the Florida panther and the American swallow-tailed kite, as well for such animals as Audubon’s crested caracara, snail kite, Florida grasshopper sparrow, Florida sandhill crane, mottled duck, red-cockaded woodpecker, and short-tailed hawk. At least six bald eagle nests are known to be in this project area.
4. Save Our Creeks has reviewed the Settlement Agreement and remains concerned that the comments of these three State Agencies are not adequately addressed to protect the natural environment of the Fisheating Creek watershed
Save Our Creeks urges the Highlands County Commission to vote against Resolution P&Z 1961 re-zoning the property and against Comprehensive Plan Amendment CPA-08-481LS.
Copies of the original letters are available upon request to info@saveourcreeks.org .
1. Save Our Creeks agrees with and supports the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s comments of February 10, 2009. The re-zoning of the land and associated comprehensive plan amendment will have direct, foreseeable, negative impacts to existing wetlands, floodplains, water quality, and water quantity.
2. Save Our Creeks agrees with and supports the South Florida Water Management District’s comments of February 16, 2009. The proposed comprehensive plan amendment to the Future Land Use Map projects a water demand for which a sustainable source has not been identified. There is potential for negative impact due to decreased natural flow of water to the Fisheating Creek watershed.
3. Save Our Creeks agrees with and supports the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s comment of February 16, 2009, that the proposed project is adjacent to the Fisheating Creek Ecosystem Florida Forever project. Fisheating Creek continues to be a Group A project on the Florida Forever acquisition list. Fisheating Creek is one of the largest fairly natural areas in the Florida peninsula. It is important for the protection of rare plants and animals. The area includes large populations of three plants endemic to central Florida: Edison’s ascyrum (Hypericum edisonianum), cutthroat grass (Panicum abscissum), and nodding pinweed (Lechea cernua). Fisheating Creek is extremely important as a Strategic Habitat Conservation Area for the Florida panther and the American swallow-tailed kite, as well for such animals as Audubon’s crested caracara, snail kite, Florida grasshopper sparrow, Florida sandhill crane, mottled duck, red-cockaded woodpecker, and short-tailed hawk. At least six bald eagle nests are known to be in this project area.
4. Save Our Creeks has reviewed the Settlement Agreement and remains concerned that the comments of these three State Agencies are not adequately addressed to protect the natural environment of the Fisheating Creek watershed
Save Our Creeks urges the Highlands County Commission to vote against Resolution P&Z 1961 re-zoning the property and against Comprehensive Plan Amendment CPA-08-481LS.
Copies of the original letters are available upon request to info@saveourcreeks.org .
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