121231-a
Ignoring the real water problem
Ocala.com – Our Opinion
December 31, 2012
On the surface, North Florida's two regional water management districts appear to be showing commendable initiative in studying ways to recharge our depleted and declining aquifer.
Among the ideas being floated by the Suwannee and St. Johns districts' joint North Florida Aquifer Replenishment Initiative: Pump treated wastewater back into the aquifer, or divert floodwaters and surface waters from the Suwannee and St. Johns rivers and other surface waterways into deep water wells ... and then back into the aquifer. It seems so logical, so simple and proponents no doubt will argue some of the surface water filters down to the aquifer anyway.
But the problem with such big engineering solutions is that they ignore the root cause of what is plaguing our aquifer: over-consumption. Neither district has even begun to scratch the surface when it comes to instituting a serious water conservation ethic for North Florida, despite continuous warnings from both that North Florida's groundwater supply is inadequate to meet the region's needs a generation from now. Meanwhile, the districts continue issuing more permits and looking for even more ways to pump more water. Remember St. Johns' idea to build a water pumping plant and 500 miles of pipe on the Ocklawaha River to provide water, not to our region, but to thirsting Orlando and environs? At a cost of some $800 million, we might add. Luckily, that tap was turned off by heavy public opposition before it could be opened.
So once the districts figure out how to artificially put water back into the aquifer — however cost effective or efficient such techniques may ultimately prove to be ... or not — there will be even less incentive for our water managers to actually manage our underground water resources.
So we agree with Annette Long, of the Save Our Suwannee conservation group, who recently said, “What our water managers should do before they spend one more dime on recharge is to mandate water conservation year-round, whether it is raining or not, to conserve what we do have in the aquifer.
 “We should treat our aquifer like a bank account,” she continued. “Don't take out more than we put into it. That conservation should include not just cities and homes but also industry and agriculture.”
Our water management districts and the Legislature that funds them would do well to heed Long's words. For too long the districts have treated our aquifer like a blank check whenever anyone came knocking asking to withdraw large quantities of water from the aquifer. The water table measurements don't lie. Our aquifer is declining steadily, yet our water managers keep acting like they always have been with virtually no serious plan for widespread conservation efforts.
On the surface, looking for big engineering solutions to falling aquifer levels is a costly and unneeded diversion to Florida's real water problem: We're using too much of it and doing nothing to reverse that reality.

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Winter in South Florida is prime time to explore Everglades
Miami Herald - by Susan Cocking
December 31, 2012
South Florida’s mild winter temperatures make it possible to explore the Everglades and other inland natural sites without being devoured by bugs or suffering heat stroke.
It’s that time of year when many South Florida homes become free hostels and houses of refuge for northern friends and relatives escaping the winter cold and the ravages of Super Storm Sandy. While the average out-of-town guest is happy to toast on the beach, some are looking for more adventurous outdoor activities.
South Florida’s seasonally cool temperatures, dry skies and lack of insects open up quite a few possibilities that were unthinkable a couple of months ago. Camping, cycling, riding on an airboat, and slogging through swamps are just some of the possibilities if you turn your back on the beach and head west.
 “For wildlife, January and February are the peak times,” said Maria Thomson, a 13-year veteran ranger at Everglades National Park’s Shark Valley. “Alligators, wading birds. Taking the tram or riding bikes, the wildlife is right there. You don’t have to use binoculars and telescopes and the wildlife doesn’t seem to be bothered by it. Here in the Everglades, once you start to discover the magic that is in this ecosystem, you start to go ‘wow.’ ”
Along with Shark Valley, which hosts an average of 110,000 visitors annually, there are plenty other local adventures that are relatively cheap, fun, and effective in getting houseguests out from underfoot that are best undertaken between now and mid-April. Here are some suggestions:
Camping
Options range from urban to primitive for spending a night (or several) at a campground in South Florida. You can go to sleep to the haunting hoots of barred owls or stay up and watch television in an enclosed cabana. Some areas allow pets. By day, you can walk out of your tent and never see another human being until nightfall, or you can walk out of your tent to an open field where scores of model airplanes and helicopters are buzzing overhead. Your choice.
•  Larry & Penny Thompson Park: Situated only a five-minute drive from Zoo Miami in South Miami-Dade, this park offers hiking and horse trails, a swimming pool, horseshoe pits, playground, and a sand volleyball court in addition to tent camping sites for $16.95 per night (up to four people in a tent). There is a bathhouse with toilets, showers and a laundry room, and for those who need even more of a break from the great outdoors, a cabana with a television, books and games. You must bring your own camping equipment, but if you forget something — like the stakes for the tent —you can buy it at Wal-Mart about 20 minutes away in Florida City. No pets allowed. (Address: 12451 SW 184th St.  Tel.: 305-232-1049 )
•  Markham Park: This west Broward site is the perfect campground for the hyperactive and those not seeking solitude in the wild. Besides 88 full-service campsites (water, sewer, electrical hook-ups, restrooms with showers), this park offers enough activities to keep you busy for a month. You can: fly remote-controlled airplanes and helicopters at a special airfield; join amateur astronomers for stargazing through telescopes at night; practice shooting your gun or bow; ride your mountain bike on 10 miles of trails; play tennis and racquetball; exhaust the youngsters at a playground; and walk your pooch in the 3½-acre Barkham at Markham dog park. All this for $30 per night for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach county residents, plus a $1 pet registration fee. (Address: 16001 W. State Rd. 84, Sunrise.   954-357-8868)
•  Long Pine Key Campground: Ah, wilderness. It’s not for everybody, but you don’t know until you try. The 200 campsites located 6 miles in from Everglades National Park’s Ernest Coe Visitor Center can not be reserved in advance, but they are never full. The campground has a bathroom with water, but no showers and no electricity. There may be bugs, even in winter. You can bring pets, but keep them on a short leash: wildlife abounds here, including birds of prey, gators, and — occasionally — exotic Burmese pythons. You can hike or bike alone or join a group for a ranger-led talk or walk; paddle a canoe or kayak around the marked trail at Nine Mile Pond; and tour the historic Cold War Nike Missile site, among other things. Park admission is $10 per car, plus $16 per night for a campsite holding two tents with up to six people; $8 per night for seniors with Golden Age passes. (Address: Everglades National Park, near Homestead.  305-242-7873)
Cycling
Riding on South Florida’s crowded urban byways (and even residential cul-de-sacs) can be a risky adventure. For an enhanced outdoors experience where you might actually spot wildlife, check out some of the region’s scenic back roads.
•  Shark Valley: One of the most popular bike trails in the region, the 15-mile, flat paved loop road through the Shark River Slough is probably the best place in the entire region to see alligators in the wild. Many can be found in the canal that runs along the road directly behind the visitors’ center, but there usually are plenty more lazing beneath the large observation tower located at the halfway point, and a few others scattered around the back side of the loop. Besides alligators, you are likely to see a rich variety of bird life: anhinga, cormorant, endangered wood stork, egret, great blue heron and many others. Occasionally, bicyclists spot otter and deer. Admission is $10 per vehicle, and the parking lot fills quickly on weekends and holidays, so some visitors park along Tamiami Trail. You can bring your own bike or rent one from the concessionaire (             305-221-8455       ) for $8.50 per hour, but rental bikes are usually gone by 10 a.m. during peak periods. (Address: Everglades National Park, 36000 SW Eighth St., West Miami-Dade.             305-221-8455       .)
•  Loop road, Big Cypress National Preserve: This 27-mile rough road is a superb way to get close to wildlife and observe the ever-changing landscape of the Big Cypress swamp. Many bicyclists begin their trek at Monroe Station, the site of a 1920s filling station built to serve motorists on the fledgling Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41), located about 4 miles west of the Oasis Visitor Center. From there, you can pedal the whole road, winding up at Forty Mile Bend, or just turn around whenever you feel like it. Along the way you will feel like part of a Clyde Butcher photograph, for this is where the famed nature photographer has shot many of his black-and-white masterpieces. You will pass through sawgrass prairie, pine forest and cypress strand. You might see gators, otters, bears and just about any kind of bird that winters in South Florida. You will encounter automobiles, but not that many, and pass private camps with airboats and other off-road vehicles. You also may greet hikers because the Loop Road marks the beginning of the Florida Trail, which extends for more than 1,000 miles north to the Florida Panhandle. (Address: Off Tamiami Trail midway between Miami and Naples,             239-695-4759       or             239-695-1201       .)
Airboat rides
This is an exciting (and loud) way to explore South Florida’s wetlands and view wildlife without exerting yourself. First-time visitors to South Florida will love it.

 •  Coopertown Airboat Rides: Your party will roar through a sawgrass swamp past gators, colorful purple gallinules, and other Everglades creatures, pausing to hear the answers to FAQs from Jesse Kennon, the unofficial mayor of Coopertown, or one of his guides. After the tour, you can chow down on delicacies such as fried gator and frog legs, peruse a selection of kitschy gifts, and take photos of your family and friends holding a baby gator. Rides cost $22 for adults; $11 for children 7-11 and free for children under 7. (Address: 22700 SW Eighth St., West Miami-Dade.             305-226-6048       .)
•  Sawgrass Recreation Park: Included in the price of your 30-minute Everglades airboat ride is a tour of the park’s native and exotic wildlife exhibits, which change from week to week and could include anything from Florida panthers to snakes and iguanas. Some of the wildlife roams the property at will, so prepare to greet peacocks, ducks and other roving ambassadors. Admission is $19.50 plus tax for adults; $10 plus tax for children 4-12; free for children under 4. (Address: 1006 U.S. 27, Weston. 888-4-AIRBOAT,)

 •  Everglades Holiday Park: After your tour aboard a covered airboat, you may meet the cast of Animal Planet’s popular “Gator Boys” television show featuring Paul Bedard and his band of gator wrestlers who often film there. The park also is a popular bass tournament weigh-in site where you can see what anglers are catching in the Glades. Airboat rides cost $23.50 for adults; $12.50 for kids. (Address: 21940 Griffin Rd., West Broward.  Tel.: 954-434-8111)
Slough slogs
Walking hip-deep through a dark swamp that almost certainly harbors gators and snakes is not something most South Florida visitors or residents would do on their own. However, when accompanied by a park ranger or biologist, swamp walks don’t seem so scary and are actually fun. Wear long pants, sturdy, closed-toed shoes, socks, and bring a walking stick, water, and extra clothes.
•  Oasis Visitor Center, Big Cypress National Preserve: Rangers lead two-hour, “wet and wild” swamp walks on Sundays and Mondays beginning at 10 a.m., but be sure to make a reservation. You will learn about — and step on — the origins of cypress trees called “knees” that protrude from the mud. You will probably see gators and, for sure, come across all kinds of birds. And the best part is that all this outdoors education is free. (Address: 52105 Tamiami Trail, Ochopee.             239-695-4758       .)
•  Everglades National Park: Wade into a gator hole or a cypress dome on this two-hour slough slog guided by a park ranger. Pick up that spongy, greenish-white stuff floating in the water called periphyton and be prepared to be amazed at how good it smells — kind of like Pine Sol, but without the bite. You’ll learn why hydrology is such a big topic of debate in South Florida and how gators build their nests. The tour, offered daily, is free, but park admission is $10 per car. Reservations are required. (Address: 40001 SR 9336, Homestead.             305-242-7700       .)
•  Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park: If you have read Susan Orlean’s book, “The Ghost Orchid,” or watched the movie, “Adaptation,” based on the book, then you will want to join this wet hike into the region dubbed the “Amazon of North America.” Members of the park’s non-profit booster group Friends of Fakahatchee will lead you into a cool wetland shaded by royal palm and bald cypress that holds more native orchid and bromeliad species than anywhere in the U.S. You probably will see a gator or two, and if you are lucky, maybe a black bear or otter. Admission is $70 for non-members of Friends of Fakahatchee and $15 for accompanied youngsters. The tours are conducted the first, second and third Saturday of each month by reservation. (Address: 137 Coastline Dr., Copeland.             239-695-1023       .)

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2012's Environmental hits and misses
TheLedger.com – by Tom Palmer
December 30, 2012
As usual, there was no shortage of environmental news this year.
 In February, Circle B Bar Reserve added a new educational exhibit to help cap the yearlong celebration of Polk’s Sesquicentennial. It is a replica of a historic cracker cow camp that was constructed by the Polk County Cattlemen’s Association.
By May, work was under way on a project to replumb Lake Hancock. One project is designed to remove nutrients from the lake water before if flows downstream to the Peace River. The other project was intended to raise the lake level to maintain flow in the river.
In June, the Polk County Planning Commission denied a permit for a new county boat ramp on Lake Juliana. The panel overstepped its authority, though, turning it down because the members didn’t think the County Commission ought to be spending money on projects like that rather than simply ruling on whether the land use was appropriate, which is the limit of their authority. County planners appealed the vote and had to hire a private attorney to plead their case because the county’s legal staff couldn’t represent them before the County Commission. The County Commission overruled the denial and approved the project. It is under construction at year’s end.
 The ramp is part of an effort to improve public access to local lakes and rivers. The ramp is under construction and should open by spring. Since the ramp was approved, there have been rumors that efforts are afoot to reopen the boating channel to Lake Mattie, which has no public access.
 Also in June, commissioners agreed to pass an ordinance enacting the first stormwater utility fee in unincorporated Polk County.
 Commissioners had been considering the idea since 1989 to take care of pollution control and flooding problems, but had never managed the political courage to do it even though Lakeland and other Polk cities have had no such hesitation.
 As it turned out, commissioners balked again in the face of public criticism.
 The idea is not dead. A citizen committee to come up with a better proposal is scheduled to convene next  year.
 In July, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board rejected a proposal by the Lake Region Lakes Management District to take over control of structures on several lakes in the Winter Haven area.
 The issue involved a long-running dispute between leaders of the local water district and the regional water district over when and how often to release water from the lakes, a dispute that was inflamed when Swiftmud officials released water to ease flooding in sections of a low-lying development on Lake Henry, which caused navigation problems for boaters on the other side of the lake.
 In August, a coalition of statewide conservation groups launched a petition drive call Florida Land and Water Legacy to amend the Florida Constitution to guarantee money for conservation land purchases while the land is still available.
 They hope to put the measure on the 2014 ballot.
 In September Polk gained some bragging rights with the certification of a giant red maple tree in Swiftmud’s Green Swamp East tract as the Florida champion. The tree looms 103 feet above the swamp and is even visible in the canopy from the air.
 In late November, a long legal battle over enforcement of water pollution standards in Florida ended with an order to start enforcing the 1972 Clean Water Act. Now comes the tough part, which is the implementation. No one is sure how that will actually occur or how quickly. But it gives more impetus to a local stormwater fee to pay for work.
 At years end, some interesting bird-related events were going on.
 One was the discovery of a large evening bald eagle roost on a communications tower next to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office headquarters.
 The other was preliminary talks to improve protection of a major wading bird rookery on Lake Somerset in Lakeland. Audubon and Lakeland officials are discussing possible measures in cooperation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
 ABSENT FRIENDS
 Chuck Geanangel, longtime Polk environmental activist and birdwatcher who was responsible for organizing bird surveys in many of Polk’s major parks and nature preserves, setting up a website on Polk County birds and being a calm voice for conservation here and around the state. He died in November. He was 75.
 John DeGrove, the father of growth management in Florida, died in April. He was 87. DeGrove was instrumental in getting approval for the landmark regulations in 1985 that attempted to bring some sanity to Florida’s growth decisions. Legislators have repealed some of those regulations in recent years under the guise of helping the economy recovery.
 John Ogden, an ornithologist who was one of the architects of the Everglades restoration project, died in April. He was 73. His work led to an understanding of what was needed to improve the region’s wildlife habitat.
 Henry Swanson, who pushed for efforts to protect Florida’s aquifers from overuse, died in January. He was 88. He pushed an amendment to the Florida Constitution that would provide tax breaks to property owners who left high-recharge land undeveloped, but the amendment left it up to local governments to implement it and none did.
 The Senator, a 3,500-year-old cypress tree that was one of the oldest known bald cypress trees in the world, was destroyed by a fire in January. The tree was the centerpiece of a small Seminole County park for decades. An investigation revealed the fire, which was at first blamed on lightning, was set accidentally by one of the drug users that inhabited the park after hours and who park authorities had done little to discourage. The park is scheduled to reopen in February

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RESTORE Act Ecosystem Restoration Project Proposals
WaterWorld.com
December 30, 2012
Hernando County issued the following news release:
The newly established Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund is anticipated to provide funds to the five Gulf Coast States to restore and offset the environmental and economic impacts associated with the Deep Water Horizon oil spill. The Charlotte Harbor, Sarasota Bay, and Tampa Estuary Programs have banded together with the Southwest Florida Water Management District in the development of a regional ecosystem restoration plan to maximize the region's opportunity to secure funding under the Act.
As a partner in this coalition, Hernando County staff was requested to develop and provide a list of prioritized projects which would restore and protect the natural resources, ecosystems, water quality and coastal wetlands of the Southwest Florida coast. Click on the link below to see the list of projects approved by the Hernando County Board of County Commissioners on December 18th

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Restoring Silver Springs: It’s a regional challenge
Ocala.com – by Robert Knight, special to the Star-Banner
December 30, 2012
On Dec. 11, the Governing Board of the St. Johns River Water Management District held the fourth and final meeting concerning their new Springs Protection Initiative. The primary topics at the meeting were the declining water flows at Silver Springs and the causes and effects of nitrate nitrogen pollution. To any attendee who might have expected to hear what the district was planning to do to ensure the protection of Silver Springs, these meetings must have been alarming.
Average flows at Silver Springs during the past decade are reduced by 32 percent compared to the average of the previous 70 years, and down by 50 percent during the past two years. Silver Springs also is suffering from nitrate-nitrogen concentrations more than 25 times higher than historic levels, a result of excessive fertilizer use and inadequate treatment of human and animal wastes.
The once clear water, verdant plant community and abundant fish populations at Silver Springs now are visibly degraded and disappointing to any visitor who remembers the way the springs once were.
Sadly, during their springs meetings, the St. Johns River Water Management District made no decision to restore flows to Silver Springs. District staff continue to insist that groundwater pumping is not a significant part of the documented flow decline and, instead, claim that lower rainfall totals and other natural causes are responsible for reduced spring flows.
However, the district’s own data show that groundwater pumping from the Floridan Aquifer exceeds 1.2 billion gallons each day, which is groundwater that otherwise would have flowed to the springs. Further, regional monitoring data show that groundwater levels have already declined by up to 60 feet in heavily pumped areas around Tampa and Jacksonville, and aquifer levels in the vicinity of Silver Springs have declined by up to 20 feet. Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey demonstrate that regional groundwater level declines severely reduce flows, even in distant springs.
Silver Springs is not healthy, and its vital signs are not improving. Yet, the outcome of the four District Springs Protection Initiative workshops was a recommendation for additional research rather than immediate corrective action for problems that have been visibly worsening at Silver Springs. While increased monitoring is certainly commendable to assess the changing health of the springs, the root causes of the impacts have been well understood for more than a decade.
Due to the interconnectedness of the Floridan Aquifer, a local solution to restore flows at Silver Springs will require regional action. The only feasible approach to restoring aquifer levels and historic flows at Silver Springs is to reduce the overall groundwater extraction districtwide.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has determined that the amount of nitrate entering the groundwater that feeds Silver Springs needs to be reduced by at least 79 percent to control harmful algal blooms. This difficult task will require a reduction of fertilizer use by farmers and homeowners and upgrades to wastewater treatment/disposal systems throughout much of Marion and adjacent counties.
The community that loves Silver Springs needs to draw a line in the sand and let their state officials know that no more degradation can be tolerated. All state and local permitting decisions should be based on protecting the public’s interests. A healthy environment at Silver Springs equates to a healthy local and state economy.
Residents who wish to pass a restored Silver Springs to the next generation should demand that any new consumptive use permits issued must be offset by an overall decrease in groundwater pumping and a reduction in the amount of nitrogen applied to the land. Otherwise, Silver Springs will continue to suffer a death by a thousand cuts.
Dr. Robert Knight is director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute in Gainesville and has been researching Silver Springs since the 1970s.

121229-
No denying climate change
Sun Sentinel
December 29, 2012
Earth is growing warmer; the records prove that. Some still doubt human activity has anything to do with it, but it's past time for the rest of us to face reality.
We need, first, good leadership. The United States should provide it, as it has repeatedly promised but failed to do. And Florida should be a leader among the states, because it is among those most threatened with ecological problems and rising sea levels.
Tallahassee should take its cues from South Florida, where local governments have long recognized the dangers associated with climate change. Raising seawall heights, moving drinking-water wellfields farther inland and imposing tougher development regulations for particularly vulnerable areas — ideas once unthinkable — are now part of a regional climate-change plan designed to help local communities address a changing environment.
While the flooding and saltwater intrusion now seen in South Florida occur regularly, far more devastating effects are happening in other parts of the world. According to the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a 20-nation consortium of developing countries, failure to act will result in about 100 million deaths worldwide by 2030 from mega-droughts, floods, disease, crop failure and major water shortages. The forum puts the economic costs of climate change at $1.2 trillion a year now, and says it will double by 2030. Some nations could lose 11 percent of GDP. Oxfam, an anti-poverty group, puts potential agricultural and fishery losses alone at $500 billion a year by 2030.
Skeptics may pooh-pooh the climate forum's report as commissioned by those nations most at risk, which makes them most in need of help. But its findings are consistent with those from the world's most important climate-change organization, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Some skeptics say "many" scientists don't believe in global warming or don't believe it's caused by human activity. But the "many" is actually just a handful. The overwhelming consensus among scientists the world over is that climate change is occurring and human activity plays a major role.
South Floridians may think droughts and wars in faraway places are no threat to them. They are wrong, but in any case, we are dealing with the effects of climate change here at home. Some of our cities have wisely begun to include resources to address the problem in their long-range planning. Their foresight is commendable. It may not be long before every coastal city on earth is doing the same.
"We need to have the will to do things we've never done before and do them quickly," said Richard Grosso, professor of land-use law at Nova Southeastern University, at a regional climate-change conference in Jupiter earlier this month. "We need to elect officials who will not be paralyzed by doubt."
In 2030, most young people who graduated from college this year will turn 40 years old. They will have moved or be moving into positions of power and influence in government and industry. The world's problems will be in their laps.
These are our children. We're already saddling them with a preposterous debt, much to our shame. Do we also want to burden them with the possibly catastrophic effects of climate change, just because we lack the will to act now?

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Pensacola marks start of paddleboarder's journey around Florida
PNJ.com
December 29, 2012
Trip honors 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon's settling of the state
Like many of us, Justin Riney, 31, of Vero Beach has a New Year’s resolution.
Many of us will forget our resolutions by Jan. 2. But Riney won’t because his resolution affects so many people, places and things.
On Tuesday, he will embark on what he’s calling the Experience Florida 500 project, or XF500, a yearlong exploration of Florida coastal waterways and inland estuaries on his standup paddleboard. He plans to launch from Big Lagoon State Park at 9 a.m.
XF500 is Riney’s way of celebrating the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon settling Florida in 1513.
For the first six months, Riney will travel the 1,515-mile Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail, which traces the Florida coast and includes many ecosystems and environments. The six others who have completed the trail have been in kayaks.
In the second half of the year, Riney will explore many of Florida’s freshwater territories such as rivers, lakes and marshlands.
 “My main goal is to inspire the general public,” said Riney, a conservationist and entrepreneur. “The project is based around the conservation of the Florida waterways. Florida is unique in that it has every aquatic ecosystem here.”
Riney is encouraging fellow paddleboarders and water sport enthusiasts to join him on his journey.
He said the expedition started as a fun idea but blossomed into a bigger cause through social media and word of mouth.
He said it now involves several government offices and departments, a massive volunteer effort, corporate sponsorships and interested environmental groups. Sponsors include outdoor gear company Quiksilver, paddleboard retailer Tahoe SUP and the University of Florida.
 “I wanted to keep this project grassroots,” he said. “Social media has provided the perfect platform for that.”
Riney’s paddleboard was made specifically for the trip.
With a goal of finishing the Saltwater Paddling Trail by July 4, he plans to cover about 10 miles a day. He’ll have time to stop in several communities to host coastal cleanup and conservation projects.
He plans to stick as close to the trail as he can, though he said it would be very difficult to follow it exactly.
Doug Alderson, the paddling trail’s coordinator, said it usually takes three to four months for kayakers to finish it.
He said he hopes to see more people give the trail a try.
 “I believe the trail has the potential to become a saltwater Appalachian Trail,” he said. “The Appalachian Trail took decades to really gain momentum, and now hundreds hike the entire stretch every year.”
Riney said he spent the past six months training, paddling 17 to 22 miles a day in locations across the state. He’s seen vast amounts of marine life, including sharks and alligators.
He said hazards include not only marine life but also exposure to the elements and storms. He said he had a lot to consider when preparing for this expedition.
 “Dehydration is a major factor,” he said. “But you can actually even drink too much water.”
He said he will be spending many of his nights in a tent, hammock or at friends’ houses.
 “There are 365 days I have to account for,” he said. “In 90 percent of it, I will be camping.”
Riney will be filming a documentary, as well as blogging along the way.
He said the project will delve into Florida’s rich history and showcase a popular sport while also inspiring people to take care of the environment.
 “This is groundbreaking in a lot of ways,” he said.

121228-a
Cleaning up Florida's water, finally
Tampa Bay Times - Editorial
December 28, 2012
The new water standards recently announced by the federal government finally should mark a new era in cleaning up Florida's polluted lakes, streams and coastal areas. For the first time in 14 years, the state and the federal government are on the same page in committing to curb the nutrient runoff from farms, homes, utilities and big business that chokes the waterways, damages the drinking water supply, and harms public health and the economy. Federal officials must press the state to follow through on its obligations and resist any political pressure to pull back. But the announcement is a big step toward transforming a courtroom battle into a cleanup effort.
The Environmental Protection Agency has approved new state rules aimed at limiting the pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus entering the state's waterways. The nutrients spew from farms and cattle operations, dairy plants, golf courses, homes and industrial sources into streams, lakes and estuaries. They spark toxic algae blooms that foul the water supply, cause rashes and respiratory problems among swimmers and boaters, kill fish and damage public and private property.
The federal government told the states in 1998 to devise clean-up standards or it would do the job for them. The announcement several days ago could bring an end to more than a decade of foot-dragging by both sides. The EPA approved the state's limits for some estuaries and inland waters and said it would develop federal standards for the remaining waterways by next fall. The federal agency, though, said it would work with Florida over the next year to give the state another chance to write statewide criteria of its own. And the EPA announced it would give Florida latitude in addressing a fix for downstream pollution.
Environmental advocates hailed the announcement as a victory for public health and a vindication of a robust federal role in moving Florida and other states to address long-standing pollution problems. This should force the big polluters and their Republican allies in Tallahassee to switch from characterizing this as a states' rights issue and overstating the cost of clean water to actually devising a plan in concert with Washington to protect the public and the state's economy.
The EPA will need to hang tough. Republican state leaders have shown they intend to do the minimum required by the Clean Water Act and the federal courts to preserve the natural resources so essential to growth, tourism and the commercial fisheries. The EPA made clear it reserved the right to move ahead with its own antipollution standards should the state show bad faith. The agency needs to back up that promise by ensuring over the coming year that Florida moves to adopt meaningful standards for protecting inland and coastal waterways.
This is a major step in placing new limits on the level of pollution in the state's water bodies. And Florida's experience will be something of a model as the EPA works with other states to develop comprehensive water cleanup campaigns. The state will need to follow through with money and tighter regulations to begin reversing the damage. And the EPA will need to ensure that the state's cleanup targets meet the spirit of the Clean Water Act. Florida's future depends on it.
So let’s give the local BMAP efforts the benefit of the doubt. However, when we look at the local urban source of nitrogen coming from the north and south watersheds flowing to the estuary in Lee County, it appears that they have not gone down but trended up significantly despite DEP’s claims of a 44 percent nitrogen load reduction. Between 2002 and 2011, nitrogen concentrations have increased by 19 percent from the local south tidal watershed and a whopping 56 percent from the local north tidal watershed.
If the trend in local nitrogen concentrations has been increasing for the last 10 years, why are DEP and partner agencies making such a big and unprecedented celebration locally to support questionable nitrogen reduction success? Yes, you have to start somewhere; but the high profile cheerleading that has followed decades of foot-dragging on water quality problems just doesn’t feel right.
The recurring algae blooms and oxygen depletions make it even harder to swallow. The irony here lies in the underlying lack of political will by Tallahassee to broadly enforce compliance with existing water quality rules despite having very qualified resource managers, comprehensive water quality regulations and a massive database of water quality information.
The DEP-sponsored celebration is a classic case of “perception vs. reality.” In my opinion, the struggle over the need for stricter water quality rules was really never that much about the numbers but the continual lack of will by Florida to broadly enforce them.
A new strategy is imperative and soon.

21228-b
County wins enviro award
Ocala.com - by Bill Thompson, Staff writer
December 28, 2012
As state water managers launch a plan to protect Silver Springs, Marion County’s water utility is being recognized for already doing so.
Recently, a group representing many of the biggest publicly owned utility systems in the country honored the county Utilities Department for its work in promoting the recovery of the famous springs.
County officials will accept the National Association of Clean Water Agencies’ National Environmental Achievement award at the organization’s conference in February in Miami.
In a letter to Utilities Department Director Flip Mellinger, the association, which represents roughly 275 water-utility systems around the country, praised the county for its “commitment to innovation and environmental stewardship.”
According to county spokeswoman Barbra Hernandez, the award is recognition for a series of major projects.
Those include the construction of two advanced waste-treatment facilities whose processing leaves less than 3 milligrams per liter of nitrates in the effluent. That’s one-quarter of the state maximum of 12 milligrams per liter.
The county also eliminated five wastewater treatment facilities in a regionalization effort around Silver Springs, and plans to decommission a sixth one.
That, in turn, is expected to eliminate more than 7,000 pounds of nitrogen each year from the designated springs protection zone.
County officials also intend to use the treated wastewater from two plants to irrigate local golf courses and common areas. That will further reduce nitrogen flow into the watershed by dispersing nutrients over a greater area for plant consumption.
Finally, the department’s efficiencies in recent years have enabled the county to lower rates for its 28,000 or so customers.
Operations and maintenance costs have been cut by $3.6 million since 2008, down to a total of $11.7 million in this fiscal year.
The department, which in past years had sought rate hikes to encourage conservation and protect its credit rating, cut wastewater rates by 11 percent this year and water rates by 7 percent.
Yet the county’s efforts might only present a partial solution, as state water managers see it.
Rising nitrate levels over the past 50 years or so have been branded as a key culprit in the slow ruination of Silver Springs’ water quality.
As those levels rise, so does the growth of algae that, hydrologists believe, has contributed to reduced water clarity and choked off the growth of other plant and animal life in the waterway.
Earlier in December, the St. Johns River Water Management District announced a major initiative to combat that.
District officials noted that the current amount of nitrates would have to be hacked by 79 percent to reach the maximum threshold set by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
But the district’s governors were also told that curtailing nitrates might not be enough to rid Silver Springs and the Silver River of algae.
According to district spokesman Hank Largin, staff hydrologists have noted that Alexander Spring in the Ocala National Forest has a nitrate level of 90 percent lower than the EPA’s maximum limit, yet still has exhibited algae growth.
In Silver Springs, district officials have identified as culpable other types of plant nutrients, a decline of algae-eating fish, the slowing velocity of the river and the “recreational disturbance” of aquatic plant beds as factors feeding the algae bloom, Largin noted.
Despite the challenge ahead, county officials are reveling in the achievement.
 “We are thrilled that NACWA is recognizing all of the work that we have done to upgrade our wastewater treatment facilities,” Mellinger said in an email.
 “This program will bring all of our facilities to Advanced Waste Treatment standards, reduce our operating costs and place us ahead of the curve for meeting the nutrient removal goals being applied by the state and federal environmental agencies.”

121228-c
Estuary celebration about perception
News-Press.com - Guest Opinion by John Cassani, Lee County Utilities Watershed Council
December 28, 2012
In 2009, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection declared the Caloosahatchee Estuary impaired because of nutrient pollution.
In response, the DEP was to conduct a Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) to reduce excess nitrogen to a level the estuary could assimilate without bad things happening. Since then, the DEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have been locked in a court-ordered struggle over stricter water quality rules that might go further to prevent impairment.
With the support of industries that pollute, Florida DEP says the federal rules are unnecessary and too expensive despite a statewide decline in water quality manifested by algae blooms and fish kills, typically stemming from nutrient pollution such as nitrogen.
During this debate, DEP representatives have been writing op-ed pieces in major papers pointing out how capable they are and how science guides their policy. Kicking and screaming, Florida has finally offered some new criteria that the EPA has partly approved, yet the debate goes on.
The latest chapter was DEPs “celebration” party on Dec. 12, here in Fort Myers. Even DEP Secretary Hershel Vinyard showed up to promote the BMAP adoption.
Ninety percent of the plan projects have already been completed for the first 5-year cycle and 44 percent of the nitrogen reduction requirement has supposedly already been met for local urban areas. The BMAP partners are represented by local governments, regional and state agencies.
The BMAP technical advisory group determined that maintaining enough water clarity and coincident light transmission in San Carlos Bay to allow sea grass to grow at a depth where it occurred historically was a good way to measure overall success at reducing nitrogen. Unfortunately, the water clarity determined by local scientists over the past couple of years, has arguably trended in the wrong direction. To be fair, overall success of the estuary BMAP team will, unfortunately, be masked by the massive contribution of upriver flows (outside the local watershed) where 85 percent of the nitrogen pollution comes from.

121228-d
Group works to keep pollutants from degrading estuary
TheLedger.com – by Tom Palmer
December 28, 2012
MATLACHA | Some of the tons of nutrients and other pollutants that flow into stormwater drains in Polk County end up here in Charlotte Harbor, a giant estuary at the mouths of the Peace, Manatee and Caloosahatchee rivers 100 miles downstream from Polk's urban centers.
"Charlotte Harbor started good to begin with; the goal is stop it from declining,'' said Judy Ott, one of the staff members at the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program who specializes in monitoring the health of the various species of sea grass in the area. She was part of a boat tour held Thursday for officials and members of the media.
That monitoring is one of several ways scientists track the health of the 150,000 acres of aquatic preserves that were established between 1970 and 1986 to protect water quality and wildlife habitat here.
The Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program exists to maintain and improve the region's resources. It is a partnership supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and brings together diverse interests within the harbor's 4,500-aquare-mile basin, which stretches all the way to Winter Haven.
Along on Thursday's tour was Nancy Stoner, acting assistant administrator for EPA's Division of Water.
The division's duties include overseeing implementation of the Clean Water Act, which has been in the news in Florida recently because a federal judge signed an order requiring Florida officials to follow new, stricter federal and state water-pollution regulations.
Polk County commissioners earlier this year considered, then scrapped, a plan to implement the first-ever stormwater utility fee for unincorporated Polk County to provide a dependable source of money to pay for projects needed to comply with the new regulations.
The issue is expected to come up again next year. Stoner acknowledged it's a difficult one.
"Dealing with stormwater is a hard issue politically,'' she said. "It involves getting people to change the way they live."
It's important, however, to try to do something to improve or preserve natural systems, Stoner said.
"It really isn't hopeless," she said.
Stoner said her tour of Charlotte Harbor, which coincided with a visit to relatives in the area, was an effort to learn about the local program's approach.
"A lot of what we do at EPA is to find successful local programs and apply them elsewhere,'' she said.
One aspect of the program is an extensive monitoring network using a mixture of staff members from various environmental agencies, as well as a number of volunteers.
That monitoring involves taking specific measurements ranging from salinity to oxygen levels in the water to monitoring bird nesting areas. There's also an active program to collect discarded fishing line and other debris that can harm wildlife.
Another aspect is improved management upstream in areas such as Polk County, said Lisa Beever, a scientist who directs the estuary program.
She cited a Southwest Florida Water Management District's program that encourages better management by farmers, which she said has produced good results.
Beever said she's also hopeful about a current project on Lake Hancock just east of Lakeland. It is designed to remove a substantial amount of nitrogen from the water flowing downstream into the Peace River.
The $28.5 million Swiftmud project involves turning former phosphate ponds into marshes, where natural processes can filter water leaving the lake before it flows into the Peace River. It is expected to be finished in by summer.
The Peace River is the main source of nitrogen polluting Charlotte Harbor, Beever said.
That and other pollutants can stunt the growth of sea grass beds and other aspects of the harbor's ecology, which is why they'd like to see less of it flowing downstream, she said.

121228-e
Losing 'Protection' in environmental agency
HernandoToday.com - by Paula Dockery - was a term-limited Republican State Senator from Lakeland after 16 years in the Florida Legislature
December 28, 2012
Some of the state's strongest protectors of our natural resources were recently expelled from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Fifty-eight of the most knowledgeable and long-serving employees were let go in order to fulfill the governor's promise/threat of less regulation.
While I believe that the executive branch of government has the responsibility of managing state agencies, it's vital that within their discretion lies the moral imperative to abide by the mission of the department and the laws that govern them.
While administrations come and go, longtime department employees possess the commitment, institutional knowledge and continuity to adhere to that mission. They also should be free to perform their duties without fear of political reprisals and without overt political favoritism.
When political novice Rick Scott became Florida's governor, he appointed Herschel Vinyard, a shipyard executive, to be secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. Many of us who have been involved with environmental and water resource issues were very concerned about what message that sent and worried about the possible lack of commitment to protection.
Trying to keep an open mind and respect the governor's right to name his secretaries, I reluctantly voted to confirm Mr. Vinyard after meeting with him and asking numerous questions about his philosophy and intentions. Once confirmed, he validated my fears through his actions relating to water management districts, funding and selling state-owned lands.
Stories leaked out about water management district employees being purged because they were perceived to be too tough on politically influential developers and engineers. Then came the story of a Department of Environmental Protection employee let go for doing what the law required, despite higher-ups wanting her to turn her head on a questionable permitting issue.
Now a major cleaning out of veteran employees puts the state's environment in further and potentially irreversible peril. Poor planning decisions lead to long-term and costly damage.
This has come about on top of the dissolution — during the governor's first year in office — of the Department of Community Affairs and the demise of Florida's Growth Management laws that protected our resources while limiting costly sprawl.
Florida, more than most states, relies on its natural beauty to keep our economy humming. While 18 million residents populate our state, more than 80 million visitors a year flock to our beaches, rivers, lakes and parks, keeping tourism as a cog in our economic engine. Additionally, ecotourism filled the void when visitors couldn't afford the more costly tourist venues, keeping many Floridians employed.
Florida's economy depends heavily on its environment, which brings tourists and new residents here and provides the quality of life that businesses indicate is a leading factor in their relocation decisions. According to Tim Center, executive director of Sustainable Florida, "we look forward to policies and practices that serve the long-term needs of Florida that will continue to attract millions of visitors, millions of dollars in investments and help businesses and residents prosper."
It is sheer folly to think that protecting the environment is somehow responsible for killing jobs or hurting business when, in fact, it does the opposite.
Eric Eikenberg, CEO of the Everglades Foundation, believes the restoration of the Everglades is a key driver of Florida's economic future. He stated, "Nearly one in three Floridians depend on the Everglades ecosystem for their drinking water. Without that supply of water, Florida's economic growth will be jeopardized."
After decades of good environmental stewardship under governors of both parties — Graham, Chiles, Martinez, Bush, Crist — many of our successes are being dismantled in a mere two years.
A plea to the governor and the Department of Environmental Protection secretary: Please put the "protection" back in the Department of Environmental Protection.
This can be achieved by taking the following steps:
•Rehire and keep the most knowledgeable and experienced employees who have dedicated their professional lives to the protection of Florida's natural resources.
•Reverse shortsighted decisions and impulsive actions that will have long-term and costly consequences.
•Resist the urge to expedite developments of the politically connected at the expense of Floridians' quality of life.
•Adequately fund water resource development to ensure a safe and plentiful water supply and avoid a return to the water wars of the past.
•Restore polluted water bodies and prevent further water quality degradation; it is much more costly to clean up a polluted water body than to keep it clean and healthy.

121228-f
Marshall Foundation honors Everglades defenders
Palm Beach Daily News
December 28, 2012
River of Grass gala aids advocacy organization.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar was one of three honorees at the annual Palm Beach dinner dance of the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation.
The seventh annual River of Grass gala took place Dec. 8 at The Colony.
Jenny Prior Brown was chairwoman for the event, which included a cocktail reception and silent auction, dinner and dancing.
The presentation of the Champion of the Everglades awards highlighted the evening. In addition to Salazar, honorees were Ron Bergeron, a Broward County businessman and member of the Florida Wildlife Commission; and the Florida Wildlife Foundation.
Kathryn Fox was honorary chairwoman. Matthew and Thais Piotrowski were co-chairman and co- chairwoman.
Proceeds benefit the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation, which advocates for the restoration and preservation of the greater Everglades ecosystem through science-based education and outreach programs. Founded in 1998, the nonprofit has in recent years awarded more than $450,000 in scholarships and internships, planted nearly 100,000 native Florida trees in wetland areas, and involved more than 5,000 volunteers in hands-on restoration projects.

121228-h
Red tide kills thousands of fish
HeraldTribune.com - by Gabrielle Russon
December 28, 2012
SARASOTA COUNTY - The smell of dead fish and irritating red-tide polluted air greeted beachgoers who wanted to relax at three public beaches this week.
Officials reported thousands of dead fish — mostly large mullet — piled up along the shore at Blind Pass and Manasota beaches in Sarasota County as well as Englewood Beach in Charlotte County.
The poisoned fish were being cleaned up Thursday as health officials warned of an increase in red tide at several other spots in southern Sarasota County.
The dead fish started washing ashore Monday and crews are expected to finish picking them up at the end of this week, said George Tatge, director of parks and recreation for Sarasota County.
 “This is a significant event. Thousands of fish is significant,” he said.
What makes it more unusual is the vast majority of the fish are mullet — no small bait fish, like sardines, or other varieties.
In October, the largest red tide bloom to affect Southwest Florida in several years killed seven tons of fish in two days at Sarasota County beaches.
On Thursday afternoon, about a half-dozen cars were parked at Blind Pass Beach, which is normally crowded this time of year.
The fish were piled up along the shoreline, although that did not deter a brave swimmer or two from getting in the water.
Tatge suspects a large school of mullet were caught in a red tide bloom and then washed up on shore, thanks to the recent large waves and strong wind from the west.
Tatge said the beaches at Manasota Key are still open as crews made up of county staff and nonviolent offenders from a sheriff's work program pick up the dead fish this week.
In a news release issued Thursday, the Sarasota County Health Department warned of an increase in red tide this week compared with a week ago.
The beaches with high levels of red tide were: Turtle Beach, Nokomis Beach, North Jetty, Venice Beach, Service Club Park, Venice Fishing Pier, Brohard Beach, Caspersen Beach and Manasota Beach.
The beaches are safe, although people with asthma or chronic respiratory impairments need to be wary of red tide conditions, officials said.
Red tide can also be dangerous for pets, especially at Paw Park at South Brohard Beach in Venice.
Dogs that swim in red tide-affected waters can lick their paws or fur, ingesting the algae.
 “Beachgoers are encouraged to check the Mote beach report before they go to the beach as conditions can change daily,” said Tom Higginbotham, Sarasota County Health Department Environmental Health Administrator in the news release.
The report is available at http://www.mote.org/beaches or people can call 941-BEACHES and press “1” for Sarasota County beaches.

121228-i
Step aside Broward, is it time for Lauderdale County ?
Sun Sentinel - by Larry Barszewski
December 28, 2012
When it comes to the outside world, Fort Lauderdale beats Broward hands down.
Fort Lauderdale is where the boys are. Broward is where they have problems counting presidential ballots.
Fort Lauderdale conjures up images of a vacation wonderland. Broward elicits blank stares from people not sure where it is.
So why not change the county's name to Lauderdale County or Fort Lauderdale County and capitalize on that city's brand?
That question will be debated Jan. 10 at a Tower Forum function. And Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca says he plans on proposing the Lauderdale County name change to his fellow commissioners in the near future.
"We need a more recognizable name," LaMarca said.
Hollywood Commissioner Patty Asseff can think of at least 30 reasons not to change the county's name to Fort Lauderdale County: all of its other municipalities.
"What happens to the rest of us?" asked Asseff, whose city has always resisted playing second fiddle to Fort Lauderdale. "We are what we are. We have a lot of history."
Greg Stuart, executive director of the county's Metropolitan Planning Organization, will address the benefits of a switch.
"Most people I ever talk to, they have no idea where Broward County is," said Stuart, who has made presentations around the country. "If you say Fort Lauderdale, you'd be surprised what kind of reaction you get."
What most people don't know is where the two names came from in the first place — and how little connection either has to the area.
Napoleon Bonaparte Broward was an obscure governor from Jacksonville who began draining the Everglades more than 100 years ago. The county was set to be called Everglades County, but the speaker of the Florida House pushed through a change to honor Broward, who had died just five years earlier.
As for Major William Lauderdale, he was deathly ill after leading his Tennessee Volunteers here in 1838 to fight the Seminole Indians. He left after only 30 days and died on his way home, but he was in charge long enough to get his name on three of the forts built here — forts that were abandoned just four years later.
But it's Lauderdale, not Broward, whose name has become synonymous with beaches, yachts and fun in the sun.
That's why the county's main tourism agency already calls itself the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau and why the Broward Alliance economic development partnership changed its name to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance four years ago.
Name changes can be hard. Dade County voters rejected at least five name changes over the years before agreeing to become Miami-Dade County in 1997.
Nicki Grossman, president of Broward's visitors bureau, said a name change would be helpful, but is not critical.
"If they keep the name of the county, we're still selling greater Fort Lauderdale," Grossman said.

121228-j
Threats to waterways and the economy
TBO.com – Editorial
December 28, 2012
These days it is rare to hear the word "regulations" in Tallahassee without "job-killing" preceding it.
It is virtual gospel for Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders that rules and regulations strangle the economy.
Excessive bureaucracy and red tape do throttle the economy, but, contrary to the mantra of Scott and lawmakers, sensible regulations protect the public, help the economy and spare taxpayers costly future problems.
Water quality illustrates this. Florida's rivers and springs are central to its appeal. Beyond the beauty, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities they provide, our waterways furnish much of the drinking water supplies necessary for the state's growth.
Yet Florida's waters are in serious trouble, and that scarcely seems a concern in Tallahassee.
A yearlong Orlando Sentinel investigation reported that nearly half of the 22 rivers studied statewide are in decline "because of pollution from lawns, street runoff, wastewater and agriculture and because of shrinking flows caused by drought and the rising demand for water by cities and industries."
Many of the state's springs also are badly polluted or experiencing reduced flows.
The smart — the conservative — approach to such a looming crisis would be to take action to prevent further damage and avoid a costly disaster.
But in the last couple of years Scott and lawmakers have slashed the state's water districts, eliminated state growth laws and cut back on regulations and regulators.
At the same time they all but killed Florida Forever, the land acquisition program started by Gov. Bob Martinez. It enabled the state to protect wilderness areas and water sources for future generations without conflicts with landowners.
History doesn't seem to matter much in Tallahassee. It is as if the widespread pollution and environmental destruction that caused lawmakers to adopt tougher regulations in the 1970s and 1980s never occurred.
Scott and lawmakers ignored the facts and used the recession as an excuse for jettisoning rules that had little to do with the state's economic woes.
Overbuilding and irresponsible lending — not environmental regulations — were largely the cause of the state's housing collapse.
As we've pointed out before, every governor over the last 40 years, regardless of party or political views, has recognized the value of Florida's natural resources and sought to defend them.
Scott — who is not from Florida — has been mostly indifferent. He's taken a few positive steps, advancing Everglades restoration and finally restoring some of the deep cuts he made to the water districts.
But his administration has seemed mostly interested in giving regulated industries what they want.
Scott, with his business background and bottom-line sensibilities, could have focused on showing that effective regulations do not have to be cumbersome or time-consuming.
But his administration and the Legislature look to be more interested in weakening the regulatory system than in reforming it.
Scott and lawmakers should reflect on whether this is the legacy they want to leave.
Future generations are unlikely to look kindly on a political era that was so reckless with Florida's irreplaceable natural assets.

121227-a
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson stepping down
Associated Press - NBCmiami.com - by Kevin Freking
December 27, 2012
Her resignation will come on the heels of high-profile brawls with industry over regulation and the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, the Obama administration's chief environmental watchdog, is stepping down after a nearly four years marked by high-profile brawls over global warming pollution, the Keystone XL oil pipeline, new controls on coal-fired plants and several other hot-button issues that affect the nation's economy and people's health.
Jackson constantly found herself caught between administration pledges to solve thorny environmental problems and steady resistance from Republicans and industrial groups who complained that the agency's rules destroyed jobs and made it harder for American companies to compete internationally.
The GOP chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, said last year that Jackson would need her own parking spot at the Capitol because he planned to bring her in so frequently for questioning. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney called for her firing, a stance that had little downside during the GOP primary.
Jackson, 50, the agency's first black administrator and a chemical engineer, did not point to any particular reason for her departure. Historically, Cabinet members looking to move on will leave at the beginning of a president's second term.
Despite the opposition, which former EPA chiefs have said is the worst they have seen against the agency, Jackson still managed to take significant steps that will improve air quality and begin to curb global warming.
"I will leave the EPA confident the ship is sailing in the right direction, and ready in my own life for new challenges, time with my family and new opportunities to make a difference," she said in a statement. Jackson will leave sometime after President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address, typically in late January.
In a separate statement, Obama said Jackson has been "an important part of my team." He thanked her for serving and praised her "unwavering commitment" to the public's health.
"Under her leadership, the EPA has taken sensible and important steps to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, including implementing the first national standard for harmful mercury pollution, taking important action to combat climate change under the Clean Air Act and playing a key role in establishing historic fuel economy standards that will save the average American family thousands of dollars at the pump, while also slashing carbon pollution," he said.
Environmental activist groups and other supporters lauded Jackson for the changes she was able to make, but industry representatives said some may have come at an economic cost. Groups also noted that she leaves a large, unfinished agenda.
"There has been no fiercer champion of our health and our environment than Lisa Jackson, and every American is better off today than when she took office nearly four years ago," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. But she noted that Jackson's successor will inherit an unfinished agenda, including the need to issue new health protections against carbon pollution from existing power plants.
Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on clean air, called Jackson's tenure a "breath of fresh air" and credited her for setting historic fuel economy standards for cars and trucks, and for finalizing clean air standards.
But Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, said Jackson presided over some of the most expensive environmental rules in EPA history.
"Agency rules have been used as blunt attempts to marginalize coal and other solid fossil fuels and to make motor fuels more costly at the expense of industrial jobs, energy security, and economic recovery," Segal said. "The record of the agency over the same period in overestimating benefits to major rules has not assisted the public in determining whether these rules have been worth it."
Other environmental groups, however, praised Jackson's clean air efforts.
"Notwithstanding the difficult economic and political challenges EPA faced, her agency was directly responsible for saving the lives of tens of thousands of Americans and improving the health of millions throughout the country," said S. William Becker of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. "She will be sorely missed."
Larry Schweiger, head of the National Wildlife Federation, cited her climate change work and efforts to reduce carbon pollution.
Environmental groups had high expectations for the Obama administration after eight years of President George W. Bush, a Texas oilman who rebuffed agency scientists and refused act on climate change. Jackson came into office promising a more active EPA.
But she soon learned that changes would not occur as quickly as she had hoped. Jackson watched as a Democratic-led effort to reduce global warming emissions passed the House in 2009 but was then abandoned by the Senate as economic concerns became the priority. The concept behind the bill, referred to as cap-and-trade, would have established a system where power companies bought and sold pollution rights.
"That's a revolutionary message for our country," Jackson said at a Paris conference shortly after accepting the job.
Jackson experienced another big setback last year when the administration scrubbed a clean-air regulation aimed at reducing health-threatening smog. Republican lawmakers had been hammering the president over the proposed rule, accusing him of making it harder for companies to create jobs.
She also vowed to better control toxic coal ash after a massive spill in Tennessee, but that regulation has yet to be finalized more than four years after the spill.
Jackson had some victories, too. During her tenure, the administration finalized a new rule doubling fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks. The requirements will be phased in over 13 years and eventually require all new vehicles to average 54.5 mpg, up from 28.6 mpg at the end of last year.
She shepherded another rule that forces power plants to control mercury and other toxic pollutants for the first time. Previously, the nation's coal- and oil-fired power plants had been allowed to run without addressing their full environmental and public health costs.
Jackson also helped persuade the administration to table the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would have brought carbon-heavy tar sands oil from Canada to refineries in Texas.
House Republicans dedicated much of their time this past election year trying to rein in the EPA. They passed a bill seeking to thwart regulation of the coal industry and quash the stricter fuel efficiency standards. In the end, though, the bill made no headway in the Senate. It served mostly as election-year fodder that appeared to have little impact on the presidential race.

121227-b
Increased red tide levels detected on Sarasota County beaches
MySunCoast.com – ABC-7, WWSB
December 27, 2012
SARASOTA COUNTY - Recent beach water samples collected by the Sarasota County Health Department and analyzed by Mote Marine Laboratory for the algae red tide (Karenia brevis) show a marked increase over test results from last week.
Higher levels of Karenia brevis were found at southern Sarasota County beaches, with the highest increases reported from Turtle Beach southward to Blind Pass Beach which includes the Paw Park at South Brohard Beach in Venice.
Sarasota County lifeguards are reporting moderate to high respiratory irritation at various beaches. Local officials say people can still enjoy the beaches. However, those with asthma or chronic respiratory impairments need to watch beach conditions where red tide impacts are being reported. For those who are susceptible, the symptoms associated with red tide tend to become more noticeable when the winds are blowing on-shore.
"Beachgoers are encouraged to check the Mote beach report before they go to the beach as conditions can change daily," said Tom Higginbotham, Sarasota County Health Department Environmental Health Administrator. The Mote Marine Laboratory's Beach Conditions Report is updated twice a day and can be accessed online at www.mote.org/beaches. Residents and visitors can also register to receive email reports about specific beaches. For telephone updates, call 941-BEACHES (232-2437) and press "1" for Sarasota County beaches.
County Health officials are also advising pet owners about the risks red tide poses to animals brought to the beach. Red Tide can also affect dogs after they come out of the water, lick their paws or fur and ingest the algae which can be harmful to their health. Pets should not be allowed to consume or play with dead fish.
Beaches showing high levels of red tide include:
•Turtle Beach - Midnight Pass Road
 •Nokomis Beach - 100 Casey Key Road
 •North Jetty - 1000 Casey Key Road
 •Venice Beach - 101 The Esplanade
 •Service Club Park - 1190 Harbor Drive
 •Venice Fishing Pier - 1600 Harbor Drive South
 •Brohard Beach - 1600 Harbor Drive South
 •Caspersen Beach - 4100 Harbor Drive
 •Manasota Beach - 8570 Manasota Key Road
 •Blind Pass Beach - 6725 Manasota Key Road
Beaches in central and northern Sarasota County showing low to moderate levels of red tide include:
•Longboat Key Public Beach -- Tarawitt Drive, Longboat Key
 •Bird Key Park recreation area, west of Ringling Causeway
 •Siesta Beach, 948 Beach Road, Siesta Key
 •Lido Beach, 400 Ben Franklin Drive, Lido Key
 •South Lido Beach, 190 Taft Drive and 2201 Ben Franklin Drive, Lido Key
Additional resources for beach condition information include:
•Visit Sarasota Beach report:
  http://www.visitsarasota.org/beaches/
 •Visit Sarasota information about red tide:http://www.visitsarasota.org/media-room/
 •For biweekly red tide monitoring reports from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: http://myfwc.com/research/redtide/events/status/statewide/
 •Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
 http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb/hab/default.htm
 •Florida Department of Health:
  http://www.myfloridaeh.com/medicine/aquatic/index.html
 •Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services:
  http://www.floridaaquaculture.com/RedTide/RedTideInfo.htm
 •National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/hab/
 •Health-related information/reporting of illnesses from exposure to red tide: call toll-free 24/7 Florida Poison Control Information Center at             1-800-222-1222       . People can also call the Sarasota County Call Center at             941-861-5000       with health-related questions.

121227-c
On the surface
Gainesville.com - Editorial
December 27, 2012
On the surface, our two regional local water management districts appear to be showing commendable initiative in studying ways to recharge our depleted aquifer.
Among the ideas being floated by the Suwannee and St. Johns districts' North Florida Aquifer Replenishment Initiative: Pump treated wastewater back into the aquifer, or divert flood waters and surface waters from the Suwannee, St. Johns and other water bodies into deep water wells ... and then back into the aquifer.
But the problem with such big engineering solutions is that they ignore the root cause of what is plaguing our aquifer: Over-consumption. And neither district has even begun to scratch the surface when it comes to instituting a serious water conservation ethic for North Florida.
And once the districts figure out how to artificially put water back into the aquifer — however cost effective or efficient such techniques may ultimately prove to be — there will be even less incentive for our water managers to actually manage our underground water resources.
So we agree with Annette Long, of the Save Our Suwannee conservation group, who told The Sun, "What our water managers should do before they spend one more dime on recharge is to mandate water conservation year-round, whether it is raining or not, to conserve what we do have in the aquifer.
"We should treat our aquifer like a bank account," she continued. "Don't take out more than we put into it. That conservation should include not just cities and homes but also industry and agriculture."
On the surface looking for big engineering solutions to falling aquifer levels is a costly and unneeded diversion to Florida's real water problem: We're using too much of it.

How healthy are our Florida rivers ? Click on each of the 22 rivers and read more – interactive graphics:

121227-d
Protect Florida's rivers and springs
Sun Sentinel
December 27, 2012
For decades, environmental protection was a bipartisan priority in Florida.
The state's first major program to protect environmentally sensitive land from development, Preservation 2000, was launched in 1990 by then-Gov. Bob Martinez, a Republican. The program's successor, Florida Forever, began under Republican Gov. Jeb Bush. Leaders from both parties were proud to call themselves environmentalists.
But in recent years, conservation — once a conservative principle — has become a dirty word in Tallahassee.
Today's Republicans have dismantled limits on development and deprived Florida Forever and other environmental initiatives of meaningful funding, all in the name of spurring economic growth.
Their efforts couldn't be more misguided, or ill-timed.
Florida's natural treasures — especially its rivers and springs — are among its most valuable economic assets. They are critical sources of drinking water, lifelines for fish and wildlife, and magnets for tourists who drive the state's economy.
Many of Florida's world famous springs are dying due to excessive groundwater pumping and pollution. Once crystal clear, many are now fouled by algae blooms and hydrilla weeds.
In a recent series of stories, the Orlando Sentinel reported that many of the state's rivers also are in failing health. A year-long study of 22 rivers found almost half in decline. The culprits include pollution from fertilizers, street runoff and septic tanks; and swelling demand for water from cities, along with agriculture and other industries.
Despite such dire reports on the condition of Florida waterways, there's been no sign of urgency in the state capital. Last month a federal judge had to order state and federal environmental agencies to implement water pollution limits that have been on the table since 1998. A movement is growing among citizens to force lawmakers to restore the funding they've cut from Florida Forever.
Lawmakers also have slashed budgets for the state's regional water management agencies. They can't even settle on a way to reduce septic tank pollution.
Time is running short for a revival of the environmental spirit that used to motivate leaders in both parties. That spirit could be channeled into practical action: restoring funding for land preservation, especially near waterways; adopting and enforcing sensible and effective water pollution controls, including on septic tanks; reinstating reasonable controls on development; and long-term monitoring the health of rivers and springs.
If lawmakers worry about the cost of acting now, they should be losing sleep over the future price of inaction. Environmental reclamation isn't cheap. Efforts on just two rivers, the St. Johns and the Kissimmee, have cost taxpayers $2.5 billion so far.
Lawmakers also should be concerned about their legacies. They risk being remembered by future generations as the leaders who did nothing to stop Florida's springs and rivers from dying.

121227-
Researchers from Florida International University publish findings in Biodegradation Research
Equities.com – by Biodegradation Research NewsRx.com
December 27, 2012
By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Ecology, Environment & Conservation -- A new study on Biodegradation Research is now available. According to news reporting from Miami, Florida, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "Presence of microcystin (MC), a predominant freshwater algal toxin and a suspected liver carcinogen, in Florida's freshwaters poses serious health threat to humans and aquatic species. Being recalcitrant to conventional physical and chemical water treatment methods, biological methods of MC removal is widely researched."
The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Florida International University, "Water samples collected from five sites of Lake Okeechobee (LO) frequently exposed to toxic Microcystis blooms were used as inoculum for enrichment with microcystin LR (MC-LR) supplied as sole C and N source. After 20 days incubation, MC levels were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A bacterial consortium consisting of two isolates DC7 and DC8 from the Indian Prairie Canal sample showed over 74% toxin degradation at the end of day 20. Optimal temperature requirement for biodegradation was identified and phosphorus levels did not affect the MC biodegradation."
According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Based on 16S rRNA sequence similarity the isolate DC8 was found to have a match with Microbacterium sp. and the DC7 isolate with Rhizobium gallicum (AY972457)."
For more information on this research see: Microbial degradation of microcystin in Florida's freshwaters. Biodegradation, 2012;23(1):35-45. Biodegradation can be contacted at: Springer, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA. (Springer - www.springer.com; Biodegradation - www.springerlink.com/content/0923-9820/)
Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting A. Ramani, Dept. of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199-001, United States.

121227-f
"Some of what is out here is edible. Some of it will drop you dead."
FloridaTrend.com
December 27, 2012
Who Said That ? -- Roger Hammer
Florida's quote of the day.
They’re so easy to miss in a landscape almost monotonously green.
But for naturalist Roger Hammer, it’s the small, scattered drops of color that stand out among the slash pines and saw palmetto. Wildflowers. The vast Everglades is home to hundreds of them.
Some are spectacular but most are small and subtle. Some are fragrant, others poisonous. With the exception of a few big names — notably, the rare ghost orchid made famous in a best-selling book — many are largely unknown and unnoticed, at least outside a small group of scientists, enthusiasts and, unfortunately, poachers.
 “The average person driving by has no idea of what is out here,’’ said Hammer, as he hiked the northeastern corners of the Big Cypress National Preserve in an ongoing quest to find and photograph an exceptionally scarce yellow bloom called the Fakahatchee burmania.
Read more at the Miami Herald.

121226-a
Beneath our feet
Ocala.com - Editorial
December 26, 2012 at 6:30 a.m.
For Mayor Helen B. Miller of the North Florida hamlet of White Springs, Florida's water problems hit home more than two decades ago when White Sulphur Springs dried up — completely. It was a stunning natural phenomenon, considering that White Sulphur Springs used to spew out of the banks of the Suwannee River.
 “Hydrologists and other experts tell us excessive consumptive water withdrawals and compromised recharge zones are the cause,” Miller wrote in a recent letter to water advocates. “However, our situation is not unique.”
Indeed it is not. Floridians who watch the environment have long been aware of declining spring flows and other signs of the drying of Florida. Even along the fabled Suwannee, White Springs is not alone in seeing its local spring disappear and quit flowing. It is a distressing sign of the reality of 21st-century Florida. As Florida spring expert Jim Peterson famously noted, our springs are merely windows into the aquifer.
Simply, Florida's vast underground aquifer is under siege as a result of overpumping, nutrient pollution, saltwater intrusion and other negative impacts brought about by our state's massive growth and needs.
Although the topic of water has been much discussed in recent years, what we don't know about the true condition of our aquifers may be more important than what we do know.
That's why Miller and representatives of 28 other North Florida counties and 70 cities and towns are asking the Florida Legislature to mandate a more comprehensive mining of the data regarding Florida's aquifers.
A resolution adopted by the Northwest Florida League of Cities and the Suwannee River League of Cities implores the Legislature to fund “an unbiased scientific study of the Floridan Aquifer due to its critical implications to statewide water supply.”
In other words, what we don't know about the water under our feet — the water that provides life support for nearly all Floridians — may be more than enough to hurt us.
The proposed Floridan Aquifer System Sustainability Act of 2013 would direct the state's Department of Environmental Protection and its five water management districts to amass and analyze the existing and new data necessary to protect the aquifer against overpumping and pollution.
Lawmakers should do exactly that.
 “Springs from central Georgia to southern Florida are experiencing reduced or intermittent flows. And, wells throughout the state are drying up every day,” Mayor Miller wrote. “[A] piecemeal approach cannot restore sustainability to the Floridan Aquifer System or provide for future growth. A system-wide approach is needed.”
It's true. What we don't know about the water beneath our feet could hurt us.
With Silver Springs now the focal point in Florida's ongoing conversation about water, and some observers suggesting that part of the problem with its dramatically reduced flow might be a “reconfiguration” of the aquifer itself — rather than overpumping — it gives even more credence to the call by the North Florida consortium to try and determine what, exactly, is happening beneath our feet with our primary source of drinking water.

121226-b
DEP layoffs no surprise
TheLedger.com - by Tom Palmer
December 26, 2012
This week the Tampa Bay Times reported that there had been another round of layoffs at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The worst thing about this news is that it has become routine under the current administration in Tallahassee. This has already happened at the water management districts along with edicts to cut their tax rates.
Some have made the argument that one reason to cut regulatory and permitting staff was that in the current economic downturn and development slump, there wasn’t much for them to do.
The counterargument is that now is a good time to spend some time reviewing the permits that have already been issued and making sure that compliance is going as advertised. Also you wonder why the agency that’s supposedly the main protectors of our lakes, rivers and estuaries should set up a system where fewer experienced staff will be around to handle things when the economy rebounds.
But from what I’ve been able to gather talking to some folks in the water management district in policy-making level the emphasis has shifted. The first priority is how fast they can shovel permits out the door. If environmental protection occurs, that’s all well and good as long as it doesn’t delay issuing a permit.
Enforcement appears to be reserved only for the most intransigent and small-time violators.
As I’ve written before, it would be great if the political press would make environmental policy something they’d deign to write about during the 2014 campaign races because it matters as much to Florida’s future as much or more than the other topics on the agenda.

121226-c
Florida: I’m tired of these motherf**kin’ snakes in this motherf**kin’ State
AboveTheLaw.com - by Joe Patrice
December 26, 2012
How much would you need to be paid to go into the swamp to hunt snakes?
Florida, the national leader in providing reasons why America can’t have nice things, has a bit of a snake problem. For years, Floridians have imported exotic snakes, including giant Burmese Pythons, and then released them into the wild when they got too big for the aquarium.
Seriously, when a massive snake indigenous to an environment half-a-world away becomes too troublesome or dangerous to take care of, many, many people just drop it off on the street.
Unfortunately, these new state citizens take their newfound freedom and pump out over 80 eggs at a time, growing to 17-feet long and eating deer whole.
Congress has proven incapable of forging a solution to the problem, but Florida has got this figured out: Pay rednecks to go after the snakes with machetes!
The exotic snake population has now fully established itself as a species in the wild with disastrous results for the local ecosystem. Researchers say the snakes have wiped out up to 99% of the small mammals in the area. And while you may not shed a tear for the wood rat, as their prey diminishes, the odds increase that they’ll go after humans. Congressional testimony explains that small children have already been killed by these snakes.
In addition to Burmese Pythons, there are other python species that have been imported and dumped into the Everglades. And this is even worse news.
If the two python species mate, they may spawn a hybrid species, as has happened in captivity. And because of a biological phenomenon called hybrid vigor, there’s an off chance the resulting snakes could be hardier, more powerful predators—assuming they’re not sterile, as many hybrids are—USGS’s [Robert] Reed said.
Some Florida Republicans begged their Congressional colleagues to institute a ban on the import and collection of these species. But the rest of the Republicans on the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs killed the bill earlier this month.
The subcommittee was lobbied by the United States Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK), arguing that there’s no reason to believe a ban would stop “all” snake attacks and therefore no reason to even try. They also denied that snakes were even responsible for the decline in wild mammals.
Rep. Steve Southerland (also of Florida… but nowhere near the Everglades) declared the bill, “open season on business. It’s open season on enterprise, on freedom.” Does this political response sound familiar?
The bill would have codified an administrative ban that the Interior Department put in place at the beginning of 2012 and add a few additional species. In addition to lobbying to kill this bill, the USARK is mounting a legal attack on the Interior Department’s ban.
Or… maybe not. In the “Herp community,” which is seriously what snake lovers decided to call themselves, USARK is getting some resistance for collecting millions in cash and threatening, but never filing, lawsuits. Sadly I haven’t been able to identify any of the “six attorneys” described in the post linked above. But it looks like there’s some discord in the land of herpetophilia.
But a ban only stops the growth of the problem and Florida needs to do something about the snakes on the ground now. The state is woefully short on personnel to make a dent in the snake population. So they decided to harness their natural abundance of rednecks:
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has announced the 2013 Python Challenge beginning in January.
 “We are hoping to gauge from the python challenge the effectiveness of using an incentive-based model as a tool to address this problem,” says Florida Wildlife Commission spokeswoman Carli Segelson.
A grand prize of $1,500 will be awarded to the person who kills the most pythons, and $1,000 will go to the person who bags the longest one. According to the rules, road kill will not be eligible.
Participants will pay a $25 registration fee and complete an online training course. The training focuses on safety while hunting pythons.
It’s basically Whacking Day in Florida. While these species are constrictors and not venomous, it would take a lot more than the chance of getting $1,500 to get me to grab my machete and go after a snake capable of devouring a deer whole. Yes, I said “machete” because:
 “We want to make sure this is done in a humane way,” Segelson said. The competition’s website lists several ways to kill a python “in a humane manner that results in immediate loss of consciousness and destruction of the brain.”
It suggests shooting the snake in the head with a firearm or decapitating it with a machete.
So a bunch of gun and sword-wielding snake hunters are going to start flooding into the swamp trying to cash in. Congrats, Florida. You found a way to add another of my biggest fears to the Everglades.

121226-d
Paddleboarder set for yearlong journey
News Herald - by Valerie Garman
December 26, 2012 at 18:05 PM.
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Justin Riney will be putting a lot of miles on his paddleboard next year.
On New Year’s Day, Riney will embark on a yearlong tour of Florida’s waterways, paddling the entire perimeter of the state’s coastline and down its major interior waterways, to raise awareness to the importance of conservation.
The journey, dubbed Expedition Florida 500, will be completed in conjunction with the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon’s arrival on Florida’s beaches.
 “I hope, with the year’s worth of paddling, we can raise a mass amount of awareness so people can learn to respect and appreciate these waterways,” said Riney, of Vero Beach. “We want to make sure these waterways are here 500 years from now.”
Expedition Florida 500 will kick off in Pensacola, where Riney and his accompanying paddlers will host a beach cleanup before launching into the water at Big Lagoon State Park.
Riney is set to paddle through Panama City Beach on Jan. 15 and 16, with a number of cleanups and events planned upon his arrival. 
 “I’m going to be doing the full 365 days, but everyone else will be kind of flowing in around me,” Riney said. “We really want everyone to come out and experience this with us — come out and do paddles with us, come out and do cleanups.”
Panama City Beach resident Gabriel Gray, owner of Walkin’ on Water Paddle Boards, joined Riney’s conservation movement last year, accompanying him on a number of conservation paddles throughout the state to prepare for the upcoming expedition.
Riney completed six conservation paddles to train and raise awareness for the cause, through the St. Johns River, Apalachicola River, Kissimmee River, Indian River Lagoon, Everglades and Florida Keys.
During the trips, the duo paddled on the outskirts of two hurricanes and one tropical storm, spotted 183 alligators in one day on the Kissimmee River and even saved a man’s life while paddling through the Keys after he fell off his boat while lobstering.
And, everywhere they stopped, the group conducted cleanups, which also will be a goal of Expedition Florida.
On two of the conservation paddles, they hauled in more than a ton of trash.
Riney founded the nonprofit group Mother Ocean in January, and the group has become somewhat of a social media sensation since. Through a designated “Ocean Hour” every week, the group encourages people to participate in cleanups in their own areas.
It didn’t take long for the movement to reach around the world, with groups from Taiwan, India and the Philippines posting photos of their cleanup efforts on Ocean Hour’s Facebook page.
Social media also will be a driving force behind Expedition Florida.
 “I’m going to be posting in real time on a daily basis so people can see when we’re coming into their area,” Riney said. “All of the pictures you see are taken from a paddle board on an iPhone.”
To help with Expedition Florida 500, Riney’s nonprofit Mother Ocean has partnered with Quicksilver Waterman Collection, Tahoe SUP and Viva Florida 500, a project headed by the Florida Department of State to recognize the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon’s discovery.
Riney said the project’s timing surrounded the project with the perfect combination of history, adventure, stewardship, science and sport.
 “The main goal of this project was all conservation-based,” Riney said. “We want to lead by example; we want others to follow.”

121225-a
Florida environmental agency lays off long-time employees, hires from regulated industries
TheLedger.com - by CraigPittmanm, TampaBayTimes
December 25, 2012
In 2003, when a leaky gypsum stack at an abandoned phosphate plant threatened to kill a vast cross section of Tampa Bay's marine life, Charles Kovach came up with a solution that saved the bay.
But this month, 17 years after he was hired by the state Department of Environmental Protection, Kovach was one of 58 DEP employees laid off by the agency. Kovach believes those layoffs were designed to loosen regulation of polluting industries.
"I've seen the way politics has influenced that agency in the past, but never like this," Kovach said. "It's not about compliance (with the rules). It's about making things look like they're compliant."
On top of the layoffs is the fact that DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard has installed a number of new people in the agency's upper ranks whose prior experience was working as engineers or consultants for companies the DEP regulates.
The DEP's deputy secretary in charge of regulatory programs previously spent a decade as an engineer who specialized in getting clients their environmental permits. Another engineer who worked for developers heads up the division of water resources. A lawyer who helped power plants get their permits is now in charge of air pollution permitting. An engineering company lobbyist became a deputy director overseeing water and sewer facilities.
And the DEP's chief operating officer is a former chemical company and real estate executive from Brandon. He's not an employee, though. He's a consultant who's being paid $83 an hour — more than Vinyard makes on a per-hour basis — to advise Vinyard and his staff on ways to save money.
The DEP "was never great," said Mark Bardolph, a 27-year DEP veteran — and onetime whistle-blower — who was laid off from the Tallahassee office. "But now it's all a political farce."
DEP press secretary Patrick Gillespie defended the agency's staffing under Vinyard.
"The department strives to employ the most qualified staff members and seeks a diverse group of individuals to lead and support our mission of protecting the environment," Gillespie said in an e-mail. The layoffs weren't aimed at politicizing the agency or placating industry, Gillespie said. Instead, he said, the DEP was ensuring that "staffing levels are reflected by workloads and supporting the mission of protecting the environment."
The agency's leaders "have spent months assessing staff and structures to identify inefficiencies and improvements and how to more effectively carry out our duties," he said.
As for Brandon-based consultant Randall F. "Randy" Greene, Gillespie said he was hired because he "has a background in financial consulting and transactions and specializes in strategic and financial planning for companies and their officers."
However, Gillespie could provide no contracts or other paperwork documenting what Greene does or when and why he was hired. Gillespie said he only works part-time but a state website lists Greene as a full-time employee. Greene could not be reached for comment, but his Linkedin entry says he has served as the DEP's chief operating officer since September 2011.
The hiring of people from the private sector to run the agency's most important divisions has been going on since Vinyard, a shipyard executive, was appointed to the office in January 2011 by Gov. Rick Scott. According to former employees, the hiring and layoffs reflect the Scott administration's pro-business attitudes.
"It's a hatred of regulation in general and in particular environmental regulations," Bardolph said. "It's profit that counts."
Kovach, Bardolph and the other employees who were laid off learned their fate in November, but were kept on the payroll until this month to give them time to find new employment. One was notified via e-mail while on active duty with the Coast Guard, according to the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
"The majority of positions they were eliminating are compliance and enforcement positions," said PEER's Jerry Phillips, a former DEP attorney. "They want to essentially turn the agency over to the regulated industries."
Gillespie called Phillips' allegations "baseless" and said, "Rather than allow for environmental harm to occur and fine an entity after the fact, the department has put more effort into outreach and education in order to keep businesses and other permit holders in compliance."
Both Kovach and Bardolph said the layoffs appeared to target more experienced employees, regardless of their past achievements or the importance of their jobs.
"They got rid of everyone with any history and knowledge," Kovach said. The people who remain, he predicted, will be so cowed they "won't be able to speak their minds."
Kovach was not known to be shy about speaking up. Nine years ago, when the bankrupt Piney Point phosphate plant began leaking and threatened to spill millions of gallons of waste into the bay, it was his proposal that saved the day: load it onto barges that sprayed it across a 20,000-square-mile area in the Gulf of Mexico.
When his bosses told him he was being laid off, Kovach said, "they said, 'Don't you think it's about time you look for a new career?' " When he asked what they meant, "they suggested academia."
Bardolph had run into trouble for speaking out before. As a state dairy inspector, he filed a complaint in 1999 alleging the DEP had failed to protect the aquifer from animal waste. As a result, he was transferred to a section that had nothing to do with permitting. Instead, he worked with people whose wells had been contaminated to help them find a new source of water. He was assisting a dozen or so when the ax fell, he said, and he was escorted out of the office with his belongings in a box.
The people deciding who was laid off "looked at an organizational chart, but they didn't even know what people did," Bardolph said. "My boss was just outraged that they got rid of me."
Then, Bardolph said, they got rid of his boss, too.

121225-b
Groundwater levels studied in 9 Florida counties
StAugustine.com
December 25, 2012
GAINESVILLE (AP) — North Florida's two water management districts are studying ways to restore and maintain groundwater levels with the use of reclaimed water or surface water from rivers as possibilities.
The Gainesville Sun reports that the North Florida Aquifer Replenishment Initiative is studying the northeastern area of the Suwannee district and the northern area of the St. Johns district and includes all or part of Alachua, Union, Bradford, Hamilton, Columbia, Putnam, Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.
Much of the area lies in a water resource caution area, meaning supplies are not projected to meet future needs.
Studies to gather more data on the causes of depleted aquifer levels and springs flow are ongoing at the same time that districts are investigating ways to replenish the aquifer.
Comment:
ANOTHER 100 MILLION DOLLAR STUDY OF THE OBVIOUS.
So much taxpayer money is wasted on unneeded "research" of the causes of our problems. Any idiot can observe the reasons for the drop in our aquifer water levels:
1. Too many people moving into NE Florida for available water resources.
2. Too many golf courses constantly pumping water from their sixteen inch diameter wells.
3. Too much water used for titanium mining operations in Clay County.
4. Too many apartment and condo developments constantly pumping water for shrub and plant hydration.
5. Too much water wasted in farming operations where the water is never supposed to leave the property but it does.
And now the tree huggers want to drain Rodman Reservoir, one of the largest water reserves in North Florida. How stupid.
Forgot:
6) All the water intensive sand mines around Hawthorne and Interlachen. They run 24/7.

121225-c
Water district wants to unload unneeded tracts, but they’re worth much less than agency paid
Palm Beach Post - by Christine Stapleton, Staff Writer
December 25, 2012
To sell or not to sell — that is the question facing the South Florida Water Management District, as it ponders what to do with land it bought for tens of millions of dollars above its appraised value to use in restoration projects it no longer plans to build.
The district’s current effort to assess its 1.4 million acres comes after a critical internal audit found there is “no complete, detailed and documented assessment of district lands.” The audit, released in September, also found that “there is no formal process in place to guide staff as to what steps to take after the Governing Board approves disposing of surplus lands.”
Since June 2010 the district’s Governing Board has approved the sale of 2,930 acres it doesn’t need. But as of May 2012, only 7.85 acres had been sold, according to the audit.
Even though much of the land is remote and vacant, hanging onto it isn’t cheap. There is the cost of installing and repairing fences, removing exotic plants and staffing a land management department with inspectors who regularly visit the properties.
Among the reasons cited for not selling surplus land more quickly — strict rules in Florida law, mandatory review by the Department of Environmental Protection and the district’s own inadequate policy and inventory — is the real estate bust. In 2000, faced with court orders to restore the Everglades and the possibility that land values would continue to rise, district officials began buying land as quickly as possible.
At the height of the real estate boom, it was not uncommon for the district to pay as much as 30 percent above appraised value. That practice has left the district with land now worth a fraction of what it cost.
Four such parcels are now listed on the district’s website as under review for potential sale as surplus. All are in St. Lucie County and were purchased with tax dollars from the Save our Everglades Trust Fund:
•Brothers Four Tract: In July 2002, the district paid $786,875 for 146.3 acres of former citrus grove converted to pasture. That price was 24 percent above the appraised value — the actual value determined by an independent appraiser before a sale. Today, the St. Lucie County Property Appraiser has assessed the the land’s value as $702,000.
•Graves Brothers Tract: In May 2004 the District paid $1.9 million — 17 percent above appraised value — for this 153.5 acre parcel. Today, the St. Lucie County Property Appraiser has the tract assessed at $736,896.
•Equus Tract: In April 2005, as the real estate prices continued to soar, this nearly identical parcel beside the Graves Brothers Tract was appraised at $2.9 million. Like the Graves Brothers Tract, the Equus Tract was also a former citrus grove converted to pasture for cattle. The district purchased the 157.1-acre parcel for its appraised value, $2.9 million. Today, the land is worth $754,128, according to the St. Lucie County Property Appraiser. The district planned to use both parcels to build a man-made filter marsh.
•Adams Tract: Also in 2004, the district snapped up a 100.1-acre pasture and citrus grove for $1.3 million — 32 percent above the $901,169 appraised value. The parcel has an assessed value today of $577,440.
Because of the gap between how much the district paid for the properties and how little it would get by selling, Greg Munson, deputy secretary for water policy at the DEP, said it might make sense to hold off on any sale. “I would hope the governing boards would give that significant consideration,” he said. “That may mean sitting on it for awhile before selling it.”
The current inventory work was supposed to have begun in April 2011, when newly elected Gov. Rick Scott directed the DEP to order the state’s five water management districts to list their holdings and identify sites not needed for restoration or conservation projects. Three of the five districts completed their assessments and another is well under way. The South Florida Water Management District has just begun.
 “We went through some pretty significant reorganization,” said Tommy Strowd, the district’s director of operations, maintenance and construction. The district laid off more than 300 workers and its longtime director of real estate, Ruth Clements, retired unexpectedly earlier this year. “We felt, because we were behind, it was a good opportunity to learn from what other districts were doing and what the inspector general found.”
Charles Lee, director of advocacy for Florida Audubon, has been paying attention to surplus land values in all five districts and agrees that sound business judgment should prevail. Lee said he does not see the winnowing of unneeded tracts as “anti-environment.” It would be “ludicrous” to unload that surplus at “fire sale” prices, he added.
 “It only makes sense as a good land manager to find parcels not of environmental value,” Lee said.
However, Lee is concerned about how the district will identify surplus land and sell or swap it. To be transparent and encourage the public to participate, other districts created land surplus committees, held public meetings and enhanced their websites to allow the public to comment on specific parcels, sign up for email alerts and post messages to online bulletin boards.
The South Florida Water Management District website offers a single-page information sheet on parcels being considered for surplus, with the location, acres, assessed value, reason for surplussing and current land use.
 “I have been disappointed that South Florida seems to want to handle this less than transparently,” Lee said. “There should be scrutiny. When government does dumb things, it wastes tax dollars.”
Strowd vowed the process would be open to the public and that the district plans to resurrect its Projects and Lands Committee.
 “It’s our intent to facilitate the discussion,” Strowd said, adding that the district’s website would be updated. “We want public comment.”

121224-b
Districts eye ways to pump water back into aquifer
Gainesville.com - by Christopher Curry, Staff writer
December 24, 2012
North Central Florida's two water management districts are studying ways to restore and maintain groundwater levels, with the use of reclaimed water or surface water from rivers under consideration.
The ongoing North Florida Aquifer Replenishment Initiative is part of the joint effort on future water resource planning that the St. Johns River and Suwannee River water management districts officially launched in late 2011 under the supervision of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The study area covers the northeastern area of the Suwannee district and the northern area of the St. Johns district and includes all or part of Alachua, Union, Bradford, Hamilton, Columbia, Putnam, Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.
Much of the area lies in a water resource caution area, meaning supplies are not projected to meet future needs.
The districts' joint planning effort comes in the midst of long-standing concerns that groundwater pumping within the St. Johns district, particularly in metropolitan northeast Florida, is causing lower lake and aquifer levels and the reduced flow of rivers and springs in the Suwannee district.
Studies to gather more data on the causes of depleted aquifer levels and springs flow are ongoing at the same time that districts are investigating ways to replenish the aquifer.
Carlos Herd, the water supply director for the Suwannee district, said groundwater pumping and drought contribute to the lower water levels, and the studies are intended to quantify their effects. While that's continuing, the investigation into aquifer replenishment methods is a "pre-emptive strike," he said.
"We're trying to go in and look for ways to put water back in the aquifer," Herd said.
So far, Consulting firm ATKINS North America has completed the first phase of a four phase approximately $265,000 study.
It included identifying the following potential sources for further study:
- Treated wastewater or reclaimed water from northeast Florida.
- Surface water from the Upper Suwannee River.
- Flood waters from the Upper Suwannee's floodplain.
-Surface waters from the St. Johns district, including the Ocklawaha River/Rodman Reservoir, the St Johns River south of Palatka, Black Creek, and the St. Marys River along the Florida-Georgia border.
Herd said for surface waters, wells could be drilled to directly recharge the aquifer. The regulatory process would be more stringent for reclaimed or treated wastewater, he noted, with the likelihood that wetlands, storage ponds and rapid infiltration basins would be required to treat the water before it flows into the Upper Floridan Aquifer.
There is precedent locally.
Gainesville Regional Utilities' Main Street wastewater treatment plant has for several decades discharged into Sweetwater Branch, which then flows into the Alachua Sink and, eventually, the aquifer.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has required GRU to clean up the water flowing into the sink because of high nitrogen levels. An ongoing project includes filling in a manmade ditch that runs to the sink and building wetlands to restore the natural "sheetflow" of the water.
The St. Johns district is also mulling the potential use of reclaimed water to restore levels in parched Keystone Heights-area lakes.
The consideration of surface water bodies also comes at a time when recent years have brought historic lows to many of the region's rivers, including the Suwannee.
For reasons such as that, Herd said tapping the Suwannee would not be a year-round operation.
"Most likely what we would do with that is take it at high flows," he said. "We wouldn't take it all the time."
Annette Long, with the environmental group Save Our Suwannee, said concerns over groundwater levels should lead water districts to reject permits to pump more water, not to investigate expensive aquifer recharge projects.
"What our water managers should do before they spend one more dime on recharge is to mandate water conservation year round, whether it is raining or not, to conserve what we do have in the aquifer," Long wrote in an email.
"We should treat our aquifer like a bank account," she wrote. "Don't take out more than we put into it. That conservation should include not just cities and homes, but also industry and agriculture. They should learn how to say ‘no' to new consumptive use permits until they have a grip on how much water we have left and how much is actually being used."

121223-a
Floridan aquifer: Recharge option eyed
LakeCityReporter.com - by Derek Gilliam
December 23, 2012
SRWMD may start pumping water underground
White Springs once saw U.S. presidents bathe in the sulfur-rich waters that gave the town its name. Where the spring used to be, now there’s nothing -- not even a trickle. A new study detailing ways to put water back into the ground aims at preventing that same fate for springs throughout North Central Florida.
A technical memorandum, completed by Atkins North America Inc., presents a number of aquifer recharge concepts to help decide the best ways to artificially put water back into the aquifer.
The study looks at direct and indirect injection of water into the massive limestone formation that holds the drinking water of the state. One of the concepts calls for direct injection of reclaimed water from wastewater treatment facilities.
That option won’t be used in Suwannee River Water Management District. The SRWMD stretches from Jefferson County in the west, then snakes down the coast as far south as Levy County and as far west as Bradford County.
Direct injection of reclaimed water isn’t possible here because the study recommends the capacity of a wastewater treatment facility be greater than 10 million gallons per day. Treatment facilities in the district don’t produce that much wastewater, according to the study.
 “Due to high cost of transmission piping installation, any potential recharge project should focus on maximizing the quantity of wastewater/reclaimed water in the closest proximity to the potential recharge area,” the study said.
While direct injection of reclaimed water isn’t an option for SRWMD, the St. Johns River Water Management District does have large enough facilities.
Any water that enters into the aquifer will spread to the other water districts.
The Floridan aquifer allows farms to flourish, cities to grow and industry to thrive. It’s life itself. The human body is made mostly of water.
Robert L. Knight is the director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute, and someone who has studied the springs and water treatment systems for 30 years. He has a doctorate in systems ecology from the University of Florida, department of environmental engineering and center for wetlands.
He founded and is president of Wetland Solutions, and has professional experience with more than 200 projects assessing environmental impacts of human activities and designing solutions, and has written more than 100 technical reports on wetland permitting, design and operation, according to an online resume.
He said the recharge concepts now under consideration by the districts are expensive and don’t deal with nearly enough water to have a noticeable effect.
 “That’s like trying to use a rocket ship to carry toys to Orlando ...,” he said of the cost effectiveness of the project. “There’s a wetland alternative that’s better than all the concepts (studied in the memo).”
Knight develops wetlands to be used as recharge areas for wastewater for municipalities. He said the direct and indirect injection methods studied in the memo do not remove enough nitrates from the water, either.
He said his method of indirectly putting water back into the Floridan does. Wetlands act as a filter for all types of pollutants, he said.
But even that method, while better, doesn’t address the real problem -- more water is leaving than returning to the system.
 “The cheapest way to recharge the aquifer is to stop pumping so much,” Knight said.
Suwannee River Water Management District permits 300 million gallons a day to be pumped out and used by farms, cities and industry, Knight said.
An additional 100 millions gallons a day has been redirected into the St. Johns River Water Management District by over-pumping and permitting by that district’s management, Knight said.
With the recent bad press the water management districts have received over declining ground water levels, algae-clogged rivers and a 155 million gallon a day consumptive use permit, Knight said the aquifer recharge concepts studied in the Atkins memo amount to a public relations campaign.
 “That’s trying to put a Band-Aid on (the problem),” he said.
While calling for a halt to pumping more water may seem like an easy answer to some, the problem with that is water fuels the economy.
From cooling turbines in a power plant to growing green beans on a farm, a healthy supply of water allows communities to thrive.
The number one use of water in the SRWMD is for agriculture, Knight said.
District 1 County Commissioner and Chairman of Florida Leaders Organized for Water Ron Williams said he understands that there’s a balance between growth and conservation.
 “You have to find that happy medium,” he said.
Carlos Herd, SRWMD water supply division director, said the Atkins memo was just one of more than 40 concepts and projects water management is either implementing or studying to help improve the water supply.
 “We don’t have all our eggs in one basket...,” he said. “There’s a lot of other options out there.”
Herd said the public has a perception that reclaimed waste water goes “from toilet to tap.” He pointed out that all water on the planet has been reused. Plus, he said the state requires that water injected into the aquifer be of the same quality as what’s already there.
Besides, the ideas  presented in the Atkins memo are far from ready to be implemented, he said. Minimum flow rates for the Suwannee river need to be completed, and a cost estimate for the concepts will have to be completed.
There’s a finite amount of water and there isn’t any more being produced, he said.
 “Every drop of water we take out of the ground has been used (at some point in the past)...,” Herd said. “People do not like to think they are drinking reused water.”
Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, president of Our Santa Fe River, said she has issues with the injection of reclaimed wastewater into the aquifer.
 “They cannot remove all the chemicals well enough to be putting (water back) into our aquifer,” she said. “That’s my biggest concern that they can not remove the pharmaceuticals.”
She said nitrates, caffeine, sucrose and endocrine disrupters aren’t removed.
She also worries about the effect the water would have on the limestone. At the most basic level, the Floridan Aquifer is an underground limestone formation that holds fresh water.
Limestone can be dissolved by water with high concentrations of dissolved oxygen. When the limestone is eaten away by the dissolved oxygen, it releases radioactive elements and arsenic, which would be carried into the drinking water, she said.
At the last SRWMD governing board meeting, Malwitz-Jipson mentioned her worries about the effects of dissolved oxygen on limestone.
Water management told her that dissolved oxygen wasn’t as much of a problem as she believed.
 “I didn’t feel satisfied with that answer,” Malwitz-Jipson said, “because everything that I’ve read says it’s very hard to (remove the dissolved oxygen from the water).”
Malwitz-Jipson said she would like to see fewer permits issued and the aquifer recharge itself.
 “Our position is conservation,” she said. “Stop issuing so many permits. That’s what I would like to see.”

121223-b
Scientists: Rising seas will transform Matanzas basin
StAugustine.com - by Peter Guinta
December 23, 2012
Marineland will be swallowed, marshes to become open water.
Scientists studying the effect of higher sea levels on the 100,000-acre Matanzas Basin — which runs from Anastasia Island to Crescent Beach — say that rising waters will turn coastal marshes into open water and coastal forests into marshes.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projections point to a potential three to seven inch sea level rise along St. Johns County’s coast over several decades.
Dr. Kathryn Frank, assistant professor at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, College of Design, Construction and Planning at the University of Florida, said coastal marshes are an important wildlife habitat that should be preserved.
Web site: Planning for sea level rise
 “Higher sea levels come from global warming,” she said, explaining that rising average temperatures heat up and thus expand sea water.
The higher temps also melt ice and glaciers on land masses such as Greenland and the Antarctic.
That ice melt then runs into the sea.
 “We’re land use planners who focus on preserving ecosystems and habitats,” Frank said of the teams of scientists working for UF and the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve on this project.
The project runs from November 2011 to October 2014.
A workshop Dec. 6 at Flagler College, “Planning for Sea Level Rise in the Matanzas Basin,” was designed to inform the public that rapid sea level rise can mean flooding, coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion into the water supply, storm surges moving farther inland and habitat and species changes in the Matanzas Basin.
Informing the public
Dr. Michael Shirley of the GTM-NER said his agency has tracked sea levels for quite a while.
 “We have many salt marshes (along our coast), (which are) some of the most sensitive habitats to sea level rise,” he said. “Salt marshes are important to our coastal economy, affecting ecotourism, fishing, absorbing the impact of storms, helping to detoxify runoff. They act as a water filter by absorbing nutrients. They are the canary in the coal mine for sea level rise.”
Hurricane Sandy’s devastating effects in New Jersey and New York City in late October were caused in part by high seas driven inland by what was essentially a Category 2 storm. Scientists can imagine that higher seas and warmer temperatures could mean even more huge, killer storms.
Dr. Dawn Jourdan of UF said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had awarded a $618,000 grant specifically to inform the public about personal and home preparedness and about future threats from a rising sea.
Jourdan said, “This is only the first step learning about how sea level rise affects this area.”
Her maps of the Matanzas Basin, such as one from 1765, illustrated how coastal shoals have shifted innumerable times during the 400-plus years of European settlement on the coast.
Planning ahead
Part of long-term planning is envisioning what the problem will look like over time.
The teams produced two videos of proposed sea level rises in 2075 and 2100, showing graphically that the predicted rise of 9 to 24 inches will swallow Marineland and drown Pellicer Creek.
 “Waters have risen 9 inches over the past 100 years,” Jourdan said. “In an area like this, nine inches is significant.”
Ecoplanning involves deciding what places will become future marshes and figuring out how to prevent development there. Part of that planning involves getting public input.
 “It’s hard to steer developers (from building on a vacant lot), but it’s even harder to move existing development or make it adapt to being wetter,” she said. “We can build sea walls, canals to drain water, put in rip-rap and raise buildings (higher). But there are also natural ways (to prevent flooding), such as developing a dune system and renourishing beaches. At some point, however, it may not make sense economically.”
Planners try to figure out where future habitats will be and where future developments will be.
 “Trying to protect everything is not feasible,” she said. “We have to just generally be smarter in our planning.”

121223-c
South Florida wading bird nesting dips, raising environmental concerns
Sun Sentinel - by Andy Reid
December 23, 2012
South Florida's wading bird population suffered during 2012, with nesting on the decline due to the return of too much water too fast for herons, Wood Storks, ibises and egrets.
The 2012 wading bird nest total was a 39 percent decline compared to the average over the past decade, according to the South Florida Water Management District.
While the 26,395 wading bird nests found were just 57 less than last year, it was also the third year in a row of poor nesting totals.
It continued the steep drop off from 2009's spike to 77,505 nests – which was the most since the 1940s.
Back to back years of drought followed by a rainy 2012 resulted in yo-yoing water levels that caught many wading birds off guard. Also, the small prey fish that wading birds rely on to survive have yet to recover from previous droughts.
When the water is too high and prey fish aren't plentiful enough, wading birds either can't nest or they abandon their nests and leave the young to starve.
Manmade manipulations of water supplies from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades add to the strain.
Draining more water into wetlands to keep farms and towns dry during storms and taking more water from wetlands for the public supply during droughts can throw off wading bid nesting.
"It really comes down to the water," said Terrie Bates, the district's director of water resources. "They literally live or die based on water levels."
In addition to wading bird nesting declining this year, the totals are far below targets for Everglades restoration.
In Everglades National Park and the Everglades water conservation areas that stretch across Broward and Palm Beach counties, the 346 Tricolored Heron nests found during 2012 were far from the 5,000 nests target set in the state and federal restoration plan.
The 820 Wood Stork nests were well under the 1,500 nests restoration target.
Decades of draining and development destroyed about half of the Everglades' wetlands. Wading bird populations have dropped about 90 percent from the flocks that once darkened the skies, according to Audubon of Florida.
Long-planned-but-slow-moving Everglades restoration seeks to counteract that human influence by storing and cleaning more stormwater so that it can be used to replenish Everglades wetlands instead of draining so much water out to sea for flood control. But that restoration requires building more water storage areas and pollution-filtering marshes, which remain behind schedule.
"We throw away water when it's abundant [and] then when a drought comes … we make the drought doubly worse," Audubon scientist Paul Gray said. "The birds and the plants and the fish just can't keep up."
In 2012, the number of Snowy Egret nests dropped by 56 percent, Wood Storks nests declined 44 percent and White Ibis nests dipped 39 percent, compared to the average over the past decade, according to the water management district.
The decline in endangered Wood stork nests was particularly troubling because scientists also found that all 820 of the wading birds nests in the Everglades either failed or were abandoned, meaning no offspring survived.
This comes as federal wildlife officials this month announced that they are considering upgrading the Wood Stork's status from endangered to threatened due to rebounding populations across the Southeast.
"That's a serious issue," Drew Martin of the Sierra Club said about the Wood Stork nesting woes in South Florida. The water management district needs to make wading birds and other environmental needs a bigger priority when divvying up water supplies, according to Martin.
Wading birds typically nest during Florida's winter-to-spring dry season.
Part of the problem this year was that nesting started later than usual, which may have been due to more rain than usual during April and May, according to the district.
Also fewer eggs were laid per nest, about two to three eggs per nest this year compared to three to five, the district found.
The result of water levels at times being too high for birds to nest and prey not being plentiful enough at other times was that many nests failed to produce surviving offspring, according to the district's findings.
"They tried to nest, but there just wasn't enough food for them," Gray said. Wading birds, which can live more than 20 years, will abandon nests and their young when conditions aren't right, Gray said.
Roseate Spoonbill nesting totals did show signs of hope. While the numbers were below normal, the 348 nests were more than last year and were found in more areas than usual.
The long-term hope is that Everglades restoration makes water levels more consistent for wading birds, Gray said.
Next year is expected to be better for wading birds. While 2012's plentiful rainfall helped the dried out marshes recover, the bounce-back for small prey fish populations typically comes the following year.
"Most of the march [had] been dry for a very, very long time," Bates said.

121223-d
State leaders must act to save ailing springs, rivers
Orlando Sentinel
December 23, 2012
For decades, environmental protection was a bipartisan priority in Florida.
The state's first major program to protect environmentally sensitive land from development, Preservation 2000, was launched in 1990 by then-Republican Gov. Bob Martinez. The program's successor, Florida Forever, began under Republican Gov. Jeb Bush. Leaders from both parties were proud to call themselves environmentalists.
But in recent years, Republicans in charge in Tallahassee have dismantled limits on development and deprived Florida Forever and other environmental initiatives of funding, all in the name of spurring economic growth.
Their efforts couldn't be more misguided, or ill-timed.
Florida's natural treasures — especially its rivers and springs — are among its most valuable economic assets. They are critical sources of drinking water, lifelines for fish and wildlife, and magnets for tourists who drive the state's economy.
We've written in recent months about Florida's world famous springs, and how many are dying due to excessive groundwater pumping and pollution. Once crystal clear, many are now fouled by algae blooms and hydrilla weeds.
In a three-day series this past week, the Sentinel reported that many of the state's rivers also are in failing health. A year-long study of 22 rivers found almost half in decline. The culprits include pollution from fertilizers, street runoff and septic tanks; and swelling demand for water from cities, along with agriculture and other industries.
Despite such dire reports on the condition of Florida waterways, there's been no sign of urgency in the state capital. Last month a federal judge had to order state and federal environmental agencies to implement water-pollution limits that have been on the table since 1998. A movement is growing among citizens to force lawmakers to restore the funding they've cut from Florida Forever.
Lawmakers also have slashed budgets for the state's regional water management agencies. They can't even settle on a way to reduce septic-tank pollution.
Time is running short for a revival of the environmental spirit that used to motivate leaders in both parties. That spirit could be channeled into practical action: restoring funding for land preservation, especially near waterways; adopting and enforcing sensible and effective water pollution controls, including on septic tanks; reinstating reasonable controls on development; and monitoring the health of rivers and springs, long term.
If lawmakers worry about the cost of acting now, they should be losing sleep over the future price of inaction. Environmental reclamation isn't cheap. Efforts on just two rivers, the St. Johns and the Kissimmee, have cost taxpayers $2.5 billion — so far.
Lawmakers also should be concerned about their legacies. They risk being remembered by future generations as the leaders who did nothing to stop Florida's springs and rivers from dying.

121223-e
Wood storks expected to pass on nesting season in Southwest Florida
NaplesNews.com - by Kelly Farrell
December 23, 2012
GOLDEN GATE ESTATES — While many birds are heading south for winter, Southwest Florida's nesting wood storks seem to be heading north for yet another season.
The move isn't a natural migration pattern by any means. However, it started several years ago and looks to occur again this wood stork nesting season, National Audubon Society officials said.
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary was the largest nesting site for wood storks in all of North America until about six or seven years ago, when the birds began to seek nesting sites elsewhere.
For years, wood storks began nesting here as early as November and December but then started nesting later — January and February — as wetlands became shallow and low rainfall continued. As their shallow wetland habitat continues to decline in Southwest Florida, the birds are forced to find other places to nest, said Jason Lauritsen, executive director of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, in northern Collier County just south of the Lee County line.
The nesting populations have boomed in Georgia and North Carolina, places where they rarely nested previously.
"Thank God, they're an elastic species. They've found another place to survive and raise their young," Lauritsen said.
However, there isn't enough information yet to know if the fledglings will be as successful long-term being raised farther north as they were in their natural southern habitat, Lauritsen said.
"There is a stark contrast between what we saw years ago to what's being seen in Georgia and North Carolina now because there was virtually no nesting there at all. Before, they only summered there. They're responding to a lack of opportunity in their home base," he said.
It's not good news for bird watchers like Brian Beckner of North Naples, who enjoys South Florida's diverse bird population to such an extent that the one-time hobby led to a flourishing business selling nesting boxes and bird feeders for a variety of birds nationwide. Lane Edward Designed Birdhouses is a side business for the full-time golf course superintendent.
"They (wood storks) are super cool to watch on lake edges as they use their feet near their beaks, while under water, to stir up food for themselves. Though not a terribly handsome bird, they are quite unique," Beckner said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday that it plans to remove the wood stork from the endangered species list. The birds no longer are in imminent danger of extinction and therefore could be reclassified as a threatened species, federal wildlife officials said in a statement.
The proposed changes wouldn't remove any protections for the wood stork, federal officials said. The categorization change still requires a public comment period following publication in the Federal Register and that could take about a year.
Leaders of the National Audubon Society, which operates Corkscrew sanctuary, warned that the reclassification and the changes in recent year nesting patterns aren't good for the South Florida ecosystem.
"What would help would be better regulatory controls. For the health of our system, we can't pass this up," Lauritsen said.
Those regulatory controls would primarily need to include a change in South Florida in building mitigation plans required by the government. Currently, mitigation plans call for replacing wetlands.
"But not all wetlands are created equal," Lauritsen said.
Shallow wetlands, the habitat for wood storks, aren't being restored as quickly and frequently as the deep wetlands, he said.
The federal reclassification is based on the number of nesting couples, but not necessarily on total population. The wood stork was first listed as endangered in 1984. Federal wildlife officials said the number of nesting pairs during the past 10 years has ranged annually from 7,086 to 8,996 — above the 6,000 threshold necessary for reclassifying the bird.
Audubon and Corkscrew sanctuary officials aren't coming to the same conclusions about what this data means in terms of the species' level of endangerment.
"They may be nesting but not nesting successfully. The jury is still out on whether there is a net gain or net loss combined in all territories," Lauritsen said.
As a loss of shallow wetlands continues in Southwest Florida, a year without nesting looks highly possible.
That cannot be considered a win regardless of more nesting pairs being reported in northern areas, he said.
"It's important to focus on the Everglades," Lauritsen said.

121222-
Florida needs a vocal environmental champion
TampaBayTimes
December 22, 2012
Herschel Vinyard should take another look at his business cards to remind himself that he serves as Florida's secretary of environmental protection. As Citrus County's once-pristine Kings Bay struggles to overcome a severe algae bloom that threatens the area's economy and its native manatee habitat, Vinyard praises local efforts to clean up the mess but virtually ignores its primary cause: manmade pollution.
Kings Bay, with its once crystal-clear waters and charming manatee population, has been a lure for tourists for 40 years and became popular after Jacques Cousteau produced a film on the sea cows. But that success has extracted a heavy environmental price. Retail and residential development has led to increased nitrate levels from fertilizer as well as leaky sewer and septic tank runoff making its way into Kings Bay and surrounding springs. The result has created massive toxic algae blooms known as Lyngbya, which causes rashes, hives and respiratory problems in humans and endangers the manatee population.
After a taking a boat ride around Kings Bay, Vinyard recently lauded local efforts, most notably a Rotary Club project, to rake the algae off the water. That has had some temporary success. But the raking program deals only with the symptoms of the algae blooms, not its root causes. Vinyard has announced plans for a $1.1 million reclaimed-water project to cut local groundwater pumping to reduce treated sewage flowing into the aquifer. That's a good start. But it amounts to little more than putting a bandage on a gaping wound. Vinyard has not effectively addressed reducing the source of the algae blooms. The secretary needs to do more.
Vinyard should be an aggressive and proactive voice in protecting one of the state's treasured natural resources. He needs to be at the forefront in educating the public about the harmful effects of fertilizer runoff while addressing the unintended consequences of unfettered development on the environment.
When it comes to safeguarding Florida's environment, the public needs a vocal champion at DEP's helm, one as interested in addressing the sources of environmental damage as in efforts to clean it up afterward.

121221-a
Could climate change boost toxic algal blooms in the oceans ?
Scientific American - by Valerie Brown
December 21, 2012
Preliminary research hints that ocean acidification may promote some types of algal blooms that make people and animals sick.
In 1799 about a hundred Aleut hunters working for a Russian-American trading group died in Alaska’s Peril Strait only two hours after eating black mussels collected there. Those who survived did so because they threw up after desperately consuming gunpowder, tobacco and alcohol to purge toxin from their bodies. This was the first recorded incidence of paralytic shellfish poisoning on the west coast of North America.
The Aleuts were killed by natural poisons known as toxins produced by certain algae that were trapped in the mussels’ food-gathering filters. Filter feeders like shellfish, some finned fish and other animals concentrate the toxins present in these algae.
Physical and chemical conditions cause populations of algae to wax and wane in cycles. Out of the vast diversity of plankton in the oceans, the worst offenders are a few species of diatoms, dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria, collectively called harmful algae. For example, some diatoms make domoic acid, which causes vomiting, cramping, headache and even seizures and memory loss; some dinoflagellates produce saxitoxin, which causes numbness, staggering and respiratory failure, among other symptoms.
Toxic blooms can occur naturally when deep, nutrient-rich water wells up in places like the west coasts of North and South America. They can be amplified by land runoff of fertilizers and other chemicals that provide nutrients such as phosphorus. Algal blooms have been increasing in coastal waters nearly everywhere.
In mid-December 2012 recreational mussel harvesting was closed along the entire Oregon coast because the mussels were contaminated with paralytic shellfish toxins. In 2002 razor clam harvesting was prohibited for the full season in Washington State because of high domoic acid levels. Florida’s coastline has frequent outbreaks of the toxic dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, whose toxins can escape into the air and cause severe respiratory distress. Today in the U.S. alone such incidents cause $82 million in public health costs and economic damages to fisheries and tourism annually, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These costs include emergency room visits and other medical treatment, lost work productivity, and fewer dollars reaching local businesses if beaches and sport or commercial fishing is curtailed.
Now scientists are investigating whether climate change could contribute to toxic blooms. As atmospheric carbon dioxide increases, the greenhouse gas is absorbed into ocean water, making it more acidic. The most obvious peril is that marine organisms like clams and sea snails either can’t build their calcium carbonate shells or find their housing harder to maintain. Acidifying ocean conditions could cause toxic algae to become nastier and more abundant. Conversely, the organisms might simply adapt without becoming more poisonous; their numbers could even be reduced.
Of course, researchers must assess ocean acidification as one of many simultaneous stressors in the oceanic environment. Scientists don’t fully understand the relationship between growth rates, toxin production and ocean conditions for these algae. Some species are known to ramp-up toxin production as a defense against predators, others in response to low supplies of crucial nutrients. Another possibility is that the toxins are simply a way for a diatom or dinoflagellate to store excess nutrients, such as carbon or nitrogen, rather than a stress response, says microbial ecologist William Cochlan of San Francisco State University.
To see how nutrient limitation and acidification interact, Avery Tatters, a graduate student in David Hutchins’s lab at the University of Southern California, cultured the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta taken from southern California waters, where it blooms frequently. The species produces domoic acid.
Tatters and colleagues varied the amount of dissolved CO2 and the availability of the silicate the diatoms use to make their shells. In a presentation at a recent ocean acidification conference, Tatters reported that the more CO2 and the less silicate, the higher the diatom’s toxin production–more than doubling at the level of dissolved CO2 scientists expect the oceans to reach by 2100. Earlier research by the Hutchins lab found a fourfold increase in toxicity under limited phosphorus and increased CO2 in a related species.
However, Cochlan cautions, what exactly triggers toxic blooms is “the million-dollar question” that hasn’t been answered. Sometimes algae produce more toxins “when they are growing very well,” he says.
Water temperature may also be a factor. Anke Kremp, a researcher at the Finnish Environment Institute, reported in a January 2012 study that eight strains of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii grew at very different rates under increased acidity and higher temperatures. The amount of toxin in each cell didn’t always increase, but the composition of the toxic compounds consistently changed as temperature and acidity increased.
A. ostenfeldii can make several nasty chemicals, and the overall trend in Kremp’s study was toward more saxitoxin—the most potent compound in its arsenal. Although this may be bad news for the Baltic Sea and other areas plagued by this dinoflagellate, Kremp also noted that the short duration of most lab studies limits what we can know about how toxic algae may evolve over the next century.
Further, NOAA researcher Vera Trainer says that although some species may become more toxic, there may not be a net increase in risk to humans and other consumers of seafood. If the more harmful species become less numerous, she says, “It’s sort of a moot point.” But if they become more toxic and more numerous, she adds, “you’ve got a double whammy.”
These conundrums illustrate how little we know. The different genetic heritages of diatoms, dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria will affect their survival. And in addition to temperature, other physical factors like available light and even large-scale ocean–atmosphere interactions like the El Niño–La Niña oscillation can affect plankton behavior.
 “The work is really at an early stage,” says Ulf Riebesell, a professor of biological oceanography at the Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany. But it is fair to say that as algae and other tiny ocean species solve new survival problems, they may force us to do the same.

121221-b
Study reveals that animals contribute to seagrass dispersal
FloridaSportsman.com - Press Release: Virginia Institute for Marine Science
December 21, 2012
Look out the window and you’re likely to see the dispersal of seeds—dandelion tufts in the wind, a squirrel burying an acorn, a robin flying off with a dogwood fruit. You might even have a burr “velcroed” to your sock.
Sarah Sumoski, a recent graduate of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, has now published a study of seed dispersal in a less-familiar environment—the eelgrass beds of Chesapeake Bay. The study—the first to show that marine animals can disperse eelgrass seeds—appears as the featured article in today’s issue of Marine Ecology Progress Series. It is co-authored by Dr. Robert “JJ” Orth, head of the Seagrass Monitoring and Restoration program at VIMS and Sumoski’s major professor in the College of William and Mary’s School of Marine Science at VIMS.
Eelgrass—like other seagrasses—is a flowering plant that reproduces both by sending out rhizomes (like crabgrass) and producing tiny underwater seeds (like the fescues of many lawns). Eelgrass beds play a key ecological role in Chesapeake Bay and other coastal ecosystems but are in decline worldwide due to cloudy waters, warm temperatures, and excess nutrients that encourage the growth of light-stealing algae.
Understanding how seagrass seeds are dispersed is important for guiding efforts to restore seagrass meadows in Chesapeake Bay and other coastal ecosystems, and for informing the models that are used to guide seagrass management plans and restoration efforts.
 “Traditional thinking is that eelgrass disperses by abiotic mechanisms such as floating seeds, floating reproductive shoots, or currents pushing seeds along the seafloor,” says Sumoski. “Our study shows that eelgrass seeds can also be dispersed through consumption and excretion by fish, terrapins, and birds—providing a means to bring seeds to isolated areas unlikely to receive seeds via abiotic mechanisms. In fact, we think the distance a seed travels via biotic dispersal may rival or exceed the distances recorded from abiotic mechanisms.”
Sumoski and Orth conducted the study through 3 years of painstaking laboratory experiments in which they fed 1,707 eelgrass seeds to animals often found in and around eelgrass beds—3 fish species (northern puffers, pinfish, and mud minnows or mummichogs), diamondback terrapins, and a seabird, the lesser scaup. Previous studies have recovered eelgrass seeds from the stomachs of these or similar species, and all 5 have been observed feeding in eelgrass beds, making deliberate or inadvertent ingestion of eelgrass seeds likely.
Sumoski then retrieved seeds—each smaller than a rice grain—from the animals’ feces, noted their condition, and planted intact seeds in experimental tanks containing sediments and water from the York River near VIMS’ riverside campus in Gloucester Point, Virginia.
The results of their experiments showed that the seeds were able to survive passage through the gut of all the animals studied, with excretion and germination rates highest for mummichogs and northern puffers, moderate for pinfish and diamondback terrapins, and lowest for scaup.
They also calculated how far the animals might be able to carry the seeds, by measuring how long it took the seeds to pass through the gut of each species, and multiplying those values by reported swimming or flying speeds for each creature.
 “We estimate that the fishes could disperse eelgrass seeds 10s to 100s of meters, while the maximum dispersal distance for terrapins is around 1,500 meters, or about a mile,” says Sumoski. “The scaup was the champ, with a maximum dispersal distance of more than 10 miles.”
Physical mechanisms have been shown to disperse eelgrass seeds similar distances: 10s of meters for seeds moved along the seafloor by currents, 100s of meters for individual floating seeds, and more than 100 kilometers for intact flowering shoots, which can float on the surface for weeks and contain multiple seeds. Sumoski points out, however, that “the animals are likely to be more effective dispersal agents, as they prefer to live under the conditions that favor seagrass growth and thus will tend to carry seeds to areas where they’ll germinate. Wind and currents can easily disperse seeds into areas unsuitable for seagrass growth.”
Sumoski adds that dispersal of seagrass seeds by animals not included in her study—such as manatees, dugongs, and green turtles—could carry seeds of seagrass species found in tropical waters for distances greatly exceeding those of abiotic mechanisms.
Overall, she says, “While seeds will suffer mortality through ingestion and digestion, some proportion can be expected to survive, germinate, and grow to adult plants, meaning that dispersion by animals can lead to re-colonization of past eelgrass meadows, or even the colonization of new habitats. That’s good news for eelgrass beds and the organisms that rely on them for habitat, nursery grounds, and food.”

121220-a
Everglades violent past remembered
WLRN - by Patricia Sagastume
December 20, 2012
WLRN-Miami Herald Reporter Patricia Sagastume takes us back in time to a much different Florida. She introduces us to two conservationists sharing a part of their past - to help preserve the wetlands for the future.
In the late 1800's, the Everglades was a place for Native Americans, newly-freed slaves, naturalists, poachers, settlers and expansionists.
But by the end of the century, a massive influx of settlers were flocking to the Everglades for one thing:  to kill birds for their feathers.
It has been said that Marie Antoinette started the trend of using plumes to adorn her royal head - before she lost hers.
But once the fashion accessory spread to America, the feathers of Florida's most beautiful birds became as valuable as gold.
For nearly 50 years, plume hunters invaded the Everglades and nearly wiped out  populations of Florida’s tropical birds, such as the Snowy Egret. But birds weren’t the only casualties.
Guy Bradley was the first game warden in South Florida assigned to protect birds from plume hunters.  In the summer of 1905, Bradley was trying to arrest a notorious plume hunter when he was shot in the throat. He became the first game warden murdered on the job, but not the last to meet that same fate in Monroe County. Back then,  laws to protect birds were very unpopular.
Bradley himself had hunted birds for their feathers as a teenager. He and his friend Charlie Pierce had run away to hunt deep in the Everglades -- without  their parents permission.
One hundred years later, this story is being told in a book written by Pierce’s descendant, Harvey Oyer III. His book, The Last Egret, is now required reading for fourth graders in five South Florida counties.
"He had the same moral decisions that a child today," said Oyer. "Do you tell mom the truth? Do you run away from home? All of these things that kids struggle with today, Charlie, Lilly and Tiger, the characters in my book struggle with."
Charlie Pierce’s legacy is that he kept a journal through out his life. Those entries tell how the friends came across piles of de-plumed bird carcasses at nest sites. Rookeries were being decimated by hunters.  After that trip, the young Pierce gave up plume hunting but continued writing. During his life, his ledgers reveal the explosive growth of frontier life in Florida. He was even one of the legendary barefoot mailmen, who carried mail from Palm Beach to Miami and back each week.
"By the time he died, Florida had been opened up through Mr. Flagler’s railroad, the Intracoastal waterway, the highway system," said Oyer. "So he was a witness to the creation of South Florida that we know."
Pierce's story has the support of another Everglades conservationist, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Ron Bergeron. Known as "Alligator Ron," Bergeron donated  funds to help publish the book.
"My family has been in Florida for 170 years and I’ve been very blessed to be raised by a grandfather who was a game warden back in the 40’s which introduced me to God’s creation,' Bergeron said.
These days he spends much of his time trying to get  kids to give up their iPods for fishing poles. He’s working with the state to create seven youth camps adjacent to the Big Cypress Preserve, where he owns thousands of acres.
"The important thing is that we have preservation with access so children can fall in love with it just like I did," he said.

121220-b
Resolve the manatee's status
Sun Sentinel
December 20, 2012
The Pacific Legal Foundation wants to change the Florida manatee's protective status, a designation that has limited the construction of docks and created many of the slow-speed zones that dot certain canals and rivers. Their petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is welcomed, especially if it resolves the long-running dispute over the beloved Florida icon.
Clients of the conservative legal group have a clear goal. They want the manatees' protective status changed from "endangered" to "threatened," and ultimately eliminated altogether, so that they can develop more marinas and run boats at greater speeds.
On the other side, waiting at every turn, are attorneys for environmentalists and the federal government, who are just as zealous about protecting the manatee's endangered status.
No one disputes that the number of Florida manatees has grown, reaching about 5,000 in recent years. But the number killed by watercraft has grown, too. According to the Save the Manatee Club, 88 manatees were killed by boats last year, up from 83 the previous year.
The reason manatees were first added to the endangered species list, according to the Tampa Bay Times, is not solely because of their numbers, but because of the perils they face from boats and lost habitat due to development. A 2003 computer model produced by the U.S. Geological Survey found that if boats killed 12 manatees every year, the long-term survival of the species would be at risk.
But because of protections in place, the gentle sea cow faces a brighter future. In 2007, U.S. Fish and Wildlife scientists found the mammal's prospects had improved to the point that it no longer met the standards of an endangered species. But in the face of public pressure, the agency took no formal action.
So the Pacific Legal Foundation, then representing the Florida Builders Association, went to court to compel a change. Specifically, it sought an official assessment completed within a year, a needed first step to changing the mammal's protected status. But U.S. District Judge John Antoon rejected their demand for a time-certain review.
Now the foundation's lawyers are back, this time representing a group of Citrus County business owners who oppose new federal boat speeds in the region's Kings Bay, where manatees congregate, especially during the winter. The foundation wants the wildlife service to strip the manatee of its endangered status, arguing there's been more than enough time for review. And they're right.
The 2007 evaluation is outdated. New information should be considered, including data about the water quality of Florida's rivers and coastal habitats on which the manatees depend. The Orlando Sentinel recently reported that nearly half of the state's 22 rivers are in decline because of pollution or shrinking flows due to drought and rising water consumption. The findings are troubling not just for the threats they reveal for the manatees, but for us all.
But government doesn't move quickly. The wildlife service says it will decide within 90 days whether the foundation's petition warrants a detailed review. If it does, it would take a year to study the issue and make a decision.
If the manatee is no longer an endangered species, let's say so. But if it deserves protections to continue to thrive, let's be clear about that, too. Dropping its status from endangered to threatened doesn't mean all protections would disappear, or that boating speed limits would be lifted.
The status of the Florida manatee deserves a comprehensive study that provides the data needed to ensure its continued welfare. The study may take time, but it shouldn't take a lifetime.

121220-c
Stop the destruction of Florida's springs
stAugustine.com – Letter by Steve Bennett, St. Augustine, FL
December 20, 2012
Editor: Florida’s Springs are in serious trouble. They are experiencing reduced water flows, algae growth, and in some cases salt water intrusion. I get plenty of petitions to oppose another straw being put in the bucket to suck our aquifer dry. Most of them are industries that would rather use the Spring Water than the processed city water.
Having been in Florida my entire life I have enjoyed these resources, and I want us to take care of them. I remember in the 70s Ichetuknee Spring was very hard to swim against the force of the water being expelled. Not any more. The gallons of water being pumped is less than half of what it was in the 70s. Scientist are puzzled by the health of so many of our precious Springs. Silver springs, Ginnie springs, Silver Glen Springs, and too many to mention are all in declining health.
Right now in Keystone Heights there is a $500,000 study to try and figure out what happened to the water in the lakes there. I was always under the impression that they were a gauge of our aquifer and that lake Brooklyn had been sucked dry. We can now see docks in the middle of a field. There is even talk of filling the lake with re-use water. They could spend the money and build a desalination plant because there is plenty of ocean water for us to use.
It is time to stop the destruction and start the restoration. We need to maintain and nurture what we have of we will lose it.

How healthy are our Florida rivers ? Click on each of the 22 rivers and read more – interactive graphics:

121219-a
DEP and partners commit $18 million to water quality
Fort Myers Beach Bulletin, Fort Myers Beach Observer
December 19, 2012
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection today announced adoption of two Basin Management Action Plans in southwest Florida - one for Hendry Creek and Imperial River and the other for the Caloosahatchee River. Department Secretary Herschel Vinyard joined city and county officials at the celebration to kick off implementation of these critical water quality cleanup plans.
"One of DEP's top priorities is getting Florida's water right, ensuring an adequate supply and improving water quality," said Vinyard. "The Department is focused on achieving measurable ecological progress through restoration programs all across the state. We will continue to partner with local stakeholders as we take collective, immediate action to restore the rivers, lakes and estuaries that give Florida so much of its unique character."
Hendry Creek, Imperial River and the Caloosahatchee River are critical to the economy and quality of life in southwest Florida. The plans, developed in conjunction with local stakeholders, describe the pollution reduction responsibilities of each stakeholder and include detailed lists of projects to be implemented over the next five years. They also outline monitoring plans to track changes in water quality, measure success and inform future management decisions.
"We are proud to partner with DEP and the other agencies and local governments that made these BMAPs possible," said SFWMD Executive Director Melissa L. Meeker. "The South Florida Water Management District is committed to helping improve conditions throughout this vital watershed."
The ceremony took place at the Downtown Riverfront Basin last Wednesday in Fort Myers' River District -just one week after the opening of the Detention Basin, an award-winning (Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers "Grand Award") stormwater project.
Over the first five-year phase of the Caloosahatchee River plans, stakeholders are expected to reduce approximately 148,000 pounds per year of total nitrogen, representing 40 percent of the required urban load reductions in the tidal basin. The first phase of the Hendry Creek and Imperial River plan should achieve urban load reductions of nearly 12,000 pounds of nitrogen, 66 percent of the needed urban load reductions in Hendry Creek and 45 percent of the urban load reductions required for Imperial River. Local agricultural operations will also be implementing best practices for water use and nutrient management.
To achieve these reductions, the local governments have already committed more than $18 million to invest in specific stormwater management and water control projects in Lee County, Fort Myers and Bonita Springs.
Local government investment includes: More than $500,000 from the City of Bonita Springs; More than $6 million from the City of Fort Myers; More than $12 million from Lee County. The plans were developed under the Department's comprehensive approach to identifying polluted waterways and building local and regional partnerships to restore them. They represent collaboration between area local governments and development districts, several state agencies in addition to the Department and the South Florida Water Management District.
A unique feature of the Caloosahatchee River is the large amount of fresh water delivered from Lake Okeechobee. Last week, the Department embarked on development of an additional plan to expand on the extensive work conducted under the Lake Okeechobee Protection Plan to restore the quality of the fresh water flowing into the river.
Statewide, the Department has adopted 13 basin management action plans to date, covering 95 waterbody segments. About half of those were adopted in the past 24 months. Seven more are currently in development covering 55 additional waterbody segments.
For more information about DEP's water quality protection and restoration programs visit www.dep.state/fl/us/water/watershed/bmap.htm

121219-b
New study by Florida Gulf Coast University professor could alter ecological management
PRWEB Fort Myers, FL
December 18, 2012
Research Validates Value of Wetlands as Buffers to Climate Change.
New research by a Florida Gulf Coast University eminent scholar proves that natural and manmade wetlands have a potential to mitigate climate change that far outweighs the negative effects of a greenhouse gas they emit.
Dr. William J. Mitsch, a prize-winning wetland scientist with an international reputation in ecological engineering and wetland ecology, conducted studies at wetlands around the world to measure carbon dioxide accumulated from the atmosphere and stored in the soil – a natural process known as carbon sequestration. Scientists compared the data to levels of methane gas naturally released by these “carbon sinks” and found that sequestration more than offsets the detrimental emissions even when the emissions are given a much higher weight toward global warming than the carbon dioxide sequestered.
 “We have shown that wetlands are much more significant in accumulating carbon than has ever been published before,” said Mitsch, who holds the Juliet C. Sproul Chair for Southwest Florida Habitat Restoration and Management at FGCU and is director of its Everglades Wetland Research Park in Naples. “We want people to recognize that wetlands are gigantic carbon sinks. If there is less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there will be less global warming and climate change.”
Mitsch’s findings, published in the journal Landscape Ecology (Springer Science+Business Media), could have far-reaching ramifications in the study, creation, restoration and management of wetlands. The paper is coauthored by seven other scientists from the United States, Denmark and Estonia.
Greenhouse-gas emission has long been considered by some scientists as a serious roadblock to restoring wetlands and constructing new ones in spite of their environmental benefits. It’s estimated that wetlands release 20 to 25 percent of current global methane emissions, but the gas eventually breaks down in the atmosphere.
“It is short-sighted to suggest that wetlands should not be created or restored because of greenhouse-gas emissions,” Mitsch writes in his paper, “Wetlands, carbon, and climate change.” “If we consider the savings that wetlands give us from fossil-fuel consumption for the ecosystem services of water-quality improvement, flood mitigation and coastal and storm protection, their service as carbon sinks is even more impressive.”
Dr. Robert Costanza, a senior fellow at the National Council on Science and the Environment, a scholar at the Australian National University in Canberra and founder of the sustainability journal Solutions, says Mitsch’s study refutes commonly held conceptions.
“Understanding the role of wetlands in regulating greenhouse gases is extremely important,” Costanza says. “The results will affect how we manage wetlands worldwide.”
Dr. Blanca Bernal, a post-doctoral researcher at Everglades Wetland Research Park contributed to the study and paper. She believes it is the first published account that compares carbon accumulation rates and methane emission rates using the same methodology in a range of freshwater wetlands around the world. Measurements were taken at seven locations in Ohio, Costa Rica and Botswana and modeled with 14 other wetland studies by others.
“Taking into account carbon inputs and outputs to the system, the wetlands are actually functioning as net carbon sinks,” Bernal says. “They have a positive effect in abating greenhouse-gas emissions, which means under the right conditions they can be used as a tool to mitigate climate change. Wetlands are not the key to fix years of unsustainable carbon emissions, but they can help significantly.”
Public awareness of the importance of carbon dioxide sinks has spread since passage of the Kyoto Protocol, part of an international environmental treaty that promotes their use as a form of carbon offset and encourages greenhouse-gas reduction worldwide. Some member countries seek to buy or trade emissions rights in carbon-emission markets, creating an additional economic value to wetlands.
Carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere comes partly from burning fossil fuels in cars and factories. Oceans, which comprise about 70 percent of the planet, are the biggest collectors of carbon. Wetlands, which absorb about 14 percent of atmospheric carbon, make up 5 to 8 percent of terrestrial Earth but are dwindling due to development.
“I think we have found the lost carbon sink,” says Mitsch, the co-author of “Wetlands,” widely considered the definitive textbook on the subject. “Tropical wetlands are where it’s happening. The temperate zone would be big for sequestration, but we’ve drained all the wetlands there. Florida could be a hot spot for carbon sinks.”
Mitsch joined FGCU in October after 27 years at The Ohio State University in Columbus, where he was Distinguished Professor of Environment, Natural Resources and Ecological Engineering. The co-winner of the 2004 Stockholm Water Prize for lifetime achievements in the management and conservation of lakes and wetlands, he oversees research at the Everglades Wetland Research Park at the Naples Botanical Garden.
For more information, contact Mitsch at (614) 946-6715 or wmitsch(at)fgcu(dot)edu.
( A PDF of his paper can be downloaded here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10980-012-9758-8 )

121219-c
Obama’s victory a boon for Clear Air, Water Acts
IPSnews.net - by Matthew Charles Cardinale
December 19,2012
ATLANTA, Georgia, Dec 19 2012 (IPS) - With Barack Obama’s re-election last month as U.S. president, key environmental protections escaped a likely Republican chopping block, and new regulations are expected when his second term begins in January.
Environmentalists say the situation would be much different had former governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, the Republican nominee, been elected president. Romney had sworn to roll back many, if not all, of the regulations enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during Obama’s first term.
Asked which of those EPA rules Romney would have likely overturned, Jenna Garland, associate press secretary for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, responded: “All of them.”
Romney’s attitude towards the environment was perhaps epitomised during his speech accepting the nomination at the Republican National Convention in August 2012.
Romney mocked Obama for wanting to address climate change warming: “President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans. And to heal the planet,” Romney said, pausing to allow laughter from the audience.
 “My promise is to help you and your family,” he said.
On Dec. 14, the EPA strengthened the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particles, or soot pollution, to 12 microgrammes per cubic metre. The previous limit, which had been in place since 1997, was 15 microgrammes per cubic metre.
EPA Actions Under President Obama
Important Clean Air actions include:
An EPA finding that greenhouse gases are pollutants; a proposed rule to limit carbon pollution from new power plants; a new greenhouse gas reporting programme; setting historic fuel economy standards; establishing the first-ever Mercury and Air Toxics Standards; strengthening the NAAQS for particulate matter; strengthening the NAAQS for sulfur dioxide; establishing a Cross-State Air Pollution rule, which has currently been stayed in the courts; and establishing a new rule to address regional haze.
Important Clean Water actions include:
New EPA monitoring of drinking water systems for certain unregulated contaminants; establishing a Water Technology Innovation Cluster; developing regulations for perchlorate and other toxic chemicals in drinking water; actions to reduce the impacts of mountaintop removal on waterways; formation of an Urban Waters Federal Partnership; deeming a 1,624 mile stretch of California’s coastline to be a “no discharge zone”; recommendation of new recreational water quality criteria; significant investment of over 1.5 billion dollars in restoring the Florida Everglades; promotion of the use of green infrastructure by U.S. cities and towns; a new framework to help local governments manage stormwater runoff and wastewater; establishment of a “Pollution Diet” for the Chesapeake Bay in Massachusetts; and the signing of a newly amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement with Canada.
Sources of soot pollution include power plants, diesel trucks, and buses.
Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, executive director of the non-profit group GreenLaw, considers the rule to be the first environmental victory of Obama’s reelection.
 “They (fine particles) are deadly. Any amount is bad. But this is a good step in the right direction,” Benfield told IPS.
Upon request by IPS, the EPA prepared a document outlining the agency’s major accomplishments for clean air and water covering the years 2009 to 2012.
 “If Romney had been elected, he was on record during the campaign saying he would roll back critical clean air and clean water protections, and politicise public health by giving Congress more power over Clean Air and Clean Water Act standards. That would be one of the most damaging things we have seen for public health and environment in decades,” Garland said.
 “For instance, certain (Republican) Congressional leaders have gone after… the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. Just recently, this is the first time the federal government has regulated one of the most potent neurotoxins known to man… Congressional leaders and Mitt Romney wanted to limit the EPA’s ability to regulate neurotoxins like mercury, even though courts including the Supreme Court have upheld the EPA’s right and duty to regulate,” she said.
The EPA proposed its new carbon pollution standard for new coal and gas plants on Apr. 13, 2012.
That rule is currently undergoing a one-year public comment period, and is expected to go into effect on or around Apr. 13, 2013. That too would have likely been cancelled under a Romney administration.
 “This is really important because carbon pollution threatens our climate, it does threaten our health and well-being. This is a critical step, if we’re going to address carbon pollution head-on instead of always responding. It means coal plants will no longer have a blank cheque,” Garland said.
 “Mitt Romney denies that human activity contributes to climate destruction,” she added.
Activists also pointed to Obama’s selection of Lisa Jackson as EPA administrator as a crucial part of his governance as it relates to the environment.
 “A lot of it has to do with who gets appointed to the EPA, the overall tone over there. The overall climate of the EPA is definitely a lot more supportive of pro-environment issues,” Benfield said.
 “Appointing the EPA administrator is pretty political. Mitt Romney could have easily appointed someone to the EPA who does not take seriously human health, and could have instructed that administrator not to enforce” various recent EPA standards, Garland said.
But Obama has his shortcomings on the environment too, said the activists.
 “We certainly have our problems with the Obama Department of Energy supporting nuclear and so-called clean coal projects that aren’t doing so well,” Garland said, noting that, still, “under the Obama administration we have seen tremendous growth of renewable energy.”
Obama has supported so-called clean coal, something that environmental advocates warn does not exist; in addition to nuclear power.
Garland also criticised Obama for shelving a proposed ozone standard during his first term because, she believes, it was found to be too political. However, the ozone standard is something that she hopes will be revisited now that he was won reelection.
 “We would like for Obama to be a lot stronger on these issues,” Benfield said.
 “You have to look at the dynamics. He’s not perfect, a lot of environmentalists would like to see him be a lot stronger. A lot of us are hoping, it’s his second term and he’s not concerned about being elected, that he’ll be proactive, and now he’s looking at leaving his legacy. A second term is a time to reflect on his legacy. What does he want his legacy to be? And climate change has to be part of that, I’m hopeful,” Benfield said.
Sierra Club anticipates that several new EPA rules will come out over the next four years, including a NAAQS rule for sulfur dioxide; a carbon pollution rule for existing pollution sources; and a Clean Water Act standard to address toxic discharge from power plants in waterways.

121219-b
Wood storks no longer endangered species, say feds; Audubon disagrees
Tampa Bay Times - by Craig Pittman, Staff Writer
December 19, 2012
The wood stork, on the endangered list for more than 25 years, has bounced back, federal officials announced Tuesday.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe announced that his agency wants to reclassify the wood stork from "endangered" to "threatened." He said the change would give his staff more flexibility in working with landowners on protecting the birds, which depend on wetlands for their habitat.
The agency took this step in response to a 2009 petition from a libertarian legal group, the Pacific Legal Foundation, acting on behalf of Florida Home Builders Association and a Tampa-based environmental consultant, Biological Research Associates. The foundation is now seeking to prod the agency to take a similar step with the Florida manatee.
"After years of delay, the federal government is finally acknowledging that progress has been made toward wood stork recovery, and it's wrong to continue to use the 'endangered' label," foundation attorney Alan DeSerio said in a statement.
But Eric Draper of Audubon of Florida said that while wood storks appear to be doing better in other states, they're fading in their historic home in South Florida — apparently because of the continued destruction of wetlands in recent years.
In Audubon's own Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary near Fort Myers, which once boasted 7,000 nesting pairs of wood storks, "we have not seen a nest in the last six or seven years," Draper said. "Something is fundamentally wrong with this decision if the birds are not doing well in their historic range."
Wood storks are long-legged wading birds that stand more than 4 feet tall, with a wingspan of up to 65 inches. Because of their distinctive black, featherless heads, they have also been called "flinthead," "Spanish buzzard," "gourdhead" and "ironhead."
The breeding population of the wood stork declined from an estimated 20,000 pairs in the 1930s to about 5,000 pairs in the late 1970s. By then the breeding occurred nowhere but Central and South Florida, wildlife officials said.
In 1984, the Fish and Wildlife Service put wood storks on the endangered list. By 2009, biologists counted more than 12,000 nesting pairs, and the breeding range had expanded as far north as North Carolina.
If the species averages 10,000 nesting pairs over a five-year period, then it meets the requirements for taking the wood stork off the endangered list entirely, Ashe said. Over the past three years, the average has been between 7,000 and 9,000.
"I think we're getting close," he said.
Ashe offered a personal anecdote in support of the wood stork's recovery. His father worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service, too, he said, noting that "when I was a young boy we spent a lot of time in Florida ... and seeing a wood stork was a rarity." Now when he travels to Florida, "it's almost a rarity when I don't see a wood stork."
However, despite statements by wildlife service officials touting the multibillion-dollar Everglades and Kissimmee River restoration projects for helping revive the wood stork, Florida's nesting pairs totaled only 5,000 last year.
Before the wood stork's classification can be changed, the agency is soliciting comments from the public over a two-month period, once the notice is published in the Federal Register.

121217-a
Environmentalists don't get it: State land purchase isn't a high priority in 2013
SunshineStateNews. com - by Nancy Smith
December 17, 2012
Liberals would have you believe Florida Forever has been left gasping its last on the governor's floor. Pay no attention. It's not true.
The state's venerable land purchase and preservation program is alive and certainly well enough for now, living on a trimmed-down allowance. It's part of our family of realities in Florida's fragile economic recovery, taking its place among competing priorities in the state budget.
But liberals -- environmentalists and the Florida media in particular -- don't want their baby living on an allowance.
They don't care that we're already living in a state with more land under public ownership per square mile than any other east of the Mississippi.
Last week when Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet signed off on the pursuit of $8 million worth of land purchases for preservation, it wasn't enough for these folks. Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon of Florida, told the Cabinet it's time to end the funding drought and return Forever Florida to the $300 million a year it received before 2008.
Editorial pages across the state took up the Florida Forever banner. The Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers and others: How dare this state government, emerging from the recession as it is, continue to starve Florida Forever?
Draper, incidentally, is somebody we can expect to hear a lot more from. He told the Tampa Bay Times he is considering a run for agriculture commissioner on the Democratic ticket in 2014.
Certainly the mock outrage over a mere $8 million earmarked for state land buys in this fiscal year presented a great opportunity for the liberal press to push the environmentalist agenda -- specifically, the Florida Water and Land Legacy Campaign, a 2014 constitutional amendment that would ensure a dedicated funding source for land acquisition, using at least 33 percent of net revenues from doc stamps.
But here's my question. Does Florida need $300 million in more state land now ?
Do we really put $300 million worth of preservation land ahead of money for Medicaid, education, tax relief, children, job creation, helping Florida businesses survive -- or for the many dozens of programs that have been slashed right alongside Florida Forever since 2010?
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, under the Florida Forever program, purchased an average of 72,787 acres per year from 2002-03 until 2009-10. But DEP has purchased only 32,610 acres in the three fiscal years since Gov. Rick Scott took office as the Legislature cut funding for the program.
Note again that Florida Forever was cut, it wasn't killed. It fell lower on the priority list as the governor and the Legislature sought to balance the budget in a time of shrinking revenue.
The Department of Environmental Protection had $67.6 million available for Florida Forever in fiscal 2011-12, with nearly $40 million of that committed as part of pending litigation settlements. (That, by the way, is what you get with state land purchases -- a multitude of litigation.) The department purchased 8,217 acres for $27.3 million in fiscal 2011-12.
A week ago the Cabinet approved a 2012-13 Florida Forever priority list with 113 projects that included more than 1.9 million acres. That represents a conservation wish list from which projects are taken and placed on the annual work plan.
Certainly all of the projects earmarked for purchase are on the list for a reason. Either they are good for water conservation, they are prospective parkland or they include a fragile ecosystem with rare or endangered species.
But, please, let's look at the public land ownership situation -- and remember that vast lands purchased for preservation have to be maintained. You decide if Florida can afford to keep Florida Forever on a lower priority level for another year:
-- Some 13.1 percent of Florida is under federal ownership alone -- that's 34,721,280 acres
-- Just shy of 30 percent of the state is in public ownership at this moment. That number would include the hundreds of thousands of acres owned by the state and local authorities in the 67 counties. To repeat, it makes the Sunshine State by far the largest federal landowner east of the Mississippi River. This, according to the Congressional Research Service's Federal Land Ownership Overview.
I realize Florida's liberal contingent is working hard to crank up its discredit-Rick-Scott campaign, and they see the only slightly improved Florida Forever funding level for this year as a pretty outrageous indictment against Gov. Scott.
That's the same Scott who has managed to lower the state debt and put Florida on a sound fiscal footing.
Ask the next liberal you see: What $300 million would you cut from the budget to get us more public land and return Florida Forever to former funding levels ? Show me the money.

121217-b
Everglades restoration options on table
Sun Sentinel – by David Fleshler
December 17, 2012
Meeting in Coconut Creek to review plans for restoring water flow.
After several restoration projects on the fringes of the Everglades, a state and federal team has begun work on a plan to revive the sawgrass sloughs and tree islands at the heart of the vast marsh.
The Army Corps of Engineers will hold a public meeting Tuesday in Coconut Creek to hear opinions on four plans for increasing the natural flow of water through the Everglades, a project intended to restore wildlife habitat and deliver desperately needed fresh water to Everglades National Park.
More than a century ago, before canals and levees pierced the Everglades, water flowed in a vast, shallow sheet from Lake Okeechobee through sawgrass sloughs into what would become the national park, finally discharging into Florida Bay. But the drainage system created to clear land for cities and farms disrupted this system, allowing water to stack up in some areas, drowning deer and other mammals, and depriving other parts of the Everglades of water, destroying some of the world's great wading bird habitat.
The four plans under consideration aim to restore – or mimic – the natural flow of water, delivering more water to the park and reducing the wasteful, environmentally destructive discharges of water into the ocean west and east of Lake Okeechobee. They call for filling in canals, removing levees, installing grates, sinking barriers into the ground and in some cases, the use of pumps.
Environmentalists have lined up behind an option called alternative 4, which would minimize the engineering and maximize the reliance on nature to reestablish the flow of water. Other plans, they say, repeat of the error of attempting to inflict manmade engineering on the nature.
"When we talk about what Everglades restoration means, it's all about removing this compartmentalized system," said Dawn Shirreffs, Everglades restoration program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. "The proposal to put in pumps is preposterous. Pumps are incredibly expensive and would have to be operated to the end of time."
Jonathan Ullman, Everglades representative for the Sierra Club, said "by restoring the natural sheetflow, you're restoring the Everglades to the way it was. So you don't have to use pumps, you just allow gravity to flow the water naturally."
Kim Taplin, project supervisor for the Corps of Engineers, which is doing the project jointly with the South Florida Water Management District, said the alternative favored by environmentalists has emerged as the clear favorite in the four public meetings held so far. The Corps will evaluate the options, looking primarily at their likely environmental benefit and cost effectiveness, making an initial recommendation in March and a final one in December.
The Corps will then present a report to Congress, which will have the final say on the plan and funding. Any works is years away and will take years to complete, she said.
The meeting Tuesday will be at Fern Forest Nature Center, Main Hall, 201 S. Lyons Rd., Coconut Creek. The meeting starts with an open house from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, followed by formal presentations and public comments from 7:30 to 9 pm.
Related:
CEPP  US-ACE
Getting to the heart of CERP – CERP: Facts and Information
Florida unveils new Everglades restoration plan        Sun Sentinel, June 5, 2012

121217-c
Florida's springs face crisis from pollution, declining flows
Orlando Sentinel - by Kevin Spear
December 17, 2012
Florida's springs are places of visual magic, as two paddlers discovered recently at Rainbow Springs in Marion County. The water there was so clear, their kayaks on the spring's surface appeared suspended in air, casting distinct shadows on the sandy bottom 10 feet below.
But that illusion hides a dirty truth: Rainbow Springs' water is far from pristine. The biggest illusion, riled-up environmentalists say, is that the state of Florida is doing enough to protect its unique array of springs.
Florida springs are in failing health, an epidemic brought on by pollution and shrinking amounts of water flowing up from the aquifer below. The two maladies are attacking most of the state's springs.
"Almost all of the major springs are continuing to deteriorate," said Bob Knight, director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute. "I don't want to say it's criminal, but the laws protecting springs just aren't being enforced."
Florida's springs include some of the state's best natural treasures. Formed by crystalline rivers of water that surge from underground, many are large, deep pools. In better times, those pools shimmered like pale, blue glass, but these days an increasing number of them have the green cast of an unkempt fish aquarium.
Scientists first noted the problem decades ago, but now there is growing dismay at what is happening. Of the more than 1,000 springs statewide, the biggest and most popular are tourist attractions and recreational magnets that, until recently, were presumed safeguarded within public lands, including 16 state parks named after the "best of the best" springs they protect.
Among the first bought by the state: Wekiwa Springs, just north of Orlando, back in 1969. Other namesake parks in Central Florida include Blue Spring and De Leon Springs, both in Volusia County.
"The thought was that, to save a spring, you buy it," said Jim Stevenson, a retired chief naturalist for the Florida park system. "It turns out when you buy a spring, what you are buying is the hole where the water comes out, but you aren't protecting the water. And without the water, all you have is a hole in the ground."
When a spring's water becomes polluted, he said, what you often wind up with is a mess of hydrilla weeds and mats of stringy algae that displace the natural flora and fauna.
"Nobody knows if springs can recover from that," Stevenson said.
A yearlong investigation by the Orlando Sentinel examined the health of Florida rivers and found overall decline in 22 rivers chosen for study as a statewide cross section. Of the 10 rivers rated as in decline, half are fed primarily by springs.
The destroyers of rivers in decades past were readily visible: things such as sewage-treatment plants and channel dredges. Today, the foes of springs and their rivers are much less apparent.
The source of nearly all of the state's springs, the Floridan Aquifer, is deep in the ground, which makes it difficult to understand with precision why the springs above are losing their potency and purity.
In recent years, water managers have been increasingly vocal about how heavy pumping of water by utilities in the fast-growing Orlando area has contributed to declining flows from springs that contribute to the Wekiva River.
Meanwhile, springs are being spiked with an invisible pollution: a plant nutrient called nitrate that can cause hydrilla, other weeds and various kinds of algae to grow explosively. Nitrate sources include septic tanks, lawn fertilizers and agricultural runoff.
Because nitrates must soak into the ground and pass through the Floridan Aquifer to get to a spring, it can be difficult to determine the source of the pollution afflicting any particular location. Still, scientists have documented profound changes in various springs' chemistry.
Joe Hand, who retired recently after 35 years with the state Department of Environmental Protection, where he was a top water-quality analyst, assembled for the Sentinel a series of data graphics that illustrate the striking changes that have occurred at four springs — Ichetucknee, Rainbow, Silver and Wekiwa — during the past decade.
The water flowing from those springs and many others is generally very clean, but in certain pollutant categories it's terrible, Hand said. Concentrations of elements such as chloride, sodium, potassium and calcium have shot up.
"Most springs are showing that trend, and it's alarming," said Hand, who first began seeing changes in the data a little more than a decade ago. "But the kicker is, where's it coming from?"
Many scientists think the spikes in pollutants suggest that the aquifer is running out of its cleanest fresh water. What's left is older, saltier and generally more mineral-intense.
The culprits suspected of depleting the cleaner water in recent years include reduced rainfall and sustained pumping, while the contamination is thought to be the result of rising sea levels and pollution invading the aquifer from above.

How healthy are our Florida rivers ? Click on each of the 22 rivers and read more – interactive graphics:

121217-d
Hardly worth celebrating, now
NaplesNews.com - Editorial
December 17, 2012
Florida environmental officials say they are committed to cleaning up the Caloosahatchee River.
"We're going to see tangible results," says the leader of the Department of Environmental Protection.
Good.
But please pardon us for not standing up and cheering.
We know how the river got the way it is today, with outbreaks of neon green slime on occasion.
The river got polluted from state officials letting it get that way.
Nutrients that cause pollution and an imbalance of fresh and salt water were allowed to get in there, some from Lake Okeechobee. Those policies in turn affected Henry Creek and the Imperial River, which also are in line for regulatory correction.
The independent South Florida Water Management District chimes in with the promise that it will get "stakeholders" to reach a consensus on "benchmarks" to determine when the river is restored.
While environmental observers say the job won't get done overnight and wonder when the Naples area, actually part of the same watershed, will get needed attention, they concur that about 60 water control projects on the river to store and filter water that comes from farms and urban areas represent a step in the right direction.
Still, when we think about the damage that has been done and how hard Lee County and Sanibel Island watchdogs have had to scream and yell to get any attention at all, and when we think about the as-yet undisclosed price tag for all this corrective work, it is more aggravating than cause for celebration.
It goes to show, once again, the high price of not getting it right in the first place

121217-e
Sea-level rise data based on shoddy science
Washington Times – by Willie Soon and Nils-Axel Morner
December 17, 2012
Stemming the tide of political fear-mongering.
There is much concern over rising sea levels and disappearing coastline. Yet how are such changes really measured?
Satellites can measure tiny changes in sea levels referenced to a known baseline, but those measurements have only been available since 1993. Two other methods used for changes occurring over more than 100 years are tide gauges and efforts by the United Nations‘ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in computer modeling.
A tide gauge monitors water level changes in relation to a local reference height. They are simple devices, not too different from a pingpong ball floating in a tube. Tide gauge data are available for more than 1,750 stations around the world and are the longest time series available. In the case of Delaware, records go back to the early 20th century, while in places such as Amsterdam they go back to the late 17th century.
How reliable are such data ?
In Atlantic City, for example, coastal engineer Cyril Galvin says the tide gauge data may be too sensitive to local and regional activities that aren’t ultimately related to “natural” changes in sea level — including any that might be related to greenhouse gas-induced global warming.
In examining sea-level changes for 100 years or more from stations on the Eastern Seaboard, Mr. Galvin could not find any acceleration in sea-level rise. University of Florida professor Robert Dean and Army Corps of Engineers analyst James Houston have independently reached this same conclusion.
While examining tide gauge records from Atlantic City's Steel Pier, Mr. Galvin discovered a remarkable effect apparently caused by spectators who came to watch horse-diving between 1929 and 1978. From old photographs, it was estimated that there must have been about 4,000 spectators who would come to watch. Given that this crowd probably weighed about 150 tons, the pier was subject to significant loading and unloading cycles. The initial 1912-1928 data showed the sea level rising at a rate of 0.12 inches per year. The rate tripled around 1929 when the horses began diving. When the shows were suspended from 1945 to 1953, sea level fell at a rate of 0.06 inches per year. When the diving resumed, the sea level rose again at a rate of 0.16 inches per year.
Such clear documentation of the direct influence of local weight loading and unloading activities on tide gauge reading should add a cautionary note to connecting tide gauge data series to man-made greenhouse gas global warming phenomena.
Model projections of rapid sea-level rise and acceleration caused by global warming as proposed by the IPCC’s coming Fifth Assessment Report should also be subject to scrutiny.
The first bit of bad news for the IPCC is that scientists have always been uncomfortable in predicting climate 20, 50 or 100 years in the future because they know that climate models are simply not up to the task. Such long-term climate forecasting is more the result of political pressure.
The major problems with simulating variations and changes in ice sheets have been known for a long time now. The key issue is the accurate representation of topography. In the Fifth Assessment Report’s climate models, the representation of the Greenland Ice Sheet, for example, is clearly deficient. Without the correct accounting for the valleys and hills beneath the ice sheet, melted ice quickly drains off the ice sheet and is counted as a net loss of ice mass.
In the real world of bumps and valleys in ice surfaces, refreezing can quickly occur when cold temperatures return. This is why Swiss Federal Institute of Technology scientists long ago concluded that it may even be possible for both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to gain ice mass under the doubled atmospheric carbon-dioxide scenario if improved climate models are used.
In an eagerly anticipated paper in the Journal of Climate, a group of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey documented how all of the 18 climate computer models that are used in the Fifth Assessment Report failed in the simple task of simulating the annual cycle and trends in the Antarctic sea ice extent. The authors found the majority of the climate models have too small a sea ice extent at minimum in February, while several of the models have less than two-thirds of the observed values at September maximum.
Even more devastating news is that the observed Antarctic sea ice extent over the past 30 years is showing an increasing trend, while most climate models produce decreasing sea ice extent. Such an obvious discrepancy from observed phenomena should once again cast strong suspicion upon rapid sea level change scenarios in the Fifth Assessment Report and render them void for use in public policy.
Not surprisingly, objective sea level research should be based on observational facts in nature itself and not on computer models

121217-f
UF/IFAS researchers say Florida panther effort likely saved big cats from extinction
U. of Florida News
December 17, 2012.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When wildlife managers imported eight female Texas pumas in hopes they would mate with native Florida panthers, they knew they were taking a bit of a risk.
But a new University of Florida research study, published today in the Journal of Animal Ecology, suggests their gamble paid off.
Without those pumas, UF researchers Madan Oli and recent UF doctoral graduate Jeff Hostetler found that the probability of the Florida panther population falling below 10 panthers by 2010 was nearly 71 percent.
 “We found that the Florida population would’ve declined, on average, by about 5 percent per year,” said Oli, a UF population ecology professor and Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences faculty member. “And that’s essentially telling us there was a high chance that the population would’ve eventually gone extinct.”
There were an estimated 20 to 25 panthers left in the state when the Texas female cats were brought to Florida in 1995. Officials believe the population has since grown about 4 percent per year, and their estimate now ranges from 100 to 160, said Dave Onorato, a panther expert with the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Florida Panther Project.
Having a scientific study in hand that validates what conservation officials had believed would happen is helpful, Onorato said.
 “It shows that the genetic restoration effort was effective at averting the loss of the Florida panther,” he said.
The Florida panther had been listed as an endangered species since 1967, and although it was named the official state animal by 1982, it was in peril by the 1990s. The cats suffered from numerous inbreeding-related problems, including poor sperm quality and other reproductive abnormalities, kinked tails, heart defects and heavy parasite loads.
When the Texas cats were brought to Florida, officials weren’t sure how they would fare or that the breeding effort would work, but with the success of the genetic restoration, Onorato said a similar effort could be initiated again in the future.
For now, however, there is no specific timetable for such an effort. He said the cats continue to face threats from loss of habitat, cars and inbreeding.
Although they sometimes roam far and wide, Florida panthers — the only puma population east of the Mississippi River — are primarily found in the Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades ecosystem areas that include parts of Collier, Lee, Hendry, Monroe and Miami-Dade counties.
The recent UF study, which examined several decades’ worth of field data and genetic information about the panther, found that the robust survival of the Florida-Texas hybrid kittens played a large role in the panther population being reeled back from the brink of extinction.
 “I would say that at least in the short term, the outlook is good for the Florida panther,” said Hostetler, who worked on the project for more than four years as part of his doctoral studies. “But there are still a lot of threats to their survival that could be important in the long run.”
The paper’s other author is Deborah Jansen of Big Cypress National Park.
The research study was funded by the Florida Panther Research and Management Trust Fund (via sales of the Florida “Protect the Panther” license plate), National Park Service, the University of Florida and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

121216-a
Future Florida: Sea level rise could flood parts of island
PalmBeachDailyNews.com - by John Nelander
December 16, 2012
Green space is a prized commodity in estate-friendly Palm Beach, with up to 55 percent of some lots set aside for grass, trees, shrubbery and other landscaping.
 “That’s a lot of greenery required throughout town,” said John Page, town director of Planning and Zoning. “It’s environmentally friendly and something that should discourage global warming.”
But the prevailing sentiment in the scientific community is that even the best efforts to promote eco-friendly policies won’t be enough to put the brakes on a steady sea level rise that will cause headaches for barrier islands such as Palm Beach for decades to come.
It will affect how homes are built and even where they’re built. It’s likely to demand new technologies and innovative ideas on how to keep streets, sidewalks, parks and golf courses from being flooded on a regular basis.
When most people think about global warming and sea level rise, they envision a far distant future, problems that their grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have to deal with. That may not be the case. Ocean levels have already risen 7-8 inches over the past 50 years, according to experts, and forecasts call for a 2-foot rise by 2060.
 “That’s not that far away when you consider that most people have a 30-year mortgage,” said Nicole Hernandez Hammer, program manager for climate research at Florida Atlantic University’s Florida Center for Environmental Studies.
 “One thing we know is that the rate of acceleration is increasing, so sea level rise is happening at a much faster pace than it was before.” A rise of up to 7 additional inches by 2030 is already baked in to current predictions – regardless of how many environmentally friendly policies are adopted or what global powers decide to do about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
 “These are very conservative estimates,” Hammer said. “There’s research that contends it’s going to be much more, considering the recent ice melt. We’re waiting for a new report in 2013 that will include the ice melt in its projections, and right now the word is that the projections are going to go up.”
The key question for Palm Beach and the rest of South Florida is how this higher water is going to affect the local economy and lifestyle.
 “The end game is going to be a combination of redesigning structures, the way we build houses, and maybe relocation in some cases,” said Leonard Berry, an FAU professor of geosciences and director of the Florida Center for Environmental Studies. “You are going to have to retreat from the most vulnerable areas. That’s not something you do as a knee-jerk reaction, but something you do over a period of time.
 “The first thing is, as some of the hospitals in New York found out, you don’t put your electrical infrastructure on the ground floor – most of the electrical and drainage stuff starts at the second floor. Rather than building a barrier, you allow storm surge to go through the building. Looking at how to live with flooding might be one of the mid-term answers.”
South Florida has about 40 percent of the vulnerable real estate in the United States, studies have shown. The Florida Keys face the highest risk from sea level rise, followed by Miami-Dade County. Forty percent of Miami-Dade is below 4 feet.
As barrier islands go, Palm Beach is a little better off. Highest elevations are on the ocean side but there are some low-lying spaces on the Intracoastal side, and that’s what concerns town officials most. The storm surge during and after Hurricane Sandy was exacerbated by higher seasonal tides, and there was some flooding on the west side of the island.
 “The high tides started happening just as the storm went by,” said Public Works Director Paul Brazil. “That was the worst of it. On the Intracoastal side, we saw a few areas of flooding we hadn’t seen flood before. It’s still going on now, but it’s more typical of seasonal high tide.”
The town takes sea level rise into account as it refines building requirements, Brazil and Page said. When private property is redeveloped, owners are required to raise the height of their sea walls. Town-owned sea walls are being raised as well.
 “We also have an ongoing program to upgrade and renovate all of our storm water pump stations, and any new construction is done at a higher elevation,” Brazil said. Federal regulations call for a 7-foot building elevation but the town requires 7.5.
Sea level rise “is something that needs to be planned for, but it’s not an immediate problem,” Brazil added. “It goes into long-term planning when you establish minimum floor elevations, minimum sea wall elevations, roadway grades and all of those things. But I wouldn’t propose to start building differently today.”
Page agrees, but he added: “We get a couple of massive storms and who knows what building code changes might occur.”
Meanwhile, town officials are closely watching the work of the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact, which published an 84-page “action plan” in October. It’s a joint effort by Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. (The plan is posted on the web at http://southeastfloridaclimatecompact.org/compact-documents/)
 “We follow that organization and the recommendations they’re putting out,” said Page. “We don’t have the staff here in Palm Beach who are devoted to this issue, so you have to look at where the information is available. This is one of the sources.”
Among other things, the organization is producing “inundation maps” showing the areas of South Florida most at risk from sea-level rise. FAU has done inundation maps focusing on specific areas, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has an interactive website where visitors can literally zero in on neighborhoods to see how they might be affected. (Go to: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/slrviewer/).
For Palm Beach, it shows that a 2-foot rise in combination with high tide would flood the west-central portion of the island, an area bordered on the south by the Everglades Golf Course and on the north by the Breakers Golf Course. The flooding would extend east to South County Road.
At 3 feet, both golf courses would be flooded at high tide as well as the span between them, at varying depths.
The Regional Climate Change Compact report estimates that a 1-foot sea level rise could trigger $4 billion in property value losses in Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, jumping to more than $31 billion under a 3-foot rise scenario. It also notes that extreme southern areas of the peninsula are at most risk, while the threat diminishes as you go north.
As a barrier island, Palm Beach “is relatively better off,” said Berry, “but in the long-run it’s still vulnerable.”

121216-b
Proposed alligator hunt at wildlife refuge sparks angry response
Sun Sentinel - by David Fleshler
December 16, 2012
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Hundreds of letters and emails to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge were clear: Don’t kill the alligators.
Opponents of a proposed public alligator hunt that would begin next year outnumbered supporters 407 to 84, with messages reaching the western Palm Beach County refuge from around the world. A Web petition against the proposal generated 2,975 signatures.
 “It is not necessary to turn a well known and popular wildlife REFUGE into a deathtrap at the request of a single user group,” wrote Brian Call, a Fort Lauderdale nature photographer. A South African woman urged the refuge to reject “this despicable and wicked so-called sport.” But Andrew F. Kay Jr., of Indian River County, asked the refuge to go ahead with the hunt and ignore the protests of “a small minority of well intentioned and ill-informed urbanites.”
A Loxahatchee official said the refuge has made an initial decision but won’t reveal it, pending approval by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regional headquarters in Atlanta.
The refuge, which encompasses 221 square miles of Everglades marshes, cypress swamp and tree islands, has proposed issuing 11 permits next year that would allow each hunter to kill two alligators. Among the methods of catching them are snares, gigs, harpoons, spearguns and crossbows. A bang stick —a pole that discharges a bullet or shotgun shell upon making direct contact with the prey —would be used to kill the alligator.
Although the initial quota of 22 alligators would be modest, the refuge’s management said the number would rise if all goes well, and both sides are treating the decision as a significant precedent.
 “The word ‘Refuge’ should mean just that,” wrote Holly Draluck of Boca Raton. “It should be a safe haven for wildlife. These animals get habituated to people and a hunt is nothing short of a slaughter. ... You may as well change the name to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National HUNT CLUB.”
Among the proposal’s supporters are the Florida Wildlife Federation, South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which wrote that 25 years of monitoring had shown that “alligator populations are highly resilient to harvest pressure.”
Several hunters wrote that hunting was a wholesome, traditional family activity that would have no impact on a thriving alligator population that has lost its fear of people.
 “It will promote a Florida tradition and control the population,” wrote Blaine Dickenson, of Boca Raton. “The folks protesting don’t seem to understand the issue with nuisance gators. I’m a Florida native and have been going to the Refuge for years. I went on my first duck hunt there. The gators have been aggressive and unafraid of humans there for a long time.”
Laura Majercik, of West Palm Beach, wrote, “Personally, I hunt to be with my family,” she wrote. “I hunt for food. I hunt for the leather products that will be made from my harvest. I hunt for the freedom it brings me when I am in the outdoors.”
Despite the overwhelming opposition in the letters and emails, a public hearing in September yielded a different result. By a show of hands, about two-thirds of the 100 or so people at the meeting supported the hunting proposal.
Letters in opposition to the hunt came from scientists including H. Bradley Shaffer, professor of biology at the University of California at Los Angeles; Kent Vliet, laboratory coordinator for the University of Florida Department of Biology; and Barry Downer, curator of herpetology at the Tulsa Zoo.
 “People come to these refuges so they can see wildlife close up,” Downer wrote. “If hunting is allowed, the animals become wary and they are no longer going to be visible for the visitors.”
The refuge constitutes the northernmost remnant of the Everglades and provides habitat for a vast range of wildlife, including endangered wood storks and Everglade kites. Several opponents of the plan said the wildlife should be left alone.
 “An alligator may be an ugly creature who can harm humans but to seek it out in a REFUGE and torture it for recreation is cruel and unnecessary,” wrote Anne L. Dubin, of Delray Beach. “If we are stewards of the land, then shouldn’t we accept the right of other creatures to live there too? Who decided that only warm and fuzzy creatures should be allowed to live?”

How healthy are our Florida rivers ? Click on each of the 22 rivers and read more – interactive graphics:

121215-a
Florida rivers getting sicker, Sentinel investigation finds
Orlando Sentinel - by Kevin Spear
December 15, 2012
Florida's rivers are in trouble.
That's what the Orlando Sentinel found after a yearlong evaluation of some of the state's biggest and smallest, most urban and remote, cleanest and dirtiest, protected and abused rivers.
Of the 22 rivers studied, from Miami to Pensacola, nearly half are in decline because of pollution from lawns, street runoff, wastewater and agriculture, and because of shrinking flows caused by drought and rising demand for water by cities and industries.
Other rivers in the group, while either stable or improving, are profoundly impaired.
Taking care of rivers is difficult and expensive in a state of nearly 20 million residents and in an era of shrinking government budgets and assaults on environmental regulations. Fixing just two rivers, the Kissimmee and St. Johns, which both originate in Central Florida, has cost $2.5 billion so far. Floridians shell out an additional $1 billion a year to various river-related state agencies.
But the state has a compelling reason to protect its rivers: If Florida's rivers are not healthy, then neither is its water.
The Hillsborough, Peace, St. Johns and Kissimmee rivers, for example, deliver drinking water to the state's biggest metropolitan areas. The Apalachicola nurtures a bay famed for its oysters. The state's giant springs, sources of rivers such as the Silver and the Wekiva, are an unmatched collection of natural treasures. And wilderness areas tied to rivers, such as the Suwannee's and Fisheating Creek's, are awesome, humbling places.
Rivers come from and flow to and through wetlands and lakes. Rivers born at springs join rivers created by wetlands, which then nourish the food webs of coastal estuaries. Rivers are the veins of the state's water-driven environment.
"Once a river or spring touches you and you recognize it as a living, vibrant system, it becomes a part of your life," said Pat Harden, a founder of the Friends of the Wekiva River.
Ups and downs
Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel Vinyard often says, "I want to get the water right." It's a difficult goal.
Florida is struggling with water pollution and water shortages even as state government has been making unprecedented cuts in the size and strength of its environmental-protection agencies.
Protecting rivers is controversial. Last month, most notably, an impatient federal judge ordered Florida and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to finally implement pollution regulations that have been on the books for nearly 15 years. Many state lawmakers and industries have fought the regulations as overly burdensome.
Amid that rules uproar and throughout 2012, the Sentinel asked various state officials whether Florida has been gaining or losing ground in efforts to protect the systems that link and define most of its environment: its rivers.
Nearly all have answered with a variation of: "I don't know."
Of the 22 rivers studied by the Sentinel, many showed clear trends, and it wasn't difficult to determine whether they are getting healthier or sicker.
The $1 billion repair of the Kissimmee, one of the four found to be in some degree of recovery, involves filling in the enormous canal built by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1960s and restoring the river's natural, sinuous channel as it flows from Osceola County to Lake Okeechobee. Project scientist Lawrence Glenn said the work is restarting the "liquid heart" of what was once "a mini-Amazon."
Meanwhile, Orlando's Wekiva has gotten sicker. The Indian River — the riverlike lagoon along Florida's east coast — has been rocked by persistent and destructive algae blooms. The Wakulla near Tallahassee is plagued with dark, tannic water. Health authorities warn nearly every year that algae blooms in the Caloosahatchee in South Florida are toxic.
"We have a definite trend toward degrading water," said Rae Ann Wessel, a defender of the Caloosahatchee and member of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.
Among the more difficult rivers to judge were the Apalachicola and Choctawhatchee. Both Panhandle rivers were found to be getting worse by the Sentinel, though Florida DEP officials say their water-quality data show no decline in either river's health.
In most respects, those rivers do have clean water, said Joe Hand, who retired recently after 35 years as a top DEP water-quality analyst. The Sentinel sought his assistance to study each of the 22 rivers.
What's not well-reflected in the water-quality data, however, is the core plight of the Apalachicola: It doesn't have enough water, both because of drought and because of withdrawals in Georgia and Alabama. Its wetlands are wasting away; as a result, Apalachicola Bay, according to recent warnings by alarmed state officials, is getting too salty and is now on the verge of biological collapse.
The Choctawhatchee is choking on sand and silt from agriculture, timber cutting and unpaved roads in Alabama, according to a leading defender of the river and to one of the river's residents, H.T. Brown, whose family members have lived and worked on the Choctawhatchee for four generations.
"The river north of Highway 20 used to have a rock bottom, and now it's filled with sand and mud," Brown said.
According to Hand's analysis, the Choctawhatchee suffers from the state's worst case of "turbidity," a haziness in the water caused by muddy runoff.
Eight of the 22 rivers aren't changing significantly in either direction, according to a consensus of experts consulted by the Sentinel and to Hand's data trends. Among these "stable" rivers, however, is the Fenholloway, in Florida's Big Bend region, which has been repulsive since the 1950s because of paper-mill pollution. The pollution's intensity has lessened in recent years, but the river remains an aquatic zombie.
Forgotten gems
Florida's rivers were once its main transportation network, carrying people and commerce by boat from places such as Jacksonville to Sanford on the St. Johns and from Fort Myers to Kissimmee on the Caloosahatchee and Kissimmee rivers. But now they are so removed from daily life that many Floridians would struggle just to name the river closest to their home.
In a state crisscrossed by both waterways and highways, rivers are experienced most often through the window of a moving car. The Loxahatchee is barely noticeable beneath Interstate 95 in Palm Beach County, the Miami's drawbridges simply annoy baseball fans going to Marlins games, and the St. Johns is a curious blip for Orlandoans headed to the beach.
But from a kayak, the Loxahatchee is a cathedral, with a floor of amber water, walls of cypress trees and a ceiling of green canopy, while the Miami might not be much of a natural river but is one of the most energizing, entertaining and intensely visual outdoors locations in Florida. The St. Johns is probably the most ecologically complex river in the state, coming to life in a semitropical climate near Vero Beach before flowing north for 310 miles to a more temperate climate, where it spills into the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville.
The variety hardly stops there. The Wekiva thrives with so many turtles — one of the state's biggest populations — that seemingly every low log is bumpy with shells. In South Florida, Fisheating Creek curls about as a tea-colored ribbon between gnarled, gnomish cypress trees that seem about to growl.
Each of those rivers — and most other rivers in the state — experienced epic insults in past decades, typically from sewage plants and power shovels.
Dredges clawed the Apalachicola without mercy, crippling its sloughs, or creeks, while the Loxahatchee's forest was poisoned by seawater that invaded after repeated dredgings to make Jupiter Inlet's access to the Atlantic Ocean deeper and wider.
In the Orlando area, sections of Shingle Creek and the Little Wekiva and Little Econlockhatchee rivers were turned into giant culverts to carry away subdivisions' rainfall. A growing metro area also filled those rivers with poorly treated sewage — common practice at the time.
Jim Hulbert, a state biologist who for decades worked on ways to assess rivers' health, documented how repulsive they had become by the late 1960s.
Suds generated by sewage in the Little Econ drifted like snow flurries across State Road 50. The water in Shingle Creek and the Little Wekiva thickened with bacteria that looked like toilet paper. River ecologies were taken over by rat-tailed maggots and sludge worms that bore headfirst into the mud, their tails exposed like threads of shag carpet.
"You wouldn't have gone canoeing," Hulbert said. The rivers were that unappealing.
Even the mighty St. Johns was feared. Environmental activist Linda Young remembers an uncle who took her family sightseeing along the river docks in Jacksonville.
"He would say, 'If you kids don't behave, I'm going to throw you into there, and you'll die of a hundred different diseases,' " Stewart recalled. "We'd be standing on those docks, and I'd be thinking, 'Oh, my God, you'll die just from falling in?'¿"
'Golden years'
Fortunately for Florida's rivers, the environmental horrors of the 1960s were followed by an awakening across the U.S. in the 1970s and '80s, said Jim Stevenson, a retired chief naturalist for the state.
"Those were golden years for environmental protection," Stevenson said.
Florida was prodded by regulations and grants that flowed from the momentous Clean Water Act, a federal law that recently had its 40th anniversary. For example, Orlando built its advanced Iron Bridge Water Reclamation Facility in the early 1980s, and the Little Econ is dramatically better off today as a result.
The state launched its Save Our Rivers program, which would be used to acquire 1.7 million acres of open space to protect river basins. Restorations of the Kissimmee and St. Johns, ongoing for decades, are among the most ambitious in the world.
The hazards faced by rivers today, while less obvious, Stevenson said, are more potent, even as the state has dramatically scaled back its environmental-lands purchases and the strength of its water-management agencies.
One of the less-obvious enemies now is nutrient pollution, which spills off lawns as dissolved fertilizer; seeps into the aquifer from septic tanks; and bleeds into wetlands from cattle ranches, citrus groves and farms. Nutrient pollution can overwhelm a river's ecology, as in the case of the Silver River near Ocala, by triggering invasions of weeds and algae.
The other enemies: climate change and drought, exacerbated by all the water taken each day from the state's aquifers and rivers by utilities and agricultural operations in Florida and Georgia.
The Wekiva River, one of two U.S. Wild and Scenic rivers in Florida, is nevertheless polluted by nutrients, and in recent years its water flow has shriveled to the minimum its ecology can tolerate, according to state officials.
Defenders of the state's other Wild and Scenic River, the Loxahatchee, are begging for a small but guaranteed supply of fresh water from nearby canals in South Florida. The water is needed during the dry season to keep at bay the seawater that otherwise kills the Loxahatchee's wetlands.
Peace River in Polk County temporarily dies of thirst every dry season, nutrient pollution in the Kissimmee is killing Lake Okeechobee, and the North Florida springs that feed the magnificent Suwannee are in decline.
Ed Lowe, top scientist at the St. Johns River Water Management District, warns that increasing use of fertilizer, plus population growth and climate change, are making river protection so daunting that simply preventing further decline could be a victory.
Case in point: The St. Johns is no longer in a death dive thanks to a colossal restoration, yet it remains seriously ill.
"Big stretches of the river are stable," Lowe said. "I take that as a measure of success."

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Big news in fight against Florida slime
EarthJustice.com – by David Guest
December 14, 2012
EPA will step in to regulate 100,000 miles of Florida's waters.
We’re happy to report that our long fight to clean up the green slime that’s been plaguing Florida waterways for years hit a major turning point on Nov. 30. That’s the day the Environmental Protection Agency agreed to set numeric pollution limits for some 100,000 miles of Florida waterways and 4,000 square miles of estuaries.
We fought every polluting industry in Florida for four years to get this result. These slime outbreaks – caused by pollutants in inadequately treated sewage, manure and fertilizer--are a pestilence, contaminating water, killing fish, destroying property values and chasing off tourists. Now the EPA has to stop dragging its feet and deal with it.
Using extensive data it has been collecting and analyzing in concert with Florida Department of Environmental Protection scientists, the EPA will impose numeric limits on the allowable amount of phosphorus and nitrogen – so called “nutrient” pollution – in the state’s waterways.
The EPA began working to set pollution limits for Florida in 2009 – part of a settlement in a 2008 Clean Water Act we filed in the Northern District of Florida on behalf of the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, St. John’s Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club. The suit challenged the decade-long delay by the state and federal governments in setting limits for the pollution.
EPA’s response here in Florida will set the standard for the nation. What we’ve lacked is a set of quantifiable numbers that are basically a speed limit sign to make the law clear and enforceable. The EPA will now start painting the numbers on that speed limit sign. It will be abundantly clear what the rules are.
The EPA got several court-granted delays in the multi-year case and was seeking another, which U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle failed to grant on Nov. 30. In a last-minute decision, the EPA also conditionally approved a set of state pollution limits developed by the Florida DEP, which will cover a fraction of the waters in the state – about 15 percent. The other 85 percent of the state’s waters will be subject to the numeric federal standards.
We oppose EPA’s conditional approval of the state’s bogus pollution rules because they don’t comply with the requirements of the Clean Water Act. Specifically, the state’s rules fail to provide numeric limits to protect the water quality of downstream lakes for polluted streams; they don’t cover the vast majority of Florida’s flowing waters and Florida estuarine, coasta, and marine waters; and the state’s rules substitute industry-written, multi-year studies for polluted waters instead of the EPA’s more enforceable rules.
Politically, it looks like the state will work on behalf of polluters to try to get the EPA to withdraw its numeric standards, and we’ll be fighting against that. And since it looks likely that Gov. Rick Scott’s administration will continue to collaborate with polluting industries to substitute bogus state rules, our partners are working to mobilize citizens to fight back.
The EPA has set public hearings from 1-5 pm on Jan. 17 and 9 am- 12 pm on Jan. 18 at the Hyatt Regency, 211 North Tampa Street, in Tampa.

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Many Martin County residents not satisfied with Corps plans to ease Lake O releases
TCPalm.com - by Sade M. Gordon
December 14, 2012
STUART — The U.S. Army Corps has revealed alternative plans to ease "aggressive" releases from Lake Okeechobee into local estuaries, but many Martin County residents say it's not enough.
With the timeline for completion of the Everglades Restoration Plan spanning several decades before any real difference is seen, some locals are worried the estuaries won't survive.
The controversial water releases from Lake Okeechobee are scheduled when lake levels exceed what the Corps deems necessary for the safety of surrounding areas. Scheduled regulation releases, the most recent ones were from September to November, dump lake water east and west into the St. Lucie River and the Caloosahatchee River, affecting the salinity balance needed in the estuaries and carrying other contaminants. The Okeechobee water can cause oyster death, toxic algae and create ulcers on fish in the estuaries.
At a meeting Thursday night, at Indian River State College's Chastain Campus, the Corps presented four alternative plans with the same goal: when these releases need to occur, flow the lake water south instead.
Eric Bush, the chief of planning and policy for the Corps, said this would involve "diverting approximately 200,000 acre-feet of water that would normally be discharged to the estuaries south into the flow equalization basins and subsequently into the Everglades."
Although many residents at the meeting, conducted to discuss a part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan named the Central Everglades Planning Project, said they were grateful for the Corps' attempts at a solution to the Lake Okeechobee releases, they weren't satisfied with the suggestion.
Most residents said 200,000 acre-feet, or 65.2 billion gallons, was just a drop in the bucket. During releases this fall, the St. Lucie River alone received 43 billion gallons.
"I think you all are well aware that we love to hate the Corps in Martin County, and it's because we want you to be a little less aggressive in moving water to the estuary," said former county commissioner Maggy Hurchella. "Yet we do realize the limits in a project of this size and all these pieces of getting it all done it once and stopping everything as soon as we want you to stop."
Local river advocates like Karl Wickstrom, founder of Florida Sportsman magazine, and Mark Perry, executive director of Florida Oceanographic Center, agreed with Hurchella that they wanted to see "more" from the Corps.
"You're telling us in this plan that were only doing 200,000 acre-feet ? That's less than 14 percent of the whole water that actually just on an average goes to the estuaries," Perry said. "We get a heck of a lot more during a lot of the times when there's no other alternative."
Bush said the capacity with the southern Water Conservation Areas simply didn't allow for more than they proposed. He said the Corps was proposing the four alternative plans as part of a larger restoration project to flow water south to the Everglades.
"That is not a huge fraction, a very large fraction, of the water presently discharged into the estuaries. We recognize that," Bush said. "This project is really just an increment of a much larger restoration program."
Drew Martin, conservation chairman for the Loxahatchee Group Sierra Club said, "The big constraint has been that ... you don't want anybody else to really suffer." "But the problem is that the estuaries are really suffering, and you're not sharing the suffering evenly in some of the other communities."
CENTRAL EVERGLADES PLANNING PROJECT GOALS
Move water south from Lake Okeechobee through Everglades Agricultural Area
Improve the east and west coast estuaries
Store and treat flows in facilities within the Everglades Agricultural Area
Send treated water south to improve conditions within southern Water Conservation Areas, Everglades National Park and Florida Bay

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2 Lee County water quality restoration projects approved
News-Press.com
December 13, 2012
State wildlife officials adopted two water quality improvements projects Wednesday that will put $18 million toward restoration projects in Lee County.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection touted its latest water quality plan as one that will clean up Caloosahatchee River waters over the next 15 years.
About 148,000 pounds of nitrogen circulate through the Caloosahatchee River watershed basin. The action stems from a lawsuit filed by groups such as the Conservancy of Southwest Florida against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failure to implement the Clean Water Act. EPA officials have since passed the burden to the state, or DEP.
The overall goal is to reduce nitrogen levels by 23 percent over the next 15 years. Water quality experts estimate that 85 percent of the total nitrogen load in the basin comes from Lake
Herschel T. Vinyard Jr., secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, said the rules, called a Basin Management Action Plan, or BMAP, will allow various government agencies to work together to clean up local waters. The Caloosahatchee carries pollution that many experts associate with extended and intense red tide blooms offshore.
 “We’re not going to see a pristine waterway overnight, but it’s a first step,” Vinyard said Wednesday morning to a small group gathered at the river basin.
A BMAP plan was also approved for two Estero Bay tributaries: Hendry Creek in south Fort Myers and the Imperial River in Bonita Springs. Funding comes from Lee County ($12 million), city of Fort Myers ($6 million), and the city of Bonita Springs ($500,000).
This plan is the fourth adopted by DEP this year and the 13th overall, Vinyard said. Seven are planned for adoption in 2013.
Melissa Meeker, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, said implementation of the plan will reduce nutrient loads in the Caloosahatchee and correct water flow problems that have plagued the estuary for decades.
Not all in attendance were upbeat about the celebration.
Local sportsman, longtime Lee County resident and water quality watchdog John Cassani said he’d like to see more private dollars committed to these types of restoration programs.
 “There’s no private entity involved whatsoever and a huge part of that load coming from upstream is coming from private land,” Cassani said of farming operations in north and central Florida.
 “Apparently they’re not adding to the problem.”
Cassani said most of the goals and projects outlined in the next five years in the Caloosahatchee basin have already been met.
 “Florida says ‘we’re doing a great job with pollution’ but everywhere you look you see impaired waters,” Cassani said. “(And) the longer you wait the more it’s going to cost and the less compromise you’ll have down the road when you have to deal with these issues.”

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Billboards coming to water district land
Sun Sentinel - by Andy Reid
December 13, 2012
The South Florida Water Management District is getting into the billboard business, opening publicly owned land to towering digital advertisements.
The agency that handles flood control and Everglades restoration owns more than 1 million acres from Orlando to the Keys, some of it along Interstate 95, Florida's Turnpike and other high-traffic areas coveted by advertisers.
The district's board Thursday agreed to team with two advertising companies to erect the tall, bright signs with rotating images in the hopes of potentially raising millions to help cover agency costs.
But where the signs could end up and how many may spread across South Florida are already raising concerns from opponents who question using public land to clutter the landscape with more advertising.
"There's a lot of side effects we are really not thinking about," said Drew Martin, of the Sierra Club, who said the large, illuminated signs pose a risk to migrating birds and sea turtles. "I'm not sure what this really has to do with the mission of the South Florida Water Management District."
Even district board members acknowledge their money-making bid could trigger complaints about signs going up too close to homes or carrying advertising that some might object to seeing on public land.
"It is very sensitive where it goes," said district board member Daniel O'Keefe, who voted for the proposal. "You put one of these in the wrong place, you are going to have a community up in arms."
Yet district officials decided that billboards and the money they bring are worth a try during an ongoing period of state budget belt-tightening.
The district is supposed to receive about 30 percent of advertising revenues from the billboards. That could mean more than $1 million the first year and nearly $25 million over the first 10 years, according to district estimates.
With the advertising companies building the signs and recruiting the advertisers, it ends up being a "low-risk" deal for the district, according to district board member Timothy Sargent.
"Once it's up and running, it's just up to us to monitor and collect the revenue," Sargent said.
The Florida Legislature opened the door to this potential spread of billboards across public property.
Local governments usually get to decide where billboards are allowed. On state roads, the Florida Department of Transportation has to approve the billboards. The Legislature, however, exempted the water management districts from those restrictions.
Last year, state lawmakers passed a measure saying it was in the "public interest" for the state's five water management districts to start acquiring and operating billboards, which in Tallahassee speak were referred to as "public information systems."
In addition to raising money, the billboards can be used to help spread the word about approaching storms, watering restrictions or Amber alerts.
The South Florida Water Management District's sign deal reserves at least 5 percent of the display time for public service messages sprinkled among the advertising.
The district deal approved Thursday calls for starting with 10 billboards during a one-year test run. If successful, another 20 billboards could come the following year.
The Lamar Company and Florida Communication Advisors were the two companies the district picked Thursday to start building billboards. They each get to start with five billboards.
The district's nine-member board gets final say on where the billboards will be allowed. Those sites have yet to be selected, district officials said Thursday.
Board member Glenn Waldman warned that while the advertising companies will have control of the types of advertising, the public will hold the district responsible for the content they see on the signs.
"This can get complicated. … Why are we doing this?" asked Waldman, who voted against the deal.
The billboards will not include advertising for strip clubs or other "risqué content," said Benjamin Henry of Lamar. Also, likely locations are expected to be beside busy roads not in "pristine" preservation areas, he said.
State-imposed budget cuts in recent years made district officials more receptive to a billboard deal.
The Legislature in 2011 slashed the district's budget by about 30 percent, resulting in more than $100 million in cutbacks that included 100 layoffs.
But dabbling in advertising won't raise enough to be worth the problems billboards could bring to an agency that should instead stay focused on flood control, board member James Moran said.
"I don't think we should do it at all. Don't we have enough on our plates?" said Moran, who voted against the billboard proposal.

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Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge's gator hunt plan sparks outrage
Huffington Post – by David Fleshler of the Sun Sentinel
December 13, 2012
Hundreds of letters and emails to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge were clear: Don't kill the alligators.
Opponents of a proposed public alligator hunt that would begin next year outnumbered supporters 407 to 84, with messages reaching the western Palm Beach County refuge from around the world. A Web petition against the proposal generated 2,975 signatures.
"It is not necessary to turn a well known and popular wildlife REFUGE into a deathtrap at the request of a single user group," wrote Brian Call, a Fort Lauderdale nature photographer. A South African woman urged the refuge to reject "this despicable and wicked so-called sport." But Andrew F. Kay Jr., of Indian River County, asked the refuge to go ahead with the hunt and ignore the protests of "a small minority of well intentioned and ill-informed urbanites."
A Loxahatchee official said the refuge has made an initial decision but won't reveal it, pending approval by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regional headquarters in Atlanta.
The refuge, which encompasses 221 square miles of Everglades marshes, cypress swamp and tree islands, has proposed issuing 11 permits next year that would allow each hunter to kill two alligators. Among the methods of catching them are snares, gigs, harpoons, spearguns and crossbows. A bang stick -- a pole that discharges a bullet or shotgun shell upon making direct contact with the prey -- would be used to kill the alligator.
Although the initial quota of 22 alligators would be modest, the refuge's management said the number would rise if all goes well, and both sides are treating the decision as a significant precedent.
"The word 'Refuge' should mean just that," wrote Holly Draluck of Boca Raton. "It should be a safe haven for wildlife. These animals get habituated to people and a hunt is nothing short of a slaughter. ... You may as well change the name to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National HUNT CLUB."
Among the proposal's supporters are the Florida Wildlife Federation, South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which wrote that 25 years of monitoring had shown that "alligator populations are highly resilient to harvest pressure."
Several hunters wrote that hunting was a wholesome, traditional family activity that would have no impact on a thriving alligator population that has lost its fear of people.
"It will promote a Florida tradition and control the population," wrote Blaine Dickenson, of Boca Raton. "The folks protesting don't seem to understand the issue with nuisance gators. I'm a Florida native and have been going to the Refuge for years. I went on my first duck hunt there. The gators have been aggressive and unafraid of humans there for a long time."
Laura Majercik, of West Palm Beach, wrote, "Personally, I hunt to be with my family," she wrote. "I hunt for food. I hunt for the leather products that will be made from my harvest. I hunt for the freedom it brings me when I am in the outdoors."
Despite the overwhelming opposition in the letters and emails, a public hearing in September yielded a different result. By a show of hands, about two thirds of the 100 or so people at the meeting supported the hunting proposal.
Letters in opposition to the hunt came from scientists including H. Bradley Shaffer, professor of biology at the University of California at Los Angeles; Kent Vliet, laboratory coordinator for the University of Florida Department of Biology; and Barry Downer, curator of herpetology at the Tulsa Zoo.
"People come to these refuges so they can see wildlife close up," Downer wrote. "If hunting is allowed, the animals become wary and they are no longer going to be visible for the visitors."
The refuge constitutes the northernmost remnant of the Everglades and provides habitat for a vast range of wildlife, including endangered wood storks and Everglade kites. Several opponents of the plan said the wildlife should be left alone.
"An alligator may be an ugly creature who can harm humans but to seek it out in a REFUGE and torture it for recreation is cruel and unnecessary," wrote Anne L. Dubin, of Delray Beach. "If we are stewards of the land, then shouldn't we accept the right of other creatures to live there too? Who decided that only warm and fuzzy creatures should be allowed to live?"

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US: Florida DEP releases Caloosahatchee River restoration roadmap
SandAndGravel.com
December 13, 2012
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has announced adoption of two Basin Management Action Plans in southwest Florida, one for Hendry Creek and Imperial River and the other for the Caloosahatchee River.
Department Secretary Herschel Vinyard joined city and county officials at the celebration to kick off implementation of these critical water quality cleanup plans.
 “One of DEP’s top priorities is getting Florida’s water right, ensuring an adequate supply and improving water quality,” said Secretary Vinyard. “The Department is focused on achieving measurable ecological progress through restoration programmes all across the state. We will continue to partner with local stakeholders as we take collective, immediate action to restore the rivers, lakes and estuaries that give Florida so much of its unique character.”
Hendry Creek, Imperial River and the Caloosahatchee River are critical to the economy and quality of life in southwest Florida. The plans, developed in conjunction with local stakeholders, describes the pollution reduction responsibilities of each stakeholder and includes detailed lists of projects to be implemented over the next five years. They also outline monitoring plans to track changes in water quality, measure success and inform future management decisions.
 “We are proud to partner with DEP and the other agencies and local governments that made these BMAPs possible,” said SFWMD Executive Director Melissa L. Meeker. “The South Florida Water Management District is committed to helping improve conditions throughout this vital watershed.”
The ceremony took place at the Downtown Riverfront Basin in Fort Myers’ River District just one week after the opening of the Detention Basin, an award-winning (Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers “Grand Award”) stormwater project.
Over the first five year phase of the Caloosahatchee River plans, stakeholders are expected to reduce approximately 148,000 pounds per year of total nitrogen, representing 40 percent of the required urban load reductions in the tidal basin.
The first phase of the Hendry Creek and Imperial River plan should achieve urban load reductions of nearly 12,000 pounds of nitrogen, 66 percent of the needed urban load reductions in Hendry Creek and 45 percent of the urban load reductions required for Imperial River. Local agricultural operations will also be implementing best practices for water use and nutrient management.
To achieve these reductions, the local governments have already committed more than $18 million to invest in specific stormwater management and water control projects in Lee County, Fort Myers and Bonita Springs.
Local government investment includes:
- City of Bonita Springs: More than $500,000.
- City of Fort Myers: More than $6 million.
- Lee County: More than $12 million.
The plans were developed under the Department's comprehensive approach to identifying polluted waterways and building local and regional partnerships to restore them. They represent collaboration among area local governments and development districts, several state agencies in addition to the Department and the South Florida Water Management District.
A unique feature of the Caloosahatchee River is the large amount of fresh water delivered from Lake Okeechobee. Last week, the Department embarked on development of an additional plan to expand on the extensive work conducted under the Lake Okeechobee Protection Plan to restore the quality of the fresh water flowing into the river.
Statewide, the Department has adopted 13 basin management action plans to date, covering 95 waterbody segments. About half of those were adopted in the past 24 months. Seven more are currently in development covering 55 additional waterbody segments.

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Vero paddler Justin Riney crosses Everglades
TCPalm.com - by Ed Killer
December 13, 2012
The Everglades is vast, awe-inspiring, intimidating and magnificent. When crossing it via a stand-up paddleboard, one feels pretty insignificant, but blessed at the same time.
That was the impression the nation's largest subtropical wilderness left upon Vero Beach adventurer Justin Riney and fellow paddler Gabe Gray of Panama City last week.
They paddled 99 miles of mangrove-lined waterways from Everglades City in Southwest Florida to Flamingo on the southern tip of the 'Glades in six days.
Along the way, they braved the elements, dehydration, biting insects and biting wildlife.
It was the sixth and final Conservation Paddle for the duo, who have been preparing to launch the year-long Expedition Florida 500 journey Jan. 1 from Pensacola.
"This was unlike any other paddle we've been on," said Riney, 31, who also is the founder of the clean water advocacy group Mother Ocean. "Once we shoved off from Everglades City, we were completely removed from civilization, so we had to be completely self-sustaining."
Drinking water was a major logistical challenge, Riney said.
"We thought the trip would take us about nine days, and there is nowhere along the way to refill water or obtain food," he said. "So we had to each carry two 3-gallon water bladders on our boards, along with all our other camping gear and food."
Fortunately, the pair made better time with no weather delays.
However, being out of cell-phone range for a week made it a bit uncomfortable in case of emergency.
During previous Conservation Paddles along some of Florida's mightiest waterways — such as the Indian River Lagoon, Kissimmee River and St. Johns River — Riney encountered wildlife, friendly faces and much more trash than he ever believed to be out there. The Everglades had wildlife and friendly faces, but no trash.
"The first three days, we paddled along the Gulf edge of the Everglades," Riney said. "We were near the beaches and river mouths, where we had to plan for tides and winds. We saw all kinds of sharks, rays, alligators and much more.
"On the fourth day, we headed inland to the Wilderness Waterway, where the beaches were replaced with endless mangroves. There was such a transition. The water and the days were calm, but everything exploded at night. The stars were the brightest I've ever seen. While camping on the park's chickees, you could hear huge fish breaching as they fed, gators feeding and all kinds of sounds."
Riney said the interior part of the journey featured plenty of no-see-ums and mosquitoes.
"The no-see-ums were thickest around dusk but would go away in the dark. And as long as we were wearing plenty of DEET, the mosquitoes were kept at bay."
Riney and Gray made friends from distant locations, such as Canada, Germany and Ireland — fellow kayakers, canoers and campers who have included the Everglades on their bucket lists.
"We learned a lot from all of these paddles that will really help us when we begin the Expedition Florida 500 in January," Riney said.
Learn more about his travels, and the entire project by visiting the adventure's site on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/xf500.

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Aquaculture: Good local water, tasty clams
TCPlam.com - by Shelley Owens
December 12, 2012
Quote: “I have wholesalers tell me they will take all of the clams we can get out of that area (the Indian River.) The taste, the appearance, is so much better. I am trying to get more clam farmers there.” -- Tom McCrudden, president of Research Aquaculture Inc, a Stuart clam hatchery and nursery that sells clam “seed” statewide.
We associate quahogs with the northeast but Florida clams have been a food staple since before North America was settled. And most people don’t realize that some of the best clams come from the Indian River in Sebastian.
 “We have very good water quality here,” explained Bruno Cristofori, clam farmer and owner of Indian River Clams in Sebastian. The City of Sebastian allows smart development without sacrificing water quality, he said. And that helps a number of local industries, including his.
 “I have wholesalers tell me they will buy everything we can get out of that area,” said Tom McCrudden, a clam farmer, wholesaler and researcher who grows the infant clam “seed” which is distributed throughout Florida.
 “We have such a demand for a better-quality product,” McCrudden said. “The taste, the appearance is so much better.”
 “The Indian River clam farmers go more for quality than for quantity,” McCrudden said. And, sometimes, that means a shortage of Indian River clams.
The clam farming industry in Sebastian thrived until 2004, when hurricane Frances wiped out the clam farms, boats, docks and the Sebastian fishing industry in general.
 “I’m trying to expand and get more (clam) farmers there (Indian River,)” said McCrudden, who promotes the area and the industry.
Most Florida clams begin their lives in McCrudden’s hatchery at the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center in Stuart. When about the size of a pin head, 30 to 40 million of them go into nursery trays in Port Salerno. When they reach 10 to 15 millimeters, workers at McCrudden’s company Research Aquaculture Inc. ship the tiny clams, called “seeds,” to clam farmers statewide.
The farmers lease portions of state-owned submerged lands to grow their aquatic crops.
 “It takes 12 months to two years to grow a clam,” said Cristofori, who harvests little neck and middle neck clams for market when they reach 12 millimeters and up.
Once he pulls them from the river, they are ready to go to restaurants, farmers’ markets and seafood markets, he said. Unfortunately, none are available at this writing.
To get top-quality clams, McCrudden is bringing west coast clams over to Sebastian leases for two weeks of Indian River resort living before they go to restaurants. Next year, he and Cristofori hope there will be plenty of clam farmers and Indian River clams to meet the high demand.

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EPA must protect Florida waterways
Palm Beach Post - by Randy Schultz, Editor
December 12, 2012
For three years, Florida tried to stall on setting tougher anti-pollution standards for the state’s lakes, rivers, streams and estuaries. Finally, and correctly, it appears that Florida has lost — for now.
On Nov. 30, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle refused to give Florida any more time in trying to set state rules that are weaker than those established by the Environmental Protection Agency. Earthjustice attorney David Guest said of the environmental groups that brought the federal lawsuit seeking enforcement of the Clean Water Act, “We won this case.” He believes that the more stringent standards will apply to roughly 85 percent of Florida waters, including canals in South Florida. “That’s the big story.”
A conclusive ending, however, doesn’t seem near. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a news release saying that state standards will apply to all rivers, lakes and streams, and to estuaries — coastal areas where salt water and fresh water meet, and marine line breeds — from Tampa Bay to Biscayne Bay. The EPA, Mr. Bartlett said, believes that Florida has made “tremendous progress.”
Florida’s resistance to protecting the state’s waters goes back 14 years. In 1998, the EPA ordered states to develop water-quality standards by 2004. Few states needed those standards more than Florida. For years, farm and urban runoff had fouled waterways. Martin County canals infamously would turn pea-soup green. The health department posted swimming warnings. But Florida missed that 2004 EPA deadline. So Earthjustice and other groups filed suit in 2008. Politicians of both parties lined up to support the polluters.
And the EPA has not always been consistent on this issue. A year after the lawsuit, the EPA agreed to set the standards that Florida wouldn’t. In 2010, the EPA issued the standards, but gave Florida 15 months extra to comply. Still, farmers and public utilities complained loudly about the potential cost, throwing out figures in the billions. Florida TaxWatch railed that economic chaos could result. Last November, perhaps with an eye on Florida’s electoral votes, the EPA agreed to let the state develop water-quality rules.
We have supported the tougher standards, though, in part on economic grounds. You can’t tout as “paradise” a state with polluted waterways. History also shows that cost fears of environmental cleanup often are overblown. When the federal government ordered Midwest power plants to stop emitting pollution that was causing acid rain in the Northeast, the actual costs turned out be a fraction of the hysterical estimates, and the benefits proved to be even greater.
Our reading of the numbers is that Mr. Guest is right: 85 percent of Florida waters fall under the EPA standards. He also is right that “EPA’s response from here will set the standard for the nation.” Now that Mr. Obama has won Florida and a second term, the EPA must tell Florida that 14 years of resistance on stringent water-pollution rules is long enough.

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FWC told ‘ the disaster’s coming’
ApalachTimes.com - by David Adlerstein
December 12, 2012
Ever year since Feb. 2010, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has held one of its statewide meetings in Apalachicola, with commissioners each year raving about the fishing paradise found in Tallahassee’s backyard.
On Dec. 5, they learned about the serious trouble that backyard is facing.
By appealing directly for FWC support, Franklin County’s beleaguered oyster industry, bolstered by support from environmental and recreational fishing interests, opened up a new front in the battle to secure more freshwater coming down the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river system into Apalachicola Bay.
 “If we don’t get something done in the next one-and-a-half years, we’re not going to have a bay,” said Shannon Hartsfield, a fourth-generation oysterman who serves as president of the Franklin County Seafood Workers Association.
 “We’re losing our livelihood, and we’re going to lose our community,” he said. “We’re already struggling. The disaster’s coming.”
Hartsfield said oystermen are lucky to pluck three or four bags of oysters a day out of the bay when they should be tonging 20, providing a first-hand perspective that fit with the bleak scientific data presented in a report to FWC by Dr. David Heil, with the FWC’s Division of Marine Fisheries Management.
Heil said prior to the opening of winter harvesting season, production estimates for two of the bay’s more fertile oyster bars, East Hole and Cat Point, were the lowest reported in the past 20 years.
Prolonged drought, and continuing low river discharge rates from dams upriver, have lad to the high salinity, which has contributed to increased predation and dermo diseases plaguing the oysters, he said.
Worsening the situation has been increased fishing of this stressed oyster population, said Heil, noting the problem of high oyster mortality extends throughout the Gulf coast from Escambia to Wakulla counties. He told how Bay County issued an executive order in October cutting in half the daily bag limit, from 20 to 10, available to their commercial oystermen.
Backing the oystermen’s call for help was Don Ashley, a past president of the Apalachicola Riverkeeper, a non-profit environmental advocacy group for the Apalachicola river and bay.
 “The last great bay is somewhere between crisis and collapse,” he said. “The impacts will be way beyond oysters. This affects many habitats. That’s the type of urgency we’re trying to convey to you today. What we’re hoping is to encourage you to help us move this issue forward.
 “It’s not just a bay that’s threatened, it’s a way of life,” said Ashley. “All the money in the world is not going to restore a working waterfront, and a natural heritage.
 “We need the leadership, the ownership, of this industry. We’re going to look to you for that leadership,” he told FWC.
Ashley outlined several requests of the FWC, topped by having the commission press Governor Rick Scott to continue dialogue with Alabama and Georgia to address upstream freshwater issues and agree to a “shared sacrifice” distribution plan among the three states.
Ashley urged FWC to help in shaping a strategic plan for the ACF, a point later echoed by Ted Forsgren, executive director of the Florida Coastal Conservation Association, who noted that Florida has a plan of its own to regulate waters within the state.
Ashley appealed for FWC to support efforts by the Florida congressional delegation, led by Sen. Bill Nelson, to gain passage of a Water Resource Development Act that would guide the Army Corps of Engineers’ decisionmaking in releasing water downstream.
 “The Corps must consider all fish and wildlife impacts under an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement), not just endangered species,” he said. “Authorized uses shall not exceed freshwater flows required to sustain rivers, bays and working waterfront communities.”
Ashley also asked FWC to contribute to the collection of data and documentation required to justify a fisheries disaster declaration. In September, Gov. Scott asked the U.S. Department of Commerce for such a declaration, which remains pending.
FWC Chairman Ken Wright said Florida State Senator Charlie Dean had pledged his support on legislative issues when he and the FWC commissioners were briefed on Apalachicola Bay issues during a Dec. 4 tour of the Apalachicola National Research Reserve headquarters in Eastpoint.
 “Let’s everybody get one voice, in one direction,” Wright said. “It doesn’t take much to mess up some of these systems and you can’t then throw enough money at it.”
FWC Executive Nick Wiley said he would keep the commissioners regularly abreast of developments regarding the Apalachicola Bay, but that there were limits as to what effect FWC could have on a fishery declaration.
 “The key is economic loss, and we can’t document that until it happens,” he said. “And it’s happening right now.
 “We need all hands on deck to address this crisis,” Wiley said.
FWC Vice Chair Kathy Barco said more needs to be done to convince Atlanta’s 4.2 million residents of the problems that overconsumption at the rivers’ source waters create for the estuary.
 “Those are the people we have to convince of the impact, and there’s such a disconnect,” she said.
 “This area is so special for so many reasons,” said FWC Member Brian Yablonski. “This is one of the few places in all the world where men and women harvest wild oysters. This is what we’re about, preserving the wild, native heritage of Florida.”

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Coca Cola Company
recently pioneered novel
water footprint
studies

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How will ecosystem services affect corporate decision-making?
GreenBiz.com - by Sissel Waage
December 12, 2012
In January 2012, a potentially significant shift occurred for corporate decision-makers: Companies seeking financing from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, as well as from 76 global banks that signed on to the Equator Principles, became subject to due diligence processes that examine corporate impacts and dependencies on ecosystem services. This occurred even as more than 16 national and regional governments continued to focus on ways to integrate ecosystem services into public policy. With small-scale exploratory work underway for several years, corporate applications covered the spectrum -- from integration of ecosystem services into accounting to consideration of the issues as an element in risk-management and impact-assessment protocols.
Though few corporate decision-makers have heard of ecosystem services, the decades-old concept is now drawing significant attention to the natural infrastructure from which all natural resource-based goods and services flow and upon which all business and society relies.
But what’s next in terms of new corporate performance requirements related to ecosystem services? And what are the implications for companies?
To explore that question, BSR’s Ecosystem Services Working Group convened a small roundtable with working group members and thought leaders from the public, NGO and academic arenas. After two days of brainstorming and discussion, along with a field trip to the Florida Everglades headwaters, the group brainstormed a set of scenarios that were deemed feasible. Inspired by our field trip and previous transformative scenario-planning exercises, each scenario was given a name meant to evoke a sense of the dynamics that could play out. This article summarizes a few of the scenarios, which will be presented along with other possible futures in a longer report that BSR will issue in 2013.
Increased scrutiny of corporations
Scenario 1: Eagle Hunt
This scenario is fundamentally about a paradigm shift, with ecosystem services writ large, following on significant action from regulators, activists, civil society and business.
In this scenario, weather extremes around the world quickly ratchet up awareness of natural infrastructure and ecosystem services. Between 2012 and 2017, a growing number of extreme weather events cause major metropolitan areas to shutter for weeks for clean-up and rebuilding. At the same time, agricultural yields drop in key production sites, driving commodity prices up.
All of these events increase government and citizen awareness of our natural infrastructure. In response, the United States, Europe, China, Brazil, South Africa and other countries add stringent regulations focused on restoring and maintaining ecosystem services based on specific ecological states calibrated to estimates from pre-industrial periods.
Meanwhile, corporate siting, licensing and expansion become increasingly complex, as does maintaining current operations in areas where national interests are seen as tightly intertwined with reliable flows of ecosystem services. Globally, pension funds and insurance companies demand more corporate disclosure related to biodiversity and ecosystem services. In particular, this disclosure addresses carbon accounting, water use and sources, biodiversity presence and impacts over time, as well as the effect of development on water filtration, flood control, erosion and pollination, among other variables.
In analyzing this new corporate information, investors, insurance companies and even some regulators plug new data into computer models that assess full risk profiles. Fund and insurance company employees now include geographic information systems (GIS) experts who partner with information technology (IT) firms to develop spatially explicit maps that visually show projected positive or negative flows of ecosystem services over time. These maps are based on easily accessible data on a range of ecosystem services that is collected by satellite monitoring and available online with linked maps (akin to those in Google Earth or Bing).
In civil society, activist initiatives such as 350.org’s Global Power Shift campaign pick up these data and maps on ecosystem flows, with a focus on destruction of key carbon sequestration sites that contribute to climate change dynamics. These organizers coordinate with other social media to create divestment campaigns against companies whose operations are contributing to climate change dynamics and undercutting critical ecosystem services. Online consumer information sources such as GoodGuide encourage consumers to join “buy-cotts” of the same companies. These savvy activists now focus on dynamics between issues, rather than on single issues, particularly the interrelationships among climate, water availability and food.
The adverse effects on profits, market share and brand can be easily quantified, and corporate leaders are increasingly under scrutiny by investors and shareholders for not having been more proactive on understanding, mitigating and changing practices in order to decrease impacts on ecosystem services.
The future is only now being written
Scenario 2: Raccoon Crawl
All sectors continue activity on ecosystem services, but there’s no critical mass for large-scale, meaningful change.
While academics and NGOs advocate for an expanded frame to measure and assess corporate impacts and dependencies on natural systems, there is no clear case for the added value that an ecosystem services approach offers. Public agencies continue to fund research, but that research does not clear the way for new regulation.
Likewise, corporate decision-makers do not see the case for more action and therefore make only minor changes in their existing approach to environmental and social impact assessments and life-cycle analyses.
Overall, ecosystem services concepts fade from discussion, as institutional complexity as well as inertia combines with the inability of thought leaders to both agree among themselves and galvanize attention to the issues.
Scenario 3: Egret Flight
This scenario is marked by significant action by a critical mass of players from the private sector, in collaboration with the public sector, NGO community and academia, to pilot a systemwide approach to ecosystem services.
Based on the work of a small set of corporate environmental managers across industries, a body of knowledge has been built on when, how and where these concepts can be fruitfully applied within corporate decision-making processes. Companies believe they have discovered a feasible way to integrate ecosystem services.
Perceiving that ecosystem services concepts could drive a growing set of demands on companies, a group of private-sector pioneers works with trusted NGO and industry association partners to convene leaders from the public and academia to craft a “learning lab” that explores applications of ecosystem services. The focus is on two distinct contexts: one in Europe or the United States, with verified, long-term data, and the second in Latin America, Asia or Africa, with little available (and no verified) data. These pilots -- which are designed to be highly adaptive and based on sound science -- are implemented and provide a forum that engages a wide range of stakeholders.
By 2025, there is capacity to perform valuable ecosystem services assessments in both the private and public sectors. A range of methods, models and databases are now in place to allow the measurement, monitoring and analysis of the stocks and flows of key ecosystem services. University programs are delivering trained professionals for all sectors. Coherent government policies and supporting regulations have evolved to include ecosystem services in way that is actionable for all sectors. Governments also now recognize the value of ecosystem services in their GDP calculations, which mesh with new parameters developed for corporate accounts in the learning labs that were seeded in 2013. The results are promising, as restoration and maintenance of ecosystem services is increasingly being documented around the world.
Looking Forward
What happens with ecosystem services is very much being decided now -- potentially through action and advocacy, or even through inaction and lack of investment. The question is, whose action and whose investment, and to what end?
The future is only now being written. And it remains to be seen whether the “eagle” will fly and pluck hapless prey, the “raccoon” will crawl forward, with business as usual, or a large numbers of egrets will lift off and fly together.

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Silver Springs DEP hearing draws over 500
Examiner.com - by Bruce Seaman
December 12, 2012
On Wednesday night, the cafeteria at Vanguard High School was packed with well over 500 attendees for a hearing on the future of Silver Springs Attraction hosted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The speakers ran the gamut with two sides becoming clear as the majority advocated for the takeover of Silver Springs as a state park, and a significant minority argued for a profit-making public-private partnership.
Silver Springs Attraction is currently leased by the State of Florida to Palace Entertainment which has indicated its willingness to surrender its lease. There was no disagreement in the audience that Palace should be relieved of its tenancy. Palace has become notorious for failing to maintain the attraction and is accused of siphoning profits instead of reinvesting in the property.
View slideshow: Silver Springs hearing players
Prominent environmental groups, both local and statewide, were represented and their comments calling for the state assumption of control of Silver Springs and coupling or merging it with the existing adjacent Silver River State Park were received enthusiastically by the audience. They generally endorsed the kind of light citizen usage that already occurs at many state parks and recreation areas, and reminded the DEP that there are ways of generating plenty of revenue. Speakers also cited the successful changes at Weeki Wachee Springs which had become run-down by a for-profit operator until the state took over in 2008.
A number of speakers commented not only on the degraded condition of the attraction, but also focused on the degradation of the waters and waterway by high levels of nitrates promoting rapid growth of algae in the water and vegetation into the water. The DEP officials urged speakers to focus on the future of the attraction, but the connection of an abused environment caused by unregulated human development was impossible to ignore, and applied to the context.
Opposite the environmentalists’ calls for conservation of Silver Springs as a state park were the promoters of a public-private partnership, including State Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala) who saw the park’s future as involving three actors; nature, government, and private business. His comments were echoed by Ocala City Councilman John McLeod.
Rock Gibboney, an Ocala native and member of the Marion County Parks and Recreation Advisory Council, has been the primary advocate for the introduction of another profit-making enterprise – click here for his January, 2011 op-ed on the subject which recounts his arguments. He cited his extensive work in developing the Rotary Sportsplex as a successful public-private partnership, even though it’s an apples-and-oranges comparison to Silver Springs.
Gibboney complained that the state couldn’t afford to pay for Silver Springs as a state park. This sounded stunningly hollow to many who have seen key human services budgets shredded in Tallahassee while tax breaks and corporate handouts worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, are maintained and expanded. His genuine concern for the well-being of the springs would be hard to question, yet his philosophy on maintaining a profit-making operation rang familiar.
Prominent conservative Republican businessman Brad Dinkins condemned Munroe Regional Medical Center (and all public hospitals) for being a potential taxpayer liability and has crusaded for many years to have it privatized, a goal he has nearly attained. Dinkins’ “profit priority” attitude seems to match Gibboney. Simply for Dinkins, if it’s public and (even potentially) taxpayer supported, it should be privatized and made profitable. This ridiculous ideology puts a price on everything and admits no other values.
Gibboney and other profiteer advocates couched their pitch by calling on DEP to give local citizens a voice through the participation of the Marion County Commission in future decisions. This would surely be the death knell for Silver Springs since the County Commission has proven its utter indifference to environmental concerns.
Local veterinarian and environmental activist Doug Shearer was the only speaker to point out the futility of entrusting the County Commission to do anything worthwhile. He reminded the DEP and the audience of how the commissioners considered water issues and did absolutely nothing, and failed to lift a finger since then. Meanwhile the condition of the waters at Silver Springs has continued its rapid decline from pristine waters into a progressively murky state.
Time constrained, Shearer was unable to mention how the County Commission had casually blown off its own designated “Farmland Preservation Area” in approving the Siemens development which situates hundreds of residences and a million square feet of offices plus retail space in rural Irvine off the I-75 exit at NW County 318. This is the first phase involving 150 acres of what was originally proposed as a 450 acre development with over 2 million square feet of office space. Commissioner Carl Zalak even expressed his delight at creating traffic congestion on C-318 as a positive sign of expanded economic activity. Say it with me: Farmland. Preservation. Area. Yeah, right.
The County Commission adores developers; citizens and conservation not so much. The County Commission is already footing a bill that is expected to top $30 million (that’s taxpayer money) so that developer John Rudnianyn can have an unnecessary exit on I-75 to make his adjacent property far, far, far more valuable. That interstate exit will foster new traffic flows that are expected to devastate the picturesque oak canopy of County 475 and 475A in the aptly named Shady area.
No, the County Commission doesn’t care much about natural beauty or conservation when any deep-pocketed developer unrolls their blueprints. Their attitude: preservation is a priority until someone wants to develop it.
Gibboney is hardly the cash cow behind the profit-making proposal, but the likelihood that it is one (or several) of our major developer types seems hard to avoid. Our county commissioners and state reps only develop that ambitious drool when big bucks are motivating events.
The people may have had a great deal to say on Wednesday night, but it’s clear how elected officials are lining up, and it is not behind those who want Silver Springs Attraction to become a state park. If folks truly want it to become a state park, they better hit the streets and turn up the political heat.
Suggested by the author:
Silver Springs: A natural Florida wonderland
Silver Springs in Ocala, Florida is a nature-lover's theme park
Silver Springs in Ocala is a nature theme park showcasing Florida's wild side (+video)

121211-a
Environmentalists urge Gov. Scott to resuscitate Florida's land-buying efforts
Palm Beach Post - by John Kennedy
December 11, 2012
TALLAHASSEE — Environmentalists said Tuesday that the state should sharply increase funding to buy conservation land, reversing a downward trend that they say threatens the Florida Forever program.
The push came as Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet endorsed a priority list of 27 potential land purchases that includes almost 500,000 acres of former ranchland, waterways, hammock and environmental reserve.
Scott and the legislature agreed to earmark only $8.5 million for the program this year. That’s down from an annual $300 million in land-buying authority given state environmental officials for Florida Forever until the recession led to wholesale budget-tightening.
 “There is no reason the state can’t be back in the land acquisition business,” said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon of Florida.
Draper added that for Scott and the Legislature to approve anything less than “$100 million next year means they’re not serious about the program.”
Florida’s improving economy has made more state dollars available, advocates said. The ability to borrow money also would be helped when the state’s debt obligation from the earlier Preservation 2000 land-buying program ends in two years.
Still, faced with the reduction in dollars, environmentalists in August launched a petition drive for a constitutional amendment that would guarantee a stable source of money for environmental protection.
The amendment is aimed at the November 2014 ballot and would dedicate one-third of the state’s documentary tax revenue to funding Florida Forever. The money could go to Everglades restoration, water protection and land buying for conservation.
Supporters said the amendment would separate environmental money from the state’s general revenue fund, which is controlled by the legislature. “We’re not trying to be greedy but we are trying to get the program going again,” Draper said of the $100 million pitch for next year.
The Department of Environmental Protection, in its budget request to lawmakers, is seeking $50 million for Florida Forever – but that would only be available when surplus land or buildings are sold by the state.
Scott two years ago vetoed a similar proposal — erasing a plan to give DEP $305 million in “spending authority,” but not actual dollars for Florida Forever.
Scott, though, didn’t commit to enhancing the environmental program. He said other demands – for schools and Medicaid spending – “doesn’t leave a lot of money.”
 “The priorities for me are, let’s make sure we have the right money for education,” Scott said. “But look, we want to take care of our environment.”

121211-b
In Florida, an actual bipartisan discussion on how to deal with climate change
ThinkProgress.org - by Christina DeConcini, Director of Legislative Affairs at the World Resources Institute
December 11, 2012
“Think globally, act locally” is a slogan that aptly describes what I witnessed last week at the Southeast Florida Climate Leadership Summit. At the event, local government officials from four counties gathered to discuss how to mitigate and adapt to climate change’s impacts.
Yep, you heard that correctly: government officials in the United States — in a “purple” state, no less — came together in a bipartisan manner to address climate change mitigation and adaptation. In fact, mayors, members of Congress, county commissioners, and officials in charge of water issues in the state discussed how to move forward with action plans in response to sea-level rise – a climate change impact which is not theoretical, but happening now.
Putting Aside Partisanship for Action
Unlike Congress, these public officials aren’t debating the facts of climate change and its impacts or whether we should act. They see current effects and understand that in the face of streets flooding more regularly, drinking water supplies threatened by salinization, and models showing that some neighborhoods could become uninhabitable, what political party you support is irrelevant. Climate change impacts like sea level rise don’t discriminate between Democrats and Republicans.
As Congress continues to fail to address climate change at the national level, local officials from Florida’s Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties—representing a combined population of 5.6 million—established the four-county Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact and recently completed a 110-point regional action plan. They have developed mitigation and adaptation strategies through joint efforts, which can inform policy-making and government funding at the state and federal levels.
Other Communities and Lawmakers Can Learn from South Florida
Panelists at the summit discussed the tens of millions of dollars already spent on new wells to replace those that have had saltwater seep into them and the hundreds of millions of dollars needed for new drainage systems in Miami. Meanwhile, people having side conversations talked of the Florida Keys eventually becoming a reef and parts of the state’s valuable beachfront property no longer being inhabitable. The fact that Florida is built on porous limestone makes the adaptation challenges even more daunting, as sea water will seep under any barriers that could be constructed.
Significantly, South Florida’s officials understand that they must also address the causes of climate change. They’ve included mitigation strategies as part of the action plan, including transitioning to cleaner energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through adoption of forward-thinking policies, such as a renewable energy standard. A lot of work remains to implement the action plan, but there is no disagreement on the need to act now.
Will Federal Lawmakers Take a Page from South Florida’s Book ?
The action plan by these local governments is a model for others to follow. However, we know that climate change is a global problem that will ultimately require national leadership. It’s admirable that local leaders in Southeast Florida are not waiting for that missing leadership before taking action, but it does raise real questions about Congress’s failure to act on climate change and its responsibility to protect American people and their property.
Two newly elected members of Congress spoke at the recent summit, providing some glimmers of hope at the federal level. Representative-elect Patrick Murphy (D-FL) said he would support climate change legislation and chastised politicians for “burying their heads in the sand.” Congresswoman Lois Frankel (D-FL) also committed to support federal action, saying “I will deal with it in a scientific way.” She noted that climate change is “not a partisan issue,” and “we cannot hide from it.”
Perhaps as more people at the local level respond to climate change, national policymakers will wake up and take action to protect our citizens and valuable resources from dangerous impacts. While local action is desperately needed and should be applauded, we ultimately need national leaders to lead on climate change.

121211-c
Local meeting on Central Everglades Planning Projects set for Dec. 13 in Stuart
TCPalm.com - news release
December 11, 2012
STUART — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, will have public meetings to present the proposed final array of alternatives for the Central Everglades Planning Project and give all interested individuals, groups and agencies an opportunity to comment and ask questions.
Five meetings will be conducted throughout South Florida through Dec. 18. At each, an open house will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by formal presentations and public comments from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
One of the meetings will be Dec. 13 at the Susan H. Johnson Auditorium, Wolf High-Technology Center, Indian River State College, Chastain Campus, 2400 S.E. Salerno Road, Stuart.

121211-d
Protecting Paradise: Water Management District may offer properties for sale
News-Press.com
December 11, 2012
Parcels range from farmland to island
Looking to buy 400 acres of farmland in North Fort Myers? How about half an island along the Caloosahatchee River?
This isn’t a pitch from a real estate agent — but a partial list of Lee County properties that the South Florida Water Management District may soon offer for sale.
The lands vary in size from one to several hundred acres and are mostly located around North River Road near Alva. The lands total more than 570 acres with an assessed value of more than $3.5 million.
From electric guitars and amplifiers to anesthesia machines, government agencies of all sorts and sizes auction all types of property on websites. Lee and Collier counties use govdeals.com to auction items such as office furniture and computer systems.
The source of these holdings vary, from police confiscations to donations from an individual.
 “Most of the (Lee) lands were purchased in the 1990s,” said Randy Smith with the Water Management District. “The reason they were purchased is the (U.S.) Army Corps of Engineers needed areas to store spoil material from the river.”
The assessed value of the Water Management District properties, which is set by the Lee County property appraiser’s office, ranges from a few thousand to $2.2 million for the 412-acre piece. Those figures are current and likely higher than the purchase prices from the 1990s, Smith said, and possibly lower than the properties will be listed at, if approved for sale.
Because district board members haven’t formally approved selling off the Lee lands, there is no asking price at this time. How much the district paid for the lands wasn’t available. Smith said Friday that he and other district officials were digging through paper records from the 1990s to find out how much the state spent on the eight properties.
One property consists of nearly half an island in the middle of the Caloosahatchee River just east of the Highway 31 bridge. The island parcel also includes a piece of mainland property that could be used to access the island itself.
“That one kind of stuck out to me,” Smith said.
It’s not uncommon for government agencies to purchase, own and sell land, as well as construction gear and office supplies. One California agency is auctioning two Imre Buvary paintings, oil works that feature landscapes from Paris near Notre Dame. A pair of imitation Rolex watches were recently listed by California for just over $300.
South Carolina recently sold a collection of 34 “miscellaneous” watches for nearly $200, but not before setting aside 13 Timex brand watches in a separate collection. Bidding on the Timex collection started at $25.
Smith said the Water Management District properties will likely be evaluated by board members and considered for sale in the future. The district has not identified any lands in Collier County that may qualify for surplus sale.
A further look into government lands for sale in Lee County shows the school district with two properties listed at more than $2.5 million combined. One property, the Hipps Complex at 2160 Alicia St. in downtown Fort Myers, is listed at $792,500, according to Lee County School District spokesman Joe Donzelli. The other piece, the Adams building at 2055 Central Ave. in Fort Myers, is priced at $1.7 million.
Lee County, outside of the school district, does not have land for sale.
 “We did a real sweep of our inventory five or six years ago,” said Karen Maguire, Lee County director of county lands.
Government land deals can be tricky, mostly because the agency is not buying or selling simply for profit or according to market trends. Take Lehigh Acres, for example. Lee County owns nearly 90 vacant parcels there, Maguire said.
She suggested county commissioners sell the lots years ago when market value hovered around $50,000 per lot. Such a sale would have put about $4.5 to $6 million in Lee County’s general fund, although selling those lots today (after the real estate crash) would only garner a fraction of that amount, more like $600,000.
 “The board, in the past, has suggested these lots for affordable housing,” Maguire said.
The properties were transferred to Lee County via the Florida Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, which defines how local and state agencies deal with unclaimed real estate.

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Best
Management
Practice
in agriculture

121210-a
BMPs help protect the environment, your farm from added rules
TheGrower.com – by Renee Stern
December 10, 2012
Signing onto Florida's year-old best management practices guidelines for specialty fruits and nuts not only aids your efforts to protect water quality around your farm.
It also helps protect your operation from some additional regulations.
Participating growers "receive a presumption of compliance" with the state's water quality requirements, says Bill Bartnick, environmental administrator at the Florida Department of Agriculture in Tallahassee. Those growers don't need to monitor water quality and nutrient discharge limits.
In addition, growers inside a basin management action plan but not enrolled in the BMP program may have to pay for water quality monitoring to demonstrate compliance and take any required remedial action.
Most growers already use at least some of the science-based practices outlined in the guidelines.
"Why not get credit for it?" says Kerry Kates, director of water and natural resources for Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association in Maitland.
Louise King, vice president of the Tropical Fruit Growers of South Florida Inc., signed up her operation, Royal Grove Nursery in Homestead, for the guidelines as soon as they were adopted.
"I wanted to be in compliance and not be blamed for something I didn't do," King says.
"It's an insurance policy," says Jerry Mixon, director of domestic production for Dole Berry Co. "And it's a free or low-cost policy because they're things we were already doing."
Dole acquired the Haines City-based Mixon Family Farm last year.
So far, 19 specialty fruit and nut producers have enrolled in the program, covering just over 3,500 acres. More than 7 million acres altogether fall under all of the state's BMP guidelines, covering crops from citrus to vegetables as well as cattle, container nursery and sod operations.
The specialty fruit and nuts manual is among the latest in a decade-long series that started with Florida's largest agricultural land uses, Bartnick says. Growers collaborate with state regulators and University of Florida researchers to develop each version, which is slated for review and revision every five years.
New bird-hazing section
The manual outlines six main categories of best practices, including nutrient, irrigation and stormwater management.
Integrated pest management also is included, focusing not only on pesticide applications but also on bird-hazing devices such as propane cannons.
That section was added to offer protection against city or county efforts to adopt noise ordinances that might otherwise prohibit using sound devices, Bartnick says.
It's a particular concern for the state's burgeoning blueberry industry, Mixon says.
"We have a lot of small growers," he says. The IPM provision "gave them a way to say to their neighbors 'I'm sorry you're angry [about the noise], but I'm following the BMPs and I'm in compliance.'"
Greater focus on water management
But the overall focus on water quality also appeals to growers. "All of us want good quality water," Mixon says. "This shows everyone you're trying to be a good neighbor."
"We have so much water here and we want to keep our rivers, lakes, streams and springs clean and healthy," Kates says. "This is a way for agriculture to do our part."
Mixon farms in two locations with different challenges for nutrient and irrigation management, one sited near a wetland, the other on higher ground. But he hasn't found the guidelines restrictive.
"Most, if not all of the practices, make good farming sense," he says. He changed very little in his operation to comply.
Getting in the record-keeping habit
Documenting their existing efforts is likely the biggest change most growers will face, King says.
But, she and Mixon point out, growers already are in the record-keeping habit to meet food safety requirements.
"We're trying to making it as unintrusive as possible," says Brian Boman, professor of agricultural and biological engineering at the University of Florida's Indian River Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce.
The required records also help growers track decisions and results, such as the timing and amount of irrigation or fertilizer.
"It should make them better farmers," Boman says.
"Why would you want to put more fertilizer on than you need to and see it get washed away?" King says.
The guidelines strive for flexibility to account for differences among individual operations.
"What might be a challenge for someone in Levy County is different for someone in Miami-Dade," Boman says.
The overall goal is to encourage adoption of alternative methods that "might be more economical or no more costly and at the same time better for the environment," he says.
Boman runs implementation teams that offer growers one-on-one assessments and advice on the guidelines.
Growers also can turn to the state's mobile irrigation labs for a free diagnostic tune-up, Bartnick says.
Recent editions of the guidelines, including the set for specialty fruit and nuts, show a greater emphasis on water management and conservation, Kates says.
Water conservation will be a perpetual concern from here on out.
"That's never going to go away," he says.
These practices often lead to reductions in water and fertilizer use, as well as less runoff from the farm, Kates says.
Some are simple: building grassed swales to control erosion or holding as much runoff as possible on the farm during stormwater events.
Many growers are updating irrigation systems for added efficiency or using reclaimed water where feasible. Tailwater recovery systems—collecting applied irrigation water for later reuse in on-site ponds, where nutrients settle out—are one option that saves water and reduces runoff, Kates says.
It's becoming a popular option for strawberry and blueberry growers, who can also tap the collected water for freeze protection when needed, he says.
Despite state and federal budget cuts, cost-share funds still are available to help growers add tailwater recovery systems or implement other new practices under the guidelines, Kates says.

121210-b
Florida Cabinet to address Forever Florida priority list
Tallahassee.com - byArek Sarkissian II
December 10, 2012
Florida Capital Bureau
The last Cabinet meeting of the year on Tuesday will include updates on the Florida Forever priority list and the state’s investments.
The Florida Forever priority list includes The Grove, which served as the former home for Gov. LeRoy Collins and his wife, Mary Call Collins, that the state planned to turn into a museum. In March, the Cabinet voted to purchase two lots next to The Grove for $580,000 despite a lawsuit saying it did not have the right to do so.
The priority list also includes Wakulla Springs, and stretches along the Apalachicola River. Officials with the Department of Environmental Protection have said they will focus on projects that are mostly done, impact water quality, access or provide a buffer from military bases.
As for the state investments, the Cabinet is expected to learn more about the Florida Retirement System. In its last meeting on Oct. 23, State Board of Administration Chief Ash Williams told cabinet members the complicated FRS formula would need an adjustment to make the fund solvent in the future.
The cabinet meeting starts at 9 a.m. in the lower level of the Capitol.

121210-c
Florida eyeing possibility of Silver Springs becoming a state park
Orlando Sentinel - by Ludmilla Lelis
December 10, 2012
The possibility of Silver Springs, one of Florida's oldest tourist attractions, becoming a state park will be discussed at a workshop on Wednesday.
The public meeting will offer a first glimpse at what the future might hold for the attraction near Ocala. Silver Springs could follow the fate of Weeki Wachee Springs, the attraction famous for its mermaid show, which was privately run until it became a state park in 2008.
Palace Entertainment, a California company that runs 40 parks and family entertainment centers, leases Silver Springs from the state. The springs are located on the state's 5,000-acre Silver River State Park.
The lease remains in effect until 2029.
Patrick Gillespie, press secretary for the state Department of Environmental Protection, confirmed there have been discussions between the company and the Division of State Lands about ending the lease early.
Tourists began visiting Silver Springs since before the Civil War, and glass-bottom boat tours started there in 1878. Six of the original "Tarzan" movies starring Johnny Weissmuller were filmed there.
However, there has been growing outcry about the health of the springs as its water flow has diminished and pollution has increased. The park is popular with many for its concert series, which in the past has drawn stars such as Willie Nelson and Glen Campbell.
Palace Entertainment still cares about the park but declined to discuss the lease, said Mike Friscia, vice president of the company's water park division.
"We will always keep an open mind about what may be the best long-term interests of the park, the surrounding community, and the State of Florida in general," Friscia said in a statement.
Wednesday's workshop is meant to gauge public opinion on how the attraction could be managed as a state park and what recreation could be offered there. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. at Vanguard High School, 7 N.W. 28th St., Ocala.

121210-d
Florida wetlands fight headed to U.S. Supreme Court
Jacksonville.com - by Matt Dixon
December 10, 2012J
After nearly 20 years of courtroom skirmishes, a property owner’s fight with  the St. Johns River Water Management District over developing a few acres will  be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The outcome could change rules on what concessions government agencies can  expect when owners seek permits for construction.
 “This case is going to have an impact, either way,” said Michael Jones, a  Central Florida attorney who has been part of the dispute since 1994.
In November of last year, the Florida Supreme Court rejected landowner Coy Koontz Jr.’s complaint that the water management district violated his rights by  setting unreasonable conditions on a permit he would need to develop family  property.
Koontz persisted, and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed in the fall to hear  arguments on the case in January. His supporters see big stakes.
 “We’re seeing these abuses of the permit process across the country,” said  Brian Hodges, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, which is  representing Koontz.

121210-e
Taking on red tide scourge
Gasparilla Gazette – by Terry O’Connor, Editor
December 10, 2012
New tougher state pollution standards are being touted as a remediation for declining Florida water quality, which has been damaged repeatedly by red tide and other scourges.
Late Friday, Nov. 30, the EPA agreed to immediately propose strict, enforceable limits to reduce water pollution that causes toxic algae and slime.
The pollution standards will cover 100,000 miles of Florida waterways, including all of those surrounding Gasparilla Island, and 4,000 square miles of estuaries, including all of those draining into the Charlotte Harbor.
"This is a huge step forward in protecting and restoring our state's natural resources," said Holly Greening, executive director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program in St. Petersburg.
The feds also accepted science-based recommendations from the National Estuary Programs in Florida. The rule changes include the estuarine numeric nutrient criteria proposed by Charlotte Harbor, Sarasota and Tampa NEPs.
"This is a great example of how local, state and federal entities can work together, with our public and private partners, to develop the strong technical basis of effective policies for clean waters and the aquatic resources that they support," said Lisa Beever, director of the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program.
The tougher standards come not a moment too soon, according to the new report "Valuing Florida's Clean Waters," which shows red tide costs the Sunshine State billions annually. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus in the water can make algae grow so quickly it overwhelms an ecosystem, which causes Florida millions more in annual dollar losses than any other state.
The report by Elizabeth Stanton and Matthew Taylor of the Stockholm Environment Institute U.S. Center came out the same week the new Florida water quality standards were passed.
Environmental advocates had been pushing for higher standards for four years, said David Guest, attorney for Earthjustice in Florida.
"This sets the gold standard for the United States," Guest said. "These contaminants can and will be limited. Standards can be set and the problem can be stopped."
Florida and most other states have long had vague standards when it comes to how sewage, manure and fertilizer runoff are handled. The new EPA limits will take effect within a year and should prompt statewide changes in public and private sectors.
"Sewage treatment plants will have to be updated, cities will have to have better source controls on the pollutants that get into water and farmers are going to have to clean up their act," Guest told the Florida News Connection.
The prevalence of red tide outbreaks in Florida promoted an Earthjustice lawsuit against the EPA, which helped spur the tougher water quality standards.
Pollutants released by sewage plants, industries and farmers can cause red tide, which poses a public health hazard and has forced the closing of Florida beaches on many occasions.
Algae concentrations are becoming a problem in other states as well. The water quality report said it has been proven nutrient pollution causes large-scale degradation of water bodies.
"Such human-induced nutrient pollution is a leading cause of the degradation of water bodies in the United States, including Florida," the report concluded.

121209-a
For Lake Okeechobee, call plumber other than these procrastinators
TCPlam.com – Letter by Bob Poller, Port St. Lucie
December 9, 2012
Nathaniel Reed's Nov. 25 guest column defending the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is another example of "Kick the can down the road."
Lake Okeechobee's plumbers have yet to solve South Florida's water problems. After a $175 million start to build the Hoover Dike, there is no solution. It's 32 to 46 feet high, yet when the lake gets to 15 feet, the Corps of Engineers open the flood gates.
Since the 1960s and '70s it's more meetings, words and outlines of what needs to be done, along with threats that Hoover Dike at Lake O may break, fail or flood thousands of people. This dike has been a government make-work project for 80 years.
Why not build a dam that can permit water to flow south and into the River of Grass, the Everglades ? It's cheaper buying farmland, digging canals, culverts, and storage ponds than polluting and destroying Florida's waters, and the economy south of Lake O, the estuaries and oceans and reefs dependent on clean waters.
The state and the feds have perfected procrastination, and can-kicking.
Build a bridge over the Everglades, 5 to 10 miles long on U.S. 41 or U.S. 75 so water can pass under on its way to Florida Bay.
Stop the Band-Aid approach. There is poor support for the Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District because they have messed the plumbing up and now don't know what to do. Kick that can. Reed suggests not to blame the Corps or those water pros.
Add to that, Big Sugar and the farmers north of the lake who are good at kicking that can, too.

121209-b
Opportunity at Silver Springs
Ocala.com
December 9, 2012
A town meeting scheduled for Wednesday on the future of Silver Springs will provide everyone in attendance the rare opportunity to not only help change the face of the iconic springs, but the face of our community and the state as well — all for the better.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection will host the meeting in the Vanguard High School cafeteria at 7 p.m. to hear public comment on “potential future management of Silver Springs attraction as a state park.” Springs advocates are calling for as many local residents as possible to turn out in a show of support for returning Silver Springs to public control and, in turn, a restoration and renaissance of Florida’s first great tourist attraction.
DEP officials recognize that Silver Springs has become a rallying point for environmental advocates across they state who are worried, and justifiably so, about the steady deterioration not only of Silver Springs, but most of Florida’s more than 700 springs. While DEP has stepped up its rhetoric about rescuing the world’s greatest collection of freshwater springs from destruction in recent months, it lamentably has failed to back it up with quantifiable action.
Silver Springs offers our environmental regulators their best opportunity to show their commitment to reversing the degradation and overpumping that is destroying our springs. What better place to start in earnest saving our springs? What better place to show that our state government, like the people of Florida, does care about our water future? What better place to use as a living laboratory to determine what, exactly, it will take to clean up our increasingly polluted spring water for generations to come ?
The people of Ocala/Marion County need no tutorial on the importance of Silver Springs. They know it has been attracting visitors and stimulating commerce since man first inhabited these parts. They know when its water is cloudy and its floor is discolored that things are going terribly wrong and we must act to stop what is causing it.
DEP’s first move should be to place operational management of Silver Springs in public hands. Whether it be as a state park or as a joint state/county venture, as many are advocating, can be decided afterward. There is zero doubt that Silver Springs’ potential as a public park, as a regional draw for visitors, as a centerpiece of an ecotourism-driven economic boon, is an opportunity waiting to be tapped. But securing public control is the essential first step.
DEP should move expeditiously to place Silver Springs’ management in public hands. It should then undertake intense efforts to restore Silver Springs, developing best practices that can be duplicated at the hundreds of distressed and disappearing Florida springs statewide. Finally, it should engage local government and residents in developing a long-term plan for the springs’ future, both environmentally and economically.
The sad state of Silver Springs is clear. But it is time to quit looking at it as a problem and recognize that it can be a wonderful opportunity, a game-changer for our community and state.
And besides, as Jimmy Orth, executive director of St. Johns Riverkeeper, once said, “If we can’t save Silver Springs, what can we save ?”

121209-c
State's water rules better than the federal regulations, agencies say
Bradenton Herald – by Nick Williams
December 9, 2012
MANATEE -- State and private agencies in Florida say the federal government should have allowed the state to implement and regulate its own water rules, rather than having to follow pollution rules set forth by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency that they say will cost the state millions of dollars to reach compliance.
The federal water rules were in addition to rules drafted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to protect Florida's waterways from excess nitrogen and phosphorus, which cause algae blooms and contaminate drinking water sources.
State rules established numeric limits on pollution in Florida springs, lakes, streams and some estuaries outside of South Florida, which includes a major portion of the Everglades. The limits must not exceed a certain threshold more than once in a three-year period.
Pollutants in the Manatee River estuary, for example, must not exceed 0.37 ton of total phosphorus, 1.80 tons of nitrogen and 8.8 micrograms per liter of chlorophyll-A more than once in a three-year period.
Fortunately for Manatee, the county department of natural resources has already assured it meets the required estuary criteria.
"At first glance, we feel we're OK," said Rob Brown, the department's division manager of environment protection.
Brown said the Manatee River estuary is protected under the Tampa Bay Reasonable Assurance plan, but in regards to Manatee's lakes, streams and creeks, the county is in the process of trying to meet DEP and EPA requirements.
The EPA approved the state's rules but determined the rules do not cover certain waters. EPA then proposed federal numerical limits on the amount of nutrient pollution allowed in estuaries and coastal waters, as well as streams in South Florida, and Florida's inland waters. A notice was filed in federal court in Tallahassee last month requiring Florida to adopt the rules.
The action taken by EPA did not resonate well in Florida.
"The EPA's approval of DEP's numeric nutrient criteria benefits Floridians in that these rules are based on the best available science, will yield measurable environmental improvement and cost less to implement than the rules EPA had at one time proposed," said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
"However, in approving Florida's criteria, the EPA also proposed additional rules on some of Florida's estuaries and canals beyond what was proposed by the state.
"While I'm glad to see we're making progress, we will, undoubtedly, continue to debate this issue," Putnam said. "I will continue to work to ensure that Florida remains in control of Florida's own destiny."
Prior to the judge's ruling last month, DEP estimated it would cost between $51 million and $150 million each year to comply with its rules.
The implementation of the EPA's proposed rules, however, could potentially cost the state and the affected sectors an additional $239 million to $632 million annually.
Each household could see an additional cost of $44 to $108 annually, according to EPA documents.
Compliance could result in up to $100 million annually in ecological, human health and economic benefits, according to the EPA.
The state's DEP office defended its original draft proposal on water rules.
"Not only are the DEP rules the most comprehensive nutrient standards in the nation, they in fact go beyond the federal rules by including additional criteria which measure biological health, coverage for numerous additional water bodies, and provisions to take action for any adverse nutrient trends regardless of levels," Dee Ann Miller, spokeswoman for Florida's DEP, said in an email to the Bradenton Herald.
Compliance with federal rules may pose a challenge for the DEP, which recently removed 26 employees from its Southwest District office in Tampa and eliminated 14 vacant positions, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a national non-profit agency.
Florida's Farm Bureau backed the state's approach to water rules.
"We would have preferred for the EPA to say, 'Florida, you're better equipped,'" said Charles Shinn, the Farm Bureau's director of government and community affairs. "They should be patting DEP on the back because of the proactive stance they have taken."
Shinn, who said the Farm Bureau does not oppose the EPA's rules, said most of the waters that are of concern for agriculture use fall under state regulation, not the EPA.
The Farm Bureau has yet to determine how federal rules will affect farmers and ranchers in Florida, Shinn said.
Environmentalists, however, praised the EPA's decision.
"DEP has been deficient in water quality analysis and protection of water body for many years," said Glenn Compton, director of ManaSota-88, a regional environmental watchdog protection group.
"We have to look at the federal level for protection because the state is not doing it."
The EPA will hold a public hearing on its proposed rules Jan. 17-18 in Tampa.

121209-d
The New Normal, climate change is real
Examiner.com - by Valerie J. Amor
December 9, 2012
SE Florida Cliamte Change Leadership Summit.
Friday, December 7, 2012 was the last day of the two day 4th. Annual SE Florida Regional Climate Change Summit held in Jupiter, Florida. It concluded with the Mayors’ Climate Action Pledge signing ceremony.
Starting off the day was the first session: “Planning for Sea Level Rise” which was moderated by Lisa Interlandi of the Everglades Law Center. Thomas Ruppert, Florida Sea Grant discussed properties, protection at what cost and who pays it for in regards to areas of vulnerability. This was a hot topic as it directly addresses property rights adversely impacted by climate change particularly sea level rise.
View slideshow: Second day of 4th. Annual SE Florida Regional Climate Change Leadership Summit in Jupiter, Florida.
Charles Pattison, 1000 Friends of Florida, discussed Coastal High Hazard Areas requirements which are intended to protect human life, limit public expenditures and maintain and restore coastal areas. Noting that coastal management must address sea level rise, he commented that Broward County is the first to include climate change language in its comprehensive plan; other counties will need to do the same.
Speaker Julie Dennis, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, www.florida.org/adaptationplanning discussed its program, Planning for Sea Level Rise, as a partnership with four other organizations developed as a five year plan from research, assessments, pilot programs and in the final year to disseminate and perform outreach. Working with twelve different groups including the City of Fort Lauderdale it is intended to be a statewide model.
Richard Grosso, Professor of Law at Nova SE University highlighted notable points of The Climate Action Plan which includes many actionable areas identified as Action Adaptation Areas which can be politically difficult however, he stated that we must “put aside climate change…we should have been doing these things anyways”.
Despite that this can be politically charged, avoidance of the reality of climate change is “silly” stating that present and future projects brought forth for city approval need to have language that mandates higher elevations, public transportation and follow the guidelines of development that is included in the plan, calling on the state government to better support local efforts.
Again, the issue of property rights surfaced. Grosso clarified that under the law property is defined as having possible economic benefits even if it is for a lower use; for example capable of supporting a two rather than twenty story structure. Specifically discussing rebuilding in identified vulnerable areas, he included “stop the bleeding, stop subsidizing development in the wrong places”. While municipalities might consider that regulations could potentially be challenged in courts in the face of ongoing scientific debate, he added that the courts state there will always be debate however, if government acts on published scientific information, they have a legal ground to move forward. “We must lead not follow and insist that others do the same.”
Questioned about the Coastal Construction Control Line, Grosso responded that the line is readjusted about every seven years which can negatively affect properties. While it does not necessarily preclude development, it does change the requirements for building.
The second session: “Thinking Globally by Acting Locally – How Local Governments are Leading Us Forward to a Sustainable Future”
Karen Marcus, former Palm Beach Commissioner was joined by Broward County Mayor Commissioner Kristin Jacobs and Katie Sorenson, The Good Government Initiative. Marcus spoke about broader support of and to teach climate change in the schools to be better prepared. Sorenson mentioned that through The Good Government Initiative it teaches government officials how to do what they do better and to be more engaged in these issues. Commissioner Jacobs stressed relationships “climate change is not a four letter word, it is reality”.
Commissioner Jacobs stated that we are still the only four counties in the country to come together in a regional effort and that in order to move forward more areas must do the same. “We have become the pied piper…when we speak together we are united...we need to find those folks to stand up and lead”.
Chris Burgh of The Nature Conservancy asked about property, taxes and climate change to which Commissioner Jacobs responded she sees that some who will suffer but also an opportunity to drive better development such as sand wars to use recycled glass for beach re-nourishment using innovative thinking to create both better resiliency and be an economic driver.
The third session: “Municipal Showcase – Cities Leading the Way Toward a More Sustainable & Resilient Region” was moderated by Suzanne Torriente, City of Fort Lauderdale. As the panelists took turns to sharing their particular municipal challenges, Carisse LeJeune, Boynton Beach spoke of the difference between business = profit and government = triple bottom line; having to consider in every decision economic, environmental and social needs. She spoke at length regarding the city’s many accomplishments and awards stressing that their success stems from consensus building bringing together staff and city residents to focus on five target areas stressing the use of resolutions to maintain continuity independent of individuals to promote priorities; the best - using ordinances. A recent initiative “Blue way, green way” bike way promotes bicycles including a particular interest in addressing risk management and public health.
Shelia Rose, Coconut Creek, identified green actions included in the annual budget which ensured that they get implemented and measured to continue sustainable practices encouraging participants to “steal their [the city’s] plan”.
Vice Mayor Ted Blackburn, Islamorada lamented that “we” (the government) “don’t react until we get a frying pan in the face” and cited their reactive rather proactive response to building relocation and implementing mandatory sewer lines by the year 2015.
Fred Beckmann, Miami Beach, discussed the challenges of a stormwater management plan in a land area that is 7 sq. miles essentially a barrier island. With taxable property value of $23 billion, its permanent population of 88,000 swells to over double with the influx of beach visitors. Utilizing building dunes and walks to protect the coastline which are met with resistance from local hotels the stormwater master plan includes sea level rise in their computations addressing present sea level and the rate of its rise. Using the USACE middle line projection along with historical numbers to establish a baseline, they are currently utilizing backflow preventers, lots of stormwater pump stations, providing for future storage and to consider raise seawalls which is challenging since 90% are privately held

121208-
Southerland pleased with EPA decision
NewsHerald – by Matthew Beaton
December 8, 2012
PANAMA CITY — Congressman Steve Southerland is pleased the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accepted Florida’s updated waterway standards but remains concerned about the federal agency’s proposed rules for the state.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) new standards limit nitrogen and phosphorous levels in springs, lakes, streams and some estuaries. In high concentrations, these “nutrients” can cause rapid algae growth, harm water quality and contaminate drinking water supplies, according to the EPA.
The new standards give numeric nutrient criteria for nitrogen and phosphorous, setting limits on these pollutants. The standards are “virtually identical” to EPA’s 2010 rule, according to the federal agency.
The EPA, however, only will allow the standards to cover a portion of Florida’s waterways.
 “It was kind of a backhanded compliment,” Southerland, R-Panama City, said of the EPA decision.
The highest projection is FDEP standards will cover 28 percent of state waterways, not including South Florida, said Davina Marraccini, an EPA spokeswoman.
Including South Florida, the FDEP standards will cover just 15 percent of state waterways, according to Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm. Earthjustice filed a lawsuit years ago forcing the issue of EPA oversight on Florida under the Clean Water Act.
The lawsuit ultimately resulted in Florida and its waterways being held to higher water quality standards than the rest of the country, Southerland said.
 ‘Importing our violation’
Southerland said it doesn’t make sense to him that Florida is governed by standards different from its neighbors, because there are plenty of rivers and streams that flow into the state.
 “If Alabama and Georgia have to meet a (federal) standard but that standard is lower than the one Florida is having to meet, then we are literally importing our violation,” he said.
Southerland said he’s satisfied with FDEP’s latest standards and wants EPA to back off, but that’s not going to happen.
The federal agency’s recent decision came with two proposed nutrient rules for Florida — one sets nutrient limits for estuaries and coastal waters not covered by FDEP’s standards, and the other clarifies language on a 2010 EPA rule, setting nutrient limits for Florida’s inland waters.
The proposed rules rile Southerland. He said sometimes Washington is a bully and the EPA needs to be more sensible with its rules and regulations and should be concerned about the financial hardship it can cause.
Southerland’s solution to make EPA aware of those economic consequences is the State Waters Partnership Act (HR 3856). If passed, it would require the EPA to consider the economic impact before setting nutrient limits. The bill says the EPA should not enforce nutrient criteria that would negatively impact an economic sector by 15 percent.
Southerland has 13 cosponsors on the bill, all Florida representatives. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has a companion bill in the Senate, which has no cosponsors.
Southerland said he’s trying to move the bill through the committee process, hoping to attach it to a larger piece of legislation as an amendment. He said the chances of it becoming law in 2013 are “very good.”
Earthjustice attorney David Guest said the state has an obligation to set water standards like speed limit signs, giving a maximum on nutrient levels. He called the FDEP rules “totally bogus” and was unhappy EPA accepted its new standards.
EPA “was under intense political pressure. This issue had been a campaign issue,” he said

121207-a
Florida launches python prize hunt
WPTZ.com
December 7, 2012
Burmese pythons threaten state's ecosystem.
MIAMI (CNN) —
Burmese pythons have been threatening Florida's ecosystem for years, so the state is turning to the public for help in the form of a hunting contest to cull the population.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has announced the 2013 Python Challenge beginning in January.
"We are hoping to gauge from the python challenge the effectiveness of using an incentive-based model as a tool to address this problem," says Florida Wildlife Commission spokeswoman Carli Segelson.
A grand prize of $1,500 will be awarded to the person who kills the most pythons, and $1,000 will go to the person who bags the longest one. According to the rules, road kill will not be
Participants will pay a $25 registration fee and complete an online training course. The training focuses on safety while hunting pythons.
"It's very difficult to find these animals and we don't really have a good strategy on how to contain this population," said Linda Friar, spokeswoman for Everglades National Park. "This is a pilot to see if it will gain public interest in areas that you can hunt so that they would be able to remove and capture these snakes."
The Burmese python is native to Southeast Asia and was first found in the Everglades in 1979, according to researchers at the University of Florida.
These snakes were determined to be an established species in 2000. It is believed that the snakes were originally pets that found their way into Everglades National Park.
The Everglades, known as the river of grass, is a vast area with a climate perfect for the pythons to hide and thrive. And thrive they do: The largest Burmese python on record was found in the Everglades in August, its 17-foot, 6-inch carcass weighing in at 164.5 pounds. Researchers at the University of Florida found 87 eggs inside the snake.
Friar told CNN earlier this year that it is believed "tens of thousands" of Burmese pythons live in the Everglades.
Related:
Are pythons invading Georgia ?         The Augusta Chronicle
Florida to host statewide python-hunting contest      Fox News
A slithery threat to the Everglades    MiamiHerald.com
Florida's Challenge: $1K to Killer of Longest Python           Newser
Python Challenge: FWC Hosts Competition For Killing Most And ...          Huffington Post
Wildlife Department holds competition to eradicate invasive snakes            CBS-Miami

121207-b
South Florida summit message: Climate change is here
Miami Herald – by Curtis Morgan
December 7, 2012
Hurricane Sandy brought home to South Florida the risks of rising sea levels and has added urgency to a regional plan to shore up coastal defenses.
South Florida took the threat seriously before most everybody else, with four counties reaching a landmark compact in 2009 to work together to start addressing the risks of global warming.
But four years and one “super storm” named Sandy later, the risks to Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties — as well as much of coastal Florida — seem only bigger, scarier and no longer quite so far down the road.
An eye-opening example: Fort Lauderdale’s famous “strip,” where waves from Sandy, followed by routine high tides and heavy seas three weeks later, chewed away beach, seawall, sidewalk and roadbed, leaving a four-block-long swath of State Road A1A whittled from four lanes to two.
During a two-day regional climate change summit that ended Friday in Jupiter, political leaders and climate experts stressed two messages: One, South Florida faces a long, immensely costly war to protect its heavily developed coast and economy from the rising sea and increasingly destructive flooding from hurricanes like Sandy. Two, the “super storm” underlined why the region should quickly ramp up “adaptation” efforts and spending to reduce its exposure — from restoring beach dunes to building bigger sea walls to elevating roads and homes and maybe even moving them from the most vulnerable areas.
 “Planning is nice, but now it’s all about implementation,’’ said Susanne Torriente, an assistant city manager in Fort Lauderdale who helped craft a wide-ranging climate-change action plan approved by Broward and Monroe counties in the past few months. County commissions in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach are expected to consider the plans by early next year.
Fort Lauderdale, Torriente said, is working with Broward County and state transportation experts on shoring up its heavily eroded strip. Repairs will easily run into the tens of millions of dollars and include elevating some of the iconic strip or building beach dunes, which some residents have long resisted because it spoils the view from AIA.
 “Adaptation is not something we’re talking about in textbooks any more. It’s happening right in our backyard,” she said. “People like to see the water, but let’s be realistic.”
Though Sandy’s worst impacts were in the Northeast — where the storm killed more than 100 people, flooded New York City subways, swamped New Jersey coastal — it also caused extensive erosion along much of the South Florida coast.
While it remains uncertain what if any impact climate change had on Sandy, the devastating storm, which caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, gave both the public and political leaders across the country a glimpse of potential future scenarios. It also has injected new urgency in efforts in South Florida, many of the elected officials, planners, scientists, engineers and other experts at the annual regional summit agreed.
John Englander, an oceanographer who this year published a book called High Tide on Main Street, called Sandy a wake-up call for many coastal communities like Fort Lauderdale.
“People are starting to get increasing awareness to their vulnerability from storm surge,’’ he said. “They just can’t ignore the beach and walk away from billions of dollars worth of hotels.’’
With rising seas threatening to profoundly alter the landscape and life, South Florida has more at risk from climate change than any region in the country. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach alone have more than 5.5 million residents, more people than each of 30 entire states. Only 80,000 people live in Monroe, but the low-lying islands of the Keys rank among the nation’s most at-risk communities and will be the first measuring sticks of sea rise.
The threats go beyond surge from hurricanes or tropical storms.
With just an eight-inch sea level rise, drainage canals can lose 40 percent of capacity and salt intrusion will taint and squeeze underground drinking water aquifers. Several coastal cities in Broward are already spending tens of millions to move wells inland.
There are also increasing flooding risks from routine thunderstorms. The city of Miami Beach is already planning to spend more than $200 million to overhaul a drainage system that increasingly leaves streets flooded during high tides.
The compact’s draft projection of sea level in Southeast Florida — based on local trends and global forecasts — calls for a rise of three to seven inches by 2030 and nine to 24 inches by 2060. From there, many scientists predict the trend could accelerate. With a four-foot rise by 2100 — projected by Miami-Dade’s climate task force — the sea would cover much of the barrier islands and begin percolating up from the Everglades into low-lying western suburbs.
Jennifer Jurado, Broward’s director of natural resources management and planning, said the counties decided to collaborate to combine resources on a critical issue and, the counties hope, to increase clout with lawmakers in Tallahassee and Washington. A primary goal is to shape state and federal climate policies and steer more funding to South Florida communities most at risk.
 “It’s been a strong political commitment from these four counties,’’ she said. Three more counties, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River, this year are tapping into the work in an associated regional planning effort.
Still, there are major challenges to implementing plans that call for a wide-ranging overhaul of South Florida’s road, transit and sewer and water supply systems. The plan, for instance, doesn’t just call for elevating roads but for expanding mass transit to both protect transportation corridors and reduce greenhouse gases that scientists believe have worsened climate change.
Projects like raising seawalls, installing drainage pumps and moving well fields also will be costly to justify to counties and cities already struggling with slashed budgets.
Jurado said she doesn’t expect the region to do everything in “one fell swoop,” but rising tides — and future storms like Sandy — will increasingly force communities in coming decades to weigh the costs of adapting or potentially pulling back from vulnerable areas.

121207-c
Threat of rise in seas grows
DelmarvaNow.com
December 7, 2012
Ocean levels higher in new estimate.
Global sea levels are expected to rise by as much as 6.6 feet by the end of this century, a new estimate that increases the flooding threat of future storms like Sandy and expands the risk to more of the nation’s military, energy and commercial assets near the ocean, the U.S. government reported Thursday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s latest assessment included a worst-case, end-of-century rise that is more than three times higher than the most-recent United Nations outlook, and twice the mid-range number currently in use by Delaware officials for climate change and sea-level rise planning efforts.
Regardless of the extent of global warming and efforts to control it, NOAA also pointed out that oceans will continue to rise after 2100. The agency reports that 8 million people live in U.S. coastal areas at risk of flooding.
Despite uncertainty about the extent of sea-level rise, “what we do know is that higher mean sea levels will increase the frequency, magnitude and duration of flooding” from storms, says co-author and NOAA scientist Adam Parris. He says the biggest uncertainty is the amount of water that will come from melting glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica.
In the United States, NOAA finds the U.S. Gulf Coast and Chesapeake Bay will continue to experience the most rapid and highest amounts of sea level rise, because some of the land there is subsiding. It says parts of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, where land is rising, may experience much less or no sea level change.
Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control reported earlier this year that a sea-level rise of up to 5 feet could flood 5 percent of the state’s residences – affecting as many as 20,000 addresses, and a similar percentage of commercial properties, as well as up to 8 percent of industrial and manufacturing sites. Although all three counties and Wilmington could see substantial losses of resources, Sussex County would be hardest hit, with up to 11 percent of its land area flooded.
Storms and high water already have created serious problems across the state, with increased salt-water flooding reported from the Port of Wilmington to coastal Sussex and to farm fields in between. East of Milford salty waves have broken through protective dunes along Delaware Bay, devastating large freshwater wetland tracts and causing repeated shutdowns of the only public road for Prime Hook Beach residents.
The report by NOAA’s Climate Program Office, based on the latest scientific research and compiled by government and academic scientists, looks at four different scenarios for future change. It sees a greater than 90 percent chance that global mean sea-level will rise at least 8 inches but less than 6.6 feet, depending on ice sheet loss and ocean warming.
Scientists largely agree that sea levels worldwide are now about a foot higher than a century ago, because seawater expands in warmer oceans.
The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said sea levels will rise at least 2 feet this century, but NASA climate scientist James Hansen and Stanford’s Ken Caldeira reported last year that sea level could rise more than 3 feet by 2100 because of ice sheet melting not accounted for in the 2007 report.
In June, the U.S. Geological Survey reported in the journal Nature Climate Change that sea level rise along the U.S. Atlantic Coast has been climbing at a rate three to four times higher than the global average since 1950 – now about 1.5 inches per decade.
NOAA’s report, designed to help U.S. policymakers assess the risks associated with sea level rise, was prepared by scientists at its agency as well as those from NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Columbia University, the University of Maryland, the University of Florida and the South Florida Water Management District.
An international scientific panel is expected to update the U.N.’s climate change and sea-level rise forecasts next year, factoring in ice-melt estimates that were omitted from the current assessment, originally published in 2007.
The current U.N. sea-level rise estimates range from 7 inches to 24 inches by the end of the century without accounting for ice-melt, numbers far below those developed by more-recent studies.

121207-d
Why Florida’s giant python hunting contest is a bad idea
Scientific American - by Kate Wong
December 7, 2012
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has announced that it will hold a month-long competition starting January 12, 2013,  “to see who can harvest the longest and the most Burmese pythons” from designated public lands in southern Florida. The goal is to raise awareness about the threat this invasive species poses to the Everglades ecosystem, and to generate “additional information on the python population in south Florida and enhance our research and management efforts.” Python hunting permit holders, as well as members of the general public, are invited to compete for the cash prizes of $1500 for the most pythons killed and $1000 for the longest python killed.
The Burmese python is one of the largest snakes in the world. (In August researchers at the University of Florida reported the capture of a 17.7-foot-long specimen—the biggest one ever found in the state.) And there’s good evidence that these constricting snakes, which are native to Asia, are bad news for the Everglades ecosystem. In January researchers published a paper implicating the python in the dramatic decline of raccoons, bobcats and other mammals there.
But allowing anyone over the age of 18 to register and go out and hunt giant snakes on public lands? What could possibly go wrong?
Contest rules require that all participants complete a 30-minute online training course on detecting and documenting the pythons and that they dispatch the snakes “using humane methods,” guidelines for which are available. But compare those rules to the more stringent requirements already on the books for obtaining an FWC  python removal permit, which specify that applicants must, among other things, “have experience capturing wild snakes, handling aggressive snakes and working in remote areas.”
How reliably can a novice sort Burmese pythons from native Florida snakes—some of which are venomous—in the wild after 30 minutes of preparation online? And obvious human safety concerns aside, can someone who has never handled snakes before really be counted on to kill a large constrictor humanely in the heat of the moment? Check out those euthanasia guidelines—they’re more complicated than you might think.
The Burmese python is a very real problem for Florida’s residents—humans and wildlife alike. But the 2013 Python Challenge does not seem like the wisest way to tackle it.

121206-a
Big Oil threatens Everglades with fracking
PSL.org - by John Peter Daly
December 6, 2012
Florida governor supports attack on environment
Big oil and gas companies are pushing forward with plans to begin “fracking” in Florida on land just outside the Big Cypress National Preserve—the gateway to the Florida Everglades—just 45 miles west of Miami. The Everglades are part of a water system of subtropical wetlands in Florida that extends throughout the southern part of the state.
Fracking, or induced hydraulic fracturing, is a big profit-making technology that extracts oil and gas by injecting water, sand and chemicals into rock to access previously unreachable reserves. Fracking is linked to climate change in the long term but has the immediate effect of water contamination. In other areas, “fracked” water has become flammable.
The Everglades rest on a limestone shelf leading out into the Florida Bay connecting to Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River. This means that fracking in Florida puts the state’s entire water system at risk of contamination. Big Cypress National Preserve, part of the Everglades ecosystem, by itself constitues 42 percent of the water in the Everglades.
The Environmental Protection Agency has exempted oil and gas companies from complying with “green completion” measures that would at the very least force them to remove contaminated waste from sites where oil and gas are extracted by means of fracking until 2015.
However, bans and moratoriums have gone into effect in other states such as Vermont, Maryland and North Carolina, from emerging movements of people opposed to the continued destructive quest for more fossil fuels, which is central to the creation of world-wide climate change.
Not everyone agrees. “It’s nothing to be afraid of,” claims Ed Pollister from Century Oil, one such company that is waiting for approval of the Department of Environmental Protection overseen by Republican Governor Rick Scott to begin fracking. Scott himself promotes the fairy tale that climate change is not real—and approval means big profits for oil and gas companies, along with a tremendous environmental disaster.
 “Fracking is inevitable in South Florida, maybe within a year,” continued Pollister. What Pollister and the big oil and gas companies may not realize is the potential of a people’s movement to push back against environmental destruction, and fight for a change where the people and the planet come before profits, especially from fracking.

121206-b
Efforts to preserve the Everglades press on
GreenvilleOnline.com
December 6, 2012
In 1947, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas wrote in her environmental classic, “The River of Grass.” In it, she states:
 “There are no other Everglades in the world.
 “They are, they always have been, one of the unique regions of the Earth, remote, never wholly known.”
It was a testament to a change in perspective.
The first reports to the American government about the Everglades called them “suitable only for the haunt of noxious vermin, or the resort of pestilential reptiles.” The determination was to drain, burn and develop the swamp (though it is really a massive marsh) for farms and neighborhoods.
But it turned out that some of the noxious vermin that were suitable to the Everglades were people who wanted to preserve the unique ecosystem they encompass.
On Dec. 6, 1947, President Harry Truman dedicated the Everglades National Park, setting aside the southernmost 20 percent of the vast swamps, bogs, hillocks and marsh that Douglas came to love. The designation did not immediately save the fragile environment from the effects of water diversion for agricultural purposes, flood control and commercial development.
In his 1938 report on the Everglades National Park project, Daniel Beard, who later became the park’s first superintendent, wrote:
 “Practically without exception, areas that have been turned over to the National Park Service as national parks have been of superlative value with existing features so outstanding that if the Service were able to merely retain the status quo, the job was a success. This will not be true of the Everglades National Park. The reasons for even considering the lower tip of Florida as a national park are 90 percent biological ones, and hence highly perishable. Primitive conditions have been changed by the hand of man, abundant wildlife resources exploited, woodland and prairie burned and reburned, water levels altered, and all the attendant, less obvious ecological conditions disturbed.”
The idea of an Everglades National Park was first promoted by Ernest F. Coe and others in the 1920s to stop the draining and development of what was considered swampland. They wanted to stop the wholesale slaughter of birds (mostly for their feathers as millinery decorations) and the decimation of the wild orchids.
Coe had been a landscape designer in the Northeast, and he moved to Miami in 1922. He became a member of the Florida Society of Natural History, which was instrumental in the establishment of the Royal Palm State Park on the eastern edge of the Everglades, near Homestead.
In 1928, Coe was chosen to chair the Everglades Tropical National Park Association with Douglas, University of Miami President Bowman Ashe and famed botanist David Fairchild on the committee. Sen. Duncan Fletcher and Rep. Ruth Bryan Owen introduced legislation and began touring congressmen by auto, boat and blimp through the Everglades.
His zeal may have alienated some, but in 1934 Congress approved the park. The approval contained no funding, so Coe began raising money and convincing skeptics that a park would be successful in attracting tourists without destroying the environment it would protect.
Coe wanted a vast park, 2,500 square miles, from Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Keys, including Key Largo, coral reefs and the Big Cypress Swamp. The park Truman dedicated was 2,000 square miles, broken up and spread about the area south of the Tamiami Trail.
Agricultural and commercial development around the Everglades continued, and the water diverted for those projects eventually endangered the park. President George H.W. Bush in 1989 and President Bill Clinton in 2000 signed legislation to restore natural flows of water and preserve the ecosystem. But the Everglades face many challenges as the desires of conservationists continue to clash with growth in South Florida.

121206-c
Florida makes progress to improve water quality
Miami Herald - by Gwen Keyes Fleming, Southeast Regional Administrator of the EPA
December 6, 2012
Nutrient pollution, the excess nitrogen and phosphorus that causes algal blooms and fish kills, is a major source of water quality impairment across the state. Nutrient pollution threatens human health and the environment, hurts businesses and costs jobs, reduces property values, diminishes recreational opportunities and impacts your quality of life.
EPA has long held that limits are necessary to protect Florida’s waters from nutrient pollution. The Clean Water Act designates primary responsibility for protecting water quality with states, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has worked for years to collect data on the condition of statewide waters and adopt its own numeric nutrient standards. Recently, EPA approved FDEP’s revised rules to reduce nutrient pollution in Florida’s treasured waters.
After careful review, EPA determined these rules and supporting documentation meet Clean Water Act requirements and applicable federal regulations for the water bodies they cover. EPA commends the FDEP for taking this significant step towards protecting and restoring the quality of Florida’s waters.
The Florida department’s rules use scientifically sound approaches to protect the many uses of the state’s waters — from fishing and swimming to drinking. Because Florida and EPA worked together to develop the science, the numeric limits for nitrogen and phosphorus in springs, lakes and streams (outside South Florida) are virtually identical to those in EPA’s 2010 rule developed to protect these same waters.
The Florida agency also has adopted additional biological and chemical indicators that are used to identify and prevent nutrient pollution in streams and protect sensitive downstream waters. These tools were used by the state in the Santa Fe River to determine that it was impaired and needed restoration. Using numeric limits has also helped protect estuaries in Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor, and South Florida marine waters.
We are pleased that FDEP has also recently adopted numeric limits for nutrient pollution in additional Panhandle estuaries, and we look forward to receiving these for review. However, in accordance with a 2009 consent decree with the Florida Wildlife Federation, EPA is also proposing two federal nutrient rules for only those waters not already protected by Florida’s new standards.
The first rule proposes numeric limits on the amount of nutrient pollution allowed in Florida’s estuaries and coastal waters, as well as in flowing waters in South Florida.
The other serves to clarify some provisions in EPA’s 2010 rule and proposes numeric limits on the amount of nutrient pollution for those inland waters not addressed in the FDEP’s current rules.
These common sense measures will help protect the water that communities across Florida use for drinking, swimming, and fishing. EPA welcomes public comment on its proposals and will host a public information session and web-based public hearings to gather input.
While EPA is prepared to finalize these rules next year under its consent decree obligations, it is also prepared not to move forward and instead defer to Florida’s rules for any Florida waters that become protected under state law in accordance with Clean Water Act requirements.
Clean water is vital for Florida, and the state is now on a path to establishing and implementing its own nutrient pollution rules that will allow everyone to enjoy cleaner water.

121206-d
South Florida steps up efforts to brace for climate change
Sun Sentinel - by Andy Reid
December 6, 2012
Raising low-lying roads. Building higher seawalls. Strapping on more solar panels.
The threat of rising seas has more South Florida officials shifting from "What if?" to "What do we do?" when it comes to dealing with climate change.
South Florida scientists, government officials, representatives from Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties and environmental leaders converged on Palm Beach County Thursday to coordinate their fight against climate change.
Scary as the potential repercussions of climate change — and the potential public costs — may be, officials said the time has come to take action.
"Our responsibility as local government is to protect our citizens," Palm Beach County Commission Chairman Steven Abrams told the attendees of the two-day summit, which wraps up Friday. "We have to be prepared and realistic [about] the potential risks and the potential costs."
From the eroded Jupiter beach just steps from the group's meeting room to a section of State Road A1A in Fort Lauderdale recently eaten away by waves, South Florida officials say they are already dealing with the consequences of climate change.
Even if climate change isn't to blame for the increased local erosion that followed Hurricane Sandy, rising sea levels and expectations for intensified future storms is already affecting the decisions about how to reconstruct roads and shoreline.
In Fort Lauderdale, that could mean adding protective beach dunes and building A1A on higher ground than before, said Susanne Torriente, Fort Lauderdale's assistant city manager who is on the team that helped craft the plan.
"We can't close our eyes to what is happening with this extreme weather," Torriente said. "We want to build and we want to adapt to what's happening in our world."
Weather experts say climate change is amplified by man-made pollution from burning fossil fuels, which produces more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that capture the sun's heat. That melts ice sheets and swells oceans, projected to boost rising sea levels.
South Florida sea levels rose about 8 inches during the past century, but are projected to increase as much as 1 foot as early as 2040 and could go up 2 feet by 2060, according to scientific projections.
The potential threats include more flooding, more saltwater seeping in and fouling drinking water supplies, and stronger, more frequent hurricanes.
The southeast Florida climate change plan, finalized this year, seeks to help local communities take a regional approach to preparing for everything from sea level rise to protecting drinking water supplies.
Building elevated roads, imposing tougher development regulations for particularly vulnerable areas, moving drinking water wellfields farther inland, broadening the use of public transportation and encouraging the use of solar power and other green energies are among the recommendations.
Raising seawalls, adding pumps, storing more stormwater to supplement drinking water supplies, planting more trees in urban areas and protecting more farmland and remaining open spaces from development are also among the goals.
"There are investments we can be making to reduce [climate change] vulnerabilities," said Jennifer Jurado, Broward County's director of Natural Resources Planning and Management, who helped create the plan.
Broward and Monroe counties have already approved the plan, with Palm Beach and Miami-Dade expected to take it up after the first of the year. Next comes pushing for a host of South Florida cities to officially sign on to what supporters say could become a model for other parts of the country.
The cost to taxpayers for implementing the host of recommendations remains a significant hurdle, as well as coordinating the efforts of county and municipal governments that don't always get along.
No region in the country has tried to tackle climate change on the same scale as what the four South Florida counties propose, according to Ron Sims, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"The issue is whether or not our children and our grandchildren and their children's world will be better than our own," Sims told the South Florida representatives during his keynote speech Thursday. "If you can't do it, it won't get done."
The fear and uncertainty over climate change needs to give way to action, according to Sam Merrill, of Catalysis Adaptation Partners, consulting firm that specializes in planning for sea level rise
"Sandy has shown us something," Merrill said. "This is politics free … We are all getting wet together."

121206-e
USA: Series of Public Meetings Scheduled for CEPP
DredgingToday.com
December 6, 2012
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Jacksonville District will be holding a series of public meetings to present the proposed final array of alternatives for the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) and give all interested individuals, groups and agencies an opportunity to comment and ask questions.
Five meetings will be held throughout south Florida between Dec. 10 and Dec. 18. Each meeting will host an open house from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by formal presentations and public comments from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
- Dec. 10 – Embassy Suites Fort Myers-Estero, Heron & Ibis Room, 10450 Corkscrew Commons Drive, Estero
- Dec.11 – John D. Campbell Agricultural Center Auditorium, 18710 SW 288th Street, Homestead
- Dec. 12 – John Boy Auditorium, 1200 South W.C. Owen Avenue, Clewiston
- Dec. 13 – Susan H. Johnson Auditorium, Wolf High-Technology Center, Indian River State College, Chastain Campus, 2400 SE Salerno Road, Stuart
- Dec. 18 – Fern Forest Nature Center’s Main Hall, 201 S. Lyons Rd., Coconut Creek.
 “Public participation has been — and will continue to be — an invaluable part of the Central Everglades Planning Project,” said Kim Taplin, USACE project supervisor. “These meetings will further ensure that the Corps and our partner, the South Florida Water Management District, receive the public input needed to make sure we are developing an understandable and broadly supported path forward.”
The goal of the Central Everglades Planning Project is to deliver within two years a finalized plan, known as a Project Implementation Report, for a suite of restoration projects in the central Everglades to prepare for congressional authorization as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). USACE is jointly conducting this planning effort with the South Florida Water Management District.

121205-b
Marshall Foundation announces Champion of The Everglades Awards
Sun Sentinel – by Jan Engoren
December 5, 2012
Nancy Marshall, president of the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation for the Everglades, founded in 1998, who works for the restoration and preservation of the greater Everglades ecosystem, will present awards to recipients of the nonprofit organization's fifth annual Champion of the Everglades Awards.
Honorees include the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar; Ron Bergeron, member of the Florida Wildlife Commission; and the Florida Wildlife Federation, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary.
As Secretary of the Interior and a former senator from Colorado, Salazar works to protect the nation's lands, wildlife, history and culture and has been an effective and tireless supporter of Everglades preservation and restoration, as part of the Obama administration's support of the ecosystem.
Bergeron, president and owner of Bergeron Family of Companies, and an eighth generation Floridian, is passionate about saving the Everglades and protecting its wildlife. Currently he serves as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission over the Everglades.
The Florida Wildlife Federation, a nonprofit citizens' conservation education organization composed of concerned citizens from who work together to preserve, manage, and improve Florida's fish, wildlife, soil, water and plant life.
"The Marshall Foundation is proud to spotlight individuals and organizations that have made an outstanding contribution toward Everglades restoration over many years," Marshall said.
"Individually, each of our three Champions of the Everglades continues to inspire us for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of the River of Grass. But collectively, they have been instrumental in forging both popular and governmental support for reviving, restoring and preserving one of America's greatest natural treasures."
The awards will be presented at the Marshall Foundation's River of Grass Gala on Saturday at The Colony Hotel Pavilion,155 Hammon Ave., in Palm Beach.
Tickets are $350 per person. Call  561-233-9004  or visit artmarshall.org

121205-c
Natural Water Supply: Analyze Floridan Aquifer
NewsChief.com
December 5, 2012
For White Springs Mayor Helen B. Miller, Florida's water problems hit home more than two decades ago, when White Sulphur Springs dried up. It was a stunning natural phenomenon, considering that White Sulphur Springs used to spew out of the banks of the Suwannee River.
"Hydrologists and other experts tell us excessive consumptive water withdrawals and compromised recharge zones are the cause," Miller wrote in a recent letter to water advocates. "However, our situation is not unique."
Indeed it is not. Floridians who watch the environment have long been aware of declining spring flows and other signs — including in Polk County — of the drying of Florida. As Florida spring expert Jim Peterson famously noted, our springs are merely windows into the aquifer.
Simply, Florida's vast underground aquifer is under siege as a result of overpumping, nutrient pollution, salt-water intrusion and other negative impacts.
Although the topic of water has been much discussed in recent years, what we don't know about the true condition of our aquifers may be more important than what we do know.
That's why Miller and representatives of 28 other North Florida counties and 70 cities and towns are asking the Florida Legislature to mandate a more comprehensive mining of the data regarding Florida's aquifers.
AQUIFER STUDY
A resolution adopted by the Northwest Florida League of Cities and the Suwannee River League of Cities implores the Legislature to fund "an unbiased scientific study of the Floridan Aquifer due to its critical implications to statewide water supply."
In other words, what we don't know about the water under our feet — the water that provides life support for nearly all Floridians — may be more than enough to hurt us.

121205-d
Putnam delivers positive message on Florida's agriculture in Bradenton
Bradenton Herald – by Nick Williams
December 5, 2012 
BRADENTON -- The future of Florida's $100 billion agricultural industry is that of a global leader.
It's just a matter of committing to a plan.
That's the message Florida's Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam sent to members of the Kiwanis Club of Bradenton during a luncheon Tuesday at Kiwanis Hall.
The former congressman and Florida native took questions from the audience, which include Manatee elected officials, business owners and community leaders, and advocated a need for improved water supply, nutrition, international trade and research and innovation as ways elevate Florida's agricultural value.
Florida exports its goods to 120 countries, including, most recently, India and Singapore, Putnam said. Shipping agricultural goods around the world benefits the ports in Florida, which in turn helps the job market.
"The notion that agriculture is always low-tech, Old McDonald's Farm, is just flat wrong," he said.
Florida must first protect its water supply. A national drought put a financial squeeze on Florida farmers and ranchers this year, Putnam. Water supply is a major concern moving forward in Florida.
"Water, in my opinion, is the biggest long-term issue facing Florida," he said. "Whether your objective in life is to build a subdivision, or plant an orange grove, or to save the Everglades, its future will be determined by water quantity and water quality in our state. Everywhere, Florida is now facing degrees of scarcity."
To sustain and increase Florida's water supply, Putnam said the Florida Department of Agriculture is looking into investing in alternative water supplies and experimentation
with water farming. Rather than create ditches and canals to get water off the property, Putnam said it is more cost-effective to leave water on the property to redistribute during the dry season.
"As Floridians, this is something to really pay attention to because you can't afford to wait until it's a crisis to begin fashioning legislative solutions to it," he said.
Providing healthier foods used in the state-funded school lunch program was also a top issue for Putnam. With roughly 3 million students in Florida using the program each day for the majority of the school year, Putnam said its vital to implement nutritious options while simultaneously buying from and supporting Florida growers.
Simply put, Putnam said the program can do better than Tater Tots and ketchup, and failure to alter eating habits could have tax implications.
"You're developing habits that 40, 50, 60 years later you will again support through Medicaid and In closing, Putnam said Florida must continue to push the envelope in land-use research. As an example, Florida's $60 million blueberry industry was nonexistent 20 years ago, but through research, was introduced and treated properly.
"If you want to continue to support a local, $100 billion industry, we have to continue to support higher educational research and development," he said.
Attendees at the luncheon praised Putnam's strategy.
"We trust him," said Jim Strickland, Manatee's agricultural appraiser. We're in good hands. I can't imagine anyone better suited than Adam Putnam."

121204-a
Florida water bodies are in excellent hands
Tampa Bay Times - by Drew Bartlett
December 4, 2012
The Tampa Bay Times ran a series of articles on Nov. 25 by staff writer Craig Pittman concerning Florida's iconic springs. The extensive coverage highlights problems within Florida's springsheds that are very real, but it offers no appreciation for the dedication and tireless work ethic of the country's pre-eminent water quality professionals.
Department scientists and the Times share a view that our springs face challenging issues about nutrient enrichment. It is known that excess nutrients — specifically nitrates — can originate from human, pet and livestock waste and fertilization practices.
To reduce nutrient pollution within our springs, department scientists spend countless hours on the road every week monitoring and assessing the health of springs. Lab technicians work weekends to ensure that samples are processed expeditiously. Watershed managers meet routinely with local officials and farmers focusing on reducing sources of nutrients in our springsheds. As a result of their efforts, springs funding by the department has doubled, numerous water quality standards and reduction strategies have been set, and advanced innovative monitoring of our springs is under way.
Field technicians will begin working with agricultural operations to implement a $900,000 investment in the Santa Fe River Basin to provide advanced fertilization and irrigation technologies that will keep more than 1 million pounds of nitrogen from entering the basin. Department engineers are working on designs and funding mechanisms to send $1 million to projects that redirect lesser-treated wastewater away from Silver Springs to an advanced wastewater treatment facility miles away. Park managers are allocating $400,000 to transition Silver River State Park from a septic system to city sewer.
The article quotes a source who has inexplicably labeled this funding as "pork barrel." We should defend those professionals who chose a career in springs protection and restoration from accusations that their data collection, scientific analysis and efforts to implement projects to reduce pollution are somehow a waste of time and taxpayer dollars.
Understanding what's needed to protect springs is critical. Data collection is the lifeblood of scientific development and forms the foundation of the water quality standards for springs and other water bodies endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The hard-working professionals at the Department of Environmental Protection have produced more water quality criteria in the last year than any single year in the previous decade. These criteria serve to protect and improve not only our springs but the rest of our surface waters.
The problem that Florida's springsheds face is challenging, but when a newspaper chooses to overlook the dedication and action of Florida's environmental scientists, it misleads concerned residents about this worthy public cause.
I worked for the EPA for 17 years and have been at the DEP for five. Based on that experience, I can say without question that Florida's water bodies are in the hands of the best scientists and professionals this country has to offer, and it is their work that will continue to guide positive actions that address issues troubling our state's springs.

121204-b
Preserve and prosper, economist argues on Sanibel
News-Press.com
December 4, 2012
He says land management key to tourism dollars.
Controlling growth and preserving more green lands is the formula for building a sustainable economy in Lee County, a University of Miami economics professor said Tuesday at a presentation on Sanibel.
Richard Weisskoff, who has worked for the United Nations, Bar Ilan University in Israel, Yale University and at universities in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Peru, said this region of Florida has a unique opportunity to keep quality of life for residents at a very high level while also attracting enough tourists and visitors to fuel economic growth.
Author of “The Economics of Everglades Restoration,” Weisskoff said his paper focused on the 16 counties in the historical Everglades range, which once stretched from just south of Orlando to Lake Okeechobee and south to the Florida Keys. His goal was to provide an economic assessment of conservation lands in Lee County so that those figures can be used in planning and zoning cases. Weisskoff said he was painting a market picture of green lands, and that courts don‘t often place a high value, or even have a dollar value, on the economic impacts of land preservation.
Weisskoff looked specifically at the Estero Bay watershed and found that nearly $1.2 million in tourist spending annually is related directly to the aquatic preserve, which is fed by tributaries like Mullock Creek, Spring Creek, Estero River and Imperial River.
He broke the numbers down even further, suggesting that 18,974 jobs are sustained by the Estero Bay basin’s preserve lands. Conservation lands in the basin generate nearly $21,000 per acre, compared to $6,000 per acre generated on non-preserve lands in Lee County.
 “The swampland isn’t just sitting there,” Weisskoff said. “It’s performing a service.”
Weisskoff said preserve lands can have a greater economic impact on a long-term basis than traditional businesses like retail stores. And businesses, he said, can shut down while preserve lands stay in tact.
 “You have a special kind of tourism here, one that I’ve never seen before,” said Weisskoff.
He said the vast majority of visitors to this area identify with the beach, fishing and nature activities. In Miami those figures are much lower, Weisskoff said, joking that only two percent of people in the Miami area visit the Everglades.
 “You wouldn’t have that kind of tourism industry (if the area was more urbanized),” Weisskoff continued. “It would be like, well the rest of Florida.”
Several in attendance had questions and suggestions for Weisskoff, who said he plans to pitch the presentation for publication in a trade journal soon.
Nora Demers, an associate professor in the biological sciences department at FGCU, suggested Weisskoff also add a measurement tool to show the development potential of a piece of preserved land versus keeping it in a natural state.
 “You absolutely have to look at that land and acknowledge the jobs that development would create,” Demers said.
Jim Beever, an environmental planner at the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, said development numbers like jobs created can be misleading because businesses eventually shut down and those jobs lost or transferred.
 “Think of all the vacant commercial lands,” Beever said. “I drove by a Burger King today that’s not employing anyone. That (type) of employment is not to infinity.”
Keith Laakkonen, a biologist with the town of Fort Myers Beach, said setting aside land for preservation is an economic strategy that pays of for decades, if not longer.
 “Protection of natural resources can benefit an area like this,” Laakkonen said after the presentation. “It doesn’t just go into a do-not-touch box that’s off limits to the public. It still has an impact on the growth of our economy.”

121204-c
Water Rule a split decision for both sides
ChemInfo.com - by Bill Kaczor, Associated Press
December 4, 2012
The federal Environmental Protection Agency's split decision on new water pollution rules for Florida gives both sides in the contentious debate over the issue something to cheer and jeer about.
The EPA late Friday said it was approving rules drafted by the state for only about 15 percent of Florida's 100,000 miles of waterways while adopting its own rules for the rest. Earlier Friday — the deadline for implementing a settlement with environmental groups — Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson filed a federal court notice in Tallahassee saying EPA would comply with the agreement.
The environmental groups that sued the agency, alleging it was dragging its heels on the issue, favor the EPA rules and contend the state's alternative proposal is too weak to halt pollution that's causing toxic algae blooms choking the state's waters, killing fish and making people sick.
Agriculture, business and utility interests as well as Florida officials and political leaders including Gov. Rick Scott favor the state's proposal, arguing the EPA rules would be too expensive to implement.
"The state of Florida has spent the past 14 years asking for more time to develop protective limits on sewage, manure and fertilizer pollution," said Frank Jackalone, Florida staff director for the Sierra Club. "EPA has agreed to take immediate action to finally bring the Clean Water Act to Florida with strong rules that will clean up our slime-fouled springs, rivers, lakes and beaches."
The agency, though, left the door open to later apply the state rules to more waterways. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which drafted the state's proposal, indicated it intends to aggressively pursue that opening.
"While the EPA has approved the state's criteria, we are disappointed about EPA's decision to issue new proposed federal rules," the state agency said in a statement. "We will work with them to craft solutions that will allow the state to assume all nutrient criteria rulemaking in Florida."
That soothed some of the disappointment for opponents of the federal rules.
"The EPA's stamp of approval on the Florida science backing the standards developed by FDEP is encouraging as the state will need to continue to work with the agency on new proposed regulations," Associated Industries of Florida President and CEO Tom Feeney said in a statement.
Still, Florida Farm Bureau Federation President John Hoblick couldn't put aside his disappointment, saying his group "is concerned that EPA decided to impose federal rules on water bodies that lack the study and science to force such limits."
Both sets of rules would apply numeric standards for such pollutants as nitrogen and phosphorus, replacing present criteria that set no specific limits.
They differ, though, in how they would be applied. The state version adds additional biological and chemical indicators that would have to be present before the numeric limits could be triggered.
While EPA has agreed the state approach has merits, it sought an additional extension in Friday's court-set deadline to continue discussions with state officials over remaining sticking points. The agency was forced to act, though, when U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle took no action on the request. In a June order granting a six-month delay Hinkle wrote that would be the last extension.
The EPA has set a public meeting on the new rules for Jan. 17-18 in Tampa and will hold a web-based public hearing Jan. 22-24.
Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida and St. Johns Riverkeeper.

121204-d
Water's value
Gainesville.com – Editorial
December 4, 2012
While Floridians paid rapt attention to last week's record $587 million Powerball drawing, we suspect they did not pause once to think about the value of the jackpot that is right before their eyes every day.
A needed reminder of just how important Florida's water is came this month in a new report, "Valuing Florida's Clean Waters," detailing just how polluted our lakes, rivers, streams and seashores have become. Moreover, those who conducted the study, the Stockholm Environment Institute-U.S. Center, noted that since the U.S. Environmental Agency first issued a warning that our state's waters were becoming dangerously tainted due largely to excessive nutrient pollution, the state has moved lethargically to take effective steps to clean up our waters. Needless to say, the health of Florida's water has continued to worsen.
Much of the 30-page report focuses on scientific data confirming what the average Floridian already knows: "The scientific community is now clear that pollution is a primary cause of harmful algae outbreaks. What remains is for federal and state agencies to set, and fund, an agenda for gathering the underlying data needed to comprehensively assess the value of Florida's clean waters."
Therein, of course, lies the rub. While Floridians want their rivers, lakes, springs and, of course, their seashores clean and healthy, and they want their groundwater safe to drink, they recoil whenever there is any mention of new fees to pay for the necessary systemic and environmental changes.
The report, however, is packed with data making a clear and inarguable case for investing more in cleaner water.
A 2010 assessment by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection found that 53 percent of Florida's rivers and 82 percent of its lakes were polluted to the point of "impairment." The report specifically cites Silver Springs, where "the nitrate level ... has reached 1,000 times the normal level and is still rising," adding that 75 percent of Florida's springs "have nitrate levels high enough to cause shifts in the ecosystems." In short, pollution that is mostly human-generated is killing Silver Springs and Florida's 700 other springs.
And for those who think it is only a problem in populated areas, the study notes, "Nitrates are also polluting groundwater wells used in many rural areas for drinking water."
But if we are not worried about what degradation of our water can do to our physical health, maybe we will be worried when it effects our economic health. As we all know, and the report reminds us, Florida's $67 billion tourism industry, $7 billion agriculture industry and its $4 billion fishing industry are vital to our economic health and heavily dependent on clean water. Then, there is real estate and its value — who wants to live on a polluted and dying waterfront?
In its final analysis, the Stockholm Environment report concludes that if federal and state agencies take serious, mutual steps — some 14 years after the problem was identified, incidentally — to clean up Florida's waters, they will produce an economic benefit of up to $10 billion a year.
Yes, we will all have to pay some, but it will be for a jackpot that's sure to pay — forever — and for something we cannot afford to lose.

121204-e
Workshop today on nutrient levels
JCFloridan.com - by Deborah Buckhalter
December 4, 2012
The state wants to reduce the concentration of nutrients in Jackson Blue Spring and Merritt’s Mill Pond by a whopping 90 percent over time. Currently estimated at an average level of roughly 3.5 mg per liter, the target level has been set at 0.35 mg/L.
That’s the bottom line in a 95-page draft report that will be reviewed in a workshop today at 9:30 a.m. at the Chipola College Continuing Education Building, located at 3158 College St.
The meeting was announced Tuesday in a press release sent out just before 2:30 p.m.
Nutrients enter water bodies by a variety of means, including agricultural application of fertilizer and run-off from other source points, other human activities, as well as through natural means. One danger in excessive nutrient levels is that, as food for algae and other aquatic vegetation, the nutrient can help the plants thrive to the point of clogging the water environment and imperiling the lives of aquatic creatures.
The establishment of numeric nutrient standards for all Florida water bodies has been the subject of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups against the national Environmental Protection Agency, which was accused in the suit of not forcing Florida to properly implement standards made mandatory through the country’s Clean Water Act. A compromise was eventually reached, with EPA agreeing to require Florida to adopt measurable standards.
In the draft report, researchers concluded that “for Jackson Blue Spring and Merritt’s Mill Pond, the excessive growth of algae has been shown to be a significant problem. Algal growth causes a variety of ecological impairments, including, but not limited to, habitat smothering, the provision of nutrition and habitat for pathogenic bacteria, the production of toxins that may affect biota, the reduction of oxygen levels, and an increase in diurnal swings of the dissolved oxygen (DO) regime in the stream. Macroalgae mats can produce human health problems, foul beaches, inhibit navigation, and reduce the aesthetic value of clear springs or stream runs.”
The report does not specify how the state intends to measure the nutrient levels going forward, or how enforcement would be implemented. That will come later, according to the study.
“Following the adoption of (the plan) by rule, the Department (of Environmental Protection) will determine the best course of action regarding its implementation,” the report stated. “Depending on the pollutants causing the water body impairment and the significance of the water body (Jackson Blue is a first magnitude spring), the Department will select the best course of action leading to the development of a plan to restore the water body.”
One approach might be to establish a Basin Management Action Plan, the study suggested, and work in cooperation with stakeholders.
In addition to comments about the report being taken at the workshop, written comments will be accepted through Dec. 12, and should be directed to Richard.w.hicks@dep.state.fl.us.
The full report can be accessed at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/tmdl/docs/tmdls/draft/gp2/jackson-blue-nutr-tmdl.pdf.

121203-a
FWC meeting to discuss oyster, Bay status
Tallahassee.com – by Karl Etters
December 3, 2012
The state of the declining oyster population will be a main topic of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting slated for Wednesday and Thursday.
Other areas of focus of the meetings in Apalachicola will be to discuss saltwater fishery management agendas, initiatives and regulations, hunting licensing and game regulations, boating and updates on endangered game and action plans pertaining to them.
The status and regulation of the troubled oyster industry in Apalachicola Bay has been a hot topic for the region for the past few years, but recently has received more attention.
In a Sept. 6 letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Gov. Rick Scott declared a commercial fishery failure in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly Apalachicola Bay, after assessments of resource availability for the upcoming year was deemed “poor and unlikely to sustain commercial harvesting levels.”
The bay provides 90 percent of Florida’s oysters and supplies 10 percent of the U.S. consumption.
In response, bay management plans aimed at aiding population research and designed to help the fisherman who depend on the availability of the resources have been set in place.
Oyster harvest on the weekends has been prohibited, and an Oyster Recovery Team from the Florida Sea Grant program of the University of Florida has begun to determine the challenges recovery efforts face.
Franklin County Seafood Worker’s Association President Shannon Hartsfield said the success of the limited harvest days is still too new to determine if it is working; the main focus is restoring the viability of the industry and putting the county’s oystermen back to work.
Hartsfield was in favor of setting the new regulations and said it was “just a small breather. Our bay needs a break. This right here is the short term, but it’s going to take a while for our bay to come back.”
He added that another factor greatly affecting the health of oysters and the economy is the amount of fresh water that is reaching the bay through the Apalachicola River System which is regulated through an ongoing water dispute between Florida, Alabama and Georgia.
Fresh water levels are “more of an issue now,” Hartsfield said. “They’ve never held back this much water; it’s starving oysters to death.” He said the Southeast’s drought has done nothing but add to the pinch on water flow to the coast.
Dorothy Zimmerman, communications director with the Sea Grant program, said the Oyster Recovery Team is still in the midst of gathering data to pinpoint areas that need work and the Wednesday FWC meeting will highlight the team’s current findings.
She said the region was experiencing, “environmental problems where you have a drought and then you have a fishing problem that is going on.” You have “very competing forces, not easily resolved in a couple of days.”
The shelling program, which takes empty shells and places them back in the water in an attempt to build habitat for re-growing ailing oyster populations coupled with tighter restrictions shows potential to Hartsfield in rebounding the industry. One thing he is sure of though, “Our bay is worse shape than it was year ago.”

121203-b
More fertilizer and water issues expected in Florida in 2013
AgProfessional.com – by Colleen Scherer, Managing Editor
December 3, 2012
The Florida Association of Counties met in Sarasota, Fla., last week to talk about its legislative priorities in 2013 and to prepare for another battle with the Florida legislature over fertilizer restrictions in the state. At issue is each counties rights to regulate fertilizer restrictions in their own areas.
County commissioners from Florida’s 67 counties met at its Legislative Conference and heard warnings that lawmakers are expected in 2013 to curtail counties and cities from being able to restrict fertilizer use and sales in urban areas.
 “We’ve been told it’s imminent,” Sarasota County commissioner Nora Patterson, a Republican, said of the potential legislation, according to the Herald Tribune.
As a member of the Florida Association of Counties’ board of directors, Patterson expressed her view that counties should have the right to regulate fertilizers as they see fit.
For the past three years, water and fertilizer issues have become more prominent in the state. The Herald Tribune reported that state lawmakers, with support from the landscaping industry and fertilizer retailers, have argued the state needs to set rules that are consistent from county to county to make it easier for people to follow. In addition, the Florida Association of Counties voted to make protecting fertilizer restrictions as one of its top three issues going into the 2013 Legislative Session.

121203-c
New, stricter water pollution rules coming to Florida
WTLV-Ch12 – by Dave Heller, First Coast News
December 3, 2012
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida is getting a new set of water pollution rules designed to help clean up polluted waterways and it looks as though the tougher standards will cost you more money.
However, right now it's unclear how much it'll cost you.
Environmental and business groups have been battling in federal court over pollution rules for years.
Earthjustice attorney David Guest has led a lawsuit aiming to create stricter rules that would help prevent the so-called green slime outbreaks plaguing waterways like the St. Johns River in recent years.
Now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to order a mix of state and federal pollution rules across Florida. But the two sides in the case disagree over which rules will be used predominantly.
Guest said tougher federal government rules will apply to more than 80 percent of Florida's 100,000 miles of waterways with the rest following state rules.
But the Florida Chamber of Commerce contends state rules will mainly be used.
"To our understanding the EPA has accepted the DEP rules regarding streams, lakes, estuaries, the largest amount of waters in the state. What's still left to be determined has to do with canals," said Latecia Adams of the Chamber of Commerce.
Guest disagrees, saying the rules from the state Department of Environmental Protection will affect a small amount of water in Florida.
"A very small segment, really, and they're vulnerable to legal attack. I think that some responsible conservationist, my clients potentially, may end up deciding to take that question to federal court and make it so that the federal rules apply everywhere."
The new standards target nitrogen and phosphorous pollution from fertilizer, leaky sewage plants and septic tanks. Those nutrients can cause toxic algae outbreaks, fish kills, and medical problems for people.
Guest believes there's a desperate need for strict numeric pollution standards.
"There's a red tide outbreak now in southwest Florida. They're growing in frequency. People are leaving coastal houses and moving to other places. Tourists have slowed down coming there. You go out on the beach in places like that when the red tide's out there and you start coughing. You can't be out there. It's dangerous to get in the water."
Both sides predict higher costs for consumers as a result of the new pollution rules but both agree the costs will not be exorbitant, as opponents of stricter pollution rules originally argued.
Guest estimates the ultimate cost will be about 25 cents per person in Florida per month.
"There's maybe 50 or so sewage treatment plants that need to be updated in Florida. It'll cost a lot of money to upgrade. It'll take a long time to get the financing together but these updates are needed and they will be implemented. That's one of the biggest costs."
Adams said it looks as though the costs to the business community will be OK if state rules are adopted.
"Florida DEP has done a tremendous job in creating a set of rules that are right for Florida's water, Florida's biology and protecting our waters in a way that's necessary for Florida's growth, not federal growth."

121202-a
Future conservation land decisions bear watching
TheLedger.com - by Tom Palmer
December 2, 2012
The future of conservation lands acquisition in Florida is certainly going into a new phase.
I just don’t think anyone is sure what form that will take.
Some of that will depend upon the success of the Florida Land & Water Legacy petition drive that a number of conservation groups launched earlier this year. They propose to amend the Florida Constitution to guarantee money for conservation lands purchases.
There are three parts to this effort.
One part is whether the groups can gather enough signatures to get the measure on the 2014 ballot and whether any other obstacles arise that would keep it off the ballot.
The second is whether it gains the 60 percent approval from voters.
The third part is what kinds of land purchases result from the proceeds of this measure.
The decisions on the land purchases will not be made by private conservation groups that are backing this constitutional amendment.
They will be made by the Governor and the Florida Cabinet or the Governor’s appointees on the water management district boards, which is where the voters come in again.
Florida voters will also decide in 2014 who will be the next occupants of the Governor’s Mansion and the three Cabinet seats.
Candidates’ views on land purchases and land management is among the issues worth considering in that election.
I was reminded of this connection after reading an account of the discussion of the management of Florida conservation lands that occurred at the Oct. 23 Florida Cabinet meeting.
According to the transcript, the discussion was led by Polk’s Adam Putnam, Florida’s agriculture commissioner.
Why, he asked, are public lands in the same general area of the state, especially within a large ecosystem such as the Green Swamp, managed by differing agencies?
One reason, and Putnam acknowledged this, is that different public land-management agencies manage public lands for different purposes.
Logging, hunting and ATV use are allowed in Withlacoochee State Forest, which is managed by the Florida Forest Service under Putnam’s department. Those activities are not allowed in Colt Creek State Park, which is operated by an Florida Park Service in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which reports to the Governor.
Other land in the GreenSwamp is managed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which is also under DEP.
Still other lands are operated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which is under the Governor.
The other reason for the diverse agency management is that the acquisitions occurred over a long period of time.
Withlacoochee State Forest was established in 1958, but Colt Creek State Park didn’t come into existence until 2007.
During that time the state’s oversight of the Green Swamp and the recognition of its ecological and hydrologic importance has changed.
I guess the question is what kind of proposal would any review of the mix of land management produce?
Green Swamp Geopark has a nice ring to it, but who knows.
What is well known is that decisions on which state agency should manage which property can change.
Tenoroc was originally a state park, but later became a fish management area.
The Arbuckle tract of Lake Wales Ridge State Forest was originally proposed to be a state park.
There’s no question that land management is important and should be carried out in a fiscally and environmentally sound method, but this discussion may be about more than that.
That’s because there has been a lot of political jockeying in recent years among user groups over who gets to do what on public lands. The Cabinet meeting discussion relate to that.
The reason I say that is this statement from Putnam, referring to the patchwork of public lands oversight in the Green Swamp.
 “…I mean, it’s crazy. And one of them I think you could reasonably say over decades
has been intensively harvested because of hunting pressures, and the other area is not open to
hunters. And it seems to me that it’s an example of an opportunity for a pilot project of managing a sector plan, if you will, for the resource that continue to allow all of the multiple uses, but recognize that that patchwork that has been put together over the last number of decades really reflects a bureaucratic structure and not an ecosystem management approach and not a public approachability type of concept.”
This relates to future land acquisition in this way.
Some, but not all, hunting groups have come out against the proposed constitutional amendment in part because they were on the losing end of a couple of recent debates about opening some public lands to hunting and some of the groups involved in the petition drive were on the opposite side.
That fight reflected the fact that the makeup of outdoor recreation users in Florida has changed dramatically over the past 25 years or so and some people simply won’t accept that fact.
I’ve made the point that instead of arguing about the list of recreational uses future management plans for public lands that haven’t even been bought yet ought to contain, we should focus on the big picture.
That is the need to fill in gaps between existing public lands as much as possible and to preserve remaining natural corridors.
One of the goals of recent Florida Wildlife Corridor expedition from the Everglades to the Okefenokee was to reinforce that point and to show that it’s still not too late to protect these corridors.
Making strategic decisions like that make sense for conservation and it makes sense financially.

121202-b
Key player in Lake Point Restoration Project donated heavily to county commission candidates
TCPalm.com - by George Andreassi
December 2, 2012
MARTIN COUNTY — George Lindemann Jr., a key partner in the Lake Point Restoration project, and companies associated with him have been very generous to Martin County commissioners and commission candidates who support business causes.
Lindemann Jr. and the companies based at 4500 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, Suite 105, contributed a total of $32,000 in the past five years to the political campaigns of three county commissioners and two commission candidates, campaign finance records show.
He is the son of George Lindemann Sr., an investor whose family is reported by Fortune magazine to have a net worth of $2.2 billion.
Lindemann Jr. gained national prominence in the early 1990s as an equestrian with Olympic aspirations. He made headlines when he received a 33-month prison sentence in January 1996 after his conviction in federal court in Chicago for fraudulent insurance claims on a show horse he ordered killed, according to published media reports.
In Martin County, Lindemann Jr. is known for the controversial Lake Point project in southwestern Martin County and his campaign contributions to five pro-business candidates for countywide office since 2008.
Commissioner Doug Smith and former Commissioner Ed Ciampi received a total of $9,000 each from Lindemann and his companies in the past five years, records show. Former Commissioner Patrick Hayes received a total of $7,000.
Lindemann-related companies contributed a total of $5,000 to Brandon Tucker, an agricultural real estate broker who lost a bid to replace Ciampi in Commission District 5.
Tucker said he received an envelope containing $500 checks from 10 companies based at 4500 Biscayne Blvd. during a meeting with representatives of Lindemann in May.
"I was with them for an hour and they said, 'Hey, we've been following you. We like what you're saying. We want to help you,' " Tucker said. "And he handed me an envelope full of checks written by all the different companies."
Because he's involved in the agricultural real estate business, Tucker said, he believed it was natural an agricultural landowner like Lindemann would support him.
"Everything they're doing out there has already been approved," Tucker said. "It's not like they're seeking any more approvals.
Still, "I don't see what the motivation is," Tucker said about the contributions. "Maybe it's something they have planned down the road that you and I don't know about."
Smith, Ciampi and Hayes were among the commissioners who voted for the May 2009 agreement between Lake Point and the water management district that set the stage for the rock mining operation."People are allowed to support a candidate that they feel shares their viewpoints and they should," said Honey Rand, a spokeswoman for the Lake Point project. "Some of us to it with sweat equity and some of us write checks."Smith, Ciampi and Hayes declined to discuss the campaign contributions they received from Lindemann and his companies.
They said they believe the Lake Point stormwater facility is good for the environment and Martin County because it reduces the amount of polluted water going into the St. Lucie Estuary.
The rock mine also provides building materials and jobs that are helping Martin County's economy, Smith said.
"It is to clean up the nutrients out of the water," Smith said. "Every project that we add into the mix that diverts dirty water ... is a good thing."
But new Commission Chairwoman Sarah Heard and some of her political allies questioned Lindemann's campaign contributions to their political adversaries and the Lake Point rock mining agreement that calls for the donation of about 1,800 acres to the South Florida Water Management District in 20 years..
"I don't think it's a good deal for Martin County taxpayers," Heard said about the "It looks to me like all they're doing is digging holes and selling off the rock or sand, whatever they're mining out there. How is that a benefit for Martin County?"
Critics of the Lake Point project like Maggy Hurchalla, an environmentalist and former county commissioner, say a proposal to siphon water from the St. Lucie Canal into the Lake Point property and send it south to utilities in Palm Beach County could harm the St. Lucie Estuary instead of helping it.
The St. Lucie Canal receives water from Lake Okeechobee, Hurchalla said. So increasing the number of customers relying on the lake for water could lead to more water storage, higher lake levels, larger discharges of polluted water into the St. Lucie Estuary, and less water for the Everglades.

ABOUT THE RESTORATION PROJECT
What: Lake Point Restoration stormwater project, formerly known as Lake Point Ranches

Address: 25818 S.W. Kanner Highway, Canal Point
Location: South of the St. Lucie Canal, west of the DuPuis Management Area, north of the Palm Beach County line and about a mile east of Lake Okeechobee,
Total site size:
2,255 acres
Mining area:
1,006 acres
Duration of mining operation: 20 years
Maximum lake depth: 20 feet
Stormwater management lakes: 920 acres
Stormwater treatment areas: 600 acres
Created wetlands:
114 acres
Martin County recreation area:
150 acres
Lake Point Ranches site plan:
44 ranchettes ranging from 20 to 50 acres

121202-d
What's Florida's water worth ?
Ocala.com
December 2, 2012
While Floridians paid rapt attention to this week’s record $587 million Powerball drawing, we suspect they did not pause once to think about the value of the jackpot that is right before their eyes every day.
A needed reminder of just how important Florida’s water is came this month in a new report, “Valuing Florida’s Clean Waters,” detailing just how polluted our lakes, rivers, streams and seashores have become. Moreover, those who conducted the study, the Stockholm Environment Institute-U.S. Center, noted that since the U.S. Environmental Agency first issued a warning that our state’s waters were becoming dangerously tainted due largely to excessive nutrient pollution, the state has moved lethargically to take effective steps to clean up our waters. Needless to say, the health of Florida’s water has continued to worsen.
Much of the 30-page report focuses on scientific data confirming what the average Floridian already knows: “The scientific community is now clear that pollution is a primary cause of harmful algae outbreaks. What remains is for federal and state agencies to set, and fund, an agenda for gathering the underlying data needed to comprehensively assess the value of Florida’s clean waters.”
Therein, of course, lies the rub. While Floridians want their rivers, lakes, springs and, of course, their seashores clean and healthy, and they want their groundwater safe to drink, they recoil whenever there is any mention of new fees to pay for the necessary systemic and environmental changes.
The report, however, is packed with data making a clear and inarguable case for investing more in cleaner water.

121201-
Feds adopt State water pollution rules for Florida
WILX.com - Channel 10 News
December 1, 2012
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The federal government is adopting state water pollution rules for Florida instead of its own version favored by environmental groups that had sued the agency.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson on Friday filed a brief statement in federal court in Tallahassee saying she had taken all actions required by a consent decree EPA entered with the environmental groups.
That triggered claims of victory by the environmentalists, but Friday evening the agency issued a news release saying it had instead adopted the state rules that the environmental groups had criticized as being too weak to stop pollution blamed for algae blooms that are chocking Florida waterways.
The state rules are favored by business, agriculture and utility interests that opposed the federal proposal, claiming it would be too expensive to implement.

Feds impose tough water pollution rules on Florida
Bradenton Herald – by Bill Kaczor, Associated Press
December 1, 2012
TALLAHASSEE -- The federal government ordered tough water pollution rules for Florida on Friday in a victory for environmental groups after a lengthy court battle.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson filed a notice in federal court in Tallahassee saying she has complied with a consent decree requiring adoption of the rules.
They are designed to curtail pollution from such sources as fertilizer, animal waste and sewage effluent that have been blamed for causing toxic, slimy algae blooms that have choked Florida's waterways. The blooms can kill fish and make people sick.
State officials as well as agriculture, business and utility interests opposed the rules, arguing they'd be too expensive to implement. They had touted an alternate proposal offered by the state Department of Environmental Protection, which environmentalists said was too weak.
"This is absolutely everything we hoped for," said Earthjustice lawyer David Guest, who represented environmental groups in the court case. "This is the reddest letter day of them all."
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle had pushed back the deadline for action several times since the consent decree was signed three years ago, but when he ordered a six-month extension in June he said it would be the last delay.
The June order reset the deadline for Friday. EPA last week asked for another delay of 120 days to continue talks with state officials on their alternative proposal, but Jackson filed her notice after Hinkle took no action on the latest request for more time.
The notice will trigger the establishment of numeric nutrient criteria for some 100,000 miles of Florida waterways and 4,000 square miles of estuaries. Standards previously had been set for lakes and springs.
Guest said the case has national implications because most states, like Florida, currently have only vague standards. Putting numbers on how much pollution is allowed is expected to greatly strengthen enforcement.
"EPA's response here will set the standard for the nation," Guest said. "What we've lacked is a set of quantifiable numbers that are basically a speed limit sign to make the law clear and enforceable."
The Florida Wildlife Federation, the Conservancy of Southeast Florida, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, St. Johns Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club sued EPA.
They alleged the agency had failed to enforce its own regulations requiring states to establish numeric criteria for such nutrients as nitrogen and phosphorus.
Related:
EPA signs off on Clean Water standards       Southeast AgNet
Florida water rule a split decision for both sides        WCTV
Gwen Keyes Fleming: Florida making progress on water pollution   Gainesville Sun
EPA targets Florida water pollution, court battle with ...      News Chief
Surprise! EPA will impose nutrient criteria on remaining Florida ...  Sunshine State News
EPA adopts water pollution rules for Florida Gainesville Sun

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