They are taking more water from Silver Springs. The water management district spends millions to study what has been studied for decades, so they can say they are working on it. See our post “Buy a Book and Save $2,999,973.80” or another “Unanimous Decision to Damage Silver Springs Just a Little More.” The Ocala Star Banner has the following article today, December 29, 2016.
It is not possible to justify this, because everyone knows that indeed this withdrawal will impact the springs, and they also know it is in Franck Stronach’s interest, not in the people of Florida.
The word that comes to mind, among others, to describe this action is “unconscionable.” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unconscionableDefinition of unconscionable. 1 : not guided or controlled by conscience : unscrupulous <an unconscionable villain> 2 a : excessive, unreasonable <found an unconscionable number of defects in the car> b : shockingly unfair or unjust <unconscionable sales practices>)
Yes, all of the above fit. And more.
The district managers are slowly but surely killing Silver Springs, what many call one of Florida’s jewels. Ironically, Commissioner Bournique describes the cattle industry as the “Crown Jewel” of Florida. Also ironically, Commissioner Robbins is a member of the Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board.
We are witnessing the death of a unique and rare geographical treasure of Florida. It is a death allowed in the name of a profit-making business for a single company. It is allowed by people who have the authority and ostensibly the obligation to protect and restore it but do not.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
-A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back-
St. Johns staff urges approval of Sleepy Creek water request
Thursday
Posted at 6:15 PM Updated at 7:54 PM
Staffers said the reversal is based on better computer modeling and better data that was recently collected and analyzed. They said the change would have minimal impact on Silver Springs and the Silver River.
By Fred Hiers
Two years after St. Johns River Water Management District staffers warned Sleepy Creek Lands LLC that they would recommend that the district board deny the cattle operation’s request for more water, those staffers have now made an about-face and recommended approval – and then some.
The staff announced in a recent report that it recommends Sleepy Creek, previously called Adena Springs Ranch, be allowed to increase its water use by as much as 1.22 million gallons per day (mgd) for part of its 30,000-acre cattle operation in northeast Marion County. The district board will meet Jan. 10 in Palatka to consider the matter.
Staffers said the reversal is based on better computer modeling and better data that was recently collected and analyzed. They said the change would have minimal impact on Silver Springs and the Silver River.
Environmentalists say the staff change of heart is a result of pressure from the wealthy applicant and political urging from higher ups.
“The spring can’t take this,” said Robert Knight, director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute in Gainesville and president of the Silver Springs Alliance, an environmental watchdog group that has opposed Sleepy Creek’s cattle project.
Knight said that staff’s argument – that the new recommendation is based on better modeling – is “ludicrous.”
“The science didn’t change. What’s changed is the way they evaluated everything,” he said.
Water district officials deny the charge, saying the new modeling came about independent of Sleepy Creek’s application.
The new staff recommendation “wasn’t driven by any permit issue,” said Doug Hearn, technical program manager for the agency’s Water Supply Planning division.
He said the new model was developed as part of the district’s effort to create state-required minimum flows and levels for both the Silver and Rainbow rivers. And now that the more accurate model is available, it is also being used to help evaluate water permit requests.
This turn of events is just the latest in years of fighting between Sleepy Creek and environmentalists who oppose it.
At issue are two adjacent sod farms south of County Road 316 and east of County Road 315 in Fort McCoy.
In 2014, Sleepy Creek requested permission from the water district to pump an additional 1.12 mgd for its northern tract. District staffers recommend denial, noting that the withdrawal “would contribute to cumulative harm to the ecology of Silver Springs and the Silver River.”
Two years later, things have changed significantly. Staff is now recommending that Sleepy Creek be allowed to pump even more than what it had originally sought. They are recommending the board approve a 1.22 mgd increase for a total Sleepy Creek allocation of 2.68 mgd for 2017-2023.
After that, staff is recommending the board reduce Sleepy Creek’s use limit again to the current 1.46 mgd for 2024-2034.
Why the change? After the initial recommendation, Sleepy Creek requested several time extensions so it could file challenges. The water district approved the extensions.
On Oct. 3, Sleepy Creek asked staff to reconsider its request in light of the new and improved computer model program. And while it was at it, Sleepy Creek also asked the district to consider an additional 0.14 mgd for the northern tract.
That’s when the staff changed its mind and agreed to recommend approval.
Broken down, the staff’s recommendation would allow a total of 2.207 mgd for the northern tract. Most of that water would be used for agricultural purposes to irrigate pasture. The remaining 0.14 mgd would be used at the meat processing plant, also in the northern tract.
The east tract would be allowed to withdraw 0.478 mgd.
Sleepy Creek’s plan is to convert the 7,208 acres of the north tract and about 1,010 acres of the east tract into part of the cattle grazing and processing operation. To do that, Sleepy Creek plans to irrigate 2,231 acres of the tracts to produce enough grass and hay to feed the cattle.
Staff in its report said that after reviewing Sleepy Creek’s data and its own computer modeling, the “district staff conclude that the applicant has provided reasonable assurance that the proposed increase in the use of water will not contribute or exacerbate cumulative (predicted) harm to the ecological structure and functions of Silver Springs and the Silver River through 2023.”
On the water district website, the district wrote: “The applicant’s proposed use of water was found to be a reasonable-beneficial use, will not interfere with any existing legal use of water and is consistent with the public interest.”
Sleepy Creek is owned by Austrian/Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach, who made his fortune in the international auto parts business. He also owns several race tracks including Santa Anita Park in California, Pimlico Race Course in Maryland, and Gulfstream Park in Florida. Sleepy Creek did not respond to a request for an interview for this story.
Rich Burklew, St. Johns’ regulatory division bureau chief, said that to understand the staff’s new recommendation, it’s important to know a little about the history of the water district’s modeling process.
Until recently the modeling was based on the best geological data available. The problem with the former North Central Florida model was that it included data from the Silver Springs springshed, but not data from the nearby Rainbow Springs springshed.
The model was also based on regional data and not data more recently collected closer to the two springs.
The new model, called the Northern District Groundwater Flow Model Version 5.0, was created in partnership with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, he said, and far better reflects what’s happening underground around both springs.
The new model used “significantly different” data and as a result “created a different picture” as to the amount of water that could be safely withdrawn from the aquifer, he said.
As for any suggestion that anyone applied pressure on staff to change its recommendations, Hearn said: “There’s not been anybody that’s pushed or solicited any specific answer” from the model.
Hearn said he simply put in the data and the results were handed over without modification. Burklew said the same, and reiterated he’s received no pressure to accommodate Sleepy Creek.
Sleepy Creek made its original request for water in December 2011, asking for permission to pump as much as 13.2 mgd – more than the total amount used by City of Ocala. Since then, amid vigorous opposition from the public and environmental groups, it has stepped down its requests in a series of modified applications
Knight, from the springs institute in Gainesville and the Silver Springs Alliance, said Sleepy Creek’s strategy appears to be winning small, piecemeal victories in hopes that the public loses interest or fails to understand the incremental moves. At the same time, Sleepy Creek applies pressure on the district with its own data and keeps arguing the science until staff relents.
“They’re coming in bits and pieces. That’s my sneaky suspicion,” Knight said.
Knight also disagrees that Silver Springs, which he says has suffered 40 percent reduced flow in the past few decades, won’t be affected by more water being siphoned from the area. He said the modeling parameters have been changed and data more favorable to the applicant has been introduced into the process.
And the timing wasn’t coincidental either, Knight said. Staff’s announced about-face was made during the holidays in hopes the public wouldn’t notice, Knight alleges. He said a legal challenge is likely. The problem is that it would cost environmental groups about $500,000 to pay for studies that would prove the withdrawal harms the springs. And that is money the groups don’t have, he said.
Meanwhile Sleepy Creek and the water district have deep pockets.
So, you rely on a judge who understands the issues “or you lose, and the public will probably lose,” Knight said.
The best way to halt the board’s vote for now is for about 1,000 people to attend the board meeting and object to the staff’s recommendations.
“We’re not just going to stand by and let this happen,” Knight said, but warned that getting the district to go against staff’s recommendation will be a “monumental task.”
– Reach Fred Hiers at fred.hiers@starbanner.com and 352-397-5914.
