Contrary to what Rick “I like my fish dead” Scott famously said, Florida can absolutely NOT take care of our own water. And neither can Gov. DeSantis. And in spite of making much noise, Mr. Brian Mast has not fixed it either, nor is he likely to.
So how about Mr. Joe Biden?
Excuse us, but we have seen the plans developed by our own DEP, a thing called BMAPs. And they do not do any good. In our region of North Florida, after several years of implementing the BMAP to fix the Santa Fe River, the river was more polluted than before the plan was started.
We sincerely hope the feds will fare better.
This legislation is co-sponsored by Rick Scott and Marco Rubio.
How could it possibly not fix the water?
See the original article with photos here in TCPalm.
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
The Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie River Estuary are named in the federal legislation.
Max Chesnes
Key Points
- Cyanobacteria toxic for humans, animals, environment
- Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fort Pierce, introduced bill in 2017
- Task force has 3 years to produce regional assessment
President Joe Biden Thursday signed a law mandating federal involvement in the protection of Treasure Coast waterways — and the people living, working and playing on that water — from toxic algae.
The South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act of 2021 requires a first-of-its-kind federal assessment and “action plan” to mitigate and reduce harmful algal blooms in Florida.
The measure passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a 412-7 vote on May 11 and the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent in March.
► TCPalm investigation: Florida water pollution prevention measures failing
► Blue-green algae: What’s really behind the blooms?
► ‘It’s about time’: The fight for clean Treasure Coast waters
The bipartisan legislation amends the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998, requiring the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia to submit an assessment of designated Florida waterways to Congress and the president within three years.
No longer than 180 days after that, the task force must develop a plan for “reducing, mitigating and controlling harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in South Florida.” The region covers the South Florida Water Management District, which covers 16 counties, including Martin and St. Lucie.
The legislation includes these coastal waterways, as well as the Florida Reef Tract:
- Biscayne Bay
- Caloosahatchee Estuary
- Florida Bay
- Indian River Lagoon
- St. Lucie River Estuary.
Implementing the legislation will cost less than $500,000 throughout fiscal years 2022-26, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“For far too long, the east and west coasts of Florida have been treated like Florida’s septic tank,” U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fort Pierce, a Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee member, wrote in a prepared statement. “This law is an important step in undoing the harm our government caused when it manipulated our waterways to flush toxins into our community with no regard for public health.”
► Beach water quality: How clean are your beaches today?
Though this latest version of the legislation is co-sponsored by Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, previous iterations were introduced by Mast as early as 2017. Rubio and former Sen. Bill Nelson introduced a Senate version in 2018.
Fertilizer is largely responsible for the nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, and comes mostly from agriculture and some from urban development.
This story will be updated.
TCPalm projects reporter Lindsey Leake contributed to this report.
Max Chesnes is a TCPalm environment reporter focusing on issues facing the Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie River and Lake Okeechobee. You can keep up with Max on Twitter @MaxChesnes, email him at max.chesnes@tcpalm.com an
