Our Santa Fe River, Inc. has signed on to a Sierra Club letter, along with 56 other organizations and businesses, asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to disassociate the State of Florida regarding the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint amicus brief. The letter was re-sent June 10, 2014 and reads as follows:
June 10, 2014
Office of Attorney General State of Florida
The Capitol PL-01 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050
RE: Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint Amicus BriefDear Attorney General Bondi:
When the leadership of six states joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in an historic plan to effectively manage under-treated sewage, industrial discharges and, most important, agricultural pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, water managers in our state recognized that such collaborative success in the Mid-Atlantic could lead to solutions to Florida’s fouled waters as well.
We understood why some regulated industries tied to outdated, unsustainable business practices would fight the cleanup of the Chesapeake, but were confounded and outraged as to why our Attorney General would join the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Pork Council, The Fertilizer Institute, and the National Beef Cattleman’s Association in a lawsuit against the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint.
This cannot be credibly portrayed as a state’s-rights issue, as the Chesapeake Bay states signed and supported the cleanup plan. The legal challenge also cannot be portrayed as protecting Floridians’ interests; the demise of the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint would actually set a negative precedent for the development and implementation of effective cleanup plans for Florida’s waters.
The waters of Florida, and across the country, suffer from the same source of pollution as Chesapeake Bay – too much nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer, sewage and animal manure. Algal blooms explode; toxic dead zones are created; and waters are rendered unfit for swimming, fishing or drinking. There isn’t one region of Florida that has escaped the impacts of this pollution – we have the lost jobs, decreased property values, and diminished quality of life to show for it from the Panhandle to the Keys but nowhere has the extent of this water quality problem in Florida been more apparent than in the Everglades ecosystem in the last 12 months.
If the Everglades is to be restored, we must effectively deal with not only the storage and conveyance of water through the region but also the quality of that water. Water quality in the Everglades will never be improved if regulated industries do not stop pollution at its source instead of sending it flowing into state waters. The Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint should be used as a map for other states rather than be attacked because it might actually accomplish what it proposes to do.
The Everglades is the hallmark of Florida – a unique ecosystem found nowhere else on earth – that provides our state with clean drinking water, incredibly biodiversity, and countless recreational opportunities for Floridians and visitors alike that bolster our tourism economy. We need to do everything possible to protect the waters of the Everglades, including supporting and encouraging fruitful collaboration between the state and the US EPA. The State of Florida has been calling on the federal government to “do its part” with regard to the restoration of the Everglades ecosystem; any attempt to sabotage collaboration between the US EPA and another state or states does nothing but hurt our endeavors here to share the burden with Florida’s federal partners.
To show the citizens of Florida that you are committed to ensuring Florida’s water bodies are clean and healthy, we, the 57 undersigned organizations and businesses, ask you to immediately withdraw the state’s involvement in the American Farm Bureau Federation, et. al v. Environmental Protection Agency, (3d. Cir. 2014).
Sincerely,
Save the Manatee Club
Katie Tripp, Ph.D.
Director of Science and ConservationSt. Johns Riverkeeper
Lisa Rinaman
RiverkeeperPutnam County Environmental Council
Tim Keyser
PresidentReef Relief
Peter Anderson
ChairIDEAS For Us
Chris Castro
Co-founder, Vice PresidentSierra Club Florida
Debbie Matthews
ChairLobby For Animals
Thomas Ponce
FounderOur Santa Fe River, Inc.
Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson
President1000 Friends of Florida
Charles Pattison, FAICP
PresidentPRC Digital Media
Ray Hays
PresidentPaddle Florida, Inc.
Bill Richards
Executive DirectorOcean River Institute
Rob Moir Ph.D.
DirectorConservancy of Southwest Florida
Jennifer Hecker
Director of Natural Resource PolicyECOSWF
Becky Ayech
PresidentStone Crab Alliance
Karen Dwyer, Ph.D., John P. Dwyer, Ph.D.
Co-foundersAlliance for a Livable Pinellas
Bill Stokes FounderAdventure Kayak Tours
Stephen Cox
OwnerCenter for Biological Diversity
Jaclyn Lopez Staff Attorney
Intracoastal Eco-Systems LLC
Lee Shepard
PresidentTropical Kayak Tours
Rhonda Good Cox
OwnerSanta Fe Lake Dwellers Association
Jill McGuire PresidentLoxahatchee Group of the Sierra Club
Drew Martin Conservation ChairSuwannee St. Johns Group of the Sierra Club
Tamara Robbins ChairMiami Group of the Sierra Club
Jim Teas ChairAround the Bend Nature Tours LLC
Karen Fraley
Manager/NaturalistPreserve Brevard
Vince Lamb
ChairmanGulf Restoration Network
Cathy Harrelson
Florida OrganizerSuncoast Waterkeeper
Justin Bloom
WaterkeeperAnglers for Conservation (AFC)
Rodney Smith
PresidentLeague of Women Voters of Florida
Rosalie Shaffer
President,LWV of Manatee County
Indian River Lagoon Coalition
Judy Orcutt
SecretaryOklawaha Valley Audubon Society (OVAS)
Linda Bystrak
PresidentMatanzas Riverkeeper
Neil Armingeon
RiverkeeperCentral Florida Group of the Sierra Club
Marjorie Holt
Chair/Conservation ChairIndian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure
John Kumiski FounderAgrarian Land and Pond, LLC
Zachary Marimon PresidentSolutions To Avoid Red Tide (START)
Sandy Gilbert
ChairmanMarine Resources Council
Leesa Souto
Executive DirectorTurtle Coast Group of the Sierra Club
Deborah Longman-Marien
ChairSuncoast Group of the Sierra Club
Lisa Hinton
Executive Committee ChairFriends of Warm Mineral Springs, Inc.
Juliette Jones
SecretaryIchetucknee Alliance, Inc.
John Jopling
PresidentClean Water Action
Kathy Aterno
National Managing Director and Florida DirectorSouth Florida Audubon Society
Grant Campbell
Director of Wildlife Policy/Conservation ChairConradina Chapter of the Native Plant Society
Suzanne Valencia
PresidentRiver Kidz of St. Lucie County/Indian River County
Katy Lewey
Head OrganizerPax Christi Florida
Carol Ann BreyerIndian Riverkeeper
Marty BaumFlorida Defenders of the Environment
Karen Ahlers
Ocklawaha River Restoration CoordinatorPelican Island Audubon Society
Richard H. Baker, Ph.D.
PresidentFlorida Wildlife Federation
Manley K. Fuller PresidentSprings Eternal Project
Lesley GambleSouth Anastasia Communities Association
Ann Taylor
PresidentThe Environmental Youth Council of St. Augustine
Bill HamiltonHoward T. Odum Springs Institute, Inc.
Natalie Lyons
Secretary, Board of DirectorsAnJ Recycling
Capt. Adam Morley
CEONortheast Group of the Sierra Club
Janet Stanko
Chair
cc: Governor Rick Scott
Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater
U.S. Senator Bill Nelson
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio
