Ms. Tschinkel serves on the National Energy Advisory Board of the National Renewables Energy Laboratory and is a member of the Board of Directors of ConocoPhillips. She owns over 1,475 units of Phillips 66 stock worth over $3,074,329. So it would seem that some important aspects of her life are contradictory,
Whatever her principal passions might be and wherever her loyalties lie, we applaud her desire to free the Ocklawaha.
The Orlando Sentinel does not offer a link to this article.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
Promote resiliency by freeing the Ocklawaha | Commentary
By Victoria Tschinkel
Guest Columnist
Jun 03, 2022 at 5:04 pm
As we enter the 2022 hurricane season, predicted to be the seventh consecutive above-average hurricane season, it gives us pause to think, have we done everything we can to protect people and property throughout Florida? Over the last two years, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have placed a significant investment in resiliency projects, investing over $1 billion to increase efforts to ensure state and local communities are prepared to deal with the impacts of sea-level rise, intensified storms, and flooding.
Victoria Tschinkel is a former Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation and a longtime member of the Board of 1000 Friends of Florida.
Resiliency funding has resulted in hundreds of projects being completed to help Floridians be safe. From 2018-22, 80 percent of those projects focused on planning and risk modeling. What we have often overlooked are projects that restore natural water flow to reduce saltwater intrusion or those that address aging infrastructure that could fail and cause catastrophic damage like Piney Point. Breaching the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam near Palatka, reconnecting the Ocklawaha and St. Johns River and Silver Springs to the Atlantic Ocean, would achieve both goals. It would reduce risk to 538 downstream homes and properties in and around Welaka in the event of a dam failure and increase natural downstream flow to the St. Johns River, decreasing saltwater intrusion. The good news is that a plan, permit application and environment impact statement are done.
In a recent 1000 Friends of Florida webinar, Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch said, “Restoring the natural flow of the Ocklawaha River will eliminate the more than $57 million economic risk that would result from an unplanned dam failure.” Calabro also explained, “Given the public safety risks posed by dams, as well as the reasonable costs associated with the project and Florida’s favorable economic position, Florida TaxWatch supports the breaching of the dam and partial restoration of the natural flow of the Ocklawaha River, and we encourage lawmakers to appropriate funding to implement this recommendation.”
During the webinar, former St. Johns River Water Management District Assistant Director Casey Fitzgerald reaffirmed the resiliency benefits to the lower St. Johns River with a free-flowing Ocklawaha River. “Breaching the dam would provide 150 million gallons a day of clearer and cooler freshwater to the St. Johns River and estuary,” he said. “This is approximately the daily water use for the City of Jacksonville.” Fitzgerald went on to share that in addition to offsetting saltwater intrusion and enhancing coastal resiliency, the additional flow would support eel grass restoration, improve water quality, help prevent blue-green and harmful algal blooms and support the valuable commercial and recreational fisheries in the lower St. Johns River.
As Calabro and Fitzgerald both said, the time is now to complete restoration of the Ocklawaha River by breaching the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam. I hope that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have this on their agenda for the coming year. This is the most impactful and cost-effective resiliency project the governor could fund in Florida during his administration.
Victoria Tschinkel is a former Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation and a longtime member of the Board of 1000 Friends of Florida.
