Dear friends of Florida’s waters:
February has been a busy month for water issues, as many of you know. The US EPA held three public meetings last week in Tallahassee, Orlando and W. Palm Beach to brief the public on its proposed new rule that will hopefully offer better protection to Florida waters from red tides, toxic algal blooms, fish kills and sea-grass die-offs. EPA officials were met by largely hostile crowds of industry polluters and their spokespeople as well as agricultural interests (everything from fern growers, to good ol’ boy hog farmers, to big sugar and big dairies– you name it). There were also many pro-clean water voices there speaking primarily in favor of EPA taking over the job of setting standards for nutrient pollution. EPA was sued by several Florida environmental groups and has no choice but to set some kind of numeric limits on the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus that can be dumped in our waters. The lawsuit does not get into the question of what the correct amount of pollution should be and that is now the controversy.
In our opinion, the numbers that EPA is proposing are not unreasonable nor are they perfect or overly protective. The biggest problem with EPA’s proposal is that it also includes numerous confusing and convoluted ways for Florida to avoid implementing the numbers, even if they were signed into law. So, the debate continues. CWN-FL is working on getting one or more scientists and attorneys to help us draft comments that would make it possible to sue EPA over the final numbers if they are ridiculously unhelpful. You will have an opportunity to sign on to our comment letter before it is submitted in late March.
DESIGNATED USES – Florida continues to move forward with its proposed new category of waters that would be unswimmable and barely fishable. This new category would be used for waters that are currently polluted and need to be put on a pollution diet (TMDL). The pollution diet could be avoided and DEP could continue to issue new permits for more and more pollution if the water was officially down-graded to this new category of unswimmable/barely fishable. This strategy by DEP and its polluter friends is designed to avoid the Clean Water Act and dove-tails with EPA’s proposed numeric nutrient criteria. This is obviously very troubling. There are too many problems with it to elaborate here, but one big problem that you may want to think about until we get you a complete analysis, is that you would not know what waters would get this new “non-swimmable/barely fishable” designation until an unknown time in the future. DEP or anyone with some money, could decide to take a water body through the process of down-grading it with a Use Attainability Analysis (UAA) and with one or more Site Specific Alternative Criteria (SSACs). You would also not know what the pollution limits would be until they finished their monkey-business. The opportunity to challenge a down-grade would be essentially non-existent. Technically, you could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to challenge the down-grade but your efforts would take you to an administrative hearing at DOAH and that is a totally unachievable (to your success) route. Please don’t waste your time or money. We will continue to update you on this disturbing effort being undertaken with your tax dollars by your state agency . . . The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (Don’t Expect Protection).
BAY COUNTY AIRPORT: We continue to monitor and watch (by air) the destruction of West Bay and its tributaries in Bay County, by the new Bay County airport. We met with the DEP in Pensacola on February 17th and learned that DEP Secretary Mike Sole signed a secret letter to the Bay County Airport Authority on February 3rd that authorized the airport and its contractors to dump millions of gallons of polluted water into the creeks that lead to West Bay. Of course they have already been doing this for the past several years as the construction struggles forward. Each small rain, compounds the site’s disintegration. We are told by on-site engineers (confidentially of course or they would be fired) that mold is already overtaking the baggage handling area, one wall of the terminal is sinking and cracking, the tower has cracks and the pavement outside the terminal is cracking and sinking into the soggy ground beneath. Remember that your state and federal tax dollars are paying for the construction of this completely unneeded new airport. There is no point in writing Governor Crist or anyone on the federal level. They hear from me on a regular basis with dozens of aerial photos to document the destruction that is on-going. They absolutely do not care about anything but subsidizing the St. Joe development company which is depending on the new airport for infrastructure and a building block to the new city they plan to construct on the surrounding 70,000 acres which are heavily populated with creeks, wetlands and cypress swamps. The photo below was taken on Feb. 8, 2010.
IMPAIRED WATERS RULE – Our attorney continues to work on our Impaired Waters Rule case against the US EPA. It will be many months before there is anything more to report, but we will keep you posted if anything noteworthy happens.
NEW WEBSITE – Our new website is getting REALLY close to becoming a reality. We are working on moving content from our current website over to the new site and adding exciting new features and information. We are hoping to have it available for you to see, explore, participate in very soon, so stay right there on the edge of your seat and you will be the first to know when it is ready for “prime-time”.
Thank you to everyone who attended the EPA meetings (discussed above) and for all the other critical work that you do to protect Florida’s waters.
Also a very special thank you to everyone who sends in their membership contributions and donations. These monies are critical to our work and are very appreciated.
For all of Florida’s waters,
Linda Young, Director
Monday, February 22, 2010
Reminder - Sat. Feb. 27th Nature Coast Gathering, 10:00am to 3:00pm, Crystal River - please RSVP for headcount
Please RSVP if you can make the Gathering so we have a headcount for lunch, etc. This Nature Coast Gathering will focus on how we can all work together on some specific “legacy issues” that will be in play during the upcoming legislative session in terms of the Nature Coast (drilling in Florida waters, Florida water issues, coastal habitat issues).
ALS0 – THERE IS STILL A LIMITED OPPORTUNITY TO CONTACT SOUTHWINGS ABOUT CONSERVATION FLIGHTS OVER THE NATURE COAST! Please contact Caroline Douglas ASAP (see below).
DRAFT AGENDA:
I. Intros and Welcomes - 10:00am
II. Review of/unveiling of the NEW Nature Coast Coalition Website! – Cindy Liberton, Next Steps Collective - 10:15am
III. Brief Updates on Large Projects/Threats to the Nature Coast – (Sunwest Harbourtowne, Tarmac Mine, etc.) - 11:15am
IV. Update from Campaign Organizers on the Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment – 11:30am
LUNCH – 12:30am
IV. Issue Discussion regarding the 2010 Florida Legislative Session – Special Guest, Sue Mullins – 1:00pm
-Offshore Drilling Threats to the Gulf Coast of Florida
-Water Policy (Supply/Quality – Rivers/Springs)
-Coastal Habitats Acquisition and Management
V. Shared Nature Coast Coalition Strategy – 2010 Legislative Session – 1:30pm to 3:00pm
-Coordinated efforts to make Nature Coast issues Florida issues, and how we protect our region
VI. Next Steps and Follow Up (End meeting at 3:00pm)
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 27TH, 2010
10:00AM TO 3:00PM
CRYSTAL RIVER PRESERVE STATE PARK
3266 North Sailboat Avenue
Crystal River, Florida 34428
Visitor Center: is located at 3266 North Sailboat Ave. Take U.S. Hwy 19 3/4 mile north of the Crystal River Mall. Turn left onto State Park Drive at the Days Inn. Follow State Park Drive until it dead ends at the Crystal River.
**SouthWings is working to schedule flights in/around the Nature Coast region with groups and organizations who have issue work in play in the region and could benefit from flights over the region. This could include flights with reporters, decision makers, agency staff, funders, etc. SouthWings is working to set those flights on FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26th. For more information please visit www.southwings.org and contact:
Caroline Douglas
Conservation Program Director, SouthWings
caroline@southwings.org
35 Haywood Street, Ste 202
Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: 828-225-5949
Fax: 828-225-7562
Website: www.southwings.org
Joe Murphy
Florida Program Director
Gulf Restoration Network
352-583-0870 (office)
813-468-0870 (cell)
Florida Office:
34413 Orchid Parkway
Ridge Manor, Fl. 33523
joe@healthygulf.org
www.healthygulf.org
ALS0 – THERE IS STILL A LIMITED OPPORTUNITY TO CONTACT SOUTHWINGS ABOUT CONSERVATION FLIGHTS OVER THE NATURE COAST! Please contact Caroline Douglas ASAP (see below).
DRAFT AGENDA:
I. Intros and Welcomes - 10:00am
II. Review of/unveiling of the NEW Nature Coast Coalition Website! – Cindy Liberton, Next Steps Collective - 10:15am
III. Brief Updates on Large Projects/Threats to the Nature Coast – (Sunwest Harbourtowne, Tarmac Mine, etc.) - 11:15am
IV. Update from Campaign Organizers on the Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment – 11:30am
LUNCH – 12:30am
IV. Issue Discussion regarding the 2010 Florida Legislative Session – Special Guest, Sue Mullins – 1:00pm
-Offshore Drilling Threats to the Gulf Coast of Florida
-Water Policy (Supply/Quality – Rivers/Springs)
-Coastal Habitats Acquisition and Management
V. Shared Nature Coast Coalition Strategy – 2010 Legislative Session – 1:30pm to 3:00pm
-Coordinated efforts to make Nature Coast issues Florida issues, and how we protect our region
VI. Next Steps and Follow Up (End meeting at 3:00pm)
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 27TH, 2010
10:00AM TO 3:00PM
CRYSTAL RIVER PRESERVE STATE PARK
3266 North Sailboat Avenue
Crystal River, Florida 34428
Visitor Center: is located at 3266 North Sailboat Ave. Take U.S. Hwy 19 3/4 mile north of the Crystal River Mall. Turn left onto State Park Drive at the Days Inn. Follow State Park Drive until it dead ends at the Crystal River.
**SouthWings is working to schedule flights in/around the Nature Coast region with groups and organizations who have issue work in play in the region and could benefit from flights over the region. This could include flights with reporters, decision makers, agency staff, funders, etc. SouthWings is working to set those flights on FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26th. For more information please visit www.southwings.org and contact:
Caroline Douglas
Conservation Program Director, SouthWings
caroline@southwings.org
35 Haywood Street, Ste 202
Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: 828-225-5949
Fax: 828-225-7562
Website: www.southwings.org
Joe Murphy
Florida Program Director
Gulf Restoration Network
352-583-0870 (office)
813-468-0870 (cell)
Florida Office:
34413 Orchid Parkway
Ridge Manor, Fl. 33523
joe@healthygulf.org
www.healthygulf.org
Shired Island in Dixie County is the Dirtiest Beach in Florida, for the fourth year in a row; it is also the only beach in Dixie County.
Source: National Resources Defense Council
http://www.nrdc.org/
Results: In 2008, Florida reported 634 coastal beaches, 306 (48%) of which were monitored once a week, and 328 (52%) were not monitored. For the fourth consecutive year, NRDC looked at the percent of monitoring samples that exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards (all reported samples were used to calculate the 2008 percent accidence values, including duplicate samples and samples taken outside the official beach season, if any). In 2008, 4 percent of all reported beach monitoring samples exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards.
For twenty-five years Buckeye-Quaker has created the most polluted river in Florida, the Fenholloway River, by dumping 60 million gallons of treated Class 5 toxic waste water into the river every day. The accumulation of this toxic waste water has, after twenty-five years, has created six of the top ten Dirtiest Beaches in Florida and a ten square mile Dead Zone in the Gulf.
On the Big Bend Coast, in the so-called Pure Water Wilderness, the Big Bend Canoe Trail passes through the Fenholloway Dead Zone. As the Gulf Stream flows south through the Dead Zone the pollution is carried off and creates six of the Dirtiest Beaches, not just in the Big Bend Area but in the entire State of Florida
Six of our beaches with the highest percent pollution exceedance rate are within the first forty miles south of the mouth of the Fenholloway River and its ten square mile Dead Zone. Last year clams harvested from north of the Steinhatchee River, passed the Fenholloway River were banned from commercial sale and public consumption.
The Fenholloway River flows from the North Coast of Taylor County. In 2009 the dirtiest beaches in the Big Bend were:
1. Shired Island in Dixie County (90%), (Between Shired Island and Horseshoe Beach lies Horseshoe Beach Cove where a new Dead Zone is forming).
2. Dekle Beach (62%), in Taylor County
3. Alligator Point (56%) Taylor County
4. Keaton Beach (41%) in Taylor County
5. Hagen’s Cove (40%) in Taylor County
6. Cedar Island (27%) in Taylor County
Dixie County had the highest percent exceedance rate (90%) in 2009 and for the last 4 years has been rated the dirtiest beach in Florida, Shired Island.
The next beach within the top ten dirtiest beaches is found in Levy County, ranked number seven and has an 11% exceedance rate. The first impediment to the Gulf flow from the Fenholloway Dead Zone is the twenty mile long Great Suwannee Reef, at the reefs north end the water is changing from Class II into Class III water at an ever increasing rate. At the south end of the reef is Cedar Key, the 2nd largest aquaculture framing area in Florida. Any marine life form growing in an exoskeleton (clams, crabs & etc.) must have Class II water to grow and thrive. They will die in Class III water.
Some people have the gall to defend dumping 60 million gallons of Class 5 toxic waste water into the Fenholloway River on a daily basis for 25 years while others are greedy enough to sell tourism in this area as part of the “Pure Water Wilderness”.
Suwannee Riverkeeper®, a non-profit charity, has the gall to make a three year independent scientific field study, overseen by independent PhDs with CDC Atlanta Credentials, scientifically proving the facts and then standing in the way of this environmental crime by telling the truth and letting the chips fall where they may.
Sincerely,
Stan Meeks
Suwannee Riverkeeper®
Contact info
suwanneeriverkeeper@earthlink.net
PO Box 1669
Old Town, FL 32680
Web Site www.suwanneeriverkeeper.org (under construction)
Member of Waterkeeper®Alliance
http://www.waterkeeper.org
http://www.nrdc.org/
Results: In 2008, Florida reported 634 coastal beaches, 306 (48%) of which were monitored once a week, and 328 (52%) were not monitored. For the fourth consecutive year, NRDC looked at the percent of monitoring samples that exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards (all reported samples were used to calculate the 2008 percent accidence values, including duplicate samples and samples taken outside the official beach season, if any). In 2008, 4 percent of all reported beach monitoring samples exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards.
For twenty-five years Buckeye-Quaker has created the most polluted river in Florida, the Fenholloway River, by dumping 60 million gallons of treated Class 5 toxic waste water into the river every day. The accumulation of this toxic waste water has, after twenty-five years, has created six of the top ten Dirtiest Beaches in Florida and a ten square mile Dead Zone in the Gulf.
On the Big Bend Coast, in the so-called Pure Water Wilderness, the Big Bend Canoe Trail passes through the Fenholloway Dead Zone. As the Gulf Stream flows south through the Dead Zone the pollution is carried off and creates six of the Dirtiest Beaches, not just in the Big Bend Area but in the entire State of Florida
Six of our beaches with the highest percent pollution exceedance rate are within the first forty miles south of the mouth of the Fenholloway River and its ten square mile Dead Zone. Last year clams harvested from north of the Steinhatchee River, passed the Fenholloway River were banned from commercial sale and public consumption.
The Fenholloway River flows from the North Coast of Taylor County. In 2009 the dirtiest beaches in the Big Bend were:
1. Shired Island in Dixie County (90%), (Between Shired Island and Horseshoe Beach lies Horseshoe Beach Cove where a new Dead Zone is forming).
2. Dekle Beach (62%), in Taylor County
3. Alligator Point (56%) Taylor County
4. Keaton Beach (41%) in Taylor County
5. Hagen’s Cove (40%) in Taylor County
6. Cedar Island (27%) in Taylor County
Dixie County had the highest percent exceedance rate (90%) in 2009 and for the last 4 years has been rated the dirtiest beach in Florida, Shired Island.
The next beach within the top ten dirtiest beaches is found in Levy County, ranked number seven and has an 11% exceedance rate. The first impediment to the Gulf flow from the Fenholloway Dead Zone is the twenty mile long Great Suwannee Reef, at the reefs north end the water is changing from Class II into Class III water at an ever increasing rate. At the south end of the reef is Cedar Key, the 2nd largest aquaculture framing area in Florida. Any marine life form growing in an exoskeleton (clams, crabs & etc.) must have Class II water to grow and thrive. They will die in Class III water.
Some people have the gall to defend dumping 60 million gallons of Class 5 toxic waste water into the Fenholloway River on a daily basis for 25 years while others are greedy enough to sell tourism in this area as part of the “Pure Water Wilderness”.
Suwannee Riverkeeper®, a non-profit charity, has the gall to make a three year independent scientific field study, overseen by independent PhDs with CDC Atlanta Credentials, scientifically proving the facts and then standing in the way of this environmental crime by telling the truth and letting the chips fall where they may.
Sincerely,
Stan Meeks
Suwannee Riverkeeper®
Contact info
suwanneeriverkeeper@earthlink.net
PO Box 1669
Old Town, FL 32680
Web Site www.suwanneeriverkeeper.org (under construction)
Member of Waterkeeper®Alliance
http://www.waterkeeper.org
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