130630-a
Covering our Indian River Lagoon is our commitment, our responsibility
TCPalm.com – by Mark Tomasik, Editor
June 30, 2013
Although the local news business is transforming with dazzling speed, one constant that remains is our commitment to coverage of our waterways.
Ernie Lyons, a gifted local writer and editor, championed the cause of environmental coverage, dating to the 1930s, and his successor, Tom Weber, first editor of Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers, was unwavering in continuing that commitment.
In his 1969 book, “My Florida,” Lyons wrote of our local rivers, “Their waters remind me of the Psalms and their beauty of what the hand of God has done. Why, I wonder, do we spend billions of dollars to get to the cold, bleak, barren, inhospitable landscape of the moon, but cannot afford to save for our children’s children a veritable Eden close at hand ? Inevitably, these magic quiet places will be gone, the beauty of the jungle destroyed by what we call progress: houses, beer cans, water skiers and TV antennae.”
Today, we embrace the responsibility of carrying on the tradition of quality coverage of our waterways. We consider that a franchise topic, a bedrock of our content philosophy.
We have launched a section on our website, TCPalm.com, called “Our Indian River Lagoon.” It’s designed to be a primary source of news and information about our waterways, with an emphasis on the lagoon because that diverse estuary flows throughout the three-county Treasure Coast region.
Check out the coverage on your tablet, smartphone, laptop or personal computer at TCPalm.com/indianriverlagoon and look for updates with the Twitter hashtag #IndianRiverLagoon. The best content from the digital platforms will be published in our daily newspapers.
Coverage will focus on the health of the lagoon and its recreational aspects. Social media interaction is designed to be a key component, so we encourage your input.
Our goal is to explore the issues in depth and help find solutions to problems.
Audience research shows interest in this topic is high. That was confirmed at our recent “On the Record” reader forums about the lagoon. Under the leadership of community engagement editor Larry Reisman, who proposed and developed the concept, and columnist Eve Samples, the forums in Stuart and Vero Beach connected more than 120 of our subscribers with state legislators in a civil, direct and actionable exchange of ideas and opinions.
Feedback from subscribers who attended the forums and read about them was resounding: Keep covering this topic in every way possible.
Cheryl Smith, an experienced news editor, leads the “Our Indian River Lagoon” content team. Other core journalists on that talented team are Samples, Tyler Treadway, Ed Killer, Scott Wyland, Laurie Blandford, Kelly Rogers, Cheryl McCloud and Christin Erazo.
From topics as complex as pollution to invasive species to economic impact, we’ll have you covered.
We get our inspiration, in part, from the legacy established by editors Lyons and Weber.
A fitting closing to this column comes from this excerpt from Lyons’ “My Florida:”
“Drifting on the surface of a Florida jungle river I experience the feeling that nothing is ordinary, nothing is commonplace. The onyx surface of the water reflects in perfect color the images of the bushy-headed cabbage palms, the moss-draped live oaks and cypresses along the banks.
“What has happened to awe ? Where has wonder gone ? I suspect too much has been explained by the ignorant to the stupid. Modern man’s greatest loss of spirit may be that he has ceased to be amazed at the wonders all around him.”

130630-b
Florida DEP will give bonuses based on permit speed
Bradenton Herald - by Michael Van Sickler, Tallahassee Bureau
TALLAHASSEE -- In December, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection laid off 58 employees to cut costs. Several who were fired went public with allegations that the DEP is easing regulations on industrial plants and developers that could have far-ranging environmental consequences. Environmental groups are threatening to sue over lax water protections.
Yet on Friday, the seemingly embattled agency was held up as an example of good government by a legislative budget committee that awarded it permission to dole out more than $500,000 in bonuses.
Recipients will be "high-performing" employees who, among other things, were deemed to have improved customer service and reduced the time it takes to issue permits, a criteria that conservatives found refreshing and environmental advocates found vexing.
"Everywhere I go I hear my constituents tell me how efficient the agency is, whether they are for or against a permit," said. Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine. "The agency is doing its job and this vote will reward that efficiency."
Eric Draper, executive director of Florida Audubon, had a different view.
"The thing that bothers me is when they start emphasizing speed, they threaten to turn the DEP into a Jiffy Lube," said Draper, who was in Tampa and couldn't attend the meeting. "If they're stressing to employees to get a job done quickly, rather than do the best job they can, we lose the guarantee that the DEP is properly focused on the environment."
The $571,961 incentive program will be paid from$8.8 million the agency said it saved this fiscal year by cutting costs. Bonuses up to about $5,000 will be paid to 269 employees (out of 1,600 total at the agency) by August. About 25 percent of those getting the bonuses will be supervisors.
"Over the last year, the regulatory programs at DEP have saved a tremendous amount of money," said DeputySecretary Jeff Littlejohn. "We've done this through common-sense cost saving measures, and operational efficiencies, and we're also setting very high performance goals."
The bonuses drew a sharp dissent from just one lawmaker on the 14-member Legislative Budget Commission.
Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, said it sends the wrong message to employees about their work.
"You're arguably providing an incentive to turn your head," Pafford said. "You're giving someone a bonus for them not to take the time required when reviewing permits. That's dangerous for an agency called the Department of Environmental Protection."
Littlejohn said other criteria are included in evaluating who gets the bonuses. Buthe didn't minimize how much supervisors stressed speed. He said those re-viewing permits must contact the applicant within 48 hours.
"We've encouraged, empowered and motivated our folks to pick up the phone and ask these questions or email them, try to push the application process along," Littlejohn said. "This is about reducing process, not lowering standards."
He said the new streamlined processes are working, and he pointed to 2012 numbers that show thepercentage of high-riskoperators and facilitieswho are in significant compliance with state regulations was 94 percent, an all-time high.
DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard has hired a number of people in the agency's upper ranks with backgrounds as engineers or consultants for companies that the DEP regulates.
Littlejohn himself spent more than 10 years working as a consulting engineer getting state and federal permits for his clients.
And bringing new jobs to Florida, many of which would need quick turnaround for new facilities that have yet to be built, has been a much-touted priority for Gov. Rick Scott. Scott has already eliminated the Department of Community Affairs, which reviewed large development plans. Lawmakers in 2011 also reduced the time the DEP has to review permits from 90 days to 60 days.
Pafford said those were all challenges to the DEP from outside. The bonuses pose a challenge from within.

130630-d
Significant harm
Gainesville Sun - by Robert Knight, Special
June 30, 2013
The Santa Fe River and its tributary, the Ichetucknee River, delineate the border between Alachua, Columbia, Gilchrist, Putnam, Suwannee and Union counties. They are "waters of the state," a phrase that connotes their common ownership by all state residents.
As a concerned citizen living on the north side of Alachua County, in May 2007 I participated in the development of regulatory limits on the amount of flow reduction the upper Santa Fe River could tolerate. My comments to the Suwannee River Water Management District can be summed up succinctly — this upstream river segment was already adversely affected by too much groundwater extraction.
This was evident by increasing periods without baseflow in the upper and lower river; Santa Fe Spring, a former first magnitude spring, was only flowing episodically during flood events; and the district's data indicated a long-term flow decline at the U.S. 441 bridge of about 40 percent.
Nevertheless, the district staff and their consultant held a single public meeting in the little town of Lake Butler and steamrolled the adoption of minimum flows and levels (MFLs) that allowed an additional 15 percent harm to the flow and ecology of the upper Santa Fe River.
Within three years, additional studies determined that the upper Santa Fe River MFL was already violated, resulting in significant ecological harm to the resource. However this revelation did not slow the issuance of new groundwater pumping permits. Subsequently, no efforts to effectively alleviate the depleted flows in the upper Santa Fe River have been instituted since that error was exposed.
Last week, the Suwannee district issued its draft recommended MFLs for the lower Santa Fe River and Ichetucknee Springs. In January of last year, the Florida Springs Institute concluded that the total flow in the lower Santa Fe River had declined by 50 percent since 1968 and that the average collective flow of the 36 named springs along this portion of the Santa Fe River had declined by about 35 percent.
In combination with excessive nutrient pollution during recent dry spells, much of this stretch of the Santa Fe River has become a stagnant, foul, algae-filled channel, unfit for wildlife or humans.
While the downstream-most springs like Ginnie and Devils Eye still flow during these dry spells, all of the upstream lesser springs lose all or most of their flows. Poe Springs, once Alachua County's crown jewel, essentially dried up in 2011 and has back-flowed black water into the depleted aquifer repeatedly since then.
I was somewhat comforted when I saw that the district has concluded that the flows in the lower Santa Fe River are already reduced beyond the point of significant harm. This is obvious to all regular users of this portion of the river. However, as with the upper Santa Fe River, development of a recovery plan in no way will assure recovery to the former average flow.
The ecology of the lower Santa Fe River will continue to be harmed as long as the district refuses to substantially reduce existing groundwater withdrawals.
As part of the same MFL setting process, the district has decided that the flow in the Ichetucknee River is also approaching the level that constitutes significant harm.
In August 2012, the Florida Springs Institute documented reduced flow conditions in the Ichetucknee River, finding that flows have been below critical levels for several decades, largely due to excessive groundwater pumping in the district and as far away as the Jacksonville area.
In combination with extreme nitrate pollution, it was concluded that the Ichetucknee River is already severely impaired.
As Outstanding Florida Waters, the Santa Fe and Ichetucknee rivers are legally protected from any form of water quality degradation. Reduced flows create and exacerbate water quality violations in springs and spring-run rivers and should not be tolerated here or anywhere else.
The water management districts, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are well aware of what actions need to be taken to alleviate the ongoing destruction of these springs and rivers. These problems will not be solved until our state agencies reduce the amount of groundwater pumping and the tons of nitrogen fertilizers being spread over North Florida.
These agencies will not admit their complicity in this tragedy and take responsibility for returning these water bodies to their former health unless we all demand that they do so.
Please visit www.floridaspringsinstitute.org to learn more about the restoration needs for these rivers and springs and to find out what you can do to have your voice heard.
Robert L. Knight is director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute. Comprehensive restoration plans for both the Santa Fe River springs and Ichetucknee Springs can be downloaded from the institute's website.

130629-a
Climate change and the world we leave to our children
Tampa Bay Times - by President Barack Obama, Special
June 29, 2013
On Tuesday, I unveiled a new national plan to confront climate change. It's a plan that will reduce carbon pollution to prevent the worst effects of climate change, prepare our country for the effects we can't stop, and lead the world in combating the growing threat of a changing climate. • Many Americans who already feel the effects of climate change don't have time to deny it — they're busy dealing with it. Firefighters are braving longer wildfire seasons. Farmers are seeing crops wilt one year, and wash away the next. Western families are worried about water that's drying up. And while we know no single weather event is caused solely by climate change, we also know that in an increasingly warmer world, all weather events — from droughts to floods to storms like last year's Hurricane Isaac and Tropical Storm Debby — are affected by it.
The costs of inaction can be measured in lost lives and livelihoods, lost homes and businesses, higher food costs and insurance premiums, and hundreds of billions of dollars in emergency services and disaster relief. So the question is not whether we need to act, but whether we will have the courage to act before it's too late. And how we answer will have a profound impact on the world we leave to our children, and to future generations.
This plan will cut the dangerous carbon pollution that contributes to climate change. For years, groups like the American Lung Association have warned us that carbon pollution threatens our health and the air our children breathe. We limit the mercury, sulfur and arsenic in our air and water, but today, there are no federal limits on the amount of carbon pollution that power plants can pump into the air. That's not safe. So we'll work with states and businesses to set new standards that put an end to this limitless dumping of carbon.
We'll encourage our businesses to deploy more clean energy. Since 2009, we've doubled the amount of electricity we generate from the wind and the sun, and supported more than 1,100 renewable energy projects in Florida, generating enough energy to power nearly 17,000 homes.
Building on that progress will lead to less pollution in our air and more jobs for American workers building wind turbines and installing solar panels. And we'll waste less energy in our cars, homes and businesses by partnering with truck makers so their next generation of vehicles go farther on a gallon of gas, and by putting people to work building smarter homes and offices, and appliances that use less electricity, saving you money on your energy bills.
But the hard truth is that even if we do our part, our climate will continue to change for some time. That's why the second part of this plan will protect key sectors of our economy and prepare the United States for impacts of climate change we can't avoid. Cities and states around the country are taking action to strengthen coastlines and water supplies, and we're partnering with Florida to restore the state's natural clean water delivery system, the Everglades. We'll keep supporting these efforts, working with communities to protect homes and businesses and build more resilient infrastructure that can withstand more powerful storms.
Finally, because no nation can tackle this challenge alone, America will lead international efforts to combat a changing climate. We'll partner with our businesses to help developing countries make the move to cleaner energy, and engage international partners on steps to reduce carbon pollution. We compete for business, but we also share a planet. And we must all shoulder the responsibility for its future.
This is the fight America can and will lead in the 21st century. But it will require all of us, as citizens, to do our part. Scientists and farmers, engineers and businesses, workers and builders all have a role to play. We'll need to give special care to people and communities unsettled by this transition. And those of us in positions of responsibility will need to be less concerned with the judgment of well-connected donors, and more concerned with the judgment of future generations.
If you agree with me, I ask you to act. Educate your classmates and colleagues, your family and friends. Speak up against the special interests and their allies in Congress. Remind everyone who represents you, at every level of government, that there is no contradiction between a sound environment and a strong economy, and that sheltering future generations against the ravages of climate change is a prerequisite for your vote.
We will be judged as a people, as a society, and as a country by where we go from here. The plan I put forward to reduce carbon pollution and protect our country from the effects of climate change is the path we need to take. And if we remember what's at stake — the world we leave to our children — I'm convinced that this is a challenge we will meet.

130629-b
Polluted waters fueling algae outbreaks, killing wildlife
Gainesville Sun - by David Guest
June 29, 201.
A few miles from Florida's state Capitol, a lake has broken out with toxic algae that causes skin rashes and liver damage in humans and kills wildlife. I wish I could tell you this was an isolated case.
The fact is, hundreds of manatees, dolphins, birds and fish have been washing up dead on both the east and west coasts. Those waters are fouled by sewage, manure, fertilizer and sewage — pollution that fuels algae outbreaks.
How bad is it? Take a look:
* In Southeast Florida's Indian River Lagoon, algae outbreaks are causing what Discovery News calls a “mass murder mystery” — a dead manatee floats up about every two weeks. The tally there since last summer is over 111 manatees, along with more than 46 dead dolphins and 300 pelicans.
* In Orlando, the spring-fed Wekiva River is covered by slimy algae and residents are warned to stay away from Lake Harris and Little Lake Harris, which have turned murky brown from another algae outbreak.
* There's a persistent algae outbreak off the popular tourist mecca of Sanibel Island, and a water treatment plant on Southwest Florida's Caloosahatchee River that's supposed to serve 30,000 people shut down; the algae makes the water unusable ­­— even dangerous — for drinking.
* In Jacksonville, residents are seeing signs that the “Green Monster” massive algae outbreak is coming back on the St. Johns River. The Green Monster covered almost 100 miles of the St. Johns with slime in 2005 and 2009, causing public health warnings, fish kills and turning water pea-soup green.
A scientist doing an aerial survey for manatees along the river recently told the Florida Times-Union that he and his pilot suffered “respiratory distress” just flying 500 feet over the algae outbreak.
We are in this predicament because, to put it plainly, Florida's government is gutting common-sense rules that would help stop algae outbreaks.
Outdated septic tanks cause algae outbreaks, but the Legislature gutted septic tank regulations. Polluter lobbyists drafted the state's rules on sewage and manure pollution, the Scott administration adopted the weak language and the Legislature approved it. When some lawmakers proposed an amendment for the state to collect reports of skin rashes and health effects from this pollution, the Legislature overwhelmingly voted it down.
Scott's administration has also fired attorneys and staffers who dared to enforce laws at the state's Department of Environmental Protection. Enforcement cases against polluters have plummeted.
Powerful agricultural corporations — many of them out of state — are now polluting Florida waters without consequence. The “rules” around agricultural runoff are particularly galling because they are — really! — on the honor system.
A big polluter like an industrial plant would be fined if it piled up a bunch of toxic stuff that washed into a river. But that's not true for Florida agricultural operations. Florida allows them voluntary goals called “best management practices.” All the corporation has to do is say it is implementing a plan to control pollution, and it is exempt from monitoring!
It's as if a big trucking company were allowed to blow through speed traps so long as it submitted a “speed-limit compliance plan” to the Highway Patrol.
Fishermen watching the massive die-offs along the Indian River Lagoon ­— considered the most diverse estuary in North America — have little hope of help from Florida's leaders. The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute got the Legislature to approve $2 million this year for a study of the lagoon's water chemistry. Scott vetoed it.

130629-c
Raking algae from the Weeki Wachee is great — but it won't save the spring
Tampa Bay Times – by Dan Dewitt, Columnist
June 29, 2013
Clumps of algae are common along the Weeki Wachee in areas protected from the stream’s main current.
To politicians who doubt the broad appeal of environmental protection — at least the protection of local, poster-worthy natural landmarks — I give you the Rotary Club.
I'm talking about a project called Save Weeki Wachee Springs, which is modeled after the One Rake at a Time cleanup of Kings Bay in Crystal River.
It will take real commitment — wading into the Weeki Wachee to rake up the stringy, green-black algae that is smothering the spring and piling this slimy glop on kayaks and pontoon boats.
It will be done, starting next month, not by members of the big environmental groups, the left-leaning outfits easily dismissed in right-leaning Tallahassee, and not by one of those tiny organizations with a tiny focus — say nearby homeowners worried that algae is making the view from their docks awfully tacky.
No, this is a rare joint project of all three Rotary clubs in Hernando County — Brooksville, Spring Hill, Spring Hill Central. They cover most of the county and represent a big, wide swath of the middle of the political spectrum.
Rotary. It doesn't get any more mainstream than that.
Based on this interest, based on the large number of people who have coincidentally talked to me about the sad state of the river and the need to do something about it, I get the sense that the Weeki Wachee has suddenly become a cause.
I get the feeling that a light has switched on over our collective head, that there's a realization that if we blow this — if we let a natural wonder on the order of the Weeki Wachee go to pot on our watch — then we've blown something really big.
Great.
Just as long as we keep in mind that raking algae isn't enough to save this or any other spring in Florida, that it's like taking an aspirin for a tumor-induced headache.
The real problem with the Weeki Wachee is nitrogen pollution, according to a draft report recently completed by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The level of nitrates in the spring is close to 1 part per million, and returning it to health would require a reduction of nearly 60 percent, according to the report, the writing of which is the first step in a process that has worked very well, many times, since the federal Clean Water Act was passed in 1972.
But most other impaired rivers were impaired by relatively few polluters. Stop them and you stop the problem.
The nitrogen in the Weeki Wachee, on the other hand, comes from the fertilizer we put on our lawns, hayfields and golf courses, from the waste in our septic tanks and wastewater treatment plants — all of it seeping through some of the most porous soil in the state. It comes from all of us, and the only way to stop it is to change the way we live and do business.
And without better regulation, it's not going to happen.
So, we need to tell our County Commission it needs to require septic tank inspections, not pass on them as it did last year.
We need short political careers for lawmakers who keep insisting on shorter and shorter permitting processes for dirty industries. We need to howl in protest when the state agency that is supposed to protect our environment keeps firing employees who care about protection.
If we want to save our springs — and I think we do — we need to do all these things.
And get out and rake algae.

130629-d
Reduced, reorganized DEP hands out bonuses
Tallahassee.com – by Travis Pillow, Florida Capital Bureau
June 29, 2013
With a reorganization and fewer permit applications to process, the Department of Environmental Protection’s regulatory division has cut spending by $8.8 million and shed 120 employees going into the new fiscal year.
Under a plan approved Friday by the Legislative Budget Commission, a portion of those savings — about $517,000 — will be distributed back to nearly a fifth of the regulatory division’s employees as one-time bonuses.
The division has reduced staff in its state offices based in Tallahassee by more than 5 percent and made deeper reductions at its district offices. It is also trimming travel and other office expenses.
Department spokesman Patrick Gillespie said in an email that the goal of the reorganization was to “flatten out management structures by eliminating middle management to improve communication and efficiency.”
Lawmakers on the 14-member budget panel said they wanted to reward the agency’s highest-performing employees for that efficiency.
“Everywhere I go I hear, some of my constituents anyway, telling me how efficient the agency is, whether they’re for or against a particular permit,” said Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine.
Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, cast a lone dissenting vote against the plan. He said he was worried about recent legislative efforts to pare back environmental regulations and speed up the approval of permits. A state law passed last year trimmed the maximum time for permit responses from 90 days to 60.
He also raised concerns about some of the criteria for receiving bonuses, including the speed with which employees respond to permit applications.
“The (natural) resources are as critically in decline and, I think, perhaps, as much threatened at this point,” Pafford said, adding: “I think this type of bonus may impact decision-making when we’re looking at providing incentive to speed up a process.”
Jeff Littlejohn, the department’s deputy secretary who oversees the department’s regulatory division and helped propose the bonus plan, said he did not think the bonuses could have affected permitting decisions because employees were not told about them until the plan became public last week.
He said employees were judged on other factors, like creating restoration plans for polluted water bodies and getting businesses to follow the terms of their environmental permits. The department’s compliance rate for permits reached an all-time high last year.
“We haven’t lowered any expectations at all. It’s just a difference in approach,” Littlejohn said. “We’re working with Florida citizens and businesses and not trying to take an adversarial approach to either permitting or compliance.”
The department has seen the number of permit applications fall to half their peak of more than 38,000 in 2006. During that time, the department as a whole has also been reduced by nearly 500 positions, to 3,118 in the state budget that takes effect on Monday.
State law allows agencies that cut expenses to return a portion of the savings to employees as bonuses.
A total of 269 employees in the department’s regulatory division are set to receive bonuses ranging from $722 to $6,000.
Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, oversees the budgets for DEP and other agencies as the chairman of the general government appropriations subcommittee. He said he would like to see agencies “duplicate this program throughout the entire realm of state government.”

130628-a
Caloosahatchee River project awaits funds
News-Press.com – by Chad Gillis
Jun. 28, 2013
Poll: Should taxpayers spend billions on Everglades restoration?
Supporters pressure Congress for $580 million for reservoir.
Water managers and environmentalists are putting pressure on Congress to approve and help fund $580 million to finally make the Caloosahatchee River Reservoir a reality, a project that would help clean up polluted water from the river that regularly leads to algae blooms, stormwater run-off and excess nutrients in Southwest Florida.
The Senate in May passed the first Water Resources Development Act in six years, although no money for water and infrastructure projects is earmarked. South Florida Water Management District board members and local elected officials have pushed for years to secure federal money for water quality and flow projects.
The WRDA process creates a list of projects that may or may not be approved for funding. The Army Corps of Engineers and Water Management estimate the reservoir will take four to five years to complete.
The Senate has signed off on the authorization. The House could do the same, vote the bill down or not consider it at all. All permits and reports necessary to start construction are in place.
If approved by the House and funded, a WRDA bill would likely send hundreds of millions of dollars to various states that are working on water infrastructure and pollution projects.
The project, C-43, is 11,000 acres of old farmland that will be the site of two water storage and treatment cells meant to clean and store excess stormwater run-off and Lake Okeechobee water releases. These polluted waters feed harmful algal blooms, choke sunlight from sea grasses and can be dangerous to swimmers and beachgoers. The reservoir is also an Everglades restoration project.
“There seems to be at least general indication that there will be action on it,” said South Florida Water Management District governing board member Mitch Hutchcraft, who represents the West Coast and agriculture interests.
Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall has represented this region on water quality issues for nearly a decade and said she’s confident the C-43 Reservoir will be listed by the House. The funding, she said, is the crux of the project and a major hurdle to cleaning up Calosahatchee River waters.
“The (estuary) has great little organisms and hatchlings and sea grasses, and if we don’t get enough freshwater those organism can’t live,” Hall said. “We were never connected but mother nature adapted.”
The reservoir will allow water managers to divert stormwater run-off and even water released from Lake Okeechobee, filter the water and store it for dry season or drought releases.
The program started in 1974 with the idea of issuing similar funds every two years. The 1986 WRDA included more than $16 billion for nearly 400 projects, according to the corps. The most recent bill was passed in 2007 after a congressional override of President George W. Bush. and included $23 billion for 900 projects.
People like Rae Ann Wessel, of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, have waited since then for more federal money to execute these types of Everglades restoration projects.
“We keep pushing every year,” Wessel said. “It was supposed to be on a two-year cycle, but it’s been nearly seven years since we’ve had a bill. We’re really overdue.”
The two major water pollution problems in Lee County are stormwater run-off from neighborhoods and commercial developments as well as agriculture and Lake Okeechobee releases, which send excess nutrients from farming operations to the coast and the Caloosahatchee estuary.
“Too much water is shunted off land too quickly,” Wessel said of the fundamental hydrologic challenge. “We’re getting a certain amount of water out of Lake Okeebchobee but we’re getting more water from the watershed. You don’t want to turn the whole state into a bunch of storage reservoirs but retaining the water allows it to percolate through the soil and clean the groundwater.”
The Caloosahatchee River was historically fed by Lake Hicpochee, which has shriveled up since the U.S. Army Corps dredged canals that like the river to Lake Okeechobee, a major source of agriculture pollution.
Hutchcraft warned that even though the C-43 Reservoir may be listed on the final WRDA that federal money is rarely guaranteed.
“There are a lot of other projects lined up doing the exact same thing,” Hutchcraft said. “The federal resources are pretty limited and strained, so it’s possibly you may be included in the WRDA bill but there may not be enough money to fund it.”

130628-b
Enviros ask Fla. High Court for conservation referendum
Law360 – by Carolina Bolado
June 28, 2013
Miami -- An environmental group on Monday asked the Florida Supreme Court to allow voters to decide on a proposed state constitutional amendment that would dedicate part of an existing real estate tax to fund the state's land-buying conservation program.
In a brief made available Thursday, the Florida Water and Land Legacy said the high court should allow the proposed amendment to go to voters, arguing that it complies with the constitutional requirements regarding citizen-led initiatives.
The amendment would dedicate one-third of the state's documentary stamp tax —...
To view the full article, take a Law360 free trial now.

130628-c
Impact: Building and Infrastructure
Florida Trend – by Lilly Rockwell , Special Report: Sea Level Rise
June 28, 2013
Flooding has become more common on touristy Miami Beach. Because parts of Miami Beach are only four feet above sea level, even small increases in sea level matter. Data from a nearby Virginia Key tide gauge show the highest monthly average sea level rising by more than four inches from 1994 to 2012.
The city even struggles with what is called “sunny day flooding,” where no rain falls but high tides push water back into the streets.
“Miami Beach is ground zero,” says Leonard Berry, director of the Florida Center for Environmental Studies at FAU. The city has begun one of the most aggressive campaigns to plan for sea level rise in Florida, starting with its stormwater system.
Based on the suggestions of an engineering firm, the city will spend $200 million updating its drainage system to ease flooding, installing 17 new pumps. The project will be paid for with bonds. A separate plan to ensure sea walls are at least 3.2 feet high isn’t included in the $200-million tally.
The South Florida Water Management District is also making major investments in its stormwater system, which relies on 2,000 miles of canals and 69 pump stations to divert water from roads and homes. Put in place in the 1950s and 1960s, the system of canals and floodgates is not working as well as sea level rises.
“Sometimes we cannot open the gates because if you open it, the water would come back,” says Jayantha Obeysekera, chief modeler at the South Florida Water Management District.
The water management district spent $50 million on two pumps near the Miami airport last year, using a grant from FEMA’s hazard mitigation program, according to a district spokesman. Now when water spills out from canals, it can pump the water to the ocean rather than relying on gravity.

130627-a
Help plan the future of WMAs in the Everglades
Florida Sportsman – by the Editor
June 27, 2013
A 10-year plan for several Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in the Everglades will be presented at a July 11 public hearing in Broward County.
Anyone can attend the 7 p.m. public hearing that Thursday at the University of Florida Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, 3205 College Ave., Davie.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) staff will present the draft land management plan developed for FWC-managed portions of the Everglades and Francis S. Taylor, Holey Land and Rotenberger WMAs. The 700,000 plus acres in the three WMAs are home to species such as alligator, bald eagle, Everglades mink, Florida black bear, Florida panther, roseate spoonbill, snail kite and wood stork. These WMAs also are close to the urban communities of south Florida, providing people with nearby opportunities for hunting, fishing, boating, hiking, camping, bicycling, bird watching and wildlife viewing.
At the hearing, the public will be encouraged to ask questions and comment on the draft plan, available for review at http://myfwc.com/media/2575828/ECWMA-Area-Overview.pdf.
“The Everglades complex of Wildlife Management Areas was purchased in order to ensure the preservation of fish and wildlife resources, other natural and cultural resources, and for fish and wildlife-based public outdoor recreation,” said Rebecca Shelton, FWC land conservation biologist. “This draft plan specifies how we intend to do that.”
All lands purchased with public funds must have a management plan that ensures the property will be managed in a manner consistent with the intended purposes of the purchase.
Hunting and fishing regulations are not included in this plan or meeting; those are addressed through a separate public process.
To obtain a copy of the draft land management prospectus for the Everglades Complex of WMAs, please call Diana Kilgore at 850-487-7063 or David Alden at 850-487-9588, or email Diana.Kilgore@myfwc.com.
For background and more information on management plans and their goals, visit MyFWC.com/Conservation and select “Terrestrial Programs” then “Management Plans.”
To learn more about the Everglades and Francis S. Taylor, Holey Land and Rotenberger trio of WMAs, go to MyFWC.com/ Viewing and select “Wildlife Management Areas” then “Explore by Name.” All three are under “Lead Areas.”

130627-b
Florida newsmaker Adam Putnam
Herald Tribune – Staff Report
June 27, 2013
Ron Sachs of Sachs Media Group is providing a series of interviews with newsmakers in Tallahassee in a partnership with the Florida Press Association.
In this week's videotaped interview, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam sits down with Sachs Media Group’s Ron Sachs to discuss the top issues facing Florida’s agriculture industry.
With the recent defeat of the Farm Bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, Putnam says Florida has a lot to lose if lawmakers don’t come to an agreement. “There is a lot of money in there, a lot of programs to support the Florida Everglades, the northern Everglades, the spring sheds, Lake Okeechobee as well as research and marketing,” Putnam tells Sachs. “They are going to have to regroup and figure out how to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.”
Putnam also talks about why he quietly launched his re-election campaign without making a formal announcement. “Well I’m not being so quiet about it now,” Commissioner Putnam said. “We filed paperwork toward the end of the legislative session when we were focused on the business at hand.” Putnam addresses those issues and more on Florida “NewsMakers.”
VIDEO interview - CLICK

130627-c
There is no Phosphorus shortage: Stop designing foolish systems to recycle it
Forbes – by Tim Worstall
June 27, 2013
There’s a story out today that makes me just so darn angry. Intelligent and hard working chemical engineers at the University of Florida have been fooled into wasting their precious time in designing something that the world just doesn’t need. They’ve been fooled into doing so by one of the more egregious errors of the environmental movement. The idea that we’re imminently going to run out of certain mineral resources.
Here’s the basic story:
Researchers at the University of Florida were able to extract up to 97 percent of phosphates from urine in less than five minutes during their lab experiments.
OK, well, that’s fun and interesting. But is it actually necessary ?
“The hope is that their findings will lead to larger-scale system to be installed in homes and communities to extract phosphates from their urine before it is rid of its nutritional value.”
If successful, expect to see waterless urinals and ‘no-mix toilets’ in the near future.
Is our entire species going to have to change its latrine habits: making sure that we now pee and poop in different receptacles? I have to admit that it all sounds as if someone is regretting that greatest of inventions, the water closet. But the question is, is this actually going to be necessary? If it is, then sure: but what if it isn’t? The Daily Mail gives us a little more:
“Since estimates suggest that phosphorous – which occurs as phosphate rocks and is mined for crop fertilizer – could be exhausted in the next 50 to 100 years, urine recycling may be the key to conserving the non-renewable resource in the future.”
No, just no. Phosphorus (or phosphorous to us Brits) is not going to run out in 50 or 100 years. This is the most absurd misunderstanding of what the mining industry actually says about these things. Here’s the numbers on phosphorus from the USGS. If you look at page two you will see that annual production is 210,000 and mineral reserves are 67,000,000, (both in thousands of tonnes) divide one into the other and you get 300 odd years of reserves left. Quite how anyone gets that down to 50-100 years I’m not quite sure.
But if you then take that number and claim that that is all there is that we can use then you are either ignorant or malicious. Because mineral reserves are not, not in any way or manner, all of a mineral that is available for us to use. Reserves are only the minerals we have marked out, drilled, tested, looked at, weighed and proven that we can in fact mine them at current prices, with current technology, and still make a profit. And that “proven” costs a great deal of money to do which is why, if we’ve got enough reserves to be going on with, we don’t bother to do the proving of any more.
If you want to talk about the actual amount that’s available for us to use, using current technology and current knowledge, then you need to look at another number: mineral resources. From that same page two of the USGS report:
 World resources of phosphate rock are more than 300 billion tons
We have something like a 1,500 years supply there. And no, even that’s not all that is available to us. That’s just the amount of this type of rock, that we already know about, that is out there.
Which is the point at which I start to get angry with that crowd who continually cry that we’re about to run out of things. There are many problems in this world and many of them could be usefully studied by decent chemical engineers. But a shortage of phosphorus simply isn’t something that’s going to happen in any time scale less than that which separates us from the Fall of Rome. And yet because of this yelling from people who don’t know the difference between a mineral reserve and a mineral resource the time of those good engineers is being wholly wasted on something that just doesn’t need doing. This does make me angry. Grr.

130626-a
A legal blow to sustainable development
New York Times -by John D. Echeverria
June 26, 2013
STRAFFORD, Vt. — LOST amid the Supreme Court’s high-profile decisions on affirmative action, voting rights and same-sex marriage was another ruling that may turn out to have a profound impact on American society. The court handed down a decision on Tuesday that, in the words of Justice Elena Kagan, will “work a revolution in land-use law.”
While that may sound obscure, the decision in Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District will result in long-lasting harm to America’s communities. That’s because the ruling creates a perverse incentive for municipal governments to reject applications from developers rather than attempt to negotiate project designs that might advance both public and private goals — and it makes it hard for communities to get property owners to pay to mitigate any environmental damage they may cause.
The court’s 5-to-4 decision, with Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. writing for the majority, arose from an order issued by a Florida water management district denying an application by Coy A. Koontz Sr. to fill more than three acres of wetlands in order to build a small shopping center. The district made clear that it was willing to grant the permit if Mr. Koontz agreed to reduce the size of the development or spend money on any of a variety of wetlands-restoration projects designed to offset the project’s environmental effects. Because Mr. Koontz declined to pursue any of these options, the district denied the permit.
Mr. Koontz, who is now deceased, went to court and claimed that the permit denial constituted a “taking” under two Supreme Court precedents, Nollan v. California Coastal Commission and Dolan v. City of Tigard. These cases established that when the government approved a development subject to certain conditions, like a requirement that a developer dedicate an easement to the public, the conditions would be deemed an appropriation of private property unless the government could show a logical relationship and a “rough proportionality” between the conditions imposed and the projected effects of the development.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected Mr. Koontz’s takings argument on two grounds. First, it interpreted Nollan and Dolan as being limited to cases in which the government has issued a permit subject to a condition — not in those in which a permit has been denied. Second, it ruled that Nollan and Dolan applied only when the government’s condition took an interest in some tangible property (like demanding an easement, for example), not when a government imposed a generalized requirement on someone to spend money.
In what can fairly be described as a blockbuster decision, the Supreme Court has reversed the Florida court on both points.
Leaving the majority’s legal reasoning aside, the Supreme Court’s ruling is likely to do some serious real-world damage. As Justice Kagan correctly explains in her dissent, the decision will very likely encourage local government officials to avoid any discussion with developers related to permit conditions that, in the end, might have let both sides find common ground on building projects that are good for the community and environmentally sound. Rather than risk a lawsuit through an attempt at compromise, many municipalities will simply reject development applications outright — or, worse, accept development plans they shouldn’t.
“Nothing in the Takings Clause requires that folly,” Justice Kagan said. But arguably it does now.
As for the second part of the majority’s ruling, that Nollan and Dolan apply to permit conditions requiring the general expenditure of money, that will also have unfortunate consequences. Cities and towns across America routinely attach fees and other payment obligations to permits, for example, to support wetlands mitigation banks, to finance roads, to pay for new schools or to build affordable housing.
While, to be sure, such mandates must be reasonable under the Constitution, the revolutionary and destructive step taken by the court in Koontz is to cast the burden on the government to justify the mandates according to the heightened Nollan-Dolan standard. This is contrary to the traditional court approach of according deference to elected officials and technical experts on issues of regulatory policy. Moreover, this heightened standard will result in a huge number of costly legal challenges to local regulations.
Consider the challenges of waste disposal. Many communities impose development-impact fees on developers if a proposed project would require expanding waste-disposal sites or building new ones. Before Koontz, a developer could raise a constitutional challenge if the charges were unreasonable, but judges typically deferred to local governments in such cases.
After Koontz, developers have a potent new legal tool to challenge such charges because now the legal burden of demonstrating their validity is on the communities themselves.
In the wake of this under-the-radar ruling, the cost of protecting a community from a harmful building project now lies not with the developer but with the local residents and taxpayers. It’s hard to fathom that the framers of the Constitution would call this either fairness or justice.
John D. Echeverria is a professor at Vermont Law School
Related:
Supreme Court decision on property rights is an environmental ...    Treehugger (blog)-8 hours ago
Ruling a win for developers from 'government extortion'      St. Augustine Record

130626-b
Future of South Florida conservation lands in limbo; public asked to weigh in
WLRN - by Tricia Woolfenden
June 26, 2013
How valuable are state-managed conservation lands? It's a question the South Florida Water Management District has put to the public in a multi-month assessment of fee-owned lands throughout the state.
Since early 2013, the SFWMD has been in the process of assessing the use of about 750,000 acres, dividing the lands into five separate regions. The Everglades Assessment Region -- which encompasses all of Miami-Dade and Broward counties and much of Palm Beach County -- is the final section up for review. Depending on the outcome of the assessment, public lands could be designated for "surplus." Surplus lands can be made available for public sale or trade, or put to alternative use. 
On the potential chopping block: Marsh lands in the South Miami-Dade Wetlands, Biscayne Bay-adjacent properties, and land that abuts Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. Other parcels -- such as Frog Pond -- are important components in a complex, managed water system meant to maintain and restore water-flow to the Everglades. 
Audubon Florida has stressed the ecological significance of the some of the lands, citing their use as protected habitat for endangered species like the Florida panther, snail kite, and wood stork. The conservation group says that while some of the district materials emphasize the infiltration of exotic species -- such as Australian pine, Brazilian pepper, and melaleuca -- many of the up-for-debate lands provide vital habitat for native species.
The group urges folks to weigh in on the value of the properties at stake, lest the lands "be rendered more vulnerable to being declared surplus and sold, or perhaps leased to agriculture and lime rock mine companies for commercial exploitation."
The public has indeed taken the time to weigh in on the SFWMD project as it has progressed. Public comment on the East Coast Assessment Region (which includes portions of Palm Beach County) included input from dozens of South Florida residents who advocated for the continued protection of public lands for activities like canoeing, kayaking, birding, hiking, and hunting. (Read their comments here.)  
The SFWMD is accepting public input on the Everglades Assessment Region through July 8. Comments can be submitted via an online form. They'll also hold a public workshop from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 26, at the SFWMD Headquarters at 3301 Gun Club Road in West Palm Beach. At 1 p.m., they'll further discuss the East Coast Assessment Region, including all of the draft staff recommendations that were created following the input period. Public comment on those recommendations also is being accepted through July 8.

130626-c
Water managers weigh putting South Florida lands up for sale
Miami Herald – by Curtis Morgan
June 26, 2013
The South Florida Water Management District, one of the state’s largest landowners with some 1.5 million acres ranging from wild banks of the restored Kissimmee River to bird-covered marshes at the southern end of Miami-Dade County, is pondering unloading some of its vast holdings.
Environmentalists are closely watching what the district is calling a “land assessment process,” worried that an agency that has been forced to slash its budget over the past few years by Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature may shed important acreage that could shrink wildlife habitat, compromise Everglades restoration projects or, worse, wind up in the hands of developers.
The district’s initial assessment, for example, includes 209 acres along Old Cutler Road bordering Biscayne Bay in Cutler Bay, which includes a 138-acre chunk the district purchased for $24.5 million less than three years ago to protect it from pending conversion into suburbia.
“Are we really going to get into the business of the South Florida Water Management District selling land fronting Biscayne Bay to a private developer?’’ said Charles Lee, director of advocacy for Audubon of Florida.
Water managers insist that’s not the intention and say they expect to keep the vast majority of the lands. One goal is to transfer or swap parcels to other government agencies, where they would continue to be used as conservation or recreation areas. The district, for instance, is negotiating transferring ownership of the 3,300-acre-plus Strazzulla wetlands in Palm Beach County to the bordering Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
“Clearly, we would like to see that lands bought with public money continue to be used in some public fashion,’’ said Tommy Strowd, the district’s deputy executive director.
But water managers also won’t rule out that some scattered tracts that no longer serve useful purposes may wind up for sale to private bidders — but only after another round of more thorough evaluation and appraisals, public comment and approval from the agency’s governing board.
Lawmakers ordered the state’s water-management districts to slash property tax rates by nearly a third several years ago, but Strowd said the district is not pursuing the assessment as a money maker — though it could wind up saving millions in maintenance costs.
It comes, he said, as part of an initiative ordered by Scott for every state agency to analyze whether public lands they manage fulfill “core missions.” In the case of the district, that’s defined as flood protection along with maintaining water supply, water quality and the ecological health of natural areas.
Some of the district’s parcels are clearly a poor fit — like the graceful home and 16-acre estate of former state lawmaker Edna Pearce Lockett along the Kissimmee River in Highlands County, which the district wound up with as part of a 1993 deal to acquire 423 surrounding acres. But other agencies have since passed on offers to take it over, largely because of the expense of maintaining it.
The district is initially analyzing only half its land, about 750,000 acres it owns outright without any sort of easements or other complicating restrictions. The biggest chunk lies in the Everglades region, which covers much of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County and includes an array of critical restoration and clean-up projects. Some are already constructed, such as the massive artificial marshes used for cleaning up farm pollution, but many others are in the works or awaiting future approval and funding.
The area also includes other important swaths of wild lands. One is the so-called East Coast Buffer, which winds from western Palm Beach County down through Miami-Dade along the border of Everglades National Park and was intended to preserve a transitional area between Southeast Florida’s sprawling suburbs and the marshes to the west. There are also sprawling wetlands in South Miami-Dade as well as some of the last remaining large chunks of undeveloped land along southern Biscayne Bay.
The district hasn’t yet identified specific Everglades parcels to formally consider for land swaps or to “surplus” for potential sale to private owners. But the most likely targets are isolated tracts in areas where plans for restoration projects have fallen through or been scaled back. Those include the Las Palmas area of west Miami-Dade, once known as the 8.5 Square Mile Area, as well as the Bird Drive basin east of Krome Avenue and north of Tamiami Trail, where the district owns a checkerboard of small wetland tracts, many of them overrun with exotic vegetation.
At a Wednesday workshop at the district’s headquarters in West Palm Beach, environmentalists urged water managers to preserve as much as possible and not undervalue land that might temporarily be choked by exotic vegetation. Even degraded lands provide critical habitat for birds and other wildlife, help recharge ground water and control flooding, said Laura Reynolds, executive director of the Tropical Audubon Society in Miami.
Land can easily be restored, she said, but “even just sitting there open land is incredibly valuable.”
Drew Martin of the Loxahatchee chapter of the Sierra Club urged the district to apply protective conservation deed restrictions to any land it may decide to give up to other agencies or counties.
“We forget, these lands were purchased for a reason and that was to provide a buffer for natural areas,’’ he said
Representatives from the U.S. Interior Department, Loxahatchee refuge and Miami-Dade County government also urged water managers to proceed cautiously.
Gwen Burzycki, a special-projects administrator for Miami-Dade’ environmental division, said both the county and district had invested a lot of time and money to protecting and managing wetlands.
“It would be a financial travesty to let these lands go after we have put so much effort into getting them into shape,’’ she said.
Ray Palmer, section leader of the district’s real estate division, said the process of deciding what and how to surplus any parcels was complicated. For starters, at least two dozen different sources of state, federal and county funding have been used to acquire land over the decades, and many , from the Florida Save Our Everglades trust fund to assorted other state, county and federal programs. Many of those programs came with covenants that restrict how land can be used, swapped or sold and could require approval from other agencies.
The district staff intends to come up with an initial list of proposals for the Everglades region in August and, after another period of public comment, present a final list to the district’s governing board in September. A list for a region north of Lake Okeechobee presented to the board last month included some 6,200 acres of land for disposal.
Water managers said they have no target number they are shooting for. Palmer said he expects a very small percentage of land in the Everglades region to make the list.

130625-a
Local farmers honored for environmental leadership
The Suwannee Democrat
June 25, 2013
Live Oak — Nineteen Suwannee River Basin agriculturists will be recognized for their exceptional natural resource stewardship with a County Alliance for Responsible Environmental Stewardship (CARES) award during a dinner on Thursday. The event will be held at the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center – Suwannee Valley in Live Oak, beginning at 6 p.m.
The 13th annual CARES event will honor farmers and ranchers from seven area counties who have implemented Best Management Practices (BMPs) to maximize the conservation and protection of natural resources on their properties.
Out of the 19 agriculturalists being honored, five are from Suwannee County. They are George Wayne Ross of the George Ross Farm; Ken Weaver of Weaver Farms; James Reeves of the Jaime, Dylin, Patty, and James Reeves Farm; Kevin and Stevie Dasher of K&S Farms; and Don and Laura Cooper of Cooper Farms.
Farm owners who have met verifiable standards of excellence in resource management receive a CARES designation and an identifying CARES sign to post on their property recognizing them for their commitment in taking the lead as environmental stewards.
“We are proud of our farmers and ranchers,” said John Hoblick, president of Florida Farm Bureau. “This award demonstrates their passion to produce safe, abundant food while being excellent stewards of our land and water.”
The CARES event will include a casual dinner with fresh farm foods and an awards presentation with special guest speaker Hoblick. More than 800 guests are expected to attend to honor their peers.
The CARES program was created by Florida Farm Bureau and the Suwannee River Partnership in 2001 to promote public recognition of state-of-the art agriculture production techniques. In partnership with more than 60 public agencies, CARES has become a model for the rest of the nation. More than 550 agriculturists statewide have received the CARES award.

130625-b
Our water treasures are in danger
Sun Sentinel
June 25, 2013
In a public forum in Jacksonville last week, environmental advocates sent another distress signal on the endangered health of two of Florida's most valuable natural assets: Silver Springs and the St. Johns River.
The once famously clear waters of Silver Springs have become increasingly fouled with algae and weeds because of pollution and a diminished flow from the Floridan Aquifer. Silver Springs, near Ocala, is a water source for the St. Johns River system, so problems that begin in the springs flow on to afflict the river.
Historically, advocates for imperiled waterways in Florida could expect at least some backup from a public partner: one or more of the five regional water-management districts. Lawmakers created the districts in 1972 with a mission that includes protecting water quality and natural resources.
But those parts of the districts' mission have been steadily undermined by Gov. Rick Scott and similarly shortsighted state lawmakers.
In 2011, they reduced funding to the districts by more than 20 percent. Fewer dollars forced them to lay off staff and scale back activities. Budgets for many conservation, restoration and enforcement programs were slashed or eliminated.
The governor also ordered the Department of Environmental Protection to exercise tighter control over the  districts. The department said the move was intended "to bring water management district operations more in line with today's economic climate."
The clear implication that environmental protection is a barrier to job creation is hogwash — especially in Florida, where waterways, wildlife and wild places are a crucial part of the state's identity and help drive its No. 1 industry, tourism.
Meanwhile, for the first time in 30 years, none of the boards that oversee the districts has an environmental activist among its gubernatorial appointees. That has left the boards dominated by farming, real estate and development representatives.
Some critics would argue the districts have always put pumping water over protecting it, but the hits they've taken lately are having a predictable effect.
In this year's legislative session, the St. Johns district stayed out of the debate on a bill that would have let an Orange County community destroy wetlands to divert runoff into the Econlockhatchee River. On a district-led trip to the Wekiva River after the session, officials wouldn't even talk to Orlando Sentinel environmental reporter Kevin Spear about the decline in that waterway's condition.
Scott and lawmakers need to empower the districts with sufficient funding and autonomy to fulfill their mission. They need to stop promoting the fallacy that protecting the environment kills jobs. And the governor, through better appointments, needs to restore the will of the districts to be true champions for Florida's precious waterways.

130625-c
Sugar add ‘Let’s Get to Work’ while Scott overseas
JaxDailyRecord.com – by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
June 25, 2013
While Gov. Rick Scott was in Paris last week, his re-election team pulled in nearly $700,000, with a large part of the harvest coming from U.S. Sugar Corp.
The “Let’s Get to Work” political committee posted $695,447 in contributions from 91 sources during the time Scott was highlighting the state to foreign aviation interests as part of Enterprise Florida’s June 14-21 trade mission to the Paris Air Show.
The Tallahassee-based committee supporting Scott has raised more than $6.6 million since the start of the year, with $1.27 million arriving since the start of June.
In 2012, the group collected $4.79 million and Scott, who spent more than $70 million on his 2010 campaign, has yet to actually open his own campaign account for 2014 although he has announced he is running.
The campaign committee money gives Scott an early edge over any Democratic challenger.
However, Susan MacManus, a political-science professor at the University of South Florida, said fundraising for the Democratic nominee shouldn’t be a problem because of the national attention expected to be drawn to the Florida contest.
“It’s considered one of the top governor’s races, if not the top governor’s race in the whole country, a lot of money will migrate here,” MacManus said. “If anything, for the governor, the pressure is on him. He knows that Morgan & Morgan is out there with a lot of money too.”
Morgan & Morgan is the statewide law firm that employs former Gov. Charlie Crist, who is considered a leading contender for the Democratic nomination even though the former Republican has yet to declare if he will enter the race.
As for the contributions posted last week by “Let’s Get to Work,” $127,750 came from health-care interests, and $308,798 from individuals and groups tied to real estate, development, banking, consulting and legal interests.
The Florida Realtors PAC dropped $75,000 into the campaign coffers, FCCI Services of Sarasota was good for $50,000 and St. Petersburg designer Ronald Wanek, Arcadia consultants KT Brightwaters LLC, the Campaign Account of Carlton Fields, Palm Beach developer Howard Leach and St. Petersburg developer Mel Sembler each gave $25,000.
U.S. Sugar, one of the major agricultural businesses in the Everglades Agricultural Area, planted $100,000 into the account.
The U.S. Sugar contribution came in the wake of Scott’s May 28 signing of a bill (HB 7065) that alters the Everglades Forever Act by designating $32 million a year for the River of Grass’ upkeep. U.S. Sugar supported the compromise bill.
The measure earned some reluctant praise from environmentalists after an amendment was removed that would have weakened water-quality standards and for extending until 2026 the $25-per-acre tax on growers within the agricultural area. The tax would otherwise have dropped to $10-per-acre starting 2017.
MacManus said Scott’s favorability ratings, which have shown slight improvement, could impact his future fundraising.
A Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed that Scott was viewed favorably by 40 percent of voters and unfavorably by 42 percent. In March, Scott was viewed favorably by only 33 percent of voters and unfavorably by 46 percent.
The poll also showed Scott down 10 points to Crist in a hypothetical race, but up 6 points on former Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich of Weston, the only prominent Democrat who has announced for the office.
Alex Sink, the Democrats’ 2010 gubernatorial candidate, has told the Tampa Bay Times she will decide by Sept. 1 on whether to make a second run for the governor’s mansion.
On the expense side for “Let’s Get to Work,” while Scott was in France the committee spent $13,107, with most of the money going to consultants and a fundraiser in Key West.

130625-d
The Insiders: The costs of carbon are real and growing
Washington Post - by Carter Eskew
June 25, 2013
Today, President Obama will make a major speech outlining ways in which the United States can reduce its carbon emissions, but the deniers and appeasers of climate change don’t have to listen to the speech to give a response.
Their criticism is handy and on the shelf; after all, they’ve been leveling it for more than two decades as the Earth has gotten hotter, and the weather has turned from weird to destructive. An articulate example of this criticism may be found in my colleague Ed Roger’s post yesterday. The gist of Ed’s argument is that ”if” global warming is real, Obama’s policies won’t do anything to solve it, as China and India continue to dump carbon into the atmosphere. But what Obama’s policies to cut global-warming emissions will do, Ed argues, is raise utility bills. There in a nutshell is the simple and compelling negative frame many Republicans have applied to multiple attempts to rein in carbon emissions: Degrade the science; that’s the “if” and then say it’s pointless for the United States to lead when others won’t join them.  But all this is just the warm-up for the kicker: higher utility bills.
Like many good political arguments, this one has worked because it contains some truth.  China and India are growing, and while China in particular is investing billions in low-carbon energy, it is also burning more and more coal. China’s energy policy really is “all of the above” and its carbon trajectory is frightening, but also reversible. And utility bills may indeed go up in some areas of the country that rely on older coal-fired power plants. (The natural gas boom could be a mitigating factor here.)
In the face of these arguments, proponents of carbon reductions have lacked an effective response. It’s time to take their cost argument head on. Coal and other high carbon fuels may look cheaper on a power bill, but that bill doesn’t reflect the true cost of carbon. For example, extreme weather events cost our nation $188 billion between 2011-2012. And January’s painful fiscal cliff deal to raise revenues to reduce the deficit? The first year of reductions was completely off-set by the disaster relief package for Sandy. But for an even more vivid example of the costs of carbon, check out this article in Rolling Stone. In South Florida, sea level rise is already forcing local officials to spend millions to protect drinking water supplies from salt-water encroachment. And, in New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed spending billions to protect the city against flooding from rising seas. The costs of carbon are no longer theoretical; they’re real and growing.

130625-e
U.S. Supreme Court sides with Orange County landowner in property-rights case
Orlando Sentinel - by Kevin Spear
June 25, 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of a Central Florida landowner who argued he was unfairly required to compensate the local water-management district for wetlands he would have destroyed on his property if he had developed it nearly two decades ago.
The "Koontz" case has ricocheted between various state courts as judges examined whether the St. Johns River Water Management District was wrong to demand payment for the restoration of wetlands elsewhere in Central Florida as a condition for approving the destruction of wetlands linked to the Econlockhatchee River on the landowner's property.
Reversing an earlier decision by the Florida Supreme Court, justices on the nation's highest court voted 5-4 in favor of the property owner, a decision that property-rights advocates celebrated.
"Today's ruling says the Fifth Amendment protects landowners from government extortion, whether the extortion is for money or any other form of property," said Paul J. Beard II, a lawyer at the Pacific Legal Foundation, which handled the U.S. Supreme Court case on behalf of the now-deceased property owner.
Related:
Supreme Court rule for Florida property owner in land use case       GlobalPost
Court rules for property owner in Florida case           Arabic UPI.com
Development Permit Terms May Support Suit           Courthouse News Service
Supreme Court's Koontz ruling a victory for landowners      MSN News
Overturning Florida's 'Liberal' Justices, U.S. Supreme Court Upholds ...      Sunshine State News

130624-b
Hundreds of fish and animals die in Florida lagoon mystery
PracticalFishkeeping.co.uk – by Amy Munday
June 24, 2013
Along the shores of the Indian River Lagoon, one of America's most biologically diverse estuaries, hundreds of dead animals and fish are being swept to the shore, with no explanation to their mysterious deaths.
As well as many fish, more than 100 manatees, 300 pelicans and almost 50 dolphins were all found dead. Biologists are now trying to work together in order to discover what the problem is.
The lagoon is home to more than 600 species of fish and more than 300 kinds of birds, and contains more species than anywhere else in the U.S.
It stretches out over 156 miles of water and accounts for hundreds of millions of revenue from numerous water activities, including bird-watching, tourism, boating.
Being stretched across 40 percent of Florida's coast, the island complex consists of the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River and the Indian River Lagoon.
Although there is no known answer for these deaths, the lagoon has been polluted by nutrients and fertilisers running off lawns and farms. This can have effects on acidity, changes in water levels and salt levels.
This is good news for algae, which need high levels of nutrients to thrive, but can also have an adverse effect on the ecosystems's food supply for other animals, such as dolphins.
At present nobody can confirm the killer. There is confusion among the connection between the species problems. While manatees are vegetarians, pelicans and dolphins eat fish. The symptoms are also different, pelicans and dolphins are emaciated, while manatees' stomachs are stuffed. These differentiating factors are making the mystery difficult to solve.
Although biologists have some suspicions, they are left baffled with these illogical connections.
It is hoped that the lagoon will soon begin to recover, however it is believed that it could be close to a decade before things seem back to normal

130624-d
Who will address water issues ?
Gainesville.com - by Jean Wonser, Trenton, FL for the Gainesville Sun
June 24, 2013
Who you gonna call when your well runs dry? Do not call the water management districts as they will explain why they are helpless to restrict water consumption through over pumping.
Who you gonna call when your water turns toxic with nitrates ? Do not call the Department of Environmental Protection (Do Expect Pollution) for officials there will explain why they cannot say no to the abuse of nitrates in Florida.
Who you gonna call about abuse of our springs, aquifer and land-use patterns? Call your county commissioners, who do control land-use issues in each county. They can exert the most immediate action locally.
Then state representatives need to come to the real world and straighten out the rules at DEP and the water management district so the job can be done properly.
Let's face it: We can look at the Santa Fe River, Otter Springs, Ginnie Springs and other water bodies and understand there is a serious problem with poison in the water, with a lack of water and with abuse of land use. Science is great but we have reached the lowest level in some monitor wells in the region and know there is a serious deficit. How much science is required to put a stop to overpumping and dumping of nitrates?
Remember, just because we are able to do it physically does not make it right. Everyone needs to remember that Florida was once a forest-covered wetland. Even though much has been drained, mostly ill-advised, the best use of Florida remains forest land.
Silviculture use does not pump water or dump nitrates on the land, our biggest enemies currently in the uses of Florida.
One thing is certain: If we do nothing, our environment will continue to degrade because there will be another factory farm planning to exploit what resources remain in a once-beautiful land.

130623-c
Marshall Foundation interns to get Everglades education
Palm Beach Daily News - by Jane Fetterly
Five summer interns are busy learning about the Everglades at the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation and Florida Environmental Institute.
“Over the next few months, 55 environmental experts will share their knowledge and mentor them as they study Everglades ecology,” said John Marshall, foundation chairman.
Interns are: Jessica James of Alexandria, Va.; Casey Hickcox of Boynton Beach; Sarah Denison of Sarasota; Kelsie Timpe of Winter Haven; and Tomena Scholze of Burlington, Wis.
On Friday, they will make a presentation at the Sea Level Symposium at Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches.

130623-d
Things are looking up, really
NaplesNews.com - by Janice Trecker
June 23, 2013
It's hard not to be optimistic these days. At least on the local front.
While the Obama administration wallows in scandal and horrors mount in the Middle East, locally the news is mostly good.
- Both Collier County and the City of Naples are holding the line on budgets. Even with a bump in property values, our leaders are resisting the urge to go on a spending spree.
- Signs point to a continuing recovery. The 2013 Collier County Business Survey cited gains over last year and at least a modest increase in jobs.
- State Treasurer Jeff Atwater says people are moving to Florida again. Population is growing at a 1.2% annual rate. Within three years, Atwater says, we'll be the third most populous state, ahead of New York.
- And we're seeing a jump in housing. According to the National Association of Home Builders, Naples is high on the national list -- in employment gains and home price increases. This bucks the county trend in foreclosures, where filings were up 8.4% in May.
- After years of false starts, fire district consolidation may actually be happening. The East Naples and Golden Gate districts have approved an interlocal agreement that could lead to a voter referendum in 2014. It looks like a win-win deal.
- The hurricane season is upon us -- 18-23 named storms are forecast for Florida this year, 3-4 expected to be major hurricanes. But not to worry. Collier County has its act together as never before. Dan Summers, head of Emergency Services, has put together an evacuation plan that is well crafted and practical.
- On the education front, Collier students in grades five through eight posted big gains in FCAT math and science scores. Kudos to Superintendent Kamela Patton and our hard-working teachers. There is still a long way to go, particularly in reading scores, but this is a good start.
- New businesses are coming to Florida. Amazon just signed on, and Hertz is already generating business. Bruce Register, the new economic development director, is putting together a growth plan for Collier County. All good news.
- And to cap things off, the state legislature had a productive session. Tallahassee passed bills, signed by Governor Rick Scott, to stimulate business, reform elections, boost education, streamline the foreclosure process and fund Everglades restoration.
No question things are looking up.
Now if we can just find some cheap sand for our beaches.

130623-e
What we think: Water districts' decline imperils natural treasures
Orlando Sentinel
June 23, 2013
In a forum in Jacksonville this past week, environmental advocates sent out another distress signal on the endangered health of two of Florida's most valuable natural assets: Silver Springs and the St. Johns River.
The once famously clear waters of Silver Springs have become increasingly fouled with algae and weeds because of pollution and a diminished flow from the Floridan Aquifer. Silver Springs is a water source for the St. Johns River system, so problems that begin in the springs flow on to afflict the river.
Historically, advocates for imperiled waterways in Florida could expect at least some backup from a public partner: one or more of the five regional water-management districts. Lawmakers created the districts in 1972 with a mission that includes protecting water quality and natural resources.
But those parts of the districts' mission have been steadily undermined by Gov. Rick Scott and similarly shortsighted state lawmakers.
In 2011, they reduced funding to the districts by more than 20 percent. Fewer dollars forced the districts to lay off staff and scale back activities. Budgets for many conservation, restoration, monitoring and enforcement programs were slashed or eliminated.
The governor also ordered the Department of Environmental Protection to exercise tighter control over the districts. The department said the move was intended "to bring water management district operations more in line with today's economic climate."
The clear implication that environmental protection is a barrier to job creation is hogwash — especially in Florida, where waterways, wildlife and wild places are a crucial part of the state's identity and help drive its No. 1 industry, tourism.
Meanwhile, for the first time in 30 years, none of the boards that oversee the districts has an environmental activist among its gubernatorial appointees. That has left the boards dominated by farming, real estate and development representatives.
Some critics would argue the districts have always been more interested in pumping water than protecting it, but the hits they've taken lately are having a predictable effect.
In this year's legislative session, the St. Johns district stayed out of the debate on a bill that would have let an east Orange County community destroy wetlands to divert runoff into the Econlockhatchee River. And on a district-led trip to the Wekiva River after the session, officials wouldn't even talk to Sentinel environmental reporter Kevin Spear about the alarming decline in that waterway's condition.
Scott and lawmakers need to empower the districts with sufficient funding and autonomy to fulfill their mission. They need to stop promoting the fallacy that protecting the environment kills jobs. And the governor, through better appointments, needs to restore the will of the districts to be true champions for Florida's precious waterways.

130623-f
Will Lower Santa Fe, springs get a life preserver?
Gainesville.com - by Morgan Watkins, Staff writer
June 23, 2013
As legislators and their staff kayaked and canoed down the Santa Fe River one recent afternoon, three people sat in blue folding chairs within the waters of a little spring along the bank.
Their dog Tucker, a boxer and American bulldog mix, stood on dry land sniffing a patch of roots.
As the travelers explained to the trio that the group passing by was part of an educational tour of the river for legislators, one of them pumped her fist into the air.
“Save our springs!” she said as the tail end of the group rowed past her.
The goal of the trip was to provide legislators and members of their staffs with a firsthand perspective on the water quantity and quality problems facing local water bodies, said Steve Minnis, governmental affairs and communications director for the Suwannee River Water Management District.
Seeing the springs in person packs a bigger impact.
State Rep. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, and other politicians took part in the recent excursion, as did staff members for various elected officials and state legislative committees.
Water management district employees and other individuals with experience regarding North Florida's springs system accompanied them on the two-day event, providing insight that ranged from the technical aspects of water quantity and quality issues to the cultural history of the region.
The springs help give this area its personality, and residents know they're vulnerable, said Chris Bird, director of the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department. Some Florida springs have dried up in this lifetime and might never be revived.
Talk to people who spend a lot of time on the Lower Santa Fe River and they'll tell you the water flows are declining.
“They're not necessarily using measurement devices, but they go out there a lot, and they have a feel for the river,” Bird said. “I think the sense we get when we talk to people that use the river is that they have noticed a decline.
“And so, you know, the question is: ‘Can you even put a price on that?' ” he said. “It's like one of those commercials about it being priceless.”
The Suwannee district is in the process of setting minimum flows and levels, or MFLs, for the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee rivers and their priority springs, Minnis said, which was an important topic of discussion during the recent multi-day tour of local water systems.
The district submitted a request this month to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to adopt MFLs for these water resources as well as adopting strategies for their recovery and the prevention of low water levels.
If the DEP fulfills this request, it would be the first time the agency has adopted MFLs, DEP spokesman Patrick Gillespie said. The department is evaluating the district's proposal.
This is also the first time the district is trying to set MFLs for the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee rivers, although it has set them for other water bodies, Minnis said. It hopes to set MFLs for all of its priority bodies of water by 2016, although they will need to be reviewed and updated over the years.
MFLs are the minimum water flows and levels determined to be necessary in order to prevent significant harm to the water resources of a particular area from permitted water withdrawals.
The MFLs identify a range of levels above which consumptive use permitting can be permitted without causing significant harm to ecology or water resources of a water body.
“A drought cannot cause an MFL to be busted,” Minnis said. “We go into droughts naturally, and we go into floods naturally, but it's that additional aspect of withdrawals — whether it be groundwater or surface water withdrawals — that would cause significant harm.”
When a body of water drops below the established MFLs, the district will need to develop a recovery strategy. Similarly, a river in danger of falling below those levels is a prime candidate for a strategy to prevent it from doing so.
According to the Suwannee district staff's recommendation in draft documents, the Lower Santa Fe River needs a recovery plan, and the Ichetucknee River needs a prevention strategy, Minnis said.
The Lower Santa Fe River's flow is below the flow level at which significant harm can occur and should be in recovery to help it rise up to the proposed MFL levels, he said.
The Ichetucknee River needs a prevention strategy because it is in danger of falling below the MFL levels the district proposed to the DEP over a 20-year period. A prevention strategy will take actions aimed at avoiding that outcome.
Senate Bill 244, which was approved by the Florida Legislature earlier this year but hasn't been signed into law yet, would streamline the MFL-setting process by requiring adjoining water management districts to apply DEP-adopted MFLs, Minnis said.
The MFL process hasn't been a successful program anywhere to date for protecting a spring, Knight said.
Plus, MFLs are solely related to flow problems. “They don't touch the water quality issues, which are pretty bad as well,” he said.
Wendy Graham, director of the University of Florida Water Institute, said most of the springs feeding into the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee rivers exceed the numeric nutrient criteria related to water quality.
The UF Water Institute plans to conduct a scientific peer review study of the Suwannee district's MFL report for those bodies of water, Graham said.
When nitrate concentrations exceed a certain level — which many of these springs do — it can lead to increased algae growth and can cause ecological harm, she said.
Despite the rivers' quality and quantity issues, she said she is hopeful the circumstances can improve.
“I don't think these ecosystems are beyond repair,” she said. The MFLs might have been needed years earlier, but she sees this as a better-late-than-never scenario.
Bird, of the county's Environmental Protection Department, said a big concern is whether there is a considerable disconnect between the MFL and consumptive-use permitting.
He highlighted the importance of cutting back on consumptive-use permitting when a spring or river is way below acceptable flow levels.
“If you don't know how much money you've got in the bank, how can you keep writing checks?” Bird asked.

130621-a
600 acres in Weeki Wachee could be wildlife management area
Hernando Today – by Matt Reinig
June 21, 2013
WEEKI WACHEE - More than a combined 600 acres between Weeki Wachee and Chassahowitzka is expected to be made available for recreation such as hiking, biking and bow-hunting if approved for annexation at a meeting Tuesday in Tampa.
The added lands are part of a revision to a cooperative agreement between Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the District for Wildlife Management Areas, which will be brought before the Southwest Florida Water Management District board for a vote 9 a.m. at 7601 U.S. Hwy 301 N. (Fort King Hwy).
The land surplus was declared by the district's Operations and Land Management Committee.
"The agreement itself, really what it is, is to create more efficiency for us, as well as for the commission," said Joe Quinn of SWFWMD. "It takes several agreements we had with them dating back to the 1980s for areas already designated as wildlife management areas, and new wildlife management areas we've identified recently into one agreement."
The 600 acres is Weeki Wachee Preserve properties south of the Weeki Wachee River, Quinn said, and span between Hernando and Pasco counties.
The northern land portion nearing the river, which consists of about 2,850 acres, will be designated as a separate archery hunting area available for the 2013-14 hunting season, Quinn said.
"It was actually a request from a recreationist for additional hunting opportunities," Quinn said regarding the proposed decision to revise the existing agreement and add the land. "A little more than two years ago, at the request of hunting groups and those with hunting interests, we were asked to seek additional opportunities available on district land, and Weeki Wachee was one of those lands evaluated in that process."
After that process was complete, the northern 600 acres encompassed by Chassahowitzka was another area identified to add archery hunting opportunities, Quinn said.
"At that point we entered into discussion with FWC to manage that area for the possibility of added hunting opportunities, and what we've seen come out of it is make available additional hunting for folks in this region."
The lands were previously owned by the water district, and were acquired as part of the Weeki Wachee Preserve project area, which consists of a number of properties purchased throughout the years to preserve Weeki Wachee's water bodies, Quinn said.
The acreage was purchased in the 1990s, Quinn said, and there was a wide range of stakeholders involved in discussions to open the land for recreational access, Quinn said.
"Just the full-gamut," Quinn said. "We were trying to be as inclusive as possible in bringing those in consideration to the stakeholder group, as we do with any kind of recreational opportunity."

130621-b
Farm lobby talks citrus greening, environment and immigration
WFSU.org - by Lynn Hatter
June 21, 2013
Florida’s Agriculture Industry is the second largest in the state. It’s also at the center of major debates over immigration reform environmental preservation, and an ongoing effort to save citrus trees.
A few weeks ago, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam issued this assessment on the future of Florida’s citrus industry:
“This matters to every Floridian because of the profound economic impact it has on so many of our interior counties. You’re talking about a footprint of half a million acres for which there is really no plan B."
Since its discovery in 2005, a bacteria called greening has attacked orange trees, killing them off by the thousands. At its peak a decade ago, Florida’s multi-billion dollar citrus industry brought in 300 million barrels of oranges a year. Today, the figure is closer to 150 million. More than $4 billion has been lost to greening. John Hoblick, president of the Florida Farm Bureau, says greening could devastate citrus production around the nation.
“A lot of money has been thrown at research, which is important. Somewhere, were going to find a cure. Ultimately, we’re going to have to produce a gene-resistant tree that will likely be the answer and will resist this disease.”   
Meanwhile, the news is better for other parts of the state’s agriculture industry. Florida is still the main supplier of winter fruits and vegetables to the rest of the nation. It even exports some of its produce outside the country, but Hoblick says for the production to continue, workers are needed. And that’s why he’s in support of a federal immigration overhaul bill pending in congress:
“What’s being proposed in D.C. is a good fix, but I think before you fix an issue with immigration  you have to secure our boarders,”  he said.
But he adds  he thinks the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrations in the U.S. now should have a legal status, but not citizenship.
"Giving them the status of being able to work in this country, but not giving them full-fledged citizenship, requiring them to go back after a time is, I think, a fair and equitable way of dealing with this issue," he said.
Hoblick and the Florida Farm Bureau were part of a 2011 effort to kill a tough immigration bill in the Florida legislature, and Hoblick says he believes it was the right thing to do. He points to states like Georgia and Alabama which passed their own immigration laws, only to see farm worker shortages and millions of dollars lost in wasted produce.
The Florida Farm Bureau also had a hand in the passage of a bill to give $32 million a year for the next decade to help clean up the Everglades.  The proposal was recently signed by Governor Rick Scott and was supported by environmentalists as well. But not everyone was happy with the outcome:
“The people of Florida passed a constitutional amendment so that the polluter must pay.  That’s the principle, and it’s a good, fair, just principle.  The legislature abandoned it here,” said Earth Justice Attorney David Guest.
He isn’t pleased with a part of the bill that gradually reduces taxes paid by sugar farmers toward Everglades Cleanup. But the Florida Farm Bureau’s John Hoblick says the proposal was a compromise.
“If producers haven’t done a good job as they’re supposed to do, then it’s something that may need to be readdressed. But at this point, it’s a visionary issue”.   
Hoblick says the agriculture industry is getting better when it comes to farming and production, and the amount of pollutants it produces like phosphorous and nitrogen are decreasing.

130621-c
Morrison Springs still under advisory
NWF Daily News
June 21, 2013
CARYVILLE - The health advisory recommending swimmers not use Morrison Springs is still in effect, according to the Walton County Health Department.
A sample taken on Thursday had a high amount of fecal indicator bacteria, the department's news release reported. The water will be resampled Monday.
The pollution could be coming from storm water runoff, domestic pets, wildlife, and human waste (sewage), the department reported.
Those who swim in Morrison Springs at this time may contract gastrointestinal disease, ear and eye ailments, and skin rashes and infections.

130621-d
Stormwater improvement project gears up
Hernando Today - by Wendy Joan Biddlecombe
June 21, 2013
BROOKSVILLE - Representatives from Hernando County, the City of Brooksville and the Southwest Florida Water Management District participated in a groundbreaking ceremony Friday morning along East Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard in south Brooksville.
The "Dauson" property site, located between Saxson Creek in the east and the Hernando County Sheriff's Office's substation, will soon be a stormwater detention pond expected to reduce area flooding and improve water quality.
Before Assistant County Administrator Brian Malmberg explained the details of the project, he recounted a joke a colleague remarked earlier in the week: "only in Brooksville do we have a groundbreaking for a hole in the ground."
"But it's so much more than that," Malmberg said, explaining the detention pond will improve neighborhood infrastructure by reducing flooding and water quality, and be aided by other recent improvements, such as repaved roads and new fire hydrants.
The project's 210-day contract - set to start in early July - was awarded to Randy Blankenship of BRW Contracting for $397,440.75, and is funded by the Hernando County Stormwater MTSU and Southwest Florida Water Management District. The City of Brooksville donated parcels of land along the creek.
Brooksville Mayor Lara Bradburn said the project is "not just a hole in the ground" but a "milestone" in south Brooksville's revitalization.
"We have got to get this right . because this community deserves the best," Bradburn said, commending the city and county for working together, and asking residents to keep elected officials accountable.
Construction plans include a fence around the pond, and the planting of at least 40 shade trees to add "nice curb appeal," said Engineering Services Manager Mark Guttman.
Hernando County Administrator Len Sossamon said the project was "spot on," especially considering that 2012 was the first year since 1908 the county had two tropical storms before June 1.
After the ceremony, Malmberg said the Dauson property project could be considered phase one of multiple planned improvement projects in south Brooksville related to flood control.

130621-e
The kind of Heat Miami won't be celebrating
Sierra Club FL News - by Jonathan Ullman
June 21, 2013
On the day the Miami Heat won the NBA finals, the residents also learned in a Rolling Stone article titled "Goodbye, Miami" that sea level rise could very well inundate the city in the coming decades. 
The article brilliantly showed the widespread denial played out by local officials, developers and an energy company in the face of science. It exposed what I’ll call, the denial Ponzi scheme.
Except for the cries of a handful of elected officials, some local government staffers and various non-governmental organizations and activists, this region of five million people is still going about its business as if nothing were happening.
Florida Power and Light is still trying to build two new nuclear power reactors next to two existing ones on a coast that will soon be underwater. Developers are still building high-rise condos in areas that are predicted to be flooded within a few decades. Politicians are still insisting that some unknown Dutch technology will save us even though our porous limestone is not found in Holland.
It's not just Miami. No Florida coastal city is immune.
Florida Power and Light is still trying to build two new nuclear power reactors next to two existing ones on a coast that will soon be underwater. Developers are still building high-rise condos in areas that are predicted to be flooded within a few decades. Politicians are still insisting that some unknown Dutch technology will save us even though our porous limestone is not found in Holland. 
Floridians must become leaders in the global movement to combat climate change and prevent the worst-case scenario for warming global temperature and sea level rise. Worldwide, people must reduce carbon emissions by at least 80% by 2050 to prevent a climate change disaster. Each one of us needs to act decisively by making our homes, motor vehicles, and businesses more energy efficient and powering them with solar and wind energy.
We can also protect our natural resources to minimize those impacts such as elevating Tamiami Trail and removing other barriers in the Everglades.
Floridians have an opportunity to show leadership to rest of the world.  Let’s do it now.
Jonathan Ullman, is South Florida/Everglades Senior Organizer

130620-a
Math improves grasp of storm surge effects
Live Science.com with National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis – by Catherine Crawley
June 20, 2013
This ScienceLives article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation
Storm surges from rising sea levels are important predicted consequences of global climate change and have the potential for severe effects on the vegetation of low-lying coastal areas. The unprecedented storm surge from Hurricane Sandy, for example, was enough to shift coastal shorelines along New York and New Jersey. The question of how these storm surges affect coastal areas can be addressed mathematically and is the focus of research by Dr. Jiang Jiang, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS).
Read more about Jiang's research
Name: Jiang Jiang
Age: 30
Institution: National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
Hometown: Wenzhou, China
Field of Study: Theoretical Ecology, Wetlands, Climate change
What inspired you to choose this field of study?
I am interested in trying to understand our nature, especially ecosystem processes that involve species interacting with environments. Mathematical tools are my favorite approaches to understanding these complex interactions.
What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
I forget when my father first told me to be consistent in doing what I choose. But his advice helped me choose my major, go to graduate school and do research. Doing research is lots of fun when you find something new, but you can easily get stuck on something in the middle of research, which can be really frustrating. His advice helped me calm down and be confident.
What was your first scientific experiment as a child?
I rebuilt a radio using electronic parts.
What is your favorite thing about being a scientist or researcher?
I like to do simulation experiments on crazy ideas. Using mathematical and computational approaches, I can set up hypothesized rules for the interactions of species. This is sort of like creating virtual nature.
What is the most important characteristic a scientist must demonstrate in order to be an effective scientist?
Scientists don't replicate previous work. An effective scientist should apply critical thinking of past research. Then you might come up with innovative ideas.
What are the societal benefits of your research?
Understanding our ecosystem processes can help restoration. For example, my research on the interaction processes of coastal vegetation and underlying groundwater salinity dynamics can provide tools for management. The model can predict habitat change of the coastal Everglades for given scenarios of sea level rise or storm surge. The scenarios assume salinity changes of groundwater, therefore changing vegetation through ecological-hydrologic processes. The model can also help in making assessments of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, which aims to capture fresh water that now flows unused to the ocean and the gulf and redirects it to Everglades.
Who has had the most influence on your thinking as a researcher?
My middle school science teacher taught me not only science knowledge but also stories on how people become scientist, for example Newton, Darwin and Hawking. I started to read their stories and wanted to be a scientist too.
What about your field or being a scientist do you think would surprise people first?
People are familiar with damage caused by hurricanes. One major cause of hurricane damage is storm surge, which causes significant flooding and costs people their lives if they're caught unexpected. However, storm surge can also have large long-term impacts, not just short-term damage. My research shows that storm surge can carry saltwater so far inland that it can alter groundwater salinity, known as salt intrusion, and can damage agriculture. Excessive saltwater could also cause vegetation shift from freshwater vegetation to salt-tolerant plants.
If you could only rescue one thing from your burning office, what would it be?
My computer.
What music do you play most often in your office or car ?
Random music.
Editor's Note: The researchers depicted in ScienceLives articles have been supported by the National Science Foundation, the federal agency charged with funding basic research and education across all fields of science and engineering. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. See the ScienceLives archive.

130620-c
Sea level rise in South Florida: expect floods, sea wall woes
Sun Sentinel - by David Fleshler
June 20, 2013
President Obama's top environmental adviser came to Fort Lauderdale Thursday to express the administration's commitment to fighting global warming and protecting the nation from rising sea levels.
The president considers climate change "the global threat of our time and that for the sake of future generations the world has to get together to address this challenge," Nancy Sutley told the Association of Climate Change Officers at the Westin Beach Resort & Spa, about a mile from where pounding waves collapsed part of State Road A1A last year.
At the conference, attended by about 170 government officials, scientists and consultants, officials talked about the challenging future faced by South Florida, where rising seas will lead to more frequent floods, threats to drinking water and the heavy financial burden of building sea walls, protecting well fields and improving drainage systems.
Jennifer Jurado, director of natural resource planning and management for Broward County, said South Florida is particularly vulnerable because of its flat topography, location on a peninsula, dense coastal development and shallow, porous aquifer.
Current planning in South Florida works from estimates that sea levels will rise by nine to 24 inches by 2060, on top of the nine inches they have gone up in the past century, she said.
Although the most obvious impacts may be along the coast, Jurado said even inland residents would be affected. Water will push up through storm drains connected to the ocean. And as sea levels rise, salt water will continue encroaching on South Florida's underground aquifer, threatening to knock out wells used for drinking water, a process that is well underway.
"The saltwater line has continued to move westward for decades," she said. "We know that sea level rise accelerates its movement."
In the Florida Keys, rising seas threaten endangered species such as the Key deer, whose main island, Big Pine Key, faces a loss of 34 percent of its land to the ocean under the best-case scenario, said Rhonda Haag, sustainability coordinator for Monroe County. Higher sea levels are already affecting heavily developed islands, such as Key West, she said.
"We're seeing more routine flooding, not just at extreme high tides but at regular high tides," she said.
News reports this week said the Obama administration was preparing a major initiative to reduce emissions of global-warming gases from power plants, increase the energy efficiency of buildings and appliances and boost the use of renewable energy.
Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said no matter what we do to reduce greenhouse gases, we have to plan for a warmer, wetter world.
"The president recognizes that even as we need to do everything we can to reduce the impact of climate change, we also have to prepare," she said.

130620-d
Spring woes in Florida
Florida Trend – by Lilly Rockwel
June 20, 2013
Silver Springs was Florida's first tourist attraction, drawing visitors since before the Civil War. The preferable way to enjoy the springs was aboard glass-bottom boats. Over time, the 242-acre springs near Ocala evolved into a small amusement park, with reptile and animal exhibits, a concert stage, petting zoos, a 40-passenger carousel and a gift shop.
"Silver Springs was the park to come to in the state of Florida before Disney came in," says Silver Springs spokesman Brooks Jordan.
But construction of homes and roads nearby as well as farms has left the springs ailing. Runoff from fertilizer and septic waste carries nitrate pollution into the springs and has fueled the growth of brown algae.
The flow of water into the springs has dramatically slowed, and there are 90% fewer fish than in the 1950s, according to a study of the springs.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that the profit margin for Palace Entertainment, the park’s operators, has dropped from 23.5% to 5.3%. As a result, Palace is ending its 20-year agreement to manage the park. The company will spend $4 million to improve the park before the state takes over management 
beginning Oct 1.
Gone will be the animals, safari rides and carousel. Ross Allen Island, a popular fixture at the springs since 1929, has lost its signature reptile shows, and its buildings will be demolished. The parking lot, which is located close to the springhead and sends polluted stormwater into the springs, will be removed and a new one placed farther away.
Still, some environmental groups and nearby residents remain concerned about whether the state’s efforts will be enough to restore the springs’ health. A proposed 25,000-acre cattle ranch called Adena Springs Ranch has asked the St. Johns River Water Management District for permission to pump 5.3 million gallons of water a day from the same aquifer that supplies the springs.
The district has yet to decide on the request, asking for more information from the developer, Austrian billionaire Frank Stronach

130619-a
Basic Florida seagrass facts
FloridaSportsman.com - by Frank Sargeant
June 19, 2013
They say Inuit people can identify seven different kinds of snow. There are almost that many kinds of seagrass on Florida’s flats, but if you can tell the difference between just three varieties, it’s likely to make you a considerably better angler. Here are a few basic Florida seagrass facts.
The one that we all know, turtle grass Thalassia testudinum is probably the most important to anglers; it’s widespread, found in a variety of depths from barely awash to 20 feet (in very clear water), and wherever it grows, it forms a nursery for a variety of shrimp, crabs, minnows and other critters that are of interest to grazing gamefish, and thus interesting to fisherpersons. It’s abundant from Cape Canaveral southward on the Atlantic Coast, and throughout the Gulf of Mexico except in areas of high turbidity like the waters around the mouth of the Mississippi.
Find turtle grass and you can bet that you’re not far from seatrout, redfish, snook and other inshore species; it’s by far the largest habitat feature throughout most productive inshore Florida waters. It’s easily identified by long, waving leaves that look somewhat like flat green ribbons or eels
Some turtle grass meadows are far more productive than others. Why ? Only the fish know, but observation shows several likely indicators:
1. Broken grass with holes, edges and outcroppings is more productive than broad, thick stands without breaks. Maybe it makes for easier predation, but it’s often the case that you’ll catch zip as you drift over thick, tall grass, then suddenly be covered up with fish when you hit the edge of the growth or a “white hole” where grass is sparse.
2.Grass in slightly murky water is better than that in crystal clear or in muddy water. Water that’s slightly green offers gamefish some cover, but still allows them to spot prey. Muddy water shuts down fishing completely most of the time in Florida waters where turtle grass is found. (Not so in Louisiana, I know, where they catch reds and trout by the ton from water thick enough to plow, but in most Florida waters, mud is a dud.)
3.Areas where turtle grass mixes with other types of grass is often productive; as in hunting wildlife ashore, “edge” cover is often productive.
The second most important grass to anglers is manatee grass, Syringodium filiformes. Manatee grass often grows in shallower water than turtle grass, but scientists say it’s limited by spring low tides; if a flat gets exposed on these lowest tides, manatee grass won’t be found there. So, if you find a good stand of manatee grass in an area otherwise surrounded by shoal grass (see below), you can bet that spot is going to remain wet on a spring low, and just might be stacked up with reds, snook and trout at certain times of the year.
Shoal grass, Halodule wrightii can grow in fairly murky water, and can stand some exposure to air, thus it grows on bars and nearshore areas. Where you find lots of it but not the other grasses, spring lows may cause the area to go dry, which will force fish into surrounding channels—and these cuts are likely to be marked by turtle grass mixed with manatee grass. I’ve also occasionally run into snook and reds plowing around in shoal grass, sucking in minnows and baby shrimp. Sometimes these fish have their entire backs exposed. They’re tough to catch but throw a small swim bait, about 2 inches long, into the cover and “rip” it back through, snatching it hard enough that the hook stays clear, and you’ll connect. I’ve caught snook to 30 inches with this tactic on Tampa Bay’s east shore on full-moon low tides.
An edge where any of the three seagrasses stops abruptly is likely to indicate a change in bottom makeup, and often there’s a slight washout along that line. This slightly deeper edge right up against the grass is a favorite hiding area of big seatrout.
Needless to say, because the grasses are so closely woven into the pattern of life on the flats, damaging them is both a moral and pragmatic mistake; anything which results in less grass has a bad affect on the overall productivity—including the fishing opportunities—so we all have to do our best to see that this doesn’t happen on our watch. This means no operation where the prop touches grasses, and no high-speed running where the prop wash might blow out grass roots—the roots can take years to regrow, though the blades of grass can restore themselves quickly on a healthy root system. - FS

130619-b
Biologists race to solve mysterious mass animal deaths in Florida lagoon
FoxNews.com - by Gayathri Vaidyanathan
June 19, 2013
At least 111 manatees, 300 pelicans, and 46 dolphins — emaciated to the point of skin and bones — were all found dead in America’s most biologically diverse estuary.
Something is seriously wrong. The northern stretches of the Indian River Lagoon of Florida has a mass murder mystery that biologists are racing to figure out. The lagoon contains more species than anywhere else in the U.S. It is a barrier island complex stretching across 40 percent of Florida’s coast, around Cape Canaveral, and consisting of the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River and the Indian River Lagoon.
The lagoon has always been polluted by nutrients and fertilizers running off lawns and farms, but in recent years it appears to have reached some sort of tipping point, says Marty Baum of the Indian Riverkeeper.
“The lagoon is in a full collapse, it is ongoing,” he said.
Ghost Town Becomes Bird Beach Resort: Photos
In 2011, an algae superbloom covered 130,000 acres that killed off an unprecedented 60 percent of sea grass. A sea grass meadow serves as a shelter and spawning grounds for fish, and in terms of diversity, rates up there with tropical rainforests and reefs. It is also an important food source for manatees.
Something is seriously wrong. The northern stretches of the Indian River Lagoon of Florida has a mass murder mystery that biologists are racing to figure out.
Manatees began dying in July 2012, 43 of them in just one month. A total of 111 have died, and many of their stomachs were filled with various species of macro-algae. Given their primary food source of sea grass was no longer available, their deaths could have been liked to the diet change, says Kevin Baxter, spokesman for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC).
In August 2012, a brown tide of the algae Aureoumbra lagunensis spread through the lagoon.
The situation has not improved this year. The brown tide began in April and has crept through the water body.
Red Tide Slaughtering Florida Manatees: Analysis
People have reported between 250 and 300 dead pelicans since January to the FWCC. The birds are emaciated and have heavy parasite loads.
Since January, the number of dead bottlenose dolphins has reached 46. Researcher Megan Stolen at the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute calls this an unusual mortality event, with numbers more than double the average recorded in previous years.
The dolphins also look emaciated, similar to the pelicans. This is not the first dolphin mortality event in the Indian River Lagoon. There were die-offs in 2001 and 2008 where the cause of death was undetermined, says Stolen. It has been difficult to isolate a cause because there may not be any one particular smoking gun, she says.
“If lots of bad things are happening all at once, we may not find a consistent cause of death,” she says.
Dr. Strangelove Advice for Going Green: Analysis
And bad things are happening in the Indian River Lagoon, Baum stresses.
There is so much farmland and laws in Florida that fertilizer is flooded into coastal waters. This is ideal for algae, which need high levels of nutrients and salinity to survive, and which triggered the death of the sea grass.
Florida has historically not set stringent limits for the amount of nutrients, such as phosphorous and nitrogen, allowed in its estuaries. That changed in March when Governor Rick Scott signed a law that will set some limits for nutrient loading by the end of 2014. Baum, however, says the law has too many loopholes that could prevent water bodies including the Indian River Lagoon from getting nutrient limits.

130619-c
Caldwell’s amendment to Everglades Forever Act
Lehigh Acres Citizen – by Ray Judah
June 19, 2013
The most deceptive and egregious action against the public taxpayers during the 2013 Florida Legislative session was passage of HB 7065 and SB 768 which amended the 1994 Everglades Forever Act.
Representative Matt Caldwell sponsored HB 7065 under the guise of increasing the sugar industries' funding commitment to Everglades restoration when in fact his proposed amendment was a smoke screen to ensure that the sugar industry was able to limit or cap their long term obligation to fund Everglades restoration.
The 1994 Everglades Forever Act, which was ostensibly written to restore the Florida Everglades, capped the sugar industries clean-up costs at $320 million and obligated the public taxpayers for the remainder of the $16 billion restoration project. The so called privilege tax of $25 per acre that the sugar industry pays to continue their discharge of pollution runoff to the Everglades, as well as the Caloosahatchee and coastal estuaries amounts to approximately $11 million per year. A truly insignificant sum in contrast to the billions required by the public taxpayers to restore the Florida Everglades.
The $25 per acre privilege tax was scheduled to be reduced to $10 per acre in 2017 but the Caldwell amendment extended the $25 per acre to 2026. To the casual observer it would appear that the legislative action would ensure that the sugar industry continued to help fund Everglades restoration. In actuality, the legislation provided the sugar industry the comfort level or certainty that their long term funding commitment towards Everglades restoration would be significantly limited in scope.
Instead of defending the sugar industry and suggesting that the public taxpayers contribute an even greater amount to Everglades restoration, Representative Caldwell should have supported an amendment to the Everglades Forever Act that increased the $25 dollar privilege tax. This would have ensured that the sugar industry paid its fair share towards Everglades restoration as opposed to the sugar industry continuing to receive special treatment as the Florida Legislature's favorite welfare recipient and shift the tax burden onto the backs of the public tax payers.
Representative Caldwell is quick to point out that the Everglades Foundation and Florida Audubon supported HB 7065 but the Sierra Club and The Conservancy of Southwest Florida took an opposing position that the legislation did not go far enough to level the funding formula between the sugar industry and the public taxpayers for Everglades restoration.
In fact, the Everglades Foundation and Florida Audubon only struck a compromise to support HB 7065 because Representative Caldwell was supporting an earlier version of an amendment that would have greatly weakened water quality standards and removed the 1993 Statement of Principles that had been a guide for restoration efforts over the last 20 years. With the objectionable provisions removed in the final draft amendment, the Everglades Foundation and Florida Audubon were in damage control mode and reluctantly accepted the continuation of an inequitable funding formula for Everglades restoration.
To put the sugar industry's $11 million annual contribution to Everglades restoration in perspective, Lee County taxpayers pay in excess of $30 million per year to the Okeechobee levy for work by the South Florida Water Management District in the Everglades Agricultural Area to provide drainage and irrigation of the sugar cane fields south of Lake Okeechobee. Lee County's return on the investment is polluted water, fish kills, and harmful algae blooms including red tide.
Certainly, the more conservative and responsible approach would be to support public policy that protects the interest of struggling taxpayers and hold the sugar industry accountable for the destruction of precious public resources including the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers and coastal estuaries.
The people have a right to know the truth and it is time for the public to demand that the Florida Legislature represent the public interest and not the special interest.
Ray Judah is a former Lee County commissioner with longterm involvement on enviromental issues involving Southwest Florida.

130618-a
Miami-Dade wins Audubon Award
Sunshine State News - by: Allison Nielsen
June 18, 2013
Miami-Dade County and the Miami-Dade Sewer Department have been awarded the Excellence in Water Conservation Award by Audubon Florida. The award was presented today at the Miami-Dade County Comission meeting. 
“One of the most important things we can do for the Everglades is to conserve water” said the executive director of Audubon Florida, Eric Draper. “Miami-Dade County’s water conservation program, “Use Less,” under the leadership of Doug Yoder, exemplifies this commitment to water conservation through quantifiable results.” 
The Excellence in Water Conservation Award celebrates "outstanding dedication for caring for Florida’s water resources and promoting water conservation for the environment." 
The county has reduced its water usage by 10 million gallons per day as a result of conservation. By 2017, Miami-Dade County projects it will save 14.25 million gallons of water per day.
Miami-Dade County implemented several initiatives to help conserve water, including incentives to homeowners and businesses to conserve water, education and outreach, and water restrictions. Miami-Dade County has saved millions of dollars in the process. 
This is the second year the award has been presented. Cooper City won the award in 2012.

130618-b
UF researchers develop technique to test manatees for heart disease
UF News
June 18, 2013
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Leisurely swims in warm, tropical waters fueled by the gaze of admiring fans and a healthy vegetarian diet. The life of a manatee hardly seems likely to prompt concerns about heart disease. But researchers at the University of Florida say the lumbering, loveable sea cow’s ticker deserves a closer look because of the animal’s endangered status.
That’s why they’ve developed a technique to test for cardiac problems in endangered manatees, both in the wild and in captivity. The new technique will enhance knowledge of how the manatee heart functions.
The UF researchers are using the technique to gather data they hope to share with wildlife and zoo veterinarians to ultimately save more manatee lives. Collaborating with scientists from Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s marine mammal pathology laboratory in St. Petersburg, they are using echocardiography on the large creatures, making use of a specially designed table built to hold animals weighing up to 2,000 pounds.
“There are a lot of gaps in our knowledge base on basic anatomy and physiology of manatees due to the obvious limitations of working with a 1,000- to 1,500-pound animal that spends its entire life in the water,” said Trevor Gerlach, an intern in UF’s aquatic animal health program and lead author on a paper that documents the first phase of the researchers’ study in the June issue of the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. “Due to their current endangered status, it is important that we understand the animal in its entirety so that we can better tailor conservation efforts for the species.”
The researchers’ long-term goal is to provide practitioners at rehabilitation facilities and those working in the field with data from clinically healthy animals. Such animals could be compared to animals of concern to determine if cardiac disease is present.
To allow for effective testing, the researchers first developed a table built to hold the weight of 2,000-pound animals that were part of a large-scale manatee health assessment conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in Crystal River. Fourteen healthy, wild and captive Florida manatees underwent echocardiography, administered using the table technique, between fall 2011 and winter 2012. The group included eight females and six males of various ages.
“We were able to clearly visualize all valves and chambers,” Gerlach said, adding that other key indicators of heart function also were successfully obtained. Some abnormalities in the study animals also were documented.
“Our results indicate that echocardiography in the Florida manatee is possible, which has both clinical and research implications in larger epidemiologic studies evaluating diseases of the cardiopulmonary and cardiovascular systems,” Gerlach said.
Although extensive research has been conducted on comparative anatomy, physiology and ecology of sea cows, very few studies have evaluated the manatee heart. Basic cardiac morphology and a test called an electrocardiogram have been examined, but the diagnostic value is limited to electrical imbalances in the heart, the researchers said.
“Echocardiography is the gold standard for diagnosing valve diseases and structural abnormalities, and provides other information as well,” Gerlach said.
Researchers are finishing up the second phase of the study, which entails collecting more data from echocardiographs to establish normal testing parameters for manatees of various ages.
“Once we establish the parameters, we can begin larger epidemiological studies on the prevalence of heart disease in the wild population, which is one of our long-term goals,” Gerlach said.
Bob Bonde, a manatee researcher with the USGS, praised the new technique.
“Out-of-water, real-time assessment of these large aquatic mammals will benefit our evaluation of manatee health-related indices in the wild population,” “Knowledge of manatee reproductive fitness and nutritional condition is paramount to our fully understanding their recovery.”

130617-a
Florida oyster farm may be start of new industry
NECN.com
June 17, 2013
ALLIGATOR HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Under a brilliant blue sky, a wet-suit-clad Clay Lovel drops down into waist-deep water, groping in the cloudy jade brine.
He tosses away a predatory conch before his older brother Ben, on deck, grabs a hook, and together they haul aboard their Carolina Skiff what looks like an oversized fry basket. The men pry it open, and onto the boat's stern clatter dozens and dozens of Crassostrea virginica — the common eastern oyster.
It's the same type of oyster that grows wild in coastal waters from Canada, down along the East Coast to the Gulf of Mexico, including nearby Apalachicola Bay. But the Lovels' bivalves didn't start off here as an offering from nature. They came from a shellfish hatchery near Tampa, leftovers from an oyster recovery project.
Last summer, the brothers and their father, Leo Lovel, bought 10,000 pinkie-fingertip-size oyster seeds. In August they put them in cages and plunked them down here on their two 1-1/2 acre clam leases in the waters of Franklin County.
"We knew nothing about oysters," Clay Lovel said.
So the men studied oyster history. They experimented with enclosures and planting methods. The fishermen became farmers.
Nine months later, with some 150,000 pieces growing in 500 cages, their first crop is coming in — big, succulent 3-inch oysters that within a couple of hours on this late May day, will be in the family fish house cooler, ready to be served on the half shell to seafood lovers at the Lovels' Spring Creek Restaurant.
"They are snow white on the inside and so salty they will burn your lips," said Leo Lovel, a Tallahassee native who has owned the beloved Wakulla County seafood restaurant perched on the water's edge since 1977. "It's got a lot of people very excited. This could be the rebirth of the seafood industry in North Florida."
The Spring Creek Oyster Company is a Florida first. While about a half-dozen people in the state are cultivating farm-raised oysters and selling them in the shellfish trade, aquaculture officials say no one else has done what the Lovels are doing — growing, harvesting, selling, serving and marketing to the public their own signature oyster.
It's too soon to say if the family will succeed in the long run, but their promising start has raised hopes for the burgeoning of a new coastal economy that could revitalize struggling fishing communities.
"I'm excited," said Kal Knickerbocker, acting director of Florida's Division of Aquaculture. "It's a new way. It appears to be a top-quality product, and right now, when you compare it to the natural set, there is none."
The Lovels' farm-to-table oyster venture comes amid trying times for the wild oyster population in Apalachicola Bay. The famed oysters naturally grew in abundance in the bay's fertile estuarine soup before back-to-back droughts and decades of outdated federal water regulations reduced the freshwater flow coming down the Apalachicola River last year to its lowest level in recorded history.
Oysters love salty water, but in the wild they need freshwater to provide nutrients and keep predators and diseases at bay. As a consequence — and compounded by over-harvesting in the shadow of BP's 2010 oil rig disaster — the oyster fishery collapsed last year.
From September to December last year, oyster landings in the state, of which Apalachicola's catch makes up 90 percent, dropped by nearly half, from about 152,000 pounds to roughly 80,000 pounds.
As state fishery officials work to compile the most recent harvest data, oystermen today are coming back from a day on the water with about two bags of oysters, a fraction of the 16 or 17 bags they would normally gather at this time, said Shannon Hartsfield, president of the Franklin County Seafood Workers Association.
"A lot of people are worried right now," he said.
For the last six months, bay oystermen have spent more time tossing empty oyster shells into the water to create new habitat than tonging up the mollusks for market. About 200 oystermen have been getting by with the temporary re-shelling jobs, but come July, money from a $2.7 million Department of Labor grant runs out. While oysters in the bay grow fast, those attaching to the oyster bars now are at least a year away from harvest.
Hartsfield doesn't know much about the Lovels' fledgling endeavor, but his curiosity is piqued.
"I'm hoping it works out. That's what we are going to have to do, trial and error," he said. "I don't see how it can hurt our bay. It may give an opportunity for a different way to harvest oysters. That's a plus in my book."
Florida tried to introduce oyster farming as part of a job-retraining effort about 20 years ago, but for a variety of reasons it failed. Unlike cultivating clams, which caught on and now has an annual economic impact of $54 million, oysters proved too labor-intensive and costly to grow. And with wild oysters so plentiful, it just didn't make economic sense. State and local political decisions also played a role.
"Now that picture has changed a little bit," said Leslie Sturmer, a University of Florida shellfish aquaculture agent who works in Cedar Key, where clam farming has flourished. "There is increasing interest. With decreased supplies from the fisheries and higher prices, the economics may have changed."
State Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam points to the success of Cedar Key clamming as a model that could help Apalachicola Bay's oyster industry.
"Cedar Key is a remarkable example of how the willingness to try new things can save a working waterfront," Putnam said. "It's a tough adjustment to learn a new way to make a living on the water, but the ones that did have done well. This is a rich part of Florida's heritage, and we want to make sure it's not just part of our history."
Putnam is supportive of a request by the Lovels, to be heard this summer by the Florida Cabinet acting as the Board of Trustees, that would allow the family to grow their oysters in cages that float on the surface of their clam lease. Currently, shellfish only are allowed to be grown up to six inches from the sea bottom. Granting full use of the water column would benefit the growth of their oysters and other farmed shellfish they'd like to try, such as scallops, not now commercially cultivated in Florida.
"What we are doing now is the mule-and-plow method," Leo Lovel said. "If we can get on the surface, it will open it up to older fishermen."
Northeastern University assistant professor David Kimbro, a wild oyster ecology expert formerly with Florida State's Coastal and Marine Laboratory, called Alligator Harbor a "marginal habitat" for oysters. Because of its lack of direct freshwater sources and reduced flows into the bay, salinity has steadily increased in the last five years.
"There aren't many things as hardy as oysters," Kimbro said. "They love the variations of estuaries. It stresses them out, but it wipes the slate clean of predators."
Grown in cages, farmed oysters are more protected from marine predators, but a lack of freshwater can still make them susceptible to diseases.
"The same environmental conditions that would affect the wild resource would affect the cultivated product as well," Sturmer said.
Oyster spawn float in the water for two to three weeks, and Kimbro said it is unknown if, over time, those that are selected to favor saltier water will eventually impact the wild oysters on Apalachicola's reefs.
Others say the increase in spawn will help the natural production, improve water quality and attract other desirable marine species. There are pros and cons, Kimbro said. Like growing corn, farming oysters is a gamble. Still, he added, "People need some good news."
Allowing floating oyster cages on state-leased submerged lands also presents a resource management challenge. Balancing the desires of boaters and other water users can be tricky, but it is one Putnam and others say can be overcome.
"Aquaculture within the water column is something we should pursue on an experimental basis," he said. "Regulators need to be open about new ways to save the industry, and the industry needs to be open-minded about doing things differently."
Oyster cultivation is far more expensive and involved than harvesting what grows naturally, and history has shown that not all watermen are able to make the transition to farming.
"Instead of Mother Nature doing 90 percent of the work, you've got farmers doing 100 percent of the work," DAC director Knickerbocker said. "It's labor-intensive, to say the least."
If a new industry takes hold, Sturmer, who has been actively involved in state aquaculture efforts for decades, said early on there could be tension. But considering the state's intransigent water war with upstream Apalachicola River system users, the prospects for wild oysters in the bay don't look great.
"It will be interesting to watch this," she said.
In neighboring Alabama, where water-column farming is allowed, as it is in other oyster-farming states, aquaculture officials have been working since 2009 to build a new oyster industry in their Gulf waters.
Bill Walton, an Auburn University assistant professor and extension specialist with the university's shellfish laboratory at Dauphin Island, said the effort there is in its "baby-step" stage, with two commercial oyster growers selling farmed boutique oysters to high-end restaurants in the region. But, he contends, there is room for more.
"A market has developed for these niche oysters," Walton said. "I know there is enough of a market for people to make money, but I'm not sure how much. All the numbers we've run suggest you can make a living doing this, but you aren't going to get filthy rich."
Chris Nelson, vice president of oyster procurement for Alabama-based Bon Secour Fisheries, tried to grow oysters 20 years ago. The oysters were great, but he couldn't make any money because of the high cost, extensive labor involved and the lack of a specialty market.
"What I did was build a business plan on too high a price," he said.
More and more customers today, however, aren't looking for the most oyster for their dollar. An increasing number are seeking out oysters with an "appellation" — one coming from a distinctive place with unique characteristics, like a fine wine.
Still, Nelson cautions against upstart oyster farmers having unrealistic expectations.
"The Gulf is going to come back. For whatever reason, nature smiles and the next thing you know you've got all these oysters and everyone was convinced the oysters were dead and gone," he said. "It is feasible, but you have to be prudent."
Farmed oysters, Walton said, never will be able to compete with the abundance of those in the wild. But cultivation allows a grower to develop a consistent, specialty product that can command a higher price — as much as $2 apiece or more in some places — to cover higher production costs.
Growing oysters off the seafloor makes them cleaner and more uniform. They also can thrive in saltier water, he said — like that of Alligator Harbor — because they are able to mature before common diseases brought on by saline conditions can take hold.
"We are not trying to displace the traditional Gulf Coast oyster industry. What we are trying to do is add a new product," said Walton, who met with the Lovels last year. "I see it as an opportunity for the whole Gulf Coast. It provides as much opportunity for Florida as anywhere else."
Back at Spring Creek Restaurant, optimism abounds. At a tasting party last month, Wakulla County officials slurped the Lovels' oysters and mused about what the future may hold. The family also has applied for a new state lease out their back door, where a first-magnitude freshwater spring boils in the Gulf and clams don't grow well, but oysters might.
"This is huge," said Bob Ballard, head of Tallahassee Community College's new Wakulla Environmental Institute, which is under construction and will offer aquaculture training. "This could really be a game-changer for this area to make Wakulla the new oyster capital of the United States."
Wakulla County Commissioner Jerry Moore, who had to stop eating the oysters for fear of leaving none for others, said the Lovels' undertaking has "unbelievable possibilities."
"We don't do a lot of things until we get desperate," Moore said. "This is a new day if this system works. It's a way for us to produce a continuous supply of great oysters."
The Lovels are optimistic, but are keeping their heads, as are state aquaculture officials.
"These things look attractive now because the natural resource is in trouble," Knickerbocker said. "It might work great this year and next year, and the third year some condition might change and it could be a total bust."
But if anyone can make a go of it, Knickerbocker said, the Lovels can. The family is well respected, has a track record of seafood success and can showcase their product at their renowned restaurant. Their reverence for the North Florida Gulf Coast runs deep, as evidenced in Leo Lovel's folksy collection of outdoors essays, "Spring Creek Chronicles."
Leo said he and his sons are constantly reminding themselves that what they are doing now is farming — and it's a risky business.
"There can always be something that throws a monkey wrench into to," he said. "We are feeling our way."
The excitement, however, is contagious. The area's seafood industry has been depressed since the gill-net ban 20 years ago, and the recent wild oyster decline has dealt a further blow. While Ben Lovel said his family hopes and prays every day the oysters in Apalachicola will rebound, he believes what they've stumbled upon can help everyone and hurt no one.
"If something doesn't come along — and we think this is it — the culture and lifestyle of the seafood watermen in the bay is over," he said. "We aren't just excited about this for us, we are excited about this for the whole area. If this thing goes in the right direction, there is no way to talk about what we might be working on in five or 10 years."

130617-b
FL to receive 6.5-million-gallon-per-day reverse osmosis water treatment plant
WaterWorld.com
June 17, 2013
NORWALK, CT, June 17, 2013 -- EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE: EME), a Fortune 500® leader in mechanical and electrical construction, energy infrastructure, and facilities services for a diverse range of businesses, announced that its subsidiary Poole & Kent Company of Florida has been awarded a contract for the installation of a reverse osmosis water treatment plant in Clearwater, Fla.
Poole & Kent will be responsible for all aspects of construction of a 6.5 million gallon per day reverse osmosis membrane water treatment facility, including ozone treatment system and iron treatment system, to turn brackish water into drinking water. The scope of work includes chemical storage and feed systems, groundwater storage tank, concentrate storage tank, pumping systems, emergency generator system, and new building additions, as well as installation of all instrumentation, controls, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems.
"Poole & Kent of Florida is thrilled to have been selected to provide the comprehensive and complex services required for the construction of this facility for Clearwater, Fa.," stated Pat Carr, President & CEO of Poole & Kent.
About EMCOR Group, Inc.
A Fortune 500 company with estimated 2013 revenues of ~$6.5B, EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE: EME) is a leader in mechanical and electrical construction, energy infrastructure, and facilities services.  A provider of critical infrastructure systems, EMCOR gives life to new structures and sustains life in existing ones by its planning, installing, operating, maintaining, and protecting the sophisticated and dynamic systems that create facility environments---such as electrical, mechanical, lighting, air conditioning, heating, security, fire protection, and power generation systems---in virtually every sector of the economy and for a diverse range of businesses, organizations and government.  EMCOR represents a rare combination of broad reach with local execution, combining the strength of an industry leader with the knowledge and care of 170 locations. The 28,000+ skilled employees of EMCOR have made the company, in the eyes of leading business publications, amongst the “World’s Most Admired” and “Best Managed”. EMCOR’s diversity---in terms of the services it provides, the industries it serves and the geography it spans---has enabled it to create a stable platform for sustained results. The Company’s strong financial position has enabled it to attract and retain among the best local and regional talent, to undertake and complete the most ambitious projects, and to redefine and shape the future of the construction and facilities services industry. Additional information on EMCOR can be found at www.EMCORGroup.com.

130617-c
Harmful brown algae bloom plagues Florida estuary
Associated Press
June 17, 2013
INDIAN RIVER, Fla. (AP) — Indian River officials are worried about a harmful brown algae bloom they fear will harm the local economy, leaving oyster bars and clam farmers, fishermen and boat builders in trouble.
One of the largest estuaries on the East Coast has recently been choked by a thick, brown sludge. As the brown tide lingers, fish and sea grass are disappearing. Manatees, dolphins and pelicans are also dying in the same area from unexplained causes.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports the St. Johns River Water Management District committed up to $3.7 million in April to research a bloom of the same algae species that occurred last year and a toxic algal bloom that occurred in 2011.
District officials are also launching a major research project to look at the troubling issues in the lagoons.
Related:
Harmful brown algae bloom plagues Fla. estuary       MiamiHerald

130617-d









Lake Okeechobee
water release,
necessary for flood
protection, causes ecological imbalances
downstream the 2 "side" rivers: the Caloosahatchee and
the St. Lucie.

130617-e
Oil drilling protest meetings
WINKnews.com
June 17, 2013
1 p.m. - Meet with Diana McGee, the Regional director for U.S. Senator Bill Nelson. Justice Center Annex Building, 2000 Main Street, Suite 801, Ft. Myers, FL 33901 (park at Suntrust Bank Bldg. off MLK) Join us as we meet with Diana, McGee, Regional Director for Senator Bill Nelson. We will share our concerns about oil drilling in Golden Gate Estates less than 1000 feet from homes and adjacent to a Panther Wildlife Sanctuary and the Everglades. We'll call on him to help stop the oil drilling.
6 p.m. - Meet and greet with State Senator Dwigh Bullard. Collier County Democratic Club Meeting Democratic Party Headquarters, 13040 Livingston Road, Suite 2, Naples, FL 34108. Senator Dwight Bullard will be the speaker. Residents are invited to come for a meet and greet and to call on him to help protect us from the dangers of oil drilling in Golden Gate Estates. He is our elected official; and he is on the Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation.
Related:
Oil fight hits home at Golden Gate Estates    Marco Island Sun Times

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Bob GRAHAM
Former FL Governor

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Bob Graham's environmental legacy
Herald Tribune – by Victoria Tschinkel, Guest Columnist
June 16, 2013
I am astonished by state Rep. Jimmy Patronis' portrayal of the Bob Graham governorship as bringing "dramatic negative changes to environmental law" and his claim that Graham "has had a change of heart now."
These comments appeared in The Panama City News Herald May 26 ("Patronis: Scott will sign bill on well permitting") in response to Graham's vehement opposition to HB-999, the 40-page behemoth presented by Tallahassee lobbyist Frank Matthews, to Patronis for his sponsorship.
Graham is chairman of the Florida Conservation Coalition, with Nathaniel Reed and former state Sen. Lee Constantine serving as vice chairs.
Bob Graham was part of the Florida Legislature's group of daring young members who, during the "Golden Age of Florida Politics," threw themselves wholeheartedly into establishing the bedrock of Florida's environmental laws.
Gov. Reubin Askew proudly signed laws protecting air, water quality and land use, all of which were more advanced than anything at the federal level and all of which enjoyed bipartisan support. Our water-use law, which was adopted during this same intense time, derives from the internationally acclaimed model water code developed at the University of Florida.
It is true that Graham was business-friendly and that he cared about jobs. During his tenure, the state added 1.2 million jobs, and for the first time the per capita income of Floridians exceeded the U.S. average. Florida was rated by the consulting firm Grant Thornton as having the best business climate of all the states for three of his eight years in office.
Graham's vision
The difference between the "new politicians" such as Patronis and Gov. Rick Scott on the one hand, and Graham on the other, is that Graham has always known that our prosperity is absolutely linked to the health and sustainability of our natural resources.
A state dependent on beautiful beaches that protect us and invite tourists is a successful one. A state where water is clean and plentiful protects our health and allows for industrial and residential development. A state where natural areas are valued as gifts from nature has its ethics right and its future assured.
So, Graham was the one who established the Save Our Rivers program in 1981 (now part of Florida Forever), which protected 1.7 million acres of floodplains and recharge areas, including those of North Florida great rivers. Panama's City's water supply is protected by the Save Our Rivers program.
Patronis is a proud fisherman and his family's restaurant depends on plentiful and healthy local seafood. He should be thanking Graham every time he leaves the dock, because the clean, clear, productive bays and offshore are fed by the protected Choctawhatchee and Apalachicola rivers.
Another program was the historic Save Our Coast program, established in 1981, which purchased 73 miles of shoreline, also benefiting beaches which are visited by tourists from all over the world who delight in them.
Protecting water sources
Gov. Graham began the Save our Everglades Program and started it with a bang, by setting in motion the restoration of the channelized Kissimmee River into a free-flowing river once again.
Hundreds of thousands of acres of beach property, river property, Everglades and natural areas throughout our state are now in public ownership, thanks to Bob Graham. At least these natural treasures are forever protected for all of us, and will never be damaged from special interests and such environmentally destructive legislation as H.B. 999.
From hazardous-waste cleanup and banning of dangerous pesticides, to establishing the first rules in the country protecting ground water from contamination, to forcefully supporting the state's first law protecting wetlands, to establishing modern growth management practices, Gov. Graham's record has universally been lauded, never challenged. Until Rep. Patronis presented his, yes, astonishing alternate view.
History, for those who take it seriously, will not look kindly upon the Legislature of 2011, which razed much of 40 years' worth of bipartisan efforts to conserve our environment. It will not look kindly upon the fact that those land acquisition efforts I described went from being bipartisan programs, with a $300 million per year budget, to being programs whose budgets were virtually obliterated for the previous two years, with only $10 million of new money (much of it restricted) allocated this year.
Nor will it look upon Rep. Patronis' self-described bills, containing "Christmas tree(s)" of privileges bestowed upon special interests, as anything but a thumb in the eye of the future generations of our state.
Victoria Tschinkel served in the Askew and Graham administrations as assistant secretary of the Department of Environmental Regulation and as its secretary from 1977 to 1987.

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Coastal cities and climate change: You’re going to get wet
The Economist (Business Insider, Australia)
June 16, 2013
BEFORE Hurricane Sandy tore through New York and New Jersey, it stopped in Florida. Huge waves covered beaches, swept over Fort Lauderdale’s concrete sea wall and spilled onto A1A, Florida’s coastal highway. A month later another series of violent storms hit south Florida, severely eroding Fort Lauderdale’s beaches and a chunk of A1A. Workers are building a new sea wall, mending the highway and adding a couple of pedestrian bridges. Beach erosion forced Fort Lauderdale to buy sand from an inland mine in central Florida; the mine’s soft, white sand stands out against the darker, grittier native variety.
Hurricanes and storms are nothing new for Florida. But as the oceans warm, hurricanes are growing more intense. To make matters worse, this is happening against a backdrop of sharply rising sea levels, turning what has been a seasonal annoyance into an existential threat.
For around 2,000 years sea levels remained relatively constant. Between 1880 and 2011, however, they rose by an average of 0.07 inches (1.8mm) a year, and between 1993 and 2011 the average was between 0.11 and 0.13 inches a year. In 2007 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forecast that seas could rise by as much as 23 inches by 2100, though since then many scientists have called that forecast conservative. Seas are also expected to warm up, which may make hurricanes and tropical storms more intense.Even as seas have risen over the past century, Americans have rushed to build homes near the beach. Storms that lash the modern American coastline cause more economic damage than their predecessors because there is more to destroy. The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, a Category 4 storm, caused $1 billion-worth of damage in current dollars. Were it to strike today the insured losses would be $125 billion, reckons AIR Worldwide, a catastrophe-modelling firm. In 1992 Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm, caused $23 billion in damage; today it would be twice that.
Most Floridians live in coastal counties. Buildings cluster on low ground; more people than in any other state live on land less than four feet (1.2 metres) above the high-tide line. Florida’s limestone bedrock makes it easy for salt water from surging seas to contaminate its freshwater aquifers. And it relies heavily on canals for flood control, which a sea-level rise of just six inches would devastate.
South Florida is not the only region threatened by climate change and hurricanes. Increased rain, violent storms and rising sea-levels could inundate low-lying areas around San Francisco and Seattle, or burst the levees that protect swathes of Sacramento and California’s Central Valley from the Sacramento and San Joaquin river delta.
Houston, the centre of America’s petrochemical industry, and Norfolk, Virginia, home to its largest naval base, could also be in trouble. So could some of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast, such as North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and traditional Atlantic maritime regions such as Maryland’s Eastern Shore. These two areas, like South Florida, have seen sharp rises in population and development.
New York is also at risk, as Hurricane Sandy showed last autumn (see charts). Manhattan is vulnerable to rising sea levels: the districts flooded by Sandy corresponded almost perfectly to land reclaimed since the 17th century (see map). That land is far more valuable now than it was then: Jeroen Aerts and Wouter Botzen of the Netherlands’ VU University reckon the value of structures threatened by storms and floods has increased four- to sevenfold in the past century. Since the flood map was last updated in 1983, floor space inside the city’s flood plain has risen 40%, to 535m square feet.
However, traditional flood-mitigation schemes, such as buying out householders or raising existing buildings, are impractical in New York. Seth Pinsky, who spearheaded the city’s post-Sandy adaptation plan, notes that New York now has 400,000 people, 270,000 jobs and 68,000 buildings inside the 100-year flood plain. Ground floors in New York are built for shops. Raising buildings would either be too costly, too destructive to neighbourhoods, or both.
Turning the shoreline over to beaches, dunes or wetlands will not work in crowded Manhattan, which like many cities wants more development along its waterfront, not less. Some have proposed protecting the city with massive storm barriers at the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean, similar to the gates that protect London, Rotterdam and St Petersburg. But aside from the steep price tag (as much as $29 billion), such barriers could worsen flood risk for areas outside them.
In 2007 Michael Bloomberg, New York’s mayor, released PlaNYC, a scheme for adapting to climate change, which could be called “ambitious” or “dictatorial”, depending on one’s view of the mayor. It called for, among other things, protecting wetlands and planting more trees, which will keep the city cooler and capture more stormwater run-off. It also demands changes in building codes.
Mike’s dyke
Many of its ideas were incorporated into a more sweeping post-Sandy plan released on June 11th, which calls for floodwalls and levees to protect vital infrastructure, such as a food-distribution centre in the Bronx and hospitals on Manhattan’s East Side, and coastal communities on Staten Island. It recommends storm-surge barriers to prevent creeks and rivers from backing up into residential areas; a new lower Manhattan district, modelled on Battery Park City, protected by a multi-purpose levee; and new or repaired natural barriers such as sand dunes, beaches and wetlands around the outer boroughs.
The city would offer incentives to building owners to move important stuff like electrical equipment higher off the ground. It would amend zoning and building codes to encourage new buildings to be raised higher, and require hospitals, telecoms and other utilities to meet tougher resilience standards. Mr Bloomberg put the price tag at nearly $20 billion, with city and federal sources for only $15 billion identified so far. But put beside New York’s extraordinarily high economic output, the price is hardly outlandish.
New York’s plans illustrate that although climate change is global, adaptation is local. In America such things as land-use, zoning, construction and transport are typically under state or local control. That sets America apart from more centralised countries like the Netherlands. As Rohit Aggarwala, a former adviser to Mr Bloomberg, says: “It’s not clear the federal government is the leader on this issue, even if they wanted to be in charge.” During disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may come in to clean up, but evacuation orders come from state and local authorities, and police, fire and medical teams also tend to be employed locally.
The federal government does play a supporting role, not least because it brings extra money. For example, FEMA buys up houses that are repeatedly flooded. Since 2009 the Army Corps of Engineers has incorporated forecasts of sea-level rise into all its civil-works programmes. The Department of Housing and Urban Development offers grants to encourage cities and regions to work together on climate-change-adaptation plans and studies. And a separate federal post-Sandy task force has required that any structure rebuilt with any of the $50 billion in disaster funds should be raised to one foot above the most recent federal flood guidance.
Last year Congress required the insurance subsidy that the federal government has long offered to householders who live and build on flood plains to be phased out. Such subsidies, in effect, pay people to live in dangerous places.
A region’s preparedness depends in part on how seriously its leaders take climate change. Proactively minded cities have joined forces; New York and 10 others are among the 61 cities around the world that, in partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative, share plans and information to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and adapt to a changing climate. In Florida, four of the southernmost counties—which include the state’s three most-populous ones, accounting for more than a quarter of its total population—have formed the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact. These counties share data, work together on legislation and seek funding in concert.
The federal government has limited sway over regions where people are less convinced of climate change. North Carolina’s legislators, for instance, have outlawed “scenarios of accelerated sea-level rise unless such rates are…consistent with historic trends.” (As one angry North Carolinian noted, this is like ordering meteorologists to predict the weather not by looking at the radar image of a hurricane barrelling towards the coast, but by consulting the “Farmer’s Almanac”.) A survey by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found cities in America among the least likely, globally, to have plans for adapting to changing weather. But some, at least, are starting.

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Concerned about canal seepage
Sun Sentinel - Letter to the Editor by Norman Weiss, Boca Raton
June 16, 2013
I am concerned about the vast sums of money being spent on protecting wildlife. At the same time, my community and others are being exposed to flooding from leakage through the levee built to raise the water level at the Marshall Wildlife Preserve.
The state and federal governments are building the Site 1 Impoundment Project, while leaving the seepage to continue on the canal, which is essential for disposal of our rain water run-off. If that levee were to wash out, it would be a catastrophe.
Although the posted project sign indicates that it will handle seepage from this levee, I am informed that it will not stop the seepage that flows into the canals we depend on.

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Department of Environmental Protection rejects bid for wetlands permit
Tampa Bay Times - by Craig Pittman
June 16, 2013
Florida's top environmental regulator has denied a permit for a controversial wetlands project, saying it failed to offer a reasonable assurance that it would work.
The decision late Friday by Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel Vinyard Jr. in effect upholds the warnings of the DEP's top wetlands expert, Connie Bersok, who was relieved of duty, investigated and taken off the case last year.
The permit was for the Highlands Ranch Mitigation Bank, created in 2008 when a politically influential private equity firm named the Carlyle Group formed a joint venture with a Jacksonville company, Hassan & Lear Acquisitions. They spent $15 million buying a 1,575-acre pine plantation next to Jennings State Forest.
The company planned to turn the plantation into a business that attempts to make up for wetlands wiped out by new roads and development. At stake: millions of dollars in wetland credits that can be sold to governments and developers when their roads, houses and other projects wipe out marshes, swamps and bogs.
The problem, according to a memo last year from Bersok, was that the owners wanted the DEP to give them lots of wetland credits for land that isn't wet, using a method that no one else used.
Highlands Ranch originally sought a permit from the St. Johns River Water Management District but wasn't satisfied with how many credits that permit approved. A legal challenge failed, as did an attempt to get the Legislature to change the rules.
Highlands Ranch hired a lobbyist named Ward Blakely, who had previously worked with Vinyard.
Then DEP Deputy Secretary Jeff Littlejohn, an engineering consultant who had been hired recently by Vinyard, issued a memo ordering a change in the way credits were calculated.
The first draft, Littlejohn said, was written for him by the attorney for Highlands Ranch.
The company applied for a new permit from DEP that would supersede the one from the water district and be worth 425 credits.
But Bersok — who helped write the state standards for credits — raised questions that Blakely complained were "punitive."
After being told by Littlejohn to ignore the rules she had followed on other permits, Bersok wrote, "I hereby state my objection to the intended agency action and refusal to recommend this permit for issuance."
Bersok was put on leave and under the microscope.
Documents from the investigation that followed show her bosses were worried she was blabbing to reporters and environmental activists about flaws in the permit.
She testified under oath that she was not.
Bersok was reinstated but taken off the Highlands Ranch permit review. DEP officials approved the permit, giving the owners all the credits they had asked for.
The Florida Wildlife Federation filed a legal challenge. In April, a judge with the state Department of Administrative Hearings ruled the permit should be rejected.

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Floridians accepting environmental decline
Star-Banner - by Tom Palmer
June 16, 2013
One of my favorite environmental cartoons was published more than 40 years ago.
It depicts two men sitting on a junk car surrounded by floodwater and overrun with rats. One of the men appears to be a scientist who is explaining the situation to the other man, who asks, “What’s ecology?”
It illustrates a phenomenon that troubles people in the environmental community. That is the prospect people may consider the environmental conditions they see today in Florida as perfectly normal and acceptable. And if it occurs to them there may be something wrong, they may not understand how it got that way and what they can do about it.
Believe it or not, Florida’s lakes were not always full of algae and hydrilla, the Peace River flowed all year, and many species of wildlife now classified as endangered were relatively widespread.
Once upon a time, there was real state oversight of local growth plans.
Once upon a time, the main emphasis on environmental permitting wasn’t making sure a permit was issued as quickly as possible, but on whether the resource was being protected.
Recent news reports of actions done under the guise of economic recovery have not been encouraging.
No known environmentalists are among the political appointees who oversee protection and oversight of Florida’s water resources.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection fires lawyers in charge of investigating environmental violations, claiming there’s little to investigate because developers and regulated industries are doing such a great job policing themselves.
DEP wetlands expert suspended for refusing to approve permit for politically connected developer; court later sides with suspended expert.
Florida growth management regulations are gutted, agency overseeing growth management abolished.
The effects of these political changes, like the flow of pollution into lakes and rivers and the gradual loss of wildlife habitat, are insidious. It takes time before many people realize the full effects. Of course, the reason this is happening is there are many other people who view the preceding changes in the way Florida deals with environmental and growth issues as good news. They are in power at the moment.
This reflects the perennial debate in Florida over whether to look only at the seeming short-term benefits of an action or to also think about the long-term implications.
The reason Florida legislators finally agreed to impose environmental and growth-management regulations, and set up and fund the agencies to implement the laws in the 1970s and 1980s, was because things had gotten so bad following decades of lack of regulation that the public demanded action.
The future of the quality of Florida’s water supplies, its lakes, rivers and bays, its diverse wildlife, its scenic places have more long-term implications to the kind of state we live in than the transient political spats that dominate statewide news and campaign debates most of the time.
Perhaps when enough people wake up and figure out that things need to improve, the political winds will change and environmental protection will be considered an asset to Florida’s future and not a hindrance.
Then maybe political reporters will ask candidates about environmental policy, and politicians will have to take different stands than many of them have been taking lately.
Tom Palmer writes about environmental issues for The Ledger in Lakeland.

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Orlando fertilizer ordinance disappoints environmentalists
Orlando Sentinel - by Kevin Spear
June 16, 2013|
A proposed ordinance that would regulate fertilizer use within the city of Orlando offers only minimal protection from pollution for the dozens of lakes that serve as defining features of the city's neighborhoods.
The pending rules, set for adoption today by Orlando's City Council, are meant to reduce the amount of lawn fertilizer washing off of residents' and businesses' yards into gutters and, ultimately, into lakes and rivers, where it causes excessive algae growth and degrades conditions for fish and wildlife.
Environmentalists complain that the city's proposal is based on a model state ordinance that is less protective than both the state's official handbook of recommended practices and local ordinances adopted by other Florida cities, including Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and, closer to home, Rockledge.
"Mayor Buddy Dyer says he wants Orlando to be one of the greenest cities in America," said Mary Zander, a local Sierra Club organizer. "I don't think green, slimy algae is the green he had in mind."
Orlando is located at the headwaters of five rivers, has more than 100 lakes, and showcases downtown's Lake Eola on the city seal. But it also routes a large portion of its storm-water runoff into deep wells that funnel the dirty water into the Floridan Aquifer — the city's source of drinking water.
Despite such ties between its surface and underground waters, the city has no ordinance regulating fertilizers, one of several "nutrient" pollutants that plague Florida's water-dominated environment.
Orlando for several years has fallen under the jurisdiction of Orange County's fertilizer ordinance, which environmentalists say is better in one key aspect than the ordinance to be considered by City Council members today.
Although the county ordinance offers potential exemptions, it bans the application of fertilizers during the region's rainy season each summer. That's because those heavy afternoon storms are capable of washing the chemicals off residents' yards and other landscaping into nearby lakes and streams.
The city's proposed rule would prohibit the application of fertilizer only when an official tropical-weather "watch" is in effect — or when at least 2 inches of rainfall are likely within a 24-hour period.
Heavy summer rains are common. For example, weather-service instruments at Orlando International Airport recorded 3.2 inches on June 6 and 2.47 inches on June 8.
But the National Weather Service doesn't attempt to forecast such isolated downpours. "We don't have any way of knowing," said meteorologist Amanda Bowen of the service's office in Melbourne.
The unpredictability of those 2-inch rains makes both the state's model ordinance and Orlando's proposed ordinance "absolutely impossible to enforce," said Cris Costello, a Sierra Club organizer in Florida.

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Brown algae threatens fishing, may be killing wildlife in lagoons
Daytona Beach News-Journal - by Dinah Voyles Pulver
June 15, 2013
OAK HILL – On a good day, Dave Brown used to skim his boat over the water in Mosquito Lagoon watching sunlight play over the sand and sea grass beds below and easily catch the limit of redfish and trout during his guided trips.
Lately, Brown and his fishing clients don't see many good days. Instead, his boat motors through water the color of split-pea soup, clouded by a harmful brown algae bloom. In some areas, he's lucky to see the bottom.
Fish are harder to find. Sea grass beds are shrinking. Manatees, dolphins, pelicans and other animals are dying of unexplained causes. So far the death toll since late last summer has reached 111 manatees, 38 dolphins and more than 250 pelicans.
Dozens of guides and fishermen that make their living in Mosquito Lagoon and larger, neighboring Indian River Lagoon can still fish, said Brown, a guide for more than 30 years. "But it's not like it used to be."
The fishermen fear for the lagoons, their own livelihoods and the local economy.
"It's very worrisome," said Brown. "The largest estuary on the East Coast is dying and there seems to be no emergency action."
In April, just about the same time the latest bloom appeared, the St. Johns River Water Management District committed up to $3.7 million to research a bloom of the same algae species that occurred last year and a toxic algal bloom that occurred in 2011. Working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and several universities and independent research organizations, district officials say they are preparing to launch a major research project within the next month or so to look at the troubling issues in the lagoons.
Answers can't come soon enough for the fishermen.
If the brown tide lingers and sea grass and fish continue to disappear, the fishermen and others fear it will wreak disaster on the local economy, leaving oyster bars and clam farmers, recreational and commercial fishermen, boat builders and all of their bait and equipment suppliers in trouble.
"It could have a huge compounding effect," said Ken Hooper, former Edgewater city manager. A "tremendous amount of money" flows through the local economy because of the fishing industry, said Hooper, while fishing with Brown this week.
Until last summer, a bloom of this algae species — Aureoumbra lagunensis — had occurred in only one other location in the United States, the Laguna Madre in Texas. It bloomed there in 1990 and continued uninterrupted for eight years, finally subsiding after 18 inches of rainfall from a tropical storm flushed out the system. But it has continued to appear sporadically ever since.
"We may be experiencing the same situation," said Troy Rice, director of the water district's Indian River Lagoon National Estuary program. "We may have this species in the lagoon for years to come. The blooms and intensities may ebb and flow over time but I think it may be here for a while."
PROBLEMS BUILD OVER DECADES
The Indian River Lagoon system – an interconnected system of three lagoons and several rivers and streams – fringes the east coast of Florida, stretching 156 miles from Ponce de Leon Inlet south to Jupiter Inlet. It has been called one of the world's most diverse estuaries, a place where fresh and salt waters mix to provide a massive breeding ground and nursery for nearshore and offshore sea life. Sea turtles, sawfish, grouper, tarpon, birds and many other species either pass through the system at some point or spend their entire lives there.
All that wildlife helps the lagoon generate an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion a year, Rice said.
Other problems have occurred in the lagoons over the past couple of decades, such as water quality issues, fish kills and dolphin die-offs, but nothing of the magnitude of the brown tide. The district and state Department of Environmental Protection have worked for years and spent millions to reverse historic damage to the sea grass beds from pollution, development and boat traffic. Sea grass is important because it provides food and shelter for myriad species.
Researchers believe a set of natural and man-made factors probably came together to trigger the latest trouble.
They began after severe freezes in January and December of 2010. At the same time, an ongoing drought meant little fresh water flowed into the lagoons. Gradually the salt content of the water grew higher.
In 2011, a toxic algae bloom appeared across 130,000 acres of the lagoon, killing roughly 60 percent of the sea grass, about 47,000 acres. Then it went away.
The brown tide first appeared last July, blocking sunlight, killing more sea grass and triggering fish kills. At the same time, manatees, pelicans and dolphins began turning up dead of unexplained causes.
Eventually the bloom broke up, leaving fishermen and officials hopeful it would not reappear.
But the creeping brown bloom showed up again on April 8 and 9 at Duck's Roost Point in the northern tip of the Indian River Lagoon, Rice said. It quickly covered the northern end of the lagoon and spread eastward through Haulover Canal into Mosquito Lagoon.
"There are places when the wind blows in a certain direction it cleans up the water, but it's still as green as Mountain Dew," Brown said this week. But then sometimes the water is like coffee with cream, he said "You literally can't stick your elbow into the water and see your hand."
So far, it hasn't reached the intensity it did last summer, but Rice said they'll have to wait and see what develops.
NEW DIET MAY KILL MANATEES
Biologists don't know why they've seen an increased number of animal deaths and haven't linked the deaths directly to the brown tide.
At least 250 manatees have died in Brevard County since last July, more than the number that died in all of 2010 and 2011 combined. At least 111 of those were from the same cause, a sudden shock killing animals that otherwise appeared fat and healthy, but with macroalgae plants in their stomachs rather than sea grass.
The wildlife commission is working with NOAA and the Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute to examine the animals to look for answers, said Martine de Wit, a commission veterinarian.
"The brown tide isn't toxic to manatees," de Wit said, but if it causes a decline in sea grass and because of that manatees are shifting to other food, then it would be related.
The officials also are looking at an unexplained increase in deaths of other animals, such as dolphins and pelicans, in the same locations where the manatees have been dying, the northern end of the Indian River Lagoon.
The 38 dolphins found dead in the last six months in the lagoon are at least 14 more than during any December-May period in the last decade, according to statistics from the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Unlike the manatees, the dolphins and pelicans were emaciated.
THEORIES, FRUSTRATION ABOUND
While officials and researchers work to figure out what's going on, why it's happening and whether anything can be done to control it, the fishermen and others are left to ponder their own theories.
For example, fishermen and clam farmers wonder if a decade-long district project to undo a network of old mosquito ditches and impoundments around the lagoon contributed by allowing dirt or pollution from old spoil ditches and water from old canals to flow into the lagoon. A clam farmer recently sued the district and the county claiming sediment from the work had killed his clams.
District officials don't think the work is the cause of the brown tide bloom or the clam farmers' troubles.
The difficulties are found throughout the lagoon system and "did not originate in the area of the district's activities," said Stan Niego, senior assistant general counsel.
Fishermen and local environmentalists also have wondered about stormwater runoff from yards, loaded with fertilizers and pesticides, saying the bloom seemed to start after the first big rain on April 14.
Rice pointed out the bloom had already been discovered six days earlier.
While stormwater runoff contributes to overall water quality problems, state officials said no research has linked this brown tide species with poor water quality.
It's "upsetting" to fishing guide Brian Clancy that so many scientists and technical people who say they are concerned don't seem to have answers.
"It doesn't give me a lot of confidence," Clancy said.
Whatever the cause, Brown says the brown tide is changing the lagoon he has known his entire life. While elected and chamber of commerce officials across the region have rallied to try to bring a commercial spaceport to a Southern Volusia, Brown said the fishermen have grown more frustrated because they'd like to see similar action by community leaders to explore what is wrong in the lagoons.
Brown hopes the officials figure out what it means and more importantly what to do about it.
"Otherwise," he said, "you could be looking at the death of the lagoon."
Fishing guide Dave Brown, seated at left, and a couple of clients fish in the coffee-colored water from a brown tide bloom in Mosquito Lagoon ...

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Everglades restoration stalled over Federal and State standoff
Huffington Post – by Andy Reid, Sun Sentinel
June 15, 2013
A standoff between the state and federal government over a new Everglades restoration plan means time could run out on getting Congress to help pay for it.
Environmentalists warn that without an agreement in July to move ahead with the Central Everglades plan, the result could be more years of delays in getting more clean water flowing to Florida's struggling River of Grass.
"The Everglades can't wait, and Congress is not going to," said Dawn Shirreffs, of the National Parks Conservation Association.
It's the potential state share of the more than $1 billion restoration project that has the South Florida Water Management District hesitant to sign onto the plan.
The state has already spent nearly $2 billion on Everglades restoration and has another $880 million Everglades water pollution cleanup plan in the works.
District board members Thursday said they want to commit to the Central Everglades plan, but the cost implications and other concerns must first be addressed.
"We want to know what that means in terms of dollars and cents before we sign off on a check," board member Juan Portuondo said at the board's meeting in Key Biscayne.
The Army Corps of Engineers needs the water management district to provide the local approval necessary to try to get money from Congress to help pay for the Central Everglades plan.
Getting the district's initial endorsement in July, and eventually a final commitment in October, allows the Central Everglades project to stay in the running to be included in a water projects bill being considered in Congress.
Congressional water funding that was supposed to come up every two years has instead turned into a seven-year cycle. That is creating concerns that if the Central Everglades project gets left out of this round, federal help for the Central Everglades project could be left in limbo.
The effort to get more clean water to the Everglades would suffer "a huge setback" if the Central Everglades plan gets left out of this round of congressional water funding, said Eric Eikenberg, Everglades Foundation CEO.
"We cannot miss this opportunity," Eikenberg said.
Federal and state disputes over how to pay for restoring the Everglades since 2000 have delayed efforts to build water storage and treatment areas intended to recreate water flows, which were siphoned away through the decades to make room for farming and development.
South Florida's vast system of levees, pumps and canals redirects water that once replenished the Everglades, dumping water out sea for flood control and also using water to irrigate agriculture and restock urban drinking water supplies.
The Central Everglades plan seeks to get more water flowing south toward Everglades National Park by removing portions of levees, filling in sections of canals and boosting pumping capacity.
Cost creates a serious hurdle for the district, which had its budget cut by more than 30 percent in recent years. Also, sending more water south could make it harder for the state's new $880 million Everglades water pollution cleanup effort to succeed in meeting federal water quality standards.
District officials want a commitment that backing an effort to boost Everglades water quantity won't get them in trouble with federal water quality requirements.
After more than a year of not being able to resolve the issues, district board member James Moran questioned how a solution was going to emerge by next month.
"I'm not hearing any proposed solutions," Moran said. "These are monumental problems."
More concrete cost estimates, and more clarity on the water quality implications, are expected in time for the district board to give its initial approval to the Central Everglades plan in July, federal officials said Thursday.
"We are working very closely together to resolve these issues," said Lt. Col. Thomas Greco, the Army Corps of Engineers deputy district commander for South Florida. "This plan is getting us there."

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Oil rigs may go near Collier County's runways
News-Press.com
June 15, 2013
Immokalee Regional Airport is on tap to be the next exploratory drilling site in Collier County, as the furor continues over a proposal to drill for oil near the community of Golden Gate Estates and the border of the Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge.
Chris Curry, executive director of the Collier County Airport Authority, said Friday the issue could come before Collier County commissioners as early as September.
The reason is to earn more revenue to run the three airports he is in charge of: Immokalee, Marco Island Executive Airport and Everglades Airpark, and eventually make them self-sufficient, Curry said. The county provides about $500,000 for airport operations, he said. The Naples Municipal Airport is run by the city of Naples.
Drilling discussions started about nine months ago, long before the Dan A. Hughes Petroleum Geological Co., of Beeville, Texas, applied for a permit in May to drill for oil near Golden Gate, Curry said. He has been talking to one or two firms interested in drilling, but declined to name them. However, he said none are the Hughes company; Collier Resources, which owns thousands of acres of mineral rights in the drilling area, or Breitburn Energy, which leases the majority of Collier’s mineral rights for drilling.
The county would have to put out a request for proposal, to give all interested parties a fair chance to bid, he said. “We’re interested in seeing what price the market will bear.”
Immokalee Airport, with two, 5,000-foot runways, was originally a World War II bomber-training base. There are about 1,400 acres that could be explored for oil or gas, Curry said.
“We’re currently conducting an underground title search to see what percentage of the land is exactly owned by the airport and what is owned by others,” Curry said. “We think that we can get, at a minimum, $35 per acre for a prepaid lease amount.” That equates to about $45,000 paid up front, he said. “If anything is discovered, I think we will set a minimum royalty percentage of 20 percent. That will be the baseline for the proposal and certainly if there are higher bids, then that would be more attractive for us.”
The news the Hughes company is seeking permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection to drill for oil less than a mile from residents’ homes in Golden Gate prompted formation of a group called “Preserve Our Paradise,” and creation of a petition in opposition that has accumulated nearly 2,500 signatures in one week.
Joe Mule, an organizer of the Paradise group, called the Immokalee Airport proposal: “Horrific. There’s no other way to describe it.”
Curry said the nearest resident to the airport probably lives about two miles away. He doesn’t consider the drilling environmentally risky. Nor does he believe the turmoil over the Golden Gate drilling will have a backlash on the airport proposal.
“It is certainly not a new process. It is going on all around eastern Collier County,” Curry said. “It is just one of the many ways proposed to the board to make the airport more self-sufficient.”
Curry said he’s contacted several colleagues at airports in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Colorado that follow the same practice.
Collier County Commission Vice Chairman Tom Henning believes the practice has promise and favors following it up. But he couldn’t say if the measure would pass if it comes before the board. More than 300 wells have been drilled in the county since the 1940s, he said.
The county has a better chance to control the drilling process when it happens at is own airport, he said.
Something must be done to bring in more revenue, Henning said. “He (Curry) needs to right-size the airports.” Other rural airports, such as in Hendry County, do the job with a lot fewer employees, Henning said.
Related:
Collier County oil rigs may go near Collier County's runways           The News-Press

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Everglades help at risk over state, federal cost dispute
Sun Sentinel – by Andy Reid
June 14, 2013
A standoff between the state and federal government over a new Everglades restoration plan means time could run out on getting Congress to help pay for it.
Environmentalists warn that without an agreement in July to move ahead with the Central Everglades plan, the result could be more years of delays in getting more clean water flowing to Florida's struggling River of Grass.
"The Everglades can't wait, and Congress is not going to," said Dawn Shirreffs, of the National Parks Conservation Association.
It's the potential state share of the more than $1 billion restoration project that has the South Florida Water Management District hesitant to sign onto the plan.
The state has already spent nearly $2 billion on Everglades restoration and has another $880 million Everglades water pollution cleanup plan in the works.
District board members Thursday said they want to commit to the Central Everglades plan, but the cost implications and other concerns must first be addressed.
"We want to know what that means in terms of dollars and cents before we sign off on a check," board member Juan Portuondo said at the board's meeting in Key Biscayne.
The Army Corps of Engineers needs the water management district to provide the local approval necessary to try to get money from Congress to help pay for the Central Everglades plan.
Getting the district's initial endorsement in July, and eventually a final commitment in October, allows the Central Everglades project to stay in the running to be included in a water projects bill being considered in Congress.
Congressional water funding that was supposed to come up every two years has instead turned into a seven-year cycle. That is creating concerns that if the Central Everglades project gets left out of this round, federal help for the Central Everglades project could be left in limbo.
The effort to get more clean water to the Everglades would suffer "a huge setback" if the Central Everglades plan gets left out of this round of congressional water funding, said Eric Eikenberg, Everglades Foundation CEO.
"We cannot miss this opportunity," Eikenberg said.
Federal and state disputes over how to pay for restoring the Everglades since 2000 have delayed efforts to build water storage and treatment areas intended to recreate water flows, which were siphoned away through the decades to make room for farming and development.
South Florida's vast system of levees, pumps and canals redirects water that once replenished the Everglades, dumping water out sea for flood control and also using water to irrigate agriculture and restock urban drinking water supplies.
The Central Everglades plan seeks to get more water flowing south toward Everglades National Park by removing portions of levees, filling in sections of canals and boosting pumping capacity.
Cost creates a serious hurdle for the district, which had its budget cut by more than 30 percent in recent years. Also, sending more water south could make it harder for the state's new $880 million Everglades water pollution cleanup effort to succeed in meeting federal water quality standards.
District officials want a commitment that backing an effort to boost Everglades water quantity won't get them in trouble with federal water quality requirements.
After more than a year of not being able to resolve the issues, district board member James Moran questioned how a solution was going to emerge by next month.
"I'm not hearing any proposed solutions," Moran said. "These are monumental problems."
More concrete cost estimates, and more clarity on the water quality implications, are expected in time for the district board to give its initial approval to the Central Everglades plan in July, federal officials said Thursday.
"We are working very closely together to resolve these issues," said Lt. Col. Thomas Greco, the Army Corps of Engineers deputy district commander for South Florida. "This plan is getting us there."

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Restoration success story
Cape Coral Daily Breeze - Guest Opinion by State Rep. Matt Caldwell, District 79 including Lehigh Acres
June 14, 2013
This spring I was proud to carry a bill in the House which will conclude Everglades restoration south of Lake Okeechobee. While you might have missed it, the Florida Legislature brought to a close one of the most successful environmental restoration efforts in history. By fully funding the plan proposed by Governor Scott, we will ensure that the southern Everglades and Everglades National Park will forever receive water of high quality; water which exceeds every standard placed upon it over that last 20 years.
Upon becoming a State in 1845, one of the first acts of the Legislature was to ask Congress for permission to drain the swamps of our state. Nearly a hundred years before a single sugar farmer made their way to Palm Beach County, the citizens of Florida approved and funded a plan to drain the State. An ultimate result of these policies was the creation of the Central & Southern Florida Flood Control Project, now managed principally by the South Florida Water Management District. The project was designed to accomplish three things: protect human life and property from floods, provide drinking water to two million people in South Florida and make land available for farming. Nearly 60 years later, the relatively tiny Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) grows more than half the sugarcane and a majority of the sweet corn and winter vegetables for the nation. Also, we have never repeated a massive loss of life from flooding, such as the roughly 5,000 souls lost in the 1926 and 1928 hurricanes. And, our water management system now supplies drinking water to over six million people in South Florida. By every measure for which it was designed, the project exceeds all expectations.
However, the 1940's era project was never designed for the natural Everglades and, undoubtedly, we've paid a heavy price for it. Yet the State of Florida has spent the last 40 years intensively focused on reverse engineering this system to accommodate environmental restoration and protection. And here the success story continues. Under a court order to clean the water to a level of 10 parts per billion (ppb) of phosphorous, we have now reached 13 ppb, down from near 70 ppb. That is an astounding accomplishment. Furthermore, the Everglades plan recently signed into law will get us to the final goal-that's why the plan was approved unanimously by all 160 members of the Legislature, both Democratic and Republican.
Unfortunately, former Commissioner Judah and his allies in the radical environmental movement will only be satisfied once eight million Floridians, residents and farmers alike, complete their exodus from the Everglades. When Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Naples, and Fort Myers are once again wilderness, perhaps then they will be satisfied. My colleagues and I in the state capital choose to deal in reality, however.
Now to the heart of the issue: the health of the Caloosahatchee. While farmers within the EAA serve as an easy target for Judah, he refuses to acknowledge that the vast majority of the water reaching the Caloosahatchee comes from north of Lake Okeechobee. With the help of my colleagues, we have secured additional funding for the first water quality project on the Caloosahatchee in history. When it breaks ground later this year, it will begin to remove high levels of phosphorous and nitrogen from the water in the River. While former Commissioner Judah talked about the River for 30 years, I'm proud to have helped facilitate a real project in my short three years in political service. I consider myself a conservationist and, to that end, I support projects that promote and protect the environment in a way that complements human presence. I am honored by the opportunity to serve this community and will continue to do so for as long as you will have me.
State Rep. Matt Caldwell, represents District 79, which includes Lehigh Acres

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Sen. Negron orders hearing on Lake Okeechobee releases
TCPalm - by Jonathan Mattise
June 14, 2013
Lake Okeechobee’s devastating releases into the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon will be the focus of an official Florida Senate hearing ordered by Sen. Joe Negron — a meeting that will feature government leaders from the local to the federal level, scientists and stakeholders on both sides.
Within the next two months, the Stuart Republican expects to cram one room with lawmakers, the Department of Environmental Protection, South Florida Water Management District, the Army Corps of Engineers, Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, environmental interests, and sugar and agricultural representatives. The focus will be on how state lawmakers can have a hand in slowing down the polluted lake releases that are dumped into local estuaries.
“We need to have all the decision makers in the same room because otherwise it deteriorates into recitation of talking points and blame shifting,” Negron said Friday.
Negron, the Senate’s budget chief, said Sen. Pres. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, already approved the Appropriations oversight hearing. It will take place somewhere on the Treasure Coast, and will be open to the public. Details are still being sorted out.
Negron credited Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers for bringing the lagoon issue to the forefront. Scripps held two forums on the lagoon’s health last week with state lawmakers.
“My focus isn’t going to be for us just to talk for a couple hours and nothing happen,” Negron said. “I have no interest in that.” Negron said he wants the hearing to determine: “This is the amount of money we’re spending; these are the policies in effect; and, what can I do and what can the Florida Legislature do?”
Environmental advocates contend Lake Okeechobee discharges should flow naturally south toward the Everglades, right through sugar lands. Instead, the water is released east into the St. Lucie River via canals and west to the Caloosahatchee River. The freshwater dumps can cause algae blooms and fish kills in the river and Indian River Lagoon.
On Monday, the Army Corps is scheduled to continue discharging water from Lake Okeechobee at a faster pace. It will flow through the St. Lucie Lock on the St. Lucie Canal at a rate of 614 million gallons a day, enough to fill 930 Olympic-size swimming pools. The releases started May 6 at a rate of about 161.6 million gallons (245 Olympic swimming pools) a day, but stopped May 21.

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SFWMD adopts "water reservation" to benefit Biscayne Bay’s long term water availability
BrowardNetOnline.com
June 14, 2013
Miami, FL — To help protect Biscayne Bay’s coastal wetlands and wildlife — from American crocodiles to wading birds and manatees — the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) today adopted a water reservation for the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project – Phase 1. This action secures the long-term availability of water to benefit the bay, which includes Biscayne National Park.
“Science and public input came together in this important step to protect Biscayne Bay’s coastal wetlands,” said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Daniel O’Keefe. “By setting aside water associated with the restoration project, we’re helping to ensure the long-term health of an ecosystem that’s essential to South Florida’s residents and economy.”
A water reservation is a legal mechanism to set aside water for the protection of fish and wildlife or public health and safety. When a water reservation is in place, quantities and timing of water at specific locations are protected for the natural system.
For the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands project, today’s action reserves fresh water flowing through five coastal structures and the associated canal network.
Upon completion, the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project – Phase 1 will divert a portion of the fresh water through flow-ways, pump stations and culverts, redistributing the flows across critical nearshore wetlands. This in turn helps achieve healthier salinity levels that benefit many rare, threatened or endangered species and marine life, such as eastern oysters, blue crab and spotted sea trout.
To date, the District has completed construction and begun operating the Deering Estate Flow-way component of the project. With a 100 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) pump station, 2.5-acre wetland and related infrastructure completed in 2012, the flow-way moves excess water from the C-100 Basin under Old Cutler Road to rehydrate coastal wetlands at Deering Estate at Cutler.
The Deering Estate section of the project is one of three key flow-ways necessary to help support the bay’s marine/freshwater environment. Two other components of the project will be constructed just south of Deering Estate:
- Cutler Wetlands Flow-way
- L-31E Flow-way
Along with benefitting the environment, the water reservation is also an essential step toward receiving federal Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) funding for the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands project. To date, the District has invested $4.5 million in the Deering Estate Flow-way and related facilities to benefit the bay.
Development of the water reservation began in December 2011. The District hosted a series of public workshops to solicit input from stakeholders, along with providing opportunities to comment at public meetings of the Water Resources Advisory Commission (WRAC) and the District Governing Board.
Biscayne Bay Background:
Water once flowed into southern Biscayne Bay through numerous tidal creeks and groundwater springs. Twentieth century construction of the regional flood control system altered this natural distribution of freshwater flows into the bay and reduced water storage within the watershed. These alterations resulted in changes to the salinity regime within the bay.
Today, water is discharged directly into southern Biscayne Bay through a series of canals, producing “point source” discharges of fresh water that impact salinity along the shoreline. The life cycle of several species, such as pink shrimp, blue crabs, American crocodiles and an array of fisheries, depend on lower salinities within the nearshore habitats.
The bay includes about 275 square miles of marine ecosystem and a watershed of about 850 square miles along the coast of Miami-Dade and northeastern Monroe counties.
Water Reservations:
Three other water reservation rules — for Picayune Strand (July 2009), Fakahatchee Estuary (July 2009) and the North Fork of the St. Lucie River (March 2010) — have already been adopted. Work continues on a water reservation rule for another CERP project — the Caloosahatchee River (C-43) West Basin Storage Reservoir.
For More Information:
Water Reservations
Protecting and Restoring Ecosystems

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Deadline on key Everglades project looms
Miami Herald – Curtis Morgan
June 13,2013
With a deadline to secure congressional authorization fast running out, environmentalists on Thursday pressed water managers to endorse a $2.2 billion suite of projects that is a key to finally restoring natural water flow through the heart of the River of Grass.
“We can’t miss this opportunity,” said Eric Eikenberg, chief executive officer of the Everglades Foundation. He was among some two dozen activists as well as state and federal lawmakers who urged the South Florida Water Management District to support the proposed Central Everglades Planning Project, which is designed to send more water south to long-parched Everglades National Park.
The district’s governing board and top managers, holding a meeting on Key Biscayne, insisted they were optimistic they could meet a July deadline to endorse the proposal. But they also cautioned there were difficult, still unresolved issues — particularly whether an agency that has slashed its budget over the last few years and is pondering selling off thousands of acres of land can afford to take on another big-ticket project.
James Moran, a district governing board member, said the plan raised “monumental issues.’’
Beyond initial construction costs, which had only been estimated, water managers want the federal government to split yet-to-be calculated operating and maintenance costs for pumps and levees. More important and potentially more expensive, water managers also are concerned that delivering more water to the park also could expose the state to more pollution lawsuits and costly cleanup projects. The state, under federal court pressure, has already poured more than $1 billion into building massive artificial marshes to scrub the farm pollutant phosphorus from water flowing into the Glades and Gov. Rick Scott signed off on another $880 million expansion earlier this year.
“We haven’t seen, dollarwise, any estimates as to how much it will cost and how we’re going to pay the bill,’’ said Moran.
The district and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been working on blueprints for the Central Everglades for 1 1/2 years, fast-tracking a planning process that in the past has taken four to six years. Their proposal would reroute some canals, remove some levees and add pumps to help move more fresh water now held in Lake Okeechobee into the southern Everglades instead of dumping it into rivers, damaging sensitive estuaries. The Central Everglades project is considered a critical next phase of the $10.5 billion Everglades restoration project, promising to at least partially revive flows to Everglades National park through a new Tamiami Trail bridge, the first of several bridges Congress has approved.
But unless the district formally agrees to co-sponsor the plan by next month, the Corps would likely not have time to complete it and include the project in a big public works bill the Congress is expected to approve this year. Congress only sporadically passes such bills, called a water resources development act, or WRDA, with the last coming seven years ago.
The Corps has until December to produce a final report that would be among at least two dozen already under consideration. But because a 45-day public comment period and a 30-day agency review are both required, the district would have to sign off on a draft plan by July or early August, said Lt. Col. Thomas Greco, commander of the Corps’ Jacksonville district, which oversees Everglades restoration projects.
“Time is of the essence,’’ Greco told water managers.
Ernie Barnett, a top district aide who was named interim manager on Thursday, and Greg Munson, a deputy secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection who is negotiating water quality issues with the Corps, both said they were hopeful they’ll iron out details and refine cost estimates in time for the district’s next meeting in July. If not, a special meeting could be called. The governing board would then have a second chance to approve a final draft in October.
Munson did not say whether Gov. Scott backed the new project but said it “has a lot of potential. It promises to be sort of the light at the end of the tunnel.’’
Staffers from the office of U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Miami Republican, presented letters asking the district to support the project. State Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, a Democrat whose district includes Coral Gables and Key Biscayne, also showed up to back the plan, saying he believed state lawmakers would help work out a payment plan.
Dawn Shirreffs, Everglades restoration program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said that agreeing to co-sponsor the plan wouldn’t immediately put the agency on the hook for the entire bill. A WRDA bill simply green-lights a project, she said. It could take years to secure federal funding and build the string of projects envisioned in the plan, she said.
Eikenberg of the Everglades Foundation said the project would also help water management problems across the region. When water in Lake Okeechobee gets too high, like it is now after heavy spring rains, the Corps is often forced to dump water down the Caloosahatchee River to the west and the St. Lucie to the east, where the polluted flow can trigger fishing-killing algae blooms.
“The lake is approximately 14 feet now and they’re dumping billions of gallons of water,’’ he said. “This is the southern relief valve.”
Unless the district signs off, environmental groups say restoration could grind to a halt. It could be five to seven years before another WRDA.
“We’d be screwed,’’ said Eikenberg.

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Good move to elevate our region's voice
Sun Sentinel – by Editorial Board
June 13, 2013
This is a move that makes so much sense, you are left with only one question:
What took so long?
The mayors of Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties recognize there is political clout in numbers, so they have decided to join forces on issues of mutual interest instead of acting alone.
Considering that the Tri-County population is larger than 28 states in the nation — with more than 5.5 million people — it makes a lot of sense. We are stronger together.
Yet history tells us that Tallahassee sees our region as a cash cow with marginal political clout, largely because the Florida Legislature is dominated by Republicans and South Florida skews Democratic, with an estimated 70 percent of Broward voters leaning left, along with about 61 percent in Palm Beach.
Perhaps that's why the Florida Department of Transportation recently felt it could try to take half the parking ticket fees collected here and spend them elsewhere. Or why DOT wants to create more toll lanes in South Florida and spend the money elsewhere. Have you noticed there are no state toll roads north of Central Florida?
Home to 30 percent of the state's population, South Florida is a donor region that helps support government services in inland counties that lack a sufficient tax base. Yet when it comes to sharing the risk of insurance, lawmakers from inland counties want South Florida property owners to largely go it alone. Fortunately, our region's lawmakers were able to hold back the push in the last legislative session, but look for a similar battle next year.
In the meantime, we need to strengthen and elevate the voice of our region.
So within the past few months, the mayors of the three counties — Kristin Jacobs in Broward, Steven Abrams in Palm Beach and Carlos Gimenez in Miami-Dade — signed a compact to unite their voices on issues of common concern.
Credit Jacobs for being the sparkplug. Upon becoming mayor, she elevated her "year of the neighbor" goal by reaching out to her regional counterparts, building on relationships established a few years back as part of a four-county compact to address the impacts of climate change.
Until now, politicians in these parts have joked about bringing their passports when they travel between the counties, or that the only two things visible from space are the Great Wall of China and the county line between Miami-Dade and Broward.
Now the three mayors believe that if South Florida speaks with one voice, they can get more accomplished. And they're right.
For sure, there will always be issues unique to each county — the proposed hotel tax in Miami-Dade for revamping Sun Life Stadium, as one recent example. And there will be areas where the three counties will remain competitive, though it similarly would be great to see economic development leaders work more closely together, too. Look at what's happened in Central Florida since the economic development leaders in Orlando and Tampa Bay joined forces as a "super-region."
For starters, the mayors' compact is loosely defined, sensitive to the role that county commissions play. But the mayors are talking about creating a coordinated effort in these areas:
Regional transportation: Building on the success (and challenges) of Tri-Rail, the leaders see the importance of increasing transportation efficiency in the urban area.
Extreme weather resiliency: Attracting more funding for infrastructure related to climate change.
Everglades restoration: Supporting policies that will restore the Everglades, and opposing any attempt to decrease funding for the Everglades Restoration Plan.
Elections Reform: Among other things, supporting legislation that expands voting days and hours.
State corrections cost-shift: Opposing legislative attempts to further shift the costs of correctional detention to the counties.
"It's about focusing on what we have in common," Abrams, a Republican, told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board. "We'll be more effective at solving problems. We have to make sure we have the loudest possible voice."
"We're better together as a region," added Jacobs, a Democrat.
South Florida's mayors are crossing county and party lines to lead the way.
Better late than never.
Look for the next big thing in our enhanced Opinion coverage — the South Florida 100 — starting Sunday.
We're asking 100 influential, interesting and informed leaders of business, government, nonprofits, cultural organizations and civic groups for their perspective on the news of the past week, as well as what they see on the horizon.
You'll recognize the names of our participants, who hail from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. And you'll be surprised — and interested — to see what they have to say.

130613-d
NMMA opposes plan for Everglades restrictions
TradeOnlyToday.com
June 13, 2013
The National Marine Manufacturers Association is speaking out against a plan that would convert a third of Florida Bay waters to specialized zones, saying the effects on fishing and boating would be “devastating.”
Following a call for public comment, the NMMA submitted a letter on behalf of its members to Everglades National Park. The National Park Service has proposed a new plan for the Everglades that will dictate park management for the next 10 to 20 years.
The plan would convert a third of the waters of the Florida Bay into “pole and troll zones,” which would be off limits to combustion-engine boats and would require separate mandatory education components to access the park’s waters.
In its letter to the Park Service, the NMMA acknowledged that pole and troll zones are designed to protect shallow waters from recreational damage, but it recommended that the Park Service decrease the overall size of the zones and consider implementing less onerous measures, such as idle speed zones, where appropriate.
As is, the pole and troll zones span distances upwards of three miles.
"Should these pole and troll zones be finalized in a general management plan, the impact to recreational boating and fishing in Florida Bay will be devastating,” NMMA director of regulatory and legal affairs Nicole Vasilaros said in the letter. "Access will be limited and park visitation will inherently suffer."
Comment:
Agriculture and the Sugar industry have already raped this part of Florida Bay with their polluted run-off and have done so with the state's blessing in return for millions in campaign funds.Now NMMA is crying money is more important than trying to clean up this mess. . Nuff to make you puke.

130613-e
South Florida Water Management District names veteran Barnett as interim replacement for departing Meeker
Palm Beach Post - by Christine Stapleton, Staff Writer
June 13, 2013
Key Biscayne — The governing board of the South Florida Water Management District today decided against appointing a new executive director to replace Melissa Meeker but voted veteran water manager Ernie Barnett as interim head of the beleaguered agency.
Meeker, who resigned suddenly earlier this month to accept a job at a private company, was not present at the standing-room-only meeting. However, board members praised her two years of leadership. Meeker cut the district staff by 300 employees and cut the agency’s billion-dollar budget in half.
Meeker is also credited with returning the district — widely viewed as a bloated-bureaucracy — to its core mission of water supply, flood control and restoration. Everglades restoration efforts moved forward on both the ground and in court under Meeker, as she fulfilled mandates from Gov. Rick Scott to settle decades of costly litigation by setting pollution standards for water flowing into the Everglades.
Barnett, considered a candidate for Meeker’s position, has worked for the district for nearly 30 years as both a biologist and director of legislative affairs. Governing board members agreed to immediately begin interviewing candidates and take up the matter — and possibly appoint a new director — at its next meeting in July.

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Ernie BARNETT
SFWMD interim
Executive Director

130613-f
Water district gets temporary leader
Sun Sentinel - by Andy Reid
June 13, 2013
The agency that guards South Florida against flooding and leads Everglades restoration on Thursday got its second new leader in two years.
The South Florida Water Management District’s board looked within and made Ernie Barnett the interim executive director of the agency that oversees water supplies from Orlando to the Keys.
Barnett, one of the district’s assistant executive directors, temporarily fills the vacancy left by former executive director Melissa Meeker. She resigned in May to take a private sector job with a Stuart-based environmental consulting firm.
Barnett pledged to provide a “sense of continuity” while the district board considers permanently filling the agency’s top job.
Barnett, at the district since 2005, oversees Everglades restoration and in the past has been the district’s main point-person when dealing with the Florida Legislature. Prior to joining the District, Barnett worked for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for 22 years.
“I am buoyed by the confidence the board has placed in me,” Barnett said at Thursday’s board meeting, held in Key Biscayne.
District board members said they want to move quickly to choose the next executive director, potentially as soon as next month. That could mean keeping Barnett or choosing another current district administrator as executive director.
The start of hurricane season as well as efforts to get more federal funding for Everglades restoration make this a difficult for the District’s leadership to be in question.
Several board members on Thursday said they want the new executive director to try to keep the district leadership in place.
“The organization needs some stability at the top,” Board Member Juan Portuondo said.
The South Florida Water Management District, based in West Palm Beach, has about 1,600 employees and a $600 million budget fueled in part by South Florida property taxes. The district owns more than 1 million acres of land and oversees water issues in a 16-county region stretching from Orlando to the Keys.
The governor appoints the district's nine board members, subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate, and the board picks the agency’s executive director.
Meeker, a former district board member, became the district’s executive director in May 2011, after the resignation of previous executive director Carol Wehle.
Meeker led the district through a difficult period that included leadership shake-ups and a $100 million state-imposed budget cut that led to 134 layoffs.
Meeker also helped shepherd through a new $880 million state Everglades restoration plan, intended to cleanup Everglades water pollution and resolve an ongoing legal fight over Florida's failure to meet federal water quality standards.
Meeker was paid about $165,000 per year as the district’s executive director.
Meeker says she was not asked to step aside from the district’s top post, but that her new job was too good not to take.
Meeker became a vice president at CSA Ocean Sciences, an environmental consulting firm with domestic and international clients, ranging from oil companies to South Florida utilities and counties.
Related:
South Florida Water Management District names interim leader       TCPalm
South Florida Water Management District names veteran Barnett as interim replacement for departing Meeker

130613-g
Water managers confront deadlines for restoring central Everglades
Palm Beach Post - by Christine Stapleton, Staff Writer
June 13, 2013
KEY BISCAYNE —  Board members of South Florida Water Management District realize that time is running out for them to decide whether to sponsor efforts to restore the central Everglades — estimated to cost as much as $2 billion — but when they asked for a deadline at their meeting on Thursday, they got several answers.
Ernie Barnett, the newly appointed interim executive director, said he hoped to have a draft plan for the district’s role in the Central Everglades Planning Project in July — August at the latest. The board would then have until October to make a final decision.
But Eric Eikenberg, CEO of the Everglades Foundation, said July was the deadline. Miss that deadline, and the district would have to wait seven years before asking for federal money under the Water Resources Development Act to build the crucial projects, Eikenberg said.
Restoring the central Everglades is the centerpiece of a new plan for deciding cleanup priorities and making sure they get done as quickly as possible. The project is meant to identify and plan for work on land already in public ownership to allow more water to be directed south to the central Everglades, Everglades National Park and Florida Bay, while protecting estuaries.
The Army Corps of Engineers unveiled the plan in October 2011 at a standing-room only meeting attended by the biggest names in the restoration’s history.
Money for the 50 percent federal share of the cost could be authorized in the Water Resources Development Act, which Congress will vote on later this year. If the money isn’t authorized, the project might have to wait seven years for another water bill.
However, for the Corps to move forward, it needs a state partner for Florida’s 50 percent share, which could be $1 billion. The district must now decide whether to take on that role.
Complicating that decision are concerns that if the projects don’t clean the water to pollution limits recently set as part of a federal lawsuit, the district would be held legally responsible.
“We couldn’t be a local sponsor that doesn’t meet water quality standards,” said Barnett, a 30-year veteran of Everglades restoration. “We have to be in compliance with state water quality standards.”
Also on Thursday, the board voted Barnett as interim executive director as it searches to replace Melissa Meeker, who resigned suddenly earlier this month to accept a job at a private company. Meeker was not present at the meeting but board members praised her two years of leadership. Meeker cut the district staff by 300 employees and cut the agency’s billion-dollar budget in half.
Meeker is also credited with returning the district — widely viewed as a bloated-bureaucracy — to its core mission of water supply, flood control and restoration. Everglades restoration efforts moved forward on both the ground and in court under Meeker, as she fulfilled mandates from Gov. Rick Scott to settle decades of costly litigation by setting pollution standards for water flowing into the Everglades.
Barnett, considered a candidate for Meeker’s position, has worked on Everglades issues for the Dept. of Environmental Protection and the district in a variety of positions, including a biologist and director of legislative affairs. Governing board members agreed to immediately begin interviewing candidates and take up the matter — and possibly appoint a new director — at its next meeting in July.

130612-
Florida community trying to keep fracking and drilling away from Everglades
New Times - by Chris Joseph
June 12 2013
The Dan A. Hughes Company, an independent oil and gas exploration company headquartered in Beeville, Texas, apparently owns the mineral rights to an onshore oil reserve known as the Sunniland Trend, which stretches from Ft. Myers to Miami. And they fully intend on fracking the crap out of it.
According to the Green Party of Florida, the company has been going under the radar for months, getting permits and permission to start drilling and frack a 13,900-feet deep exploratory well in the Florida Everglades.
The company has also hired Total Safety, Inc., which has requested emergency contact info from homeowners in the Golden Gate Community in Naples, just in case an evacuation is needed in the event that something bad happens while drilling -- such as, an explosion or a toxic chemical release, or something.
In response, Golden Gate residents have organized a grassroots campaign to stop the Dan A. Hughes Company in its tracks before it can begin drilling.
An Emergency Town Hall Meeting is planned for this afternoon, and the residents have created a website, a Facebook page, and a Change.org petition.
"The proposed drill site is in Golden Gate Estates in Naples, and is very close in proximity of protected preserves," the petition reads. "Families live right next to the proposed drill site and call this home. Golden Gate Estates residents all produce their own drinking water from wells. Drilling for oil in Collier County would put our families and our sensitive ecosystem in Collier County and Florida in great danger."
Fracking is the process of fracturing of various rock layers under the ground by using a pressurized liquid.
Environmentalists say the chemicals used in fracking contaminates drinking water, ruins the local environment, and pollutes the air. The specific chemicals used are not required by federal law to be publicly disclosed, and companies often use these loopholes to drill, which is what causes the environment major damage.
You can get more in-depth information on fracking and the dangers associated with it by visiting this neat animated website.
Related:
Petition to stop plans for oil drilling near Golden Gate Estates gains ...        The News-Press

130611-a
Blue-green algae spotted off of Sanibel
ABC-7.com
June 11, 2013
SANIBEL ISLAND, FL -
Officials on Sanibel say they are monitoring a blue-green algae bloom along the beaches there.
Experts say a brown colored patch of water along some stretches of Sanibel beaches has been positively identified as a single-celled blue-green alga called Trichodesmium erythraeum.
City officials say people should use common sense before swimming in any area with heavy concentrations of the blue-green algae, or any other type of algae.
Experts say the smaller blooms of the blue-green algae can resemble sawdust floating on the water surface. But larger blooms, they say, can look like oil slicks or sea foam. 
Experts on Sanibel are working with the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation Marine Lab, the Sanibel Sea School and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute to monitor the bloom until it fades away.
According to FWRI, this form of blue-green algae can be found all over the world in tropical and subtropical seas. 
They add that blooms of this type are not related to coastal nutrient sources or pollution. Instead, they generally form offshore and make it to shores when pushed in by winds and tides. 
Experts say blooms in the Gulf of Mexico tend to occur between May and September, when iron-rich Saharan dust is blown into the atmosphere, transported across the Atlantic Ocean by wind currents and then deposited into the Gulf of Mexico.
Click here to see some frequently asked questions about blue-green algae.

130611-b
Everglades receives $880 million for restoration
The Independent Florida Alligator – by Rosanna Del Cioppo, Contributing Writer
June 11, 2013
The nature-rich Everglades will soon be richer in resources as well — cash resources, that is.
Gov. Rick Scott recently signed HB7065 into law, which will dedicate $880 million to improve the area’s water quality and flow.
It’s the largest ecological restoration project in the world, said Peter Frederick, a UF Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation professor.
Restoring the Everglades will be a major source of pride and fame because the plan will create money flow and increase tourism, he said. The South Florida economy, fish and wildlife and ecosystem function will be affected.
“I suspect that will make South Florida kind of like Costa Rica,” he said, “a destination for eco-tourists and those aching for good news in the world.”
The plan is a great step in the right direction but doesn’t solve the problem, he said. It only relieves about 20 percent of the Everglades’ water conflict.
The Everglades’ present water system can’t treat the amount of water the wetlands need, Frederick said. The system is too small and gets flooded often during storms.
Improving water quality is really the only next step possible, he said. Although new developments to handle water are on their way, these constructions are useless without a solution to the water condition.
Fish and wildlife will increase in the far north end of the system and the bottom of the estuarine coastal area, he said. The rise depends on the species and amount of water, but Florida may get 5 to 30 percent more fish, birds and alligators, Frederick said.
The Everglades may acquire more water during the dry season, increased vegetation and a longer period of time to be covered in water, he said.
The plan, he said, could be the first major increase in water for the wetlands since the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
The plan consists of developments to naturally eliminate harmful phosphorus from water before it is released into the Everglades, according to a news release.
It also includes features to enhance treatment efficiency and make treatment areas less prone to breakdown, Frederick said.
Current engineering projects and changes necessary to move water through enormous flood control and water delivery parts will continue, according to the release.
Amberleigh Overby, a 19-year-old animal science senior, said the plan could help as long as people are careful and don’t hurt the situation more by disrupting what’s already in the Everglades.
“In the right hands, $880 million can do a lot,” she said. “Hopefully they don’t end up disrupting the environment by trying to fix it.”
Bette Loiselle, a UF Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation professor, said the Everglades is an outstanding ecosystem that is of global importance. It’s a special place from numerous perspectives and a treasure for Floridians, she said.
“The legislation was developed with many stakeholders, which is critical when attempting to solve complex problems,” she said.
A $32 million annual state-funded appropriation will partially finances the plan, according to the release. It’s a partnership among the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Water Management District, Everglades Agricultural Area stakeholders and South Florida.
The world leader in phosphorus water treatment is currently the South Florida Water Management District, and its systems are growing more efficient and cost effective every year, Frederick said.
Because of two prior legal decisions that require Florida to have particular water quality standards for phosphorus, the state and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency didn’t have a lot of choice over water quality, Frederick said.
State agencies must dedicate large proportions of its budget on fixing water quality, which means they can’t spend it on purchasing conservation lands, improving recreational facilities or restoring other parts of South Florida. It’s a trade-off that the state has little choice in, he said.
Rhett Barker, a 19-year-old wildlife ecology and conservation sophomore, said the Everglades is worth restoring.
“There aren’t many places where I can see alligators, crocodiles, sea turtles and anhingas at once within the span of an hour,” he said.

130611-d
Front & Center: Putnam: Water is state's top issue
Orlando Sentinel
June 11, 2013
Republican Adam Putnam was already a political veteran when he was elected Florida's agriculture commissioner in 2010. He had represented a U.S. House district that included his hometown of Bartow in Polk County for a decade, and had served four years in the Florida Legislature. In a recent interview with the Sentinel Editorial Board, he tamped down speculation that he might mount a primary challenge next year to Gov. Rick Scott, though he refused to rule out the possibility. He also talked about other hot topics he deals with in his current Cabinet spot, including water policy and immigration reform. Here are excerpts.
Q: You've called water policy Florida's top issue. Why ?
A: Long term, whether you build a subdivision, plant an orange grove or save the Everglades, it's going to come down to water policy. That's water quality and water quantity. …
Q: Plenty of environmentalists don't think the state's doing enough on water quality.
A: … Florida already has among the most robust state-based water-quality monitoring system … The state passed its own [nutrient pollution] law, which the EPA has chosen to recognize. It did not go as far as some elements of the environmental community would have liked for it to go, but it is a leader in the nation, and it will not result in nearly every wastewater-treatment utility in the state being out of compliance and having to spend billions of dollars to meet a standard that may or may not be attainable at any cost.
Q: Yet there's been a significant decline in waterways like the Wekiva River.
A: There is a noticeable decline in some rivers and springs, and a noticeable improvement in others. … We have very aggressively focused our resources and attention of our water-quality shop on the Suwannee Valley … the lower St. Johns, as well as the northern Everglades … to enroll landowners in best-management practices, to reduce levels of nitrogen and phosphorous leaving the farm, and we've had tremendous success with that. … We think that there's continued room for improvement in other areas of the state …
Q: Lawmakers have spent only a fraction on springs that experts have called for.
A: The Legislature prioritized the Everglades as the beneficiary of limited environmental-restoration funds. … As budgets rebound, I think that you will see that commitment spread to other environmental priorities that should not be neglected in Florida, and I think spring restoration and spring shed protection should be an environmental priority in Florida. … There's more to Florida than the Everglades.
Q: What do you think of the current immigration reform effort in Congress?
A: The broad outlines of what the Senate … and what the House ... are now considering are positive steps in the right direction for the country and for Florida. … Florida stands to gain the most from a modern, well-functioning immigration system, and we stand to lose the most if Congress fails yet again to have a single, smart federal immigration policy. We're a state that has an international reputation as a welcoming place to live, to work, to play, to put your money. We just crossed the 90 million visitor threshold, a substantial number of which are international. … This is important to all of Florida. To tourism, to construction, to agriculture, to banking. …
Q: Should the Florida Cabinet revisit near-shore drilling off Florida?
A: No. … Given where energy markets are, particularly natural gas markets, I think oil production in the near-shore areas of Florida is an unnecessary debate. It's not something we should proceed with.
Q: Are you ruling out running for anything other than re-election as agriculture commissioner?
A: I've filed my papers to seek re-election and I'm actively campaigning for re-election. So I'm asking people for four more years as commissioner.
Q: So does that mean you're ruling out anything else?
A: I'm running for re-election.

130611-e
Ongoing threats make manatee recovery tenuous
News-Press.com – by Katie Tripp, Director of Science and Conservation, Save the Manatee Club
June 11, 2013
In 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced plans to stakeholders to move forward with a manatee reclassification to “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.
However, with unprecedented manatee mortalities in 2013 (more than 582 through the end of April, many due to red tide in Southwest Florida and others dying mysteriously in Brevard County), FWS announced that down-listing plans were on hold.
The ESA dictates that FWS base any reclassification decision on five factors. If the answer to any of the questions posed by the five-factor test is “yes,” then FWS cannot down-list or delist. Our review of the five factors comes up with several “yes” answers that tell us down-listing is premature:
• Is there a present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of species’ habitat or range? Yes.
Fifty percent of Florida’s manatees depend on artificial sources of water that could fail or disappear. Loss of even one site could result in catastrophic mortality.
More than 17 percent of manatees use springs habitat. Spring flows are threatened by over-pumping of the aquifer for consumptive use and degraded water quality.
We are witnessing the legacy of nutrient pollution in the Indian River Lagoon system, where a natural event has likely been exacerbated by nutrients from years’ worth of runoff churned up to feed algal blooms that wiped out seagrass.
Waterfront development continues, facilitating more boat traffic that directly threatens manatees and secondarily impacts to the species’ habitat.
• Is species subject to overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes? No.
• Is disease or predation a factor? Not currently.
Manatees have not suffered from widespread disease in the past, but their winter congregations do leave them susceptible to widespread disease transmission.
• Are there inadequate regulatory mechanisms in place outside the ESA? Yes.
The ESA and the Marine Mammal Protection Act are important safeguards. Florida does have some state-level protection for manatees, including the Manatee Sanctuary Act. However, manatees are impacted by many of the environmental decisions made in our state, and Tallahassee’s strong anti-environmental sentiment in recent years has eroded growth management, weakened state environmental and regulatory agencies, and stood in the way of meaningful protections for our waters, including springs.
• Are other natural or man-made factors affecting its continued existence? Yes.
Watercraft, water control structures, marine debris, red tide, climate change, seagrass loss, and cold stress deaths all fall under this category. Climate change stands to cause massive negative changes to the manatee’s world, from increased storm events, wide temperature swings (think cold stress), possible shifts in food availability, and even reduced spring flows.
Some people (including perhaps FWS) argue that we now have more manatees than we used to, so it’s time for a status change. However, none of the ESA’s five factors simply consider a population snapshot. Decisions under the ESA are to be made in full consideration of what the future holds for a species. For Florida’s manatees, unfortunately, both the immediate and long-term scenarios indicate ongoing perils that make recovery tenuous.

130610-a
Everglades restoration cannot wait
Sun Sentinel - by Dawn Shirreffs, Everglades Restoration Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association
June 10, 2013
Everglades restoration efforts, the future of Floridians' drinking water, and the fate of endangered species like the Florida Panther lie in the hands of the South Florida Water Management District this month. SFWMD must act now and affirm its commitment as a critical local sponsor for the Central Everglades Planning Project during its June 13 governing board meeting to ensure CEPP is included with the other projects in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan set for congressional authorization. It has been a monumental effort to execute this project with broad stakeholder support, and Everglades restoration can't wait.
In 2010, the National Academy of Sciences pointed to the lack of progress on restoration affecting the central and southern core of the Everglades' ecosystem including Everglades National Park and Florida Bay. Despite approval of the CERP in 2000, lack of projects that could increase freshwater deliveries continued to erode conditions, threatening increased wildfires and the extinction of endangered species. In response, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers launched the pilot project known as the Central Everglades Planning Project to help expedite planning and minimize delays.
Since its November 2011 launch, the CEPP-expedited process has received accolades from stakeholders throughout Florida. Recognizing the devastating impacts of delay, President Obama, in February, included CEPP on his 'We Can't Wait' Initiative recognizing threats to the Everglades and the potential for this project to serve as a model for restoration efforts across the nation.
The Everglades is on life support. CERP relies on the erratic passage of a Water Resources Development Act by Congress, which has not occurred since 2007. Recently, the U.S. Senate overwhelming passed a WRDA bill and the House of Representatives is expected to take up the issue this summer. If CEPP's fast-tracked project isn't ready by then, jobs and benefits to restore the Everglades could be shelved for many years.
To date, state and federal partners have done an outstanding job identifying actions that will deliver 67 billion gallons of fresh water per year to the Central Everglades, relieve hypersaline conditions threatening Florida Bay, and reduce damaging discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee River estuaries. CEPP has been endorsed by the Everglades Coalition, Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Monroe County, Palm Beach County and others. The proposed infrastructure provides much needed flexibility for water managers, maintains existing water supply, and improves recreation opportunities for wildlife enthusiasts. Advancing this project is in Florida's best interests.
However, the clock is ticking. If the South Florida Water Management District's Governing Board fails to advance CEPP by July then benefits from and progress for Everglades restoration could be set back more than seven years and could be too late for several endangered species.

130610-b
Florida's new water bill: $16.5B
Orlando Business Journal – by Bill Orben, Associate Managing Editor
June 10, 2013
Florida will need to spend $16.5 billion to meet its water needs during the next 20 years, according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report.
The assessment of transmission and distribution, treatment, storage and sourcing of water needs in the Sunshine State during the next 20 years is about 14 percent higher than the $14.5 billion worth of water-related infrastructure the federal agency estimated the state needed in 2007.
Much of the $16.5 billion worth of needs — $10.2 billion — covers the transmission and distribution of water throughout the state for the next 20 years.
The estimate includes new systems and improving existing systems.
Although the needs assessment by the EPA does not address funding sources or the probability of any of the needs being completed, any portion of the projects in Florida would provide an economic boost to the Sunshine State. National gross domestic product increases by $6.35 for each $1 spent on infrastructure, according to a U.S. Conference on Mayors study.

130609-b
How long will Floridians accept environmental decline ?
TheLedger.com – by Tom Palmer
June 9, 2013
One of my favorite environmental cartoons was published more than 40 years ago.
It depicts two men sitting on a junk car surrounded by flood waters and overrun with rats. One of the men  appears to be a scientist who is explaining the situation to the other man, who asks, “What’s ecology?”
It illustrates a phenomenon that troubles people in the environmental community.
That is the prospect that people may consider the environmental conditions they see today in Florida as perfectly normal and acceptable. And if it occurs to them there may be something wrong, they may not understand how it got that way and what they can do about it.
Believe it or not, Florida’s lakes were not always full of algae and hydrilla, the Peace River flowed all year and many species of wildlife now classified as endangered were relatively widespread.
Once upon a time, there was real state oversight of local growth plans.
Once upon a time, the main emphasis on environmental permitting wasn’t making sure a permit was issued as quickly as possible, but on whether the resource was being protected.
Recent news reports of actions done under the guise of economic recovery have not been encouraging.
Item: No known environmentalists are among the political appointees who oversee protection and oversight of Florida’s water resources.
Item: Florida Department of Environmental Protection fires attorneys in charge of investigating environmental violations, claiming there’s little to investigate because developers and regulated industries are doing such a great job policing themselves.
Item: DEP wetlands expert suspended for refusing to approve permit for politically connected developer; court later sides with fired expert.
Item: Florida growth management regulations are gutted, agency overseeing growth management abolished.
The effects of these political changes, like the flow of pollution into lakes and rivers and the gradual loss of wildlife habitat, are insidious. It takes time before many people realize the full effects.
Of course the reason this is happening is that there are many other people who view the preceding changes in the way Florida deals with environmental and growth issues as good news. They are in power at the moment.
This reflects the perennial debate in Florida over whether to look only at the seeming short-term benefits of an action term or to think also about the long-term implications.
The reason Florida legislators finally agreed to impose environmental and growth-management regulations and set up and fund the agencies to implement the laws in the 1970s and 1980s was because things had gotten so bad as a result of decades of lack of regulation that the public demanded action.
The future of the quality of Florida’s water supplies, its lakes, rivers and bays, its diverse wildlife, its scenic places have more long-term implications to the kind of state we live in than the transient political spats that dominate statewide news and campaign debates most of the time.
Perhaps when enough people wake up and figure out that things need to improve, the political winds will change and environmental protection will be considered an asset to Florida’s future and not a hindrance.
Then maybe political reporters will ask candidates about environmental policy and politicians will have to take different stands than many of them have been taking lately.
WILDLIFE FEDERATION AWARDS
Some people from the area were honored Saturday night during the Florida Wildlife Federation’s annual awards ceremony at the FFA Leadership Training Center near Lake Wales.
The Lightsey Cattle Company of Lake Wales was named Land Conservationist of the Year.
Paul Ebersbach of Avon Park Air Force Range received the Land Conservation & Planning Award.
Hilary Swain, director of Archbold Biological Station in Lake Placid, was named Conservationist of the Year.
SADDLE PARK CLEANUP
I joined the folks from the local chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association Saturday at Saddle Creek Park for the first-ever organized cleanup of this park.
It went well. All of the volunteers produced a good pile of trash-filled bags as well as other debris ranging from tires to sinks. The park certainly looks a lot better.

130609-d
On Everglades, Florida gives Big Sugar another break
Miami Herald – by Ray Judah
June 9, 2013
The most deceptive and egregious action against taxpayers during the 2013 Florida legislative session was passage of HB 7065 and SB 768, which amended the 1994 Everglades Forever Act.
Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-Lehigh Acres, sponsored HB 7065 under the guise of increasing the sugar industry’s funding commitment to Everglades restoration when, in fact, his proposed amendment was a smoke screen to ensure that the sugar industry would be able to limit or cap its long-term obligation to fund Everglades restoration.
The 1994 Everglades Forever Act, which was ostensibly written to restore the Florida Everglades, capped the sugar industry’s clean-up costs at $320 million and obligated the public taxpayers for the remainder of the $16 billion restoration project. The so-called privilege tax of $25 per acre that the sugar industry pays to continue its discharge of pollution runoff to the Everglades, as well as to the Caloosahatchee and coastal estuaries, amounts to about $11 million per year. A truly insignificant sum in contrast to the billions required from the public to restore the Florida Everglades.
The $25 per acre privilege tax was scheduled to be reduced to $10 per acre in 2017 but the Caldwell amendment extended the $25 per acre to 2026. To the casual observer it would appear that the legislative action would ensure that the sugar industry continued to help fund Everglades restoration.
In actuality, the legislation provided the sugar industry the comfort level or certainty that its long term-funding commitment towards Everglades restoration would be significantly limited in scope. Instead of defending the sugar industry and suggesting that the taxpayers contribute an even greater amount to Everglades restoration, Rep. Caldwell should have supported an amendment to the Everglades Forever Act that increased the $25 privilege tax.
This would have ensured that the sugar industry paid its fair share towards Everglades restoration as opposed to the sugar industry continuing to receive special treatment as the Florida Legislature’s favorite welfare recipient and shift the tax burden onto the backs of the public.
Caldwell is quick to point out that the Everglades Foundation and Florida Audubon supported HB 7065, but the Sierra Club and The Conservancy of Southwest Florida took an opposing position that the legislation did not go far enough to level the funding formula between the sugar industry and the taxpayers for Everglades restoration.
In fact, the Everglades Foundation and Florida Audubon only struck a compromise to support HB 7065 because Caldwell was supporting an earlier version of an amendment that would have greatly weakened water quality standards and removed the 1993 Statement of Principles that had been a guide for restoration efforts over the last 20 years. With the objectionable provisions removed in the final draft amendment, the Everglades Foundation and Florida Audubon were in damage control mode and reluctantly accepted the continuation of an inequitable funding formula for Everglades restoration.
To put the sugar industry’s $11 million annual contribution to Everglades restoration in perspective, Lee County taxpayers pay in excess of $30 million per year to the Okeechobee levy for work by the South Florida Water Management District in the Everglades Agricultural Area to provide drainage and irrigation of the sugar cane fields south of Lake Okeechobee. Lee County’s return on the investment is polluted water, fish kills and harmful algae blooms including red tide.
Certainly, the more conservative and responsible approach would be to support public policy that protects the interest of struggling taxpayers and hold the sugar industry accountable for the destruction of precious public resources including the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers and coastal estuaries.
The people have a right to know the truth, and it is time for the public to demand that the Florida Legislature represent the public interest and not the special interest.
Ray Judah is a former Lee County commissioner.
Related:
Guest opinion: Rep. Caldwell's amendment to Everglades Forever Act North Fort Myers Neighbor (June 12, 2013)
Guest opinion: Rep. Caldwell's amendment to Everglades Forever Act       Cape Coral Daily Breeze
Judah: 2013 Florida law will continue to damage Everglades The News-Press

130609-e
Scientific achievement
Palm Beach Daily News
June 9, 2013
Rechristened South Florida Science Center and Aquarium a fine cultural addition.
By PBDN  --  It has traveled a path as volatile as any laboratory experiment, but the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium is finally open for business.
And is it something to rediscover.
If you’re not familiar with the name of the organization, it’s the newly rechristened — and much expanded — South Florida Science Museum. The institution celebrated its grand reopening Friday on Dreher Trail, just behind the Palm Beach Zoo.
Revamped at a cost of nearly $5 million, the facility has much to delight children and their parents, including an extensive Aquariums of the Atlantic exhibit featuring 90 species of fish. Other Florida-centric features include a new River of Grass exhibit about the Everglades and one focusing on hurricanes.
In all, the outdated facility built in 1959 has expanded from 20,000 square feet to 32,000 square feet, including space to house temporary touring exhibits from other institutions.
“We are going from a kind of second-tier organization to a first-tier organization in our community,” says Palm Beacher Lewis Crampton, chief executive officer of the Science Center since 2010.
That, of course, has been the dream of the institution’s supporters for more than a decade. Long gone are the grandiose plans that would have seen a $54-million, 100,000-square-foot facility built from scratch on land donated by Palm Beach County in Lake Lytal Park. Rivaling science museums such as Fort Lauderdale’s, it was to be named for the late Marvin and Elsie Dekelboum of Palm Beach, who provided the lead $10 million challenge grant.
But money from other donors never materialized, and the project was scrapped six years ago.
Instead, the revamp was largely paid for with $4 million from a 2002 county recreation bond, augmented by private donations, including major support from the Quantum Foundation.
Already, the museum is eyeing its future. Plans include replacing the oldest part of the building with new exhibit space and facilities for early childhood education.
But Palm Beacher Matt Lorenzten, chairman of the museum’s board of trustees, points out that the just-completed update will help the museum address the future in another important way. By increasing its outreach to Palm Beach County schools, the institution can help foster students’ interest in science.
And that’s a fine goal, indeed, in a world where the demand for professionals in careers related to science, technology, engineering and math is only expected to increase.
The reworked facility may be far removed from the one envisioned a decade ago. But it is still a welcome and long-overdue addition to the area’s cultural landscape.
It’s also a lot of fun.

130608-a
A visionary alliance
The Miami Herald - Editorial
June 8, 2013
OUR OPINION: South Florida mayors can help region prosper by joining forces
They get it, they really get it. There is strength in speaking with one voice in Tallahassee, and beyond — and sunshine and palm trees will only take this region so far. The mayors of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties have joined forces to help bring South Florida a regional vision for effective transportation; address the effects of climate change, continue to protect the Everglades and keep voting polls accessible.
The Editorial Board has put forth its vision for the region at the beginning of each year under the call to action “Creating a New South Florida.” Carlos Gimenez, Kristin Jacobs and Steven Abrams — the elected leaders of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, respectively — have taken a huge step toward doing just that.
The alliance, conceived late last year by Mr. Abrams, stands on the foundation of a compact approved by each county’s commission and signed by each mayor.
It lays out the areas over which they will come together: regional transportation, climate change, Everglades restoration, election reform and shifting costs of state corrections.
Important issues all. Economic development is one crucial area that’s mentioned in the compact but not addressed at length. It, too, must be in the alliance’s laser-like focus. The mayors are savvy enough to acknowledge that areas of competition remain — seaports, for instance. But they also understand that the economic health of one South Florida county, as with hurricanes, beach erosion and traffic congestion, doesn’t stop at the county line.
The region can invest more in strategic initiatives to lure more high-tech, bio-tech and international banking. The employees they bring with them, or better yet, hire from South Florida communities, will be major contributors to the region’s tax base.
At the same time, each county must also be concerned with giving low-income and working-class residents a boost as it lobbies Tallahassee to pay heed. Effective fair-wage and wage-theft laws, for instance, are always endangered. Cuts to childcare and senior services can have devastating impacts on families struggling to keep their heads above water.
The three mayors already have one in the win column. They took their concerns over Florida’s debacle of a presidential election last year, stood as one, along with other leaders, pushed for and won voting reforms in Tallahassee that will prevent the confusion and interminable lines at the polls that rendered Florida’s vote irrelevant in the 2012 presidential election.
Together, these three South Florida counties boast a population of almost 6 million people. But legislative muscle has moved to the north, specifically the I-4 corridor, muting — and sometimes hostile to — the quality-of-life concerns here. The mayors’ alliance opens the opportunity to work with the members of South Florida’s legislative delegations in advance of each session in Tallahassee, making their goals clear and further enhancing consensus rather than fomenting competition.
This should also make it easier to call state officials to account — from the governor on down — for giving South Florida short shrift. Ms. Jacobs points to the revenue that pours in from the toll lanes on I-95. She says that South Florida is a “cash cow” for the state, yet is not seeing a fair return for what the region — its visitors and residents, really — contribute.
The mayors’ alliance is a smart start for turning up the volume of South Florida’s voice in Tallahassee.

130608-b
Floodwaters recede — for now — but more rain on the way
MiamiHerald.com - by Clark Spencer and Jonathan Simmons
June 8, 2013
Don’t put away your umbrella just yet.
Though Tropical Storm Andrea has weakened into a post-tropical cyclone that has moved far up the east coast, its remnants could still be felt today in rain-weary South Florida.
The region could still receive more rainfall on Saturday.
“We’re still expecting some more (rain), especially this afternoon and into this evening,” said Chuck Caracozza, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Miami. “It’s the very tail end of it.”
And Caracozza said it wouldn’t take much to create more flooding “since the ground is so saturated from yesterday.”
Indeed, the city of Hollywood was giving away sandbags in anticipation of more rain.
The sandbags will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Public Works Administration Building, 1600 South Park Rd., while supplies last. Proof of Hollywood residency will be required.
In Aventura, police said they towed 150 vehicles from roadways Friday. By Saturday morning, most of the flooding had subsided, but police urged drivers to use cuation. One street, 29th Place, remained closed due to standing water from 199th Street to Ives Dairy Road.
South Floridians were stranded in flooded homes and businesses Friday as feeder bands from Andrea drenched the area with rain that measured in the double-digits over the course of the day.
The storms dumped water on North Miami, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood and Dania Beach before and during rush hour, causing dozens of accidents, hundreds of cars stalled out and leaving thousands of commuters sitting in traffic.
Many police departments issued warnings, urging people who were home not to go out. And those already out were stuck for hours.
Mark Sturman, 53, went to Aventura Mall with his son for a 2 p.m. eye appointment, but at 8 p.m. was still there, waiting for the water to subside so they could leave.
“It’s flooded everywhere,” said Sturman, of Plantation Acres. “There are tow-trucks everywhere.”
Sturman and his son Zach passed the time catching The Internship playing at the AMC theater, then having dinner. With rain still falling at 8 p.m., they were considering catching a second movie, but really, they just wanted to get out of there.
“We’ve been here since 2 o’clock,” Sturman said. “We just want to go home.”
Broward Sheriff Fire-Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said the storm knocked out many traffic lights in the county and caused a number of accidents.
“You have to be careful about the water,” he said. “You can’t tell how deep water is by looking at it.”
When streets are flooded, he said, people sometimes drive into canals they can’t see.
Broward sheriff’s deputies found a car entirely submerged at the intersection of Sheridan Street and Southeast Fifth Avenue in Dania Beach about 5:30 p.m., and sent out fire trucks to help Hallandale Beach residents whose homes had flooded.
Hallandale Beach, which recorded 13 inches of rain by 9 p.m., issued an emergency alert warning residents to stay off the roads if possible, and news footage showed streets under several feet of water and dotted with disabled vehicles.
Golden Beach and North Miami Beach each recorded even more rain: 15 inches.
The flooding impact from a far-away tropical system echoed last year’s Hurricane Isaac, which dumped nearly 18 inches of rain in western Palm Beach County while its center was hundreds of miles away in the Gulf of Mexico.
Water managers were monitoring the situation, said Randy Smith, a spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District.
But there wasn’t a lot they could do to speed drainage along the coast.
South Florida’s sprawling network of canals, pumps and gates was largely designed to protect inland suburbs and farms from flooding. Coastal cities, which tend to drain faster naturally, maintain their own storm water systems. Typically, most systems can handle about six inches of water in short periods. Beyond that, streets start to flood.
Smith said the district was trying to hold water in the western areas, helping ease pressure on coastal drainage canals already overwhelmed with runoff.
While the scattered storms are expected to continue Saturday, the weather should improve Sunday. Though, this being South Florida and June, rain showers are always a possibility.
Sandbags distributed in rain-soaked southern Broward         Sun-Sentinel
Hallandale Beach residents clean up after storms      Local10.com

130608-c
Lake Okeechobee dike threats linger into hurricane season
Sun Sentinel – by Andy Reid
June 8, 2013
Thirty Palm Beach County school buses on Friday put Lake Okeechobee in their rearview mirrors and practiced racing a rush of water.
It's a drive that lakeside residents and emergency management officials alike hope they never have to make — fleeing flooding from a breach in Lake Okeechobee's more than 70-year-old dike.
The start of hurricane season this month coupled with Friday's evacuation drill bring reminders of lingering concerns about the Herbert Hoover Dike, which is considered one of the country's most at-risk of failing.
The Army Corps of Engineers remains in the midst of a decades-long rehab effort to strengthen the 30-foot-tall, earthen structure that stretches for 143 miles around Lake Okeechobee. The initial phases of that rehab are expected to total $750 million, according to the corps.
While costly improvements have been made, the work remains far from finished as yet another hurricane season dawns. As a result, the Army Corps this summer has resumed dumping lake water out to sea to ease the strain on the aging dike.
"It's not where we would like it to be. We still have a lot of concerns about the stability of the dike," Army Corps spokesman John Campbell said.
While lakeside residents in Pahokee, Belle Glade and South Bay tend to say they have faith in the dike that has long been a part of their landscape, community leaders say that lowering lake levels and continuing work to strengthen the dike are what they are counting to guard against flooding.
"No one can predict what can happen with the levee," new Pahokee Mayor Colin Walkes said. "You put forth your best effort, but Mother Nature can be unforgiving. It is a concern."
The Herbert Hoover Dike and others across the country have gained more scrutiny ever since the levees in New Orleans failed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
A 2006 engineering report found that Lake Okeechobee's dike "poses a grave and imminent danger to the people and the environment of South Florida."
The concern is that erosion of the earthen dike can cause cavities within the structure that would eventually collapse and allow a breach that leads to flooding.
To beef up flood control protection, the Army Corps in recent years has focused rehab efforts on southeastern portion of the dike, an area from Port Mayaca to Belle Glade that is considered most at risk of a breach.
Last year the Army Corps completed the five-year installation of a 21-mile stretch of a reinforcing wall built through the middle of the dike to help guard against the erosion that can lead to breach.
The corps since 2011 has also been working on replacing or closing off 32 culverts that ring the dike, with that work expected to continue until 2018. The areas around the culverts are also considered at-risk of erosion.
The money paid to build the wall and to start work on the initial culverts has cost $360 million, with another $390 million in costs expected for the remaining culverts.
In addition, the corps is still studying what improvements are needed beyond the culvert replacements. That could include adding more sections of wall or other structural upgrades that come from what Campbell described as the "most comprehensive review the dike has ever undergone." The report is expected to be completed next year.
"They have done a lot of work on the area [near] those three municipalities," said Bill Johnson, the county's director of emergency management. "I'm feeling more confident about that."
While the dike rehab work continues, the corps has been keeping lake levels about a foot lower than usual year-round.
The corps in May increased Lake Okeechobee water releases to try to stem rising water levels in advance of the summer rainy season.
Since May 8 the corps has dumped about 20 billion gallons of Lake Okeechobee water out to sea, enough to fill 31,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.
Those are considered low-level releases when compared to the hundreds of billions of gallons of lake water the corps dumped during years past to ease the strain on the dike.
On Friday, the lake was 13.55 feet above sea level, nearly 2 feet higher than this time last year. The corps tries to keep the lake between 12.5 and 15.5 feet.
Before development and farming invaded the Everglades, water naturally overlapped Lake Okeechobee's southern rim during the rainy season and flowed in shallow sheets all the way to Florida Bay.
Through the decades, more people and agriculture got in the way of that water flow. Thousands of deaths following devastating hurricanes in 1926 and 1928 prompted the initial construction of the lake's dike.
Severe flooding from hurricanes in 1947 and 1948 prompted more federal help that expanded the dike to encircle the lake. The corralled lake waters now serve as South Florida's primary backup water supply.
New outlets for lake water flows were created connecting the lake to the Caloosahatchee River to the west and the St. Lucie River to the east, enabling the corps to flush lake water out to sea for flood control.

130607-a
Florida sugar farmers showcase successful Everglades restoration
Sunshine State News - by Nancy Smith
June 7, 2013
Florida sugar farmers invite viewers to visit their farms through a new, short video that showcases their successful efforts to help restore the Everglades.
Florida Crystals, U.S. Sugar Corp. and Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida have combined in an outreach program to educate viewers about their more than 20-year role collaborating with the state in successful restoration efforts and to celebrate the landmark state legislation that will complete the final phase of Everglades restoration.
For more than two decades, Florida sugar farmers have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to implement advanced farming methods, called Best Management Practices (BMPs). The new vignette shows how farmers have rolled up their sleeves using science, technology and innovative research to preserve the Everglades ecosystem.
To view it and share it online, please visit A transcription of the video is here: http://youtu.be/NG3s1Fg36iA
It's beautiful when science and nature work together. And it's happening with Everglades restoration.
Sugar farmers have invested in some of the most advanced environmental research being done anywhere. Using smart farming methods to preserve Florida's precious resources. It's working. Now, environmentalists have joined with sugar farmers and policymakers to put the final phase of restoration in place.
Florida sugar farmers. Part of the solution.

130607-b
Leadership changes at South Florida Water Management District
WGCU.org - by John Davis
June 7, 2013
The recent resignation of the South Florida Water Management District’s executive director, Melissa Meeker leaves some big shoes for the district to fill.  Her departure is among a number of recent leadership changes at the helm of the state’s largest water control district.
Months before announcing her resignation Meeker appointed former governing board member Dan Delisi of Estero Chief of Staff at the District.   Delisi, formerly a partner with a land use and civil engineering consulting firm said implementing district policies with a focus on greater engagement with the community is what attracted him to the position. “It’s a non-stop job,” said Delisi. 
“We have 16 counties that stretch from the Keys all the way up to Orlando on the East coast and Central Florida and then Southwest Florida.  So there’s constantly things to do, people to talk to and a message to bring to different communities.”
Then in March, another Southwest Florida resident joined the district’s leadership when Governor Rick Scott appointed Fort Myers Land planner Mitch Hutchcraft to the district’s governing board.  Hutchcraft is Vice President of real estate for King Ranch/Consolidated Citrus LP, a large juice orange producer.   These appointments are increasing the SFWMD’s representation from the west coast which could be a boon for the area. 
“When I was on the governing board, the representation from the West coast was one governing board member and really no one on the executive team over in West Palm Beach,” said Delisi.  “Now, I’m over in West Palm Beach and we have two representatives on the governing board from Southwest Florida.  We have Mitch Hutchcraft and we have Rick Barber.  So, the representation from the west coast is more now than it’s been at any time that I can remember.”
With his background working for agriculture and land management Hutchcraft said he brings a unique point of view to the governing board.  “My life in Southwest Florida, I’ve been on the receiving end of the district,” said Hutchcraft.  “And so I have a different perspective about the rules and the regulations and how easy it is to mesh with the district.  And how can we jointly achieve positive outcomes.”  Hutchcraft says one way is to explore greater opportunities for partnering with large landowners to disperse water storage.  “Sometimes building the big basins is very expensive to do on a per unit of water stored,” said Hutchcraft.  “And maybe there’s an opportunity to augment that with other projects where we store water shallow on property that you’re partnering with landowners and that cost per unit stored is very low.”
Windermere real estate attorney and governing board member Dan O’Keefe was appointment Chair of the South Florida Water Management District this year.   He says competing interests for water remains a challenge he feels every day.  “It’s always a struggle. There’s only so much water to go around and you’ve got the needs of agriculture, you’ve got the needs of utilities that want to make sure that when you turn on your sink or shower, that there’s water there,” said O’Keefe.  “And you’ve got the needs of the natural system in the environment and it’s a balancing act.”
To that end, Delisi, says he’s working with water consumers to build consensus for future water management projects impacting the Caloosahatchee River.  “Agriculture interests pointing fingers at environmentalists, environmentalists pointing fingers at agriculture, under that climate, how do you get an appropriation to fund something?” said Delisi.  “So, strategically we need a process that can bring people together and focus in on something they can all agree on to move us forward over the next ten years together.”
Later this month, district officials will bring together a variety of agricultural, government, environmental, and business interests at a workshop in Fort Myers.  The date for that workshop and others that will take place throughout the district over the next year have not yet been announced.

130606-b
Everglades: Senator Joe Negron wants another $30 million for Everglades restoration
WPTV.com and Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers - by Jonathan Mattise
VERO BEACH — Budget chief Sen. Joe Negron said Wednesday he wants another $30 million for Everglades restoration in Florida’s 2014-15 budget, adding to the $70 million for the River of Grass in next year’s spending plan.
“Let’s go to $100 million, what do you think?” Negron said during a forum at The Press Journal.
At the same event on the Indian River Lagoon, Sen. Thad Altman promised to push for Florida Forever, the state’s land-buying preservation program, to reach its full funding level for the first time since 2008.
The program regularly received $300 million until 2009. Next year’s budget has $20 million with the ability to tap another $50 million from potential state land transfers. That amount was an improvement.
“That provides the revenue source to acquire those lands,” Altman said. “Most of the water that affects the lagoon comes off the land.”
At the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers Indian River Lagoon Forum at The Press Journal, state lawmakers and one environmental advocate talked about potential impacts of septic tanks, fertilizer runoff, pumping out boats and more on the lagoon. But the consensus was that it’s a combination of factors likely harming the lagoon and killing seagrass, which impacts wildlife up and down the food chain.
“We are dumping waste into the lagoon,” Altman said. “God did not create the Indian River Lagoon to be a toilet.”
The lawmakers on hand were: Negron, Altman and Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach. Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society, also joined the panel. About 60 members of the public attended.
This story will be updated

130606-c
Florida spending $7M to clean up Lake Jesup pollution
WFTV.com
June 6, 2013
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. —  Florida is spending $7 million to turn a retention pond into Lake Jesup's last defense.
The state wants to prevent pollution from flowing down into the lake from the St. John's River.
About 65,000 pounds of pollution enter the lake every year.
Soldier's Creek is the highway that dumps all the pollution from the west into Lake Jesup.
The contamination will be stopped at a retention pond near US Highway 17-92 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard.
Channel 9's Tim Barber found out it's the first project of its kind in Seminole County .
The pollution will be separated in a pond, so the clean water can keep flowing to Lake Jesup and the St. John's River.
Captain Ron Camillone lives in Sanford. Because he is a Black Hammock fan boat captain, his heart is with Lake Jesup and its wildlife.
"This lake is beautiful, I mean, sure I would love to see it restored, bring it back to its original condition," Camillone said.
The system will use tanks full of alum to separate the muck from the water, a similar process was used at Lake Apopka in Orange County.
Because it's part of the St. John's River, the changes could impact more than just the people and gators who live on Lake Jesup.
The sludge left over in the retention pond will be processed in a wastewater treatment plant, then buried at a landfill.
Camillone hopes it works.
"I think it's a good thing, or these lakes won't be there for our kids," Camillone said.
The project is expected to be finished in July of 2015.

130606-d
Gov. Rick Scott can make history by making timely call on Everglades
Sun Sentinel – by Editorial Board
June 6, 2013
By simply picking up the telephone, Gov. Rick Scott can make history as the governor who saved the Florida Everglades. If he blows it, history won't be so kind. It's his call, literally.
All he has to do is tell Daniel O'Keefe, chair of the South Florida Water Management District's governing board, to support the Central Everglades Planning Project, which outlines the next set of restoration projects needed to restore the River of Grass.
The state must sponsor the plan before Congress will even consider it. Absent prompt action by the water management board, Florida may have to wait another seven years to try catch the next water bill, an essential step to securing authorization — and eventual funding — for federal water projects.
It should be an easy call. If the board fails to approve the planning project, Florida will lose out on the money needed to increase the quantity of water flowing from Lake Okeechobee through the central Everglades into Everglades National Park.
Water managers have dawdled over the decision, and time is running out. The governing board's vote must take place by mid-July to allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers time to review, hold public hearings and ultimately add the project to the list of 24 nationwide being considered by Congress.
District officials have reason to seek the governor's go-ahead before taking the vote. Approval means the state is on the hook for half of the project's costs, which the Army Corps puts at roughly $1 billion. It also could expose the state to further litigation if pollution from increased water flows exceeds existing water-quality standards.
While costs and litigation are concerns, they are not dealbreakers. For years, courts have been involved in overseeing the Everglades restoration plan and have helped keep the effort moving forward. And no one ever said restoring 2.4 million acres of land would be cheap. Indeed, the big-picture cost is expected to top $8 billion. And here's the reality: the costs aren't going to be any more affordable in seven years.
Besides, if the restoration plan gets authorized, as it should, it still would take years to secure funding and get built. And in letting those contracts, the water board would have plenty of time to do its due diligence on the tactical issues that bog it down now.
Gov. Scott deserves credit for recently working with federal officials to craft a more realistic spending plan that is expected to improve the quality of the water flowing into the Everglades.
Now the governor needs to get behind the projects needed to increase the quantity of water.
Everglades restoration began as an ambitious public-works project when then-President Bill Clinton and former Gov. Jeb Bush held out hope that the federal and state governments could find a way to revive one of the world's exotic natural treasures.
How well it all ends depends on the leadership of Gov. Scott, and his vision of the Everglades' future. It's history in the making.
All the governor has to do is make the call.

130606-e
Region's water agency will lose its top official
News-Press.com
Jun. 6, 2013
Melissa Meeker says two-year tenure was part of her plan.
After setting water policies for Gov. Rick Scott and serving as board member and executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, Melissa Meeker is calling it quits, in the public sector at least.
Appointed by Scott to head the 16-county water district in June of 2011, Meeker is resigning to take a vice president job with CSA Ocean Sciences Inc., an environmental science and consulting company.
“I knew it wouldn’t be for the long term anyway, that it was a short-term thing for me,” Meeker said during an interview at the district’s Fort Myers Service Center. “There were some changes I wanted to see at the district, and I think we’ve succeeded in making those changes. So the timing was right for me.”
Meeker said she starts at CSA Ocean Sciences after July 4. Her last office day at the district headquarters in West Palm Beach is today, although she will attend the June 12-13 monthly district meeting, where finding her replacement will likely be the topic.
The South Florida Water Management District is a $567 million regulatory arm that issues permits for water usage, guides Everglades restoration projects and is responsible for flood control and water supply for nearly 8 million.
Meeker replaced Carol Ann Wehle, who spent six years as executive director. She said trimming the district budget and cutting staff positions were among the most difficult but important jobs with which she was tasked.
“Not only were we funding a lot of things that were outside of our core mission, but we internally looked at important projects that were pet projects of people or the Legislature asked us to look at,” Meeker said of trimming the district budget after revenue shortfalls hit the state in wake of the housing market collapse.
Meeker also oversaw a staffing cut of about 300 positions. Some of those, she said, came through attrition. Other positions were consolidated or just weren’t needed. The staff shrank from nearly 2,000 to 1,634, Meeker said.
“The majority of those positions were not the scientists,” Meeker said. “The majority were the administrative side of the house. In the private sector your administrative side of your company is about 10 percent. Ours was up around 25 percent.”
Meeker also had insights into Scott’s approach to environmental issues and development regulation. Having worked with the governor while at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as his water policy chief, Meeker said Scott has slowly shifted his stance on environmental projects and the need for water and land conservation.
I can remember the first conversations I had with him, (the environment) certainly wasn’t his focus, she said. “He is a businessman, but he’s been so open to understanding and learning about the environmental issues and challenges that we face throughout the entire state.”
Dan DeLisi, water management district chief of staff, who was appointed to that position by Meeker after resigning from the governing board in February, said Meeker has been responsive to west coast ecological issues, including pollution in the Caloosahatchee River and its estuary. There is a level of transparency that Melissa has brought, and just a level of interaction with the public, DeLisi said. “A lot of the environmental stakeholders here have been able to shoot Melissa an email and she’d get back to them. I don’t think that’s the type of response we’ve seen in the past.” Rae Ann Wessel, natural resources policy director at Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, said Meeker has helped highlight water quality and pollution problems in Southwest Florida. “I give her credit in taking interest in trying to solve problems with the Caloosahatchee,” Wessel said. “I have found Melissa to be very straightforward and easy to talk to when we have issues. I’m sorry to see her go, but I’m grateful for what she did while she was here.” Meeker said she is confident the district will function fine without her
The board has a great responsibility, and I’m confident they’ll find an excellent executive director, she said.

130606-f
South Florida county mayors join together to present a unified vision in Tallahassee
Sun Sentinel - by Heather Carney
June 6, 2013|
FORT LAUDERDALE The mayors of Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties are each extending a hand beyond their borders to cooperate on initiatives that will benefit the South Florida region.
Their focus this year is to improve and adequately fund public transportation in the region. Their list also includes collectively supporting at the state level priorities such as climate change, Everglades restoration, elections reform and minimizing the cost of state prisons.
Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs and Palm Beach County Mayor Steven Abrams explained their shared legislative ideas for South Florida in a meeting Thursday with the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez did not attend the meeting.
It's important for the mayors to share one voice at the state level so that more money for projects trickles back to South Florida, said Abrams.
"We've identified the big issues, and clearly there is a benefit in cooperating together," said Abrams.
Jacobs said the tri-county effort's main focus for the 2014 legislative session will be on the transportation issues plaguing the 5.5 million residents living in the three counties.
Jacobs said the counties will work together to make sure that money generated from the managed, express lanes stays in the region to help pay for improved public transportation within the three counties.
"We're prepared … and we'll push back if the state tries to take dollars away from the region," she said.
The mayors also said they'll work together to promote infrastructure in each county such as the three ports in the region — Port of Palm Beach District, Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale and Port Miami.
"You could focus on where those tensions are, or you could focus on the things you have in common," said Jacobs. "What we know is that we want more trade to come into South Florida."
And Abrams added that Palm Beach County, particularly the southern region, benefits from increased business in both Port of Palm Beach and Port Everglades.
"We tend to be more insular," said Jacobs of the three counties. "But our people [and businesses] are crossing these boundaries constantly. We should be functioning more regionally. We should be connected more. … We're better together."
Four years ago, the three counties joined with Monroe County to address climate change. Jacobs said that coordination helped the counties learn to work together instead of competing with each other for resources such as grant money.
"We all supported the city of Miami Beach going after a [solar and water energy] grant," said Jacobs, after realizing that Miami Beach would most benefit from the money. "Generally, in the past, you would have seen us all compete for that grant."

130605-a
Ag news in brief
The Associated Press
June 5, 2013
Scott signs bill for restoring Everglades
TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill last Tuesday that will keep in place a tax on northern Everglades farmers and put it toward an $880 million, long-term water-quality improvement plan for the River of Grass.
"The Everglades are very important to our state, very important to our country and the world. It's a national, international treasure. We have to make sure that we increase the flow of water and the quality of the water," Scott said after signing the bill at Florida Atlantic University Pine Jog Environmental Education Center in West Palm Beach.
The new law will maintain an existing tax on farmers until the mid-2030s, although it calls for the tax rate to decrease starting in the mid-2020s. The money will be used for water quality restoration projects that are part of an $880 million plan that was negotiated between Scott and the federal government.
The law also calls for spending $32 million a year for the next 10 years to build marshes that remove phosphorus before the nutrient flows into the Everglades.
"This is not what I would have expected from this governor, but to his credit, he stepped up," said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon Florida, who noted that Scott has a reputation for being against government regulation and spending.
Draper said it also was an odd feeling to have the governor hand him a bill-signing pen and then watch the next pen be handed to Pepe Fanjul, Jr., executive vice president of Florida Crystals.
Gov. Scott "had the effect of bringing together the sugar growers and the environment groups, which frankly, we've been at war with each other," Draper said.
USDA: Nonapproved modified wheat found
WASHINGTON - The Agriculture Department said last Wednesday that a non-approved strain of genetically engineered wheat has been discovered in an Oregon field, a potential threat to trade with other countries that have concerns about genetically modified foods.
Dr. Michael Firko of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said a farmer discovered the genetically modified plants on his farm and contacted Oregon State University, which notified USDA early this month.
There is no genetically engineered wheat currently approved for U.S. farming. USDA officials said the wheat is the same strain as a genetically modified wheat that was legally tested by seed giant Monsanto a decade ago but never approved. Monsanto stopped testing that product in Oregon and several other states in 2005.
The USDA said the genetically engineered wheat is safe to eat, but the department is investigating how it ended up in the field, whether there was any criminal wrongdoing and whether its growth is widespread.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture said the field is in Eastern Oregon. USDA officials declined to speculate whether the modified seeds blew into the field from a testing site or if they were somehow planted or taken there, and they would not identify the farmer or the farm's location.
The discovery could have far-reaching implications for the U.S. wheat industry if the growth of the engineered product turns out to be widespread. Many countries around the world will not accept imports of genetically modified foods, and organic foods sold in the United States cannot be engineered by law.
Organic companies have expressed frequent concern that genetically modified seed will blow into their farms and contaminate their products.
USDA said this is the only report it has received of a genetically engineered wheat.
"Even so, we are taking this very seriously," Firko said.
Wet spring raises soybean death risk
DES MOINES, Iowa - The cool wet spring has delayed planting for corn farmers but it also has presented a problem for soybean producers.
A soil-borne fungus that thrives in excessively wet years causes a disease known as sudden death syndrome in soybean plants.
It can destroy entire fields or parts of fields. In 2010, Iowa farmers lost about 28 million bushels of soybeans to SDS.
Leonor Leandro, Iowa State University assistant professor of plant pathology, says the key is to plant resistant soybean varieties. She says conditions favoring SDS include compacted soils, soils with poor drainage, and fields with a history SDS.
Leandro says a drier summer will reduce the risk of SDS.
If the plants get into reproductive stages and the weather turns wet, the disease may surface.

130605-b
Drinking water: Florida environmentalists' Cinderella
Sunshine State News - by Nancy Smith
June 5, 2013 3:55 AM
Remember the increasing chunk of the budget environmentalists want to embed in the Constitution to buy conservation lands -- 33 percent of annual net revenues from the excise tax on documents from here to kingdom come? 
And the hand-slapping, fist-bumping celebration during the governor's signing of a billion-dollar allocation for Everglades restoration?
Massive amounts of money at issue for land acquisition, not so much for drinking water infrastructure. Oh, maybe a little effort in the Everglades. It's always good PR to talk about drinking water. But the truth is, infrastructure to bring safe drinking water to Floridians is a ragged Cinderella in the fairyland where Florida environmentalists live and land is king.
I've been meaning to write this column for a while. Finally, the Environmental Protection Agency gave me the giddy-up I needed.
The EPA's fifth Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment, released Tuesday, identifies and quantifies investments the nation needs over the next 20 years to build or repair or replace its crumbling drinking water infrastructure. Try to get your head around a jaw-dropping $384 billion to fill the needs of 73,400 water systems across the country, as well as American Indian and Alaska Native Village water systems.
Florida needs to come up with $16.5 billion. Yes, that's sixteen-and-a-half billion dollars. Look at the report for yourself -- page 18 (page 32 of the PDF). It breaks out how much the EPA says Florida requires in water infrastructure.
The Sunshine State is one of only eight states whose critical water infrastructure is more than $10 billion needy.
We're in bad shape. We need a plan. Anyone got one? Environmentalists, lawmakers, Gov. Scott -- anyone?
I don't know whether $1 billion for specific Everglades projects is all needed now or could have waited. But at times like this, when one of the state's critical issues is identified -- and it turns up as a jaw-dropper -- I'm struck by the colossal arrogance of environmentalists who believe theirs is the only cause juste.
Much of the existing infrastructure in the Sunshine State has reached or is approaching the end of its useful life: aging and deteriorating pipelines; nonexistent treatment plants; nonexistent, unfinished and inadequate storage reservoirs; nonexistent and inadequate intake structures, wells and spring collectors.
The EPA has grant programs to help. But they won't come close to providing the $16.5 billion full-fix price-tag -- and what if enough systems in already-overstretched towns and cities crack and crumble at the same time?
Oh, yes, and by the way: The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the world’s largest and oldest publisher of civil engineering information, produced a report card in May called American Infrastructure for 2013. The Society looked at everything, not just drinking water -- and offered a bleak insight on the U.S.’s crumbling foundation.
On an A-F grading scale, the country managed a meager “D+,” a failing grade by any academic standard. Among the components of the assessment, drinking water earned a “D,” as did aviation, hazardous waste and roads.
Still think we need more land ? Think we need a constitutional amendment to pay for conservation lands that in this fiscal year would lock up $425 million; in 2015-2016, $550 million; in 2021, well over $700 million?
I understand that most environmentalists mean well, I really do. They fancy themselves saviors of the planet. I get that. But it doesn't take away from the fact that in Florida, their land grab is nothing more than an arrogant and self-serving attempt to generate income and attention for themselves and their lawyers, and how dare any of the rest of us question their motives.
I live in hope that later on they will undergo a Great Epiphany, and a light will suddenly turn on, and they will be able to see that Florida needs more than land for "future projects" it can no longer afford to build. So much more.

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EPA: Florida needs $16.5 billion in drinking water infrastructure by 2030
Sunshine State News - by Nancy Smith
June 4, 2013
Can we now please talk about drinking water and where the money's going to come from to make sure it's there for our children and grandchildren?
A new EPA survey shows the nation needs $384 billion to assure its water infrastructure is up to par to provide potable water by 2030.
EPA’s fifth Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment identifies investments needed over the next 20 years for thousands of miles of pipes and thousands of treatment plants, storage tanks and water distribution systems, which are all vital to public health and the economy. The national total of $384 billion includes the needs of 73,400 water systems across the country, as well as American Indian and Alaska Native Village water systems.
Look at page 18 of the report (page 32 of the PDF). It breaks out how much the EPA says Florida requires in water infrastructure.
In Florida the total amounts to $16.5 billion in drinking water infrastructure. Yet here we are, at a time like this, spending $1 billion on more Everglades projects. Important projects, most of them, but on a list of long-term, life-or-death priorities for the state of Florida?
Who is doing Florida's long-range planning on essential conservation issues? And why is drinking water the priority Florida environmentalists generally forget to mention -- or if they do, they wrap it in an Everglades restoration or land-buy wish list that may or may not serve the needs of more than a portion of the South Florida population.
The EPA assessment nationally shows that improvements are primarily needed in these specific areas:
- Distribution and transmission: $247.5 billion to replace or refurbish aging or deteriorating lines.
- Treatment: $72.5 billion to construct, expand or rehabilitate infrastructure to reduce contamination.
- Storage: $39.5 billion to construct, rehabilitate or cover finished water storage reservoirs.
- Source: $20.5 billion to construct or rehabilitate intake structures, wells and spring collectors.
Florida's drinking water infrastructure needs legislation and money budgeted followed by a big, happy photo op in which the governor ceremoniously signs the bill restoring drinking water infrastructure -- just as he did for Everglades restoration. Leaders need to show Floridians they know how to preserve life in their state for generations down the road.

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Support Florida's Water and Land Legacy campaign
Newssun.com – by the Editor: Maureen McKenna, Ph.D.
June 5, 2013
Florida's Water and Land Legacy Campaign, a grassroots coalition, is currently collecting the 683,149 valid signatures needed to place the Water and Land Conservation Amendment on the November 2014 ballot. This initiative would set aside one-third of the excise on documentary stamp tax (doc stamps) for the purposes of conservation, restoration, acquisition and management of Florida's water, land, beaches, shores, parks and wildlife habitat. These funds would also be used for restoring and protecting such national treasures as the Florida Everglades.
This dedicated funding source, established for the above purposes, could not be absorbed into the general state revenue. The amendment has a 20-year lifespan and would sunset in 2035.
The Legacy Campaign is a coalition of more than 300 groups statewide including Sierra Club, Audubon Florida, League of Women Voters of Florida, Florida Native Plant Society, Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, and many more. Together with more than 3,000 volunteers, this coalition is hard at work gathering signatures and informing the public about this groundbreaking amendment.
The Legacy Campaign is a coalition of more than 300 groups statewide including Sierra Club, Audubon Florida, League of Women Voters of Florida, Florida Native Plant Society, Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, and many more. Together with more than 3,000 volunteers, this coalition is hard at work gathering signatures and informing the public about this groundbreaking amendment.
The doc stamp tax, paid whenever real estate is bought or sold, is an existing funding source that for the past 20 years has been used for conservation programs such as Florida Forever and before that, Preservation 2000. Both programs received resounding support from Republicans and Democrats alike. But since 2009, funding for these programs has been slashed by 97.5 percent. And of the $75 million in conservation funding proposed by current Governor Rick Scott, $50 million of that would come from the sale of existing state lands.
"There is no 'R' or 'D' on Florida's water and natural lands," as Senator Bob Graham said. "Conserving our water resources, beaches and shores, forests, and wetlands must return to the top of our state's priority list because it represents a sacred trust that has been loaned to us by our children and grandchildren. We want to take this issue directly to Florida voters through a constitutional amendment to create a dedicated source of funding to secure significant funding for land and water conservation, management and restoration."
With more than 100,000 signatures collected through volunteer efforts alone, the Water and Land Conservation Amendment has already triggered the Supreme Court review of the amendment language; the campaign expects to receive approval in the next 60 days. Despite the commendable progress, the Legacy Campaign still needs the help of citizens statewide.
With an approaching deadline of Nov. 30, 2013, they ask that Floridians answer the call to action and help collect signatures for this cause. The campaign will provide volunteers with the necessary training and all of the materials they will need. The grassroots effort of this campaign is essential to sending a message to the legislature and lawmakers of Florida that Floridians care about their environment and are willing to work hard to protect it.
We are all Florida. Floridians understand that protecting our water and land is important to our economy and quality of life. This will be the most significant environmental issue put in front of Florida in our lifetimes. We want to let the people decide if clean water and natural land are a legacy we want to safeguard for future generations. For more information and to sign up to volunteer for the Legacy Campaign, visit www.FloridaWaterLandLegacy.org
Maureen McKenna, Ph.D.

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Wekiva River pollution deserves attention
Central Florida Future – by Anna Eskamani, Guest Columnist
June 5, 2013
For those of us who grew up in Central Florida, the Wekiva River has always served as a constant reminder of the beauty our state has to offer. Stretching for 16 miles and spanning through three counties — Orange, Seminole and Lake — the Wekiva River could bring an ambitious kayaker from the city of Apopka all the way up north to Jacksonville. And for those entire 16 miles, trust me when I say you would never get tired of the view.
As students, we are all impacted by Wekiva’s beauty and diversity. Elementary school students in Central Florida visit the river yearly to learn more about the environment and experience its ecosystems. Here at UCF, students make the 40-minute drive to Wekiva Springs State Park to not only experience the river for its recreational opportunities, but to also conduct research and participate in volunteer work via avenues like Volunteer UCF.
Green Team Volunteer Corp, a student organization directly involved with UCF’s sustainability efforts, has also taken part in canoe trips and river cleanups.
Despite being one of the most protected waterways in the nation and most treasured in the Orlando area, the health of Wekiva River is in decline, and has been for quite some time now.
The main reason for its deterioration: an overgrowth of smothering algae.
A map prepared by state officials in 2005 provided natives with a glimpse into where the algae was coming from. It showed how aquifer water on its way to the Wekiva Springs first flowed beneath septic tanks in Orange County neighborhoods. As the spring water moved through these areas, it became heavily contaminated with nitrogen pollution, the externality that septic tanks leak into the ground, and one that results in an uncontrollable growth of algae.
To verify these findings, the Orlando Sentinel noted that another study done in 2010 confirmed, “One of the two biggest sources of nitrates — accounting for 26 percent of the total — was septic tanks nearby in Orange and Lake counties.” Another 26 percent was attributed to agricultural fertilizers, while the remainder to sewage treatment and lawn fertilizer.
In an effort to provide some contrast, that same 2005 map also depicted the small but flourishing Miami Springs, which passes through a modern sewage plant instead of septic tanks in Seminole County and enters the Wekiva River with just a small trace of nitrates — again showcasing the problem and potential solution to the Wekiva River’s survival.
With all of this known, it’s disappointing that we haven’t seen Florida’s environmental districts take action in eliminating the input of nitrates into the Wekiva River. After all, Florida’s environment is a key reason why there are over 75 million people who visit our state every year — it’s not just Disney that keeps them coming back to Florida, it’s our state’s beauty as well.
But those handling the matter, St. Johns River Water Management district, don’t seem to have any sense of urgency. The district continually calls for a “cost-effective” way to address the problem, but so far, that’s all talk.
Back in 2006, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection confirmed in order for the river to recover from the algae, pollution must be reduced by 90 percent. Seven years later, the river is still crippled by the same invasive algae.
If we’re serious about the future of this state, then it’s time that we got serious about our environment and reprioritize the importance of restoring and protecting the Wekiva River. Addressing the pollution caused by septic tanks is an excellent place to start, and will motivate many local citizens to action.
This isn’t an issue of politics, it’s about our city’s future; and I encourage all of you to join us as we save Central Florida, one waterway at a time.

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Drew Martin: Everglades restoration benefits economy and agriculture
Sun Sentinel - by Drew Martin, Conservation Chair of the Sierra Club's Loxahatchee Group in Lake Worth
June 4, 2013
The cleanup of the Everglades will be more difficult because of a bill signed by Gov. Rick Scott, HB 999. This bill locks into place leases that will guarantee that these growers don't have to meet higher standards for runoff from their fields for 30 years.
Everglades cleanup is good for the environment and growers because everyone benefits from clean water. Runoff from farms that does not meet high standards can lead to toxic algal blooms that kill fish and wreck tourism.
It is very important to maintain high standards for farm runoff. For this reason, leases need to be modified as technologies change to maintain ever lower amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous from farm fields in the EAA.
No jobs are being lost because of these high standards. In fact, jobs are created in establishing best management practices on farms in Clewiston, Bell Glade and Pahokee. The biggest threat to agriculture is the loss of soils.
According to a recent Palm Beach Post article, the EAA is losing about a half inch a year to subsidence. Everglades Restoration will bring back soils that are being lost, assuring the agriculture will last many generations into the future.
Without Everglades Restoration to restore these muck soils, we will at some point reach the limestone base and there will be no soils left to farm.
Further, Everglades Restoration must move forward to benefit areas, like the Indian River Lagoon, that are currently being decimated with huge fresh-water releases that are necessary because sheet flow through the EAA has been halted.
The fishing industry and the tourist industry in this area have been damaged. At some points, the water is so contaminated that dolphins and sea turtles have become unhealthy and swimming is not permitted.
We want to protect agriculture, but we also must remedy the mistakes of the past and let sheet flow carry water south. Without Everglades Restoration there will be neither agriculture nor a clean environment. Florida needs both to survive.

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Environmental rules, regulatory agencies undergo big changes
FCIR.org – FL Center for Investigative Reporting by Ashley Lopez
June 4, 2013
Environmental regulations and the agency that implements them in Florida went through some big changes last week, and according to environmentalists, they aren’t good changes.
Gov. Rick Scott signed House Bill 999 into law last week. The bill relaxes a slew of environmental regulations on businesses within the state.
The Florida Current reports that the bill garnered fierce opposition from environmental groups in the state.
According to the Current:
During the session,Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, described his HB 999 as a “Christmas tree.” He also said such legislation he has introduced the past three years brings warring factions on permitting issues together to resolve their differences.
But environmental groups rallied against the measure and eventually got it stripped of language placing a moratorium on local fertilizer regulations and exempting stormwater utilities from local wetlands ordinances.
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Miami Lakes and chairman of the Florida Conservation Coalition, said Thursday HB 999 still contains an objectionable provision ratifying 30-year no-bid farming leases approved by the Cabinet in January.
“It’s a better bill than it was by eliminating those (fertilizer and wetlands) provisions and the other deletions that occurred along the process,” Graham told The Florida Current. “But it’s still in my judgment not advancing the public interest of protecting Florida’s natural resources.”
The Tampa Bay Times reports that Gov. Scott received “more than 350 letters or emails urging him to veto [the bill].” However, last week Scott signed the bill anyway.
Here are some of the provisions in the bill listed by the Times:
• Blocking the Florida Wildlife Federation from suing to overturn a controversial decision by Scott and the Cabinet to grant 30-year leases to 31,000 acres of the state’s Everglades property to two major sugar companies.
• Preventing water management districts from cutting back groundwater pumping by any entity that builds a desalination plant to increase its potential water supply. “I don’t think we should be tying the hands of the water management districts to better promote conservation of water,” Graham said.
• Speeding up the permitting for natural gas pipelines that originate in other states, such as the new 700-mile one from Alabama that’s being planned by Florida Power & Light.
• Forbidding cities from asking an applicant more than three times for additional information before approving development permits.
At the same time Scott changed the rules for environmental permitting, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) went through another round of layoffs.
According to The Orlando Sentinel, Christopher Byrd and Kelly Russel “were fired last month by DEP General Counsel Matthew Leopold in identical letters notifying them the office’s goals would be ‘accomplished more effectively by removing you from your positions.’”  The Sentinel reported that two other lawyers also resigned, “and one suggested it wasn’t by choice”:
DEP has said the dismissals were part of a streamlining necessitated by the decreased volume of permits flowing through the agency since the Great Recession.
Back in 2006, DEP fielded roughly 38,000 permit applications a year from developers, other businesses or residents, a figure that has leveled off at around 19,000 annually now, according to the agency.
Likewise, the number of “enforcement actions” against polluters has dropped markedly — from a peak of 2,289 in 2010, the last year before Scott took office, to just 799 last year. So far in 2013, there have been only 145 enforcement cases where DEP has found someone violating environmental-permitting rules.
“These staffing decisions were made as … a new manager assessed his team and made decisions on who can best handle the legal issues within the Department,” DEP spokesman Patrick Gillespie wrote in an email.  “As our compliance numbers have increased, there have been fewer enforcement cases for attorneys to handle.”
State Sen. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, has announced he will look into the firings, WFSU reports:
Soto said he’s worried [the attorney's] firings bode poorly for the agency’s ability to protect the environment.
“One of the statements made early on about the firings is that they don’t need the positions because they’re in less litigation. And my belief is that they’re in less litigation because they’re not pushing cases that they should potentially,” he said.
Soto wrote a letter on Wednesday to DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard, asking for public records including personnel files and correspondence about the fired attorneys.
The Times reports that Soto alleged “the departures were suspicious given the department’s ‘cozy’ relationship with development interests under Scott.”
In December 2013, the DEP laid off 58 employees. One of the employees said the mass layoffs at the end of 2012 ”were designed to loosen regulation of polluting industries,” the Times reported on Dec. 24, 2012

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Rick Scott's cuts dilute water laws, endanger sea life
Miami New Times News - by Matt Levin
June 4 2013
News of the bizarre crisis began in the spring. TV reports flashed footage of manatees — the docile emblems of Florida's waterways — dead and marooned on the shore of the Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County.
Some reports blamed fertilizer runoff, which can cause algal blooms and choke a waterway. In the lagoon, which stretches 152 miles from Volusia to Palm Beach County, some 47,000 acres of seagrass have disappeared since 2009.
Changes in the water have contributed to killing fish, crabs, and oysters. Since last July, 109 unexplained manatee deaths have occurred, mainly in Brevard. Statewide, manatees are dying in record numbers. More than 10 percent of Florida's approximately 5,000 manatees have died since January, many by boat accidents, red tide, and the strange illness in the Indian River Lagoon.
Dolphins and hundreds of pelicans also have died inexplicably, suggesting that something in their environment is to blame. When biologists performed autopsies on the plump, whiskered manatees, they found algae lining their bellies. Experts think the dietary shift from seagrass to algae and a transforming habitat are behind the deaths.
"The Indian River Lagoon, that was one of my favorite fishing places," says Patrick Rose, a biologist and president of the Save the Manatee Club. "I don't go to fish there. Not much left."
The plight of the manatee means more than just fewer blimp-shaped tourist attractions. When indicator species begin to go, that's a sign the whole aquatic ecosystem is in trouble. And like many of Florida's waterways, the lagoon system has shown worrisome signs for years.
The deaths and algal superblooms should set off booming alarm bells that the state needs to implement stronger water quality laws, do more to restrict pollution, and increase restoration efforts, say Rose and other environmentalists. But the knell seems to have gone unnoticed in Tallahassee.
In 2009, Rick Scott campaigned for governor on a platform of creating smaller state government and fewer regulations. Once in office, he forfeited environmental oversight and weakened the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). He did that by eliminating key growth management and conservation programs. Among them:
• He cut the budgets of water management districts that control sites such as the Everglades and the Indian River Lagoon by $700 million — eliminating more than 300 positions from the South Florida Water Management District alone.
• He axed $150 million from the DEP's budget and placed former shipyard executive Herschel Vinyard in charge with Jeff Littlejohn, whose father runs a Tallahassee lobbying firm, as second-in-command.
• He dismantled the Department of Community Affairs, the $800-million-per-year state agency that monitored development, calling it a "job killer" that stymied business.
• He ended an initiative begun under Jeb Bush in 2001 to protect the state's thousand-plus springs. The initiative had spent more than $25 million before it was defunded.
Scientists and environmentalists describe Scott's policies as faulty and shortsighted. They claim an aquatic ecosystem collapse will kill the economy. Indeed, studies of the Indian River Lagoon and the Everglades count the economic value of the waterways in the billions. Every dollar invested in restoration yields $4 in return, according to a 2010 report conducted by Mather Economics for the Everglades Foundation.
Scott alone is not to blame. The Glades once received $200 million of funding per year, but the budget was cut in half and then reduced further under Gov. Charlie Crist in the late 2000s.
Bob Knight founded the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute in 2010 under a nonprofit initiative called Florida's Eden. Now an independent operation, it has considered Florida's largest springs — including Ichetucknee and Rainbow springs in Central Florida — and determined they generate $300 million in economic value. They feed rivers, which allow for boating, swimming, and other recreation. Even that figure is too low, says Knight, because it doesn't count secondary effects like how the springs raise property values.
But some of Florida's bubblers, such as White Springs, midway between Jacksonville and Tallahassee, have gone dry. This kind of problem can decimate popular tourist towns. Knight's organization develops restoration plans for springs, which the government could implement, he says. But the DEP hasn't been enforcing water quality laws. And the legislature dilutes those laws to streamline permitting.
"We know what needs to be done," Knight says. "But there's no commitment to even abide by the laws that we have to protect springs."
The DEP issues permits with little regard for sustainability, he says. This practice leads to developers polluting and overpumping the Floridan Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to millions of people. Pollution has led to blue-green algal blooms and weak flows throughout the state's enormous spring system. And overpumping can lead to sinkholes.
Veteran scientists at the DEP are afraid to speak out, Knight says, because department heads force out dissenters. In 2012, the Tampa Bay Times discovered the agency had suspended wetlands expert Connie Bersok for refusing a permit for a controversial ranch project. The agency then ignored her advice and issued the permit. An administrative judge later ruled that Bersok should never have been suspended and lambasted the DEP for granting the permit.
Then there is the wider issue of waterway quality standards. This past March, the DEP wrested control from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for setting nutrient water quality standards. Nutrients, such as the nitrogen and phosphorus found in fertilizer, fuel algae growth. David Guest, managing attorney for the environmental group EarthJustice, says the DEP will create some of the weakest standards in the nation. "When you have a pollution problem, [the DEP's] solution is to legalize and not to deal with it," Guest says. Scott signed the bill to put the DEP back in charge last week.
Asked about the accusations levied at the DEP, spokesman Patrick Gillespie said in a statement: "Florida has the most comprehensive water quality standards in the nation, and the Department continues to prioritize getting the water right, in terms of water quality and quantity... Reaching an agreement on Florida's numeric nutrient criteria with the U.S. EPA this year, coupled with new state rules and legislation passed by the Florida Legislature, will result in cleaner, safer water for all Floridians."
Rose of the Save the Manatee Club, however, isn't convinced. The aquatic biologist has worked with manatees for 40 years. In 1981, Gov. Bob Graham tapped him to serve as an original committee member and scientific adviser for the Save the Manatee Club. In the 1990s, he acted as the U.S.'s first federal manatee coordinator. He spent 18 years in Tallahassee strengthening water laws and manatee habitats.
He's learned that protecting manatees has far-reaching effects beyond the creature itself. Even if people know nothing about aquifers, algal blooms, or the environment, they love the manatee. These dopey-looking mammals become rallying cries.
So, Rose asks, how do you save the manatees ? Simple. Make stricter water laws.
In the past month, Scott's administration has shown a slight shift. In the 2013-14 budget, set in May, Scott boosted the DEP's budget by $271 million to $1.2 billion. Later that month, the DEP discovered $10 million to put toward spring restoration. The state also has begun providing extra funding to the Everglades, river cleanup, and the land-conservation program Florida Forever. They are incremental changes, environment advocates say, adding that Scott has done little to regulate the industries generating the pollution.
In any case, it will take years for seagrass to return to places where it vanished from the lagoon.
The mysterious manatee deaths slowed in May, but a toxic brown algal bloom reappeared soon thereafter in the northern part of the lagoon. Brown tide, never reported in Florida until last year, might become a permanent fixture of the lagoon. "You put these systems past the tipping point, and it doesn't just go slow," Rose says. "It goes very rapidly."

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Rising sea levels, stronger storms fueled by climate change will threaten us through end of century, coastal panelists say
NOLA.com - The Times-Picayune - by Mark Schleifstein
June 04, 2013
With the United States coastline, its residents and businesses vulnerable to trillions of dollars of losses from catastrophic storms during the next 75 years, in part fueled by climate change, it’s time for the nation to focus on coastal resiliency, according to Lindene Patton, a risk management specialst with Zurich Insurance Group.
Speaking Tuesday at the three-day Capitol Hill Ocean Week at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., Patton said a recent study pegged the potential cost of disasters during the next 75 years at between $1.1 trillion and $5.4 trillion, in line with a similar $4.7 trillion shortfall in Social Security benefits in the same time frame.
“We have a resilience gap,” Patton said, “a circumstance where we have a rising number of catastrophic events. They are not just coastal events, but they are dominated on this continent by coastal events.”
The first day of this year’s Ocean Week conference, sponsored by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and co-hosted by the Pew Charitable Trusts, focused on coastal vulnerabilities.
Kathryn Sullivan, acting undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and a scientist who was the first woman astronaut to walk in space, reminded the 700 attendees that tracking coastal risks has been a role of the federal government since Thomas Jefferson was president.
In 1807, Jefferson established the first scientific coastal survey agency, with a goal of protecting the lives of seamen and the interests of onshore merchants who depended on seaborne commerce, she said. The same day Jefferson signed legislation authorizing the survey, he sent a letter to Congress requesting shallow gunboats to protect the nation’s coasts and ports.
Today, the nation’s coast is home to 39 percent of its population, and 1.2 million people move to the coast each year, Sullivan said.
The nation’s coastal zones are under increasing threats, from overfishing, nutrient and chemical pollution, threats to biodiversity, invasive species and loss of habitat, she said. And the ocean itself is undergoing a literal sea change: The water is becoming more acidic, the result of the same human-driven increases in carbon dioxide that are driving global warming, she said.
And then came Hurricane Sandy.
“Sandy was much more than a weather phenomenon,” Sullivan said. “It was a case study of coastal resiliency.”
Along the New York and New Jersey coastlines, said Sullivan and several other speakers, areas protected by natural features, such as sand dunes and wetlands, fared much better than those where residents refused to allow the dunes to block their view of the ocean.
Similar storms are a likely threat to the U.S. Navy, said Kelly Burks-Copes, a research ecologist with the Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center. She led a recent study of the potential effects on the Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia of storm surges from hurricanes when added to possible sea level rises of 2 feet to 6 ½ feet that could occur in the next 100 years because of climate change.
She found surges caused by a hurricane with a 1 percent chance of occurring in any year, the so-called 100-year storm that the levee system in New Orleans is designed for, would cause devastating flooding of the Naval base and the surrounding communities.
The storm surge modeling she used was based on assumptions stemming from research of hurricane surges in the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans.
The most devastating storm track was a hurricane that paralleled the East Coast and made a left turn into the base. “I was told to my face that doesn’t happen,” Burks-Copes said. And then exactly that scenario occurred when Sandy turned into the New Jersey-New York shoreline last October.
The 100-year storm in Burks-Copes study put 27 feet of surge over the naval base.
She said that as the ocean slowly rises, even smaller events, such as 50-year Nor’easters, could cause significant damage at Naval facilities along the East Coast.
U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla., who represents the Florida Keys, said south Florida is especially vulnerable to the effects of sea level rise because much of the populated area lies above porous limestone. “You can’t build a floodwall and keep water out, because it just comes up underneath,” he said.
The result is that the state is scrambling to find alternate ways to deal with rising water. But, he said, Congress has been slow to act against the threat. “Like many others, I’m frustrated that we’ve not seen stronger action by Congress,” he said. “These are central issues the nation has to face and we’re simply not looking at them.”
In New Orleans, the post-Katrina planning process has included an ongoing study of the potential of adapting to water in the city’s midst, said David Waggonner, president of Waggonner & Bell Architects.
But coastal Louisiana is an example of how potential changes in the nation’s flood insurance program threaten to force residents away from their cultural roots and their jobs. For example, some homeowners are being faced with skyrocketing flood insurance bills of between $1,500 to $25,000 a year.
“The Louisiana coast is not a recreational coast. It’s a working coast,” Waggoner said. It’s the home of oil-field workers on which the nation’s economy depends.
“They can’t afford that kind of increase,” he said. “And we need those people living here. So there has to be some feeling of fair play” in efforts to reduce damage costs to the federal government by increasing flood insurance rates.

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Silver Springs and the St. Johns River focus of June 17 Riverkeeper forum
Jacksonville.com - by Dan Scanlan
June 4, 2013
A free public forum to raise awareness about significant threats to Silver Springs and the St. Johns River will be held at 6 p.m. Monday June 17, at the Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk at 1515 Prudential Drive.
Co-hosted by the St. Johns Riverkeeper, Sierra Club of Northeast Florida, Florida Springs Institute and Center for Earth Jurisprudence, a panel of experts will offer updates on the degraded conditions of Silver Springs. The forum will also discuss an application filed by a cattle operation to withdraw more than 5.3 million gallons of water a day within miles of this springs system, and the impact to the St. Johns River. Speakers will include Florida Springs Institute Director Robert Knight, Barry University School of Law Center for Earth Jurisprudence director Patricia Seimen and Lisa Rinaman, the St. Johns Riverkeeper.

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Water Management District Evaluating Land Owned
SWForida.blogspot.ca
June 4, 2013
Public Workshop For 750,000 Acres Of Land
As part of its ongoing comprehensive land assessment, the South Florida Water Management District is beginning an evaluation of agency lands in the Everglades Assessment Region, which includes parts of Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Hendry counties.
The Everglades region is the last of five geographic areas being reviewed in the assessment of approximately 750,000 acres of fee-owned lands — properties in which the District has full or shared ownership rights. As part of a broader effort to maximize its resources to meet mission-critical responsibilities, the District is conducting the assessment to ensure that each parcel owned by the agency is being put to its most effective use.
To gather all relevant information for a thorough analysis, the District is seeking public feedback on the use of its lands within the Everglades region. Stakeholders and the general public can examine detailed land portfolios and submit comments on specific properties through July 8 at www.sfwmd.gov/landassessment. 
In addition, a regional public workshop will be held at SFWMD headquarters in West Palm Beach on June 26.

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What we think: Environment, consumers lose to Big Sugar money
Orlando Sentinel - Editorial
June 4, 2013
The gun lobby has gotten plenty of attention lately for its clout in Tallahassee and Washington. But the sugar industry could give the National Rifle Association a run for its money.
A couple of recent examples typify the power, boosted by campaign contributions and lobbying, that Big Sugar wields over lawmakers in both parties in both capitals — even when the environment and consumers end up getting shortchanged.
Last week Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill with a provision, added late in the legislative session, to nullify a lawsuit that the Florida Wildlife Federation had filed against Florida Crystals, one of the state's top sugar producers.
The federation sued in February to challenge 30-year leases that the Florida Cabinet awarded Florida Crystals and A. Duda & Sons, a farming and development company, in the Everglades Agricultural Area.
For decades, runoff from farming in the area has fouled water in the Everglades with phosphorous and other nutrients. The pollution has added cost and complexity to the ongoing River of Grass restoration, a multibillion-dollar, taxpayer-funded project.
While the sugar industry has reduced nutrients in its runoff, the federation contended in its lawsuit that the lease terms would make it harder to make the industry do more. Then lawmakers jumped in to take sugar's side and affirm the leases in the bill, which sailed through both chambers.
"Now we won't be able to ask them to clean up their act for another 30 years," a lobbyist for the Sierra Club told the Sentinel.
And while the Legislature passed another bill this year that extended a tax on Big Sugar to help cover the cost of Everglades restoration, that measure also included legal protections that could blunt efforts to require more environmentally friendly farming from the industry.
The American Sugar Alliance credits the industry for at least 12,000 jobs and more than $3 billion in annual economic activity in Florida. Other numbers — the millions Big Sugar has plowed into political contributions and lobbying — carry weight in Tallahassee, too. Florida Crystals alone spent $295,000 to hire 25 lobbyists in this year's legislative session, including an ex-Senate president.
Meanwhile, last month in Washington, the U.S. Senate rejected a proposal to reform the program that props up prices for U.S. sugar producers. U.S. food makers and consumers pay up to $3.5 billion a year more for sugar because of the program. The Commerce Department has estimated the program costs three manufacturing jobs for every sugar-growing job it saves.
But Big Sugar is a big spender in the U.S. Capitol, too. It has spent millions on contributions for members in both parties, including Florida's two U.S. senators, Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Marco Rubio. Both wound up voting against reforming the sugar program.
Money talks, but state and federal lawmakers need to listen harder to other constituents — even if they can't hire lobbyists and bankroll campaigns.

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No longer a threat to Rick Scott, Putnam touting problems with citrus, water supplies
Orlando Sentinel - by Aaron Deslatte, Tallahassee Bureau Chief
June 3, 2013
TALLAHASSEE – After quietly starting the gears for his re-election bid next year, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam is turning his attention to a handful of major farming and conservation problems confronting the state.
Lawmakers gave him much of his legislative wish-list in the recently concluded session -- including money to go after citrus greening and a water-supply planning bill.
Since 2005, the bacterial disease known as “greening” that causes citrus fruit to drop early and ultimately kills trees has spread to every county in the state, causing Florida’s projecting citrus production this year to drop off by 6 percent. There is no cure or treatment for the disease, and growers statewide are losing between 20 percent to 40 percent of their crops.
The Legislature put $9.5 million in the budget this spring to help pay for research and the facilities to quickly replace existing trees once a disease-resistant type is discovered.
“The citrus industry is approximately $9 billion of agriculture’s $100 billion contribution to the Florida economy and it is facing an existential threat in citrus greening,” Putnam said in a briefing with reporters Monday.
The Legislature also passed a bill that requires Florida’s five water-management districts to work with Putnam’s department and “self suppliers” of water – or agricultural operations that pump their water from wells – when drafting plans for dealing with the state’s dwindling water supplies.
"I believe water is the biggest issue Florida faces," Putnam said. "Water supply and water-quality are going to dictate every decision, whether it’s an agricultural decision, whether it’s a development decision or whether it’s an environmental quality decision.”
Putnam pointed to the decimation of the Apalachicola Bay oyster industry as one example of where he hopes his office will take a more proactive role in trying to force neighboring states to negotiate over water flow – a two-decade legal fight Florida lost over Georgia’s demands to retain more river water to supply Atlanta.
Since then, Florida’s accumulated more evidence of the destruction the loss of water flow in the Apalachicola River has caused to the oyster industry.
“You don’t have to be a scientist to know you’re going to have to get more fresh water to flow in Apalachicola,” he said, suggesting his office, congressional members and other state agencies with legal teams could band together more forcefully in the near future.
“I would use every arrow in the quiver. We’ve got plenty of lawyers; this would be a good use of their time to get back before the court.”
A few short months ago, Putnam was being touted as a potential primary challenger to unpopular Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a fellow Republican whom some GOP politicos fear could damage their party down the ticket in 2014.
But in mid-April, Putnam quietly opened his re-election account and downplayed any chance he could switch to the governor’s race. So far, only one other person -- Democrat Thad Hamilton out of Sunrise -- has filed to run for agriculture commissioner, a Cabinet office. 
“I’m certainly not aware of any discussions about a primary for governor,” he said.
Asked why he launched his re-election without much fanfare, Putnam quipped: “I’m going to keep up this ‘quiet’ thing because we got good press out of it.”

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State invests $10 million in St. Johns River study
WTEV.com - by Noel McLaren
June 3, 2013
JACKSONVILLE Fla.-- The St. Johns River comes with a hefty price tag just to determine the river's value.
The state had just budgeted $10 million to research and improve the river, part of that will go toward an economic study to determine the river's value.
"For us to be a competitive city and for Northeast Florida to be a competitive part of the state, we need to have a healthy river. It's an indicator of how our water resources are doing," said St. Johns River Keeper Lisa Rinaman.
It may sound like a lot, but Rinaman calls it "just a drop in the bucket."
Action News has learned that the study will look at property values and jobs dependent on the St. Johns.
"There are lots of people making a living off the St. Johns as well as it's the  lifeblood and backbone of the community here in Northeast Florida," said Rinaman.
Money will also be appropriated for river restoration.
"I've seen terrible algae blooms here. I've smelled the reek of the river when it's bad and seen a lot of dead fish in it," said fisherman Chad Griffin.
He says the study and the cleanup is state money well spent. After all, this is the River City and most locals like Griffin seem to agree that it's a very important asset.

130603-e
Thirst for fresh water threatens Apalachicola Bay fisheries
New York Times - by Lizette Alvarez
June 3, 2013
APALACHICOLA, Fla. — If these were ordinary times, Leroy Shiver would be scissoring his heavy tongs along the shallows of Apalachicola Bay and hauling up bushels of oysters for hours on end.
Instead, in a task requiring equal doses of patience and hope, Shiver shoveled piles of dried oyster shells off his boat into the bay. A long line of oystermen and oysterwomen in boats alongside him also joined in the shell dump, a government-sanctioned, last-ditch attempt to revive the decimated oyster industry in Apalachicola. Under the right circumstances, baby oysters should attach to the shells and grow.
“This bay would be filled with boats,” said Shiver, 36, whose father and grandfather plunged nets, set traps and dipped tongs into the water along this stretch of the Florida Panhandle. “There used to be oysters everywhere in here, and now there is none.”
In a budding ecological crisis, the oyster population has drastically declined in Apalachicola Bay, one of the country’s major estuaries and the cradle of Florida’s prized oyster industry.
The fishery’s collapse, which began last summer and has stretched into this year, is the most blatant sign yet of the bay’s vulnerability in the face of decades of dwindling flow from two rivers originating in Georgia. For 23 years now, Georgia, Alabama and Florida have waged a classic upstream-downstream water war, with Alabama and Florida coming out on the losing end of a long court battle in 2011.
Oyster overharvesting in the bay after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which largely missed this area, worsened the situation, as did persistent drought.
But researchers found this year that the lack of fresh water had made it nearly impossible for the bay to bounce back as it typically does after stressful events. Last year, the Apalachicola River reached its lowest level and stayed there for nine months, a record.
While the oysters face the most immediate threat, environmentalists and lawmakers said the diminished flow has other far-reaching consequences on Apalachicola’s $6.6 million seafood industry. It could affect some of Florida’s most popular catches, including grouper, snapper, blue crab and shrimp, which early on feed and grow in the estuary’s perfectly calibrated mixing bowl of salt water and fresh water.
It could also lead to the demise of one of the state’s last fishing villages, an undeveloped, picturesque slice of old Florida on the Gulf Coast fortified by generations of fishermen. The working-class men and women in these parts were born into fishing, the way others are born into farming; it is a job, a mindset, passed down through generations.
Economically, the situation has become so desperate that Gov. Rick Scott, a conservative Republican who is not inclined to ask for federal help, wrote to the U.S. Commerce Department last year and asked it to declare the oyster harvesting areas a fishing disaster. No designation has been made yet.
“Our message is that this is worth saving,” said Chris Millender, 38, a lifelong oysterman here who helped form the Seafood Management Assistance Resource and Recovery Team to help save the bay. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
Since last year, oystermen have scarcely been able to scrape up several sacks of oysters a day from the bay, a far cry from the 40 they fill in the best of times. The number of adult oysters began to decline in 2007, oystermen said, and has gotten progressively worse. This year, the so-called spat, the larvae of oysters, are struggling to mature.
Under the best circumstances, it would take at least two years for this crop of young oysters to grow large enough for harvest. Typically, the bay here produces 90 percent of Florida’s oysters and 10 percent of the country’s overall oyster haul.
“The spat is just not where it should be,” said Shannon Hartsfield, the president of the Franklin County Seafood Workers Association. “And it all points to the river.”
Alarmed, congressional and state lawmakers from both parties are scrambling to heighten awareness and push for either a legislative solution to control the river flow or a new agreement on water use with Georgia. Considering that the feud between Georgia and Florida has lasted decades, the odds of an agreement are not favorable.
Georgia, where 80 percent of the river basin is, is first in line for the water, and the flow diminishes as the river heads toward Alabama and Florida. Six percent of the basin is in Alabama, and 14 percent is in Florida.
Georgia uses water from Lake Sidney Lanier, a federal reservoir, to quench the thirst and lawns of the residents of ever-expanding metropolitan Atlanta, which sits nearby. Farther south, Georgia farmers use the water to irrigate thousands of acres of agricultural fields. As a result, Georgia has long opposed sending more water downstream to Florida’s Apalachicola River.
(BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM.)
In 2009, Florida thought it had won the long battle. A senior U.S. District Court judge ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers could not draw more water from Lake Lanier. The decision would have freed up more water for Florida.
But in 2011, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Atlanta, reversed the ruling. It decided that the corps had the authority to allocate additional water from the reservoir to supply Atlanta. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
The appeals court ruling, coupled with the drought, which forced Georgia to draw more water, has starved Apalachicola Bay, scientists and lawmakers said.
“These levels are unprecedented,” said Dan Tonsmeire, the executive director of Apalachicola Riverkeeper, an environmental group. “The decline in the entire productivity of the bay is not only an ecological disaster but puts the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen at risk of being lost forever. And it’s not just Apalachicola Bay. It affects the entire Gulf Coast.”
(END OPTIONAL TRIM.)
In Congress last month, senators from Alabama and Florida tried to address the flow issue in an amendment to the 2013 Water Resources Development Act. The bill passed the Senate on May 15, but the amendment was blocked by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., according to Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
“Georgia won’t agree,” Nelson said. “They want what they want. We say that’s not what Mother Nature intended.”
The House has yet to draft its own legislation. The entire Florida delegation sent a letter last month to Rep. Bill Shuster, a Pennsylvania Republican and the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, asking him to take up the issue. Scott sent a separate letter to Shuster.
Rep. Steve Southerland II, R-Fla., said Shuster had assured him that a bill would be drafted this year.
For Florida, help cannot come soon enough. The estuary has endured a lifetime of hurricanes and drought. Its fishermen have survived commercial fishing restrictions and inexpensive shrimp imports. But the linchpin remains the flow of fresh water, experts said.
“Whether it’s a drought or a hurricane, the river’s resurrection depends on the flow of the water coming down,” said state Sen. Bill Montford, a Democrat who grew up on the Apalachicola River and represents the area. “There is not another place on earth where the blessings of nature come together as they do in the basin and the bay. We have something special there. But it’s also a very delicate treasure.”

130603-f
Water agency boards lack environmentalists (Response Letter)
Florida Today – Letter by David Botto, Indian Harbour Beach
June 3, 2013
A recent front-page article in the Orlando Sentinel, “Water-management boards have no environmentalists,” points out that for the first time in three decades, there is not an environmentalist serving on the board of any of Florida’s water management agencies.
These agencies are supposed to safeguard the states wetlands, waterways and aquifers.
This has to finally convince us that Gov. Rick Scott and most of the state Legislature are intent on methodically destroying every safeguard of the natural resources that are the economic heart of Florida.
This narrow-minded, myopic pander to the short-term interests of big-money lobbyists is just nuts. The damage to the Indian River Lagoon and loss of its fishery that we’re now witnessing could, if we let our government leaders continue this path of willful dismantling of protections, become permanent and statewide.

130603-g
Will lawsuit flush secret billboard deal into the light?
Palm Beach Post – Editorial by Rhonda Swan, Staff Writer
June 3, 2013
The mystery over which legislator is responsible for a 2012 law allowing the state’s water management districts to install billboards on public land could be solved by a lawsuit against the Orlando businessman set to profit from the stealth measure.
No one has claimed responsibility for the last-minute amendment to a must-pass bill to finance the water districts, but former Sen. Paula Dockery has said then-House Speaker Dean Cannon’s office backed the provision. The measure barely had become law when South Florida Water Management District staff presented it to the governing board as a way for the agency to make money. The board approved a program that would allow 30 digital billboards on district-owned land, over the objection of environmental groups and Boca Raton city officials.
Florida Communication Advisors, a three-month old company owned by former district board member Harkley Thornton, beat out the nation’s largest billboard company for a contract. Mr. Thornton is a former business partner of then-district executive director Melissa Meeker, who resigned suddenly May 21. She denies any role in Thornton getting the contract, just as the politically connected Mr. Thornton denies any role in getting the billboard law passed.
Mr. Thornton chaired Mr. Cannon’s political spending committee in 2010, and the two are friends. When The Post’s Christine Stapleton exposed the billboard deal, public outrage prompted the district to cancel the program.
Perhaps we finally will learn the rest of the story if Ms. Meeker testifies in a lawsuit brought against Mr. Thornton by Santiago Echemendia, a Miami attorney with whom he tried unsuccessfully to go into the billboard business. In what appears to be a running theme, Mr. Echemendia also used to work for the water district. He served as general counsel.
Mr. Echemendia has accused Mr. Thornton of starting Florida Communications Advisors behind his back, and using his connections to get the billboard legislation passed and win the contract. His attorneys want to take depositions from Ms. Meeker and Frank Bernardino, another former district employee. Both are trying to avoid giving statements.
We hope they are forced to testify. This private dispute might be the only way to shed light on a public matter that people wanted kept in the dark.

130602-a
Legislature gave away too much on environment
Ocala.com - by Bob Graham, Special to the Star-Banner
June 2, 2013
The Florida Conservation Coalition was founded after the devastating legislative session of 2011, which rolled back 40 years of bipartisan environmental stewardship.
Since the 1970s, Florida’s governors and legislators, Democrats and Republicans, have believed in the importance of protecting Florida’s land and water, and understood the connection between a healthy environment and a healthy economy. As history shows, this period of stewardship produced some of the best economic years Florida has ever had, while improving natural resource management and land conversation.
During the mid-1980s, Florida was using a deep tool box, in collaboration with private sector and local government, to manage Florida’s growth. At the same time, Florida was adding jobs at a rate of more than 150,000 per year. For the first time in the state’s history, Floridian’s per capita income exceeded that of other Americans.
Since 2011, that legacy of stewardship has been replaced by the false mantra “environmental protection hurts the private sector.” Now, pro-environmental legislation is dead on arrival, and virtually every anti-regulation bill considered is drafted by special-interest-industry lawyers and handed off to willing senators and representatives. Florida’s conservation groups, not given an equal seat at the table when legislation is being crafted or considered, must fight back bad bills to hold on to what is left of our environmental legacy.
This year, we were faced with the best example yet of this system run amok. The worst bill of the session, House Bill 999 and Senate Bill 1684, was blithely described by House sponsor Jimmy Patronis as “a Christmas tree” for those private interests who approached him with their special requests. A 40-page bill, drafted by industry lobbyists, with more than two dozen sections weakening or eliminating environmental protections. (Editor’s note: Gov. Rick Scott signed this bill into law this week.)
At one point or another, these bills contained language that would prevent local governments from protecting their waters from fertilizers, which produce algae and kill off native plants and wildlife; restrict the ability of the state to protect wetlands; take Florida a step closer to the privatization of our water; and preempt local governments from protecting wetlands.
I, and other FCC leaders, worked on this legislation for weeks and went to the Capitol to speak up for those who believe in protecting Florida’s environment, for the health, prosperity and enjoyment of ourselves and our children. Thanks to the thousands of calls and emails from across the state, excellent coverage by Florida’s newspapers and the wisdom of some important senators, all of the provisions above were removed.
Unfortunately, even with all these improvements, there is nothing in the bill which serves the public interest. Perhaps the worst provision remaining in the final bill annihilates the legal rights of a resident or group to challenge the controversial 30-year, no-bid leases granted by the governor and Cabinet to two sugar companies in the Everglades Agricultural Area. For those who support consistent and meaningful environmental policy in this state, HB 999 still is a bad bill.
There were some “victories” this session. Two bills proposed early in the session, Senate Bills 584 and 466, attacked public land conservation, our state’s most effective tool for protecting ecosystems, natural resources and wildlife. Each of these bills died in committee following public opposition.
Other limited victories include a $10 million downpayment toward the more than $100 million cost of repairing Wekiva, Silver and scores of other imperiled Florida springs. Everglades restoration received a $70 million allocation. Funding for Florida Forever, although greater than recent years, still is dramatically below the $300 million historically spent by the state on land conservation. And most of the Florida Forever funding is not likely to become available as it is dependent on the sale of other public lands.
We should all be proud of the great work done by Florida’s conservation groups and concerned residents this session, but Florida cannot take another special-interest-serving legislative session. We must start promoting legislation that strengthens environmental protection and fully funds land conservation and spring and river restoration.
Already, the response from the people of Florida and subsequent defeat of many of the most environmentally damaging special-interest giveaways and legislation this year has sent a message to our leaders in Tallahassee. Conservation groups are working well together on priority issues. Next year, we must demand that legislators stop serving the whims of special interests and focus on their responsibilities to our, and future, generations of Floridians.
Bob Graham is a former U.S. senator and former governor of Florida. Ryan Smart, Vickie Tschinkela and Estus Whitfield of the Florida Conservation Coalition contributed to this article.

130601-a
Bob Graham Center at UF to honor environmental activist as Citizen of the Year
Bob Graham Center, UF – Press Release
June 1, 2013
A Floridian who has worked tirelessly to preserve the state’s natural resources, including the Everglades, has been named the inaugural Bob Graham Center Citizen of the Year. The Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida will honor Nathaniel Reed, its 2013 Citizen of the Year award winner, and two honorees at 6:30 p.m., June 11 at Shula’s Hotel and Golf Club in Miami Lakes.
The award was established to recognize Florida residents who have made a substantial contribution to enhancing the quality of life for Floridians. An external selection committee of leading citizens, drawn from various backgrounds in Florida, chose the 2013 award winner:
Nathaniel Reed vice chairman, Everglades Foundation; vice chairman, Florida Conservation Coalition
Reed was selected for an impressive and lengthy track record of selfless service at the highest level on issues related to conserving Florida’s precious environmental resources. In 1969, Reed was appointed chairman of the department of air and water pollution control and was central to the reversal of two nationally significant cases of environmental deterioration: the signing of the Florida Jetport Pact that halted the construction of an airport close to the Everglades; and the abandonment of the Cross-Florida Barge Canal project.
During these Florida years, he was credited with a major role in the purchase of 22 new state parks and wilderness areas, and he chaired hearings to establish air quality regions in the state. In 1971, Reed accepted the invitation of President Richard Nixon to become Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and National Parks. He remained in that position through the Gerald Ford administration.
Reed returned to Florida in 1977 and subsequently served seven governors on a wide range of committees and commissions. He is best known as the highly visible chairman of the Commission on Florida's Environmental Future that recommended a $3 billion investment in the remaining wild lands in Florida, the most ambitious land acquisition program in U.S. history.
Honoree: Martha Barnett
partner, Holland & Knight; past president, American Bar Association
Barnett was selected as an award honoree for her distinguished legal career and her efforts to protect the legal rights of all Floridians. Considered a groundbreaker for her work championing minorities, Barnett was a member of a pro-bono legal team that for two years negotiated a legislative settlement for survivors of the 1923 Rosewood massacre. Barnett was elected president of the American Bar Association in 2000. She was the second woman to head the ABA in its history and the first to chair its House of Delegates.
Honoree: Ellen Freidin
campaign chairwoman, Fair Districts Now and FairDistrictsFlorida.org
A game changer in Florida's 2012 elections, Friedin was selected for her distinguished legal career and tireless commitment to electoral fairness.  She was campaign chair of the nonprofit and nonpartisan organization Fair Districts Now Inc., the organization behind the successful effort to gather 676,811 signatures for two ballot initiatives —Amendments 5 and 6 — aimed at amending the Florida constitution to require more compact legislative and congressional districts.

130601-b
Getting serious
Ocala.com - Editorial
June 1, 2013
It sounds like some rare good news coming out of Tallahassee for our beleaguered springs: The state this year has allocated $10 million in its $74 billion budget for springs protection.
Yet, given the track record of state agencies helping to determine how the money should be spent, it’s probably wise to hold off the celebration.
The Department of Environmental Protection and water management districts have so far shown an unwillingness to tackle the key problems behind springs degradation: the overpumping of groundwater and intensive use of fertilizer in environmentally vulnerable areas. More disturbing, the Legislature has shown absolutely no interest in addressing Florida’s antiquated water policies so that such steps can be taken without the threat of litigation.
It’s a sensitive issue to regulate any aspect of business development in Florida. But the state, and especially the Legislature, has refused to enact meaningful regulations that would effectively slow the degradation of our springs.
Here in Marion County, the ongoing saga of the Adena Springs Ranch consumptive-use permit application is a prime example of what our springs face and why it is difficult to protect them under existing law. Adena Springs owner Frank Stronach has spent tens of millions of dollars to buy land and build his grass-fed cattle operation. Meanwhile, those concerned about Adena’s impact on Silver Springs, less than 5 miles from ranch property, site potential nitrate pollution from the waste of thousands of head of cattle and the pumping of up to 22 million gallons of water a day for irrigation.
But the simple fact is Stronach is not worried about getting a permit because he and his lawyers know state law demands that one be issued unless lasting environmental damage can be shown — and scientifically proven. We cannot find an example of that ever happening.
State officials tout best management practices as the way to address the issue, including at Adena. And while using good science can improve matters, sometimes best practices just aren’t enough to reverse the decline of already damaged springs, like Silver and Rainbow springs.
It’s long past time to get serious about land-use regulations that account for the areas where groundwater and fertilizer use have a direct impact on springs. Marion County is the ideal place to begin this effort, given the expertise and passion for springs here.
Longtime residents have seen the decline of our county’s springs firsthand.
The data support the idea that rising nitrate levels and declining flows are destroying our springs. Yet, there’s no political will in Tallahassee or locally to truly address the issue. Not a soul will carry the banner for saving our springs.
As the $10 million in new funding is distributed, the best possible outcome is that it pays for scientifically proven projects. But how far can $10 million go when the problem will take ten times that or more to fix. If we are lucky, it will put a small dent in the damage being done to the springs.
State agencies and our lawmakers need to stop dragging their feet with endless studies. The problems are clear and quantified. It’s just going to take tough choices and political will to save our springs before they’re too dry and polluted for anyone to care.

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Preserving Everglades crucial to ecosystem
News-Press.com - Guest opinion by Rick Scott, Florida Governor
Jun. 1, 2013
The Everglades are an incredible God-given treasure that was blessed upon Florida. This ecosystem is filled with plants and animals which are critical to our quality of life. Millions of Floridians also rely on the Everglades as a source of freshwater, jobs and recreation.
Over many decades, however, water quality problems have plagued this treasure, and it deserves greater attention. When I first came into office, the state of Florida was stuck in costly litigation with the federal government.
Over the past two years, we have worked with all stakeholders at the federal and state level to develop a plan for restoring the Everglades. In 2011, we submitted a plan for restoration to the Environmental Protection Agency that was innovative and fiscally responsible, designed to improve water quality in the Everglades.
The plan we put forward was adjusted based on input from scientists and other stakeholders, ultimately developing into a final plan passed through this year’s legislative session as HB 7065.
I was proud to recently sign this legislation into law to support an unprecedented $880 million long-term plan for restoration of the Everglades. This legislation calls upon the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District to work together to end litigation and begin restoration. Our $880 million plan is a huge boost to the $1.8 billion the state has invested in the Everglades’ water quality since 1994, when the Everglades Forever Act was passed.
HB 7065 includes $32 million in annual funding for the next 10 years and $38 million for water quality projects across Florida. In total, we secured $70 million this year alone to turn the Everglades into the FOREverglades. Our mission is to preserve this natural treasure forever.
This funding will help restore the freshwater supplies for natural habitats, allowing native plants and animals to flourish. It will rejuvenate environmental tourism in the area, inviting both Floridians and out of state visitors to witness the wonders of the Everglades.
Furthermore, these restoration efforts will help ensure that millions of residents of south Florida have pristine freshwater available for their own use, while we also protect our natural wetlands.
Achieving this balance of supplying water to the area while supporting Florida Families is what we have been working toward every day, and It’s Working. Together, with this historic investment, we are proud to support our FOREverglades so they are preserved for Florida’s future.

130601-d
Remapping our awareness of storm surge danger
NPR.com - by Greg Allen
June 1, 2013
 Hurricane season begins Saturday, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting an active season, with perhaps seven to 11 hurricanes.
With memories of last year's destruction from Hurricane Sandy still fresh, meteorologists are working on ways to improve how they forecast storms and communicate warnings to the public.
When Sandy was making its way northward in the Atlantic and began to turn toward the East Coast, the National Hurricane Center tried to emphasize the danger that storm surge posed for residents, especially those near New York City.
The Hurricane Center's forecast warned of 6 to 11 feet of storm surge. As it turned out, the center was right on the money. Rising seawater, pushed by Sandy's powerful winds, came ashore and brought widespread flooding to New Jersey, Long Island, parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island.
"It was like the ocean came up on land," says Rosemary Caruso, who lives just a block from the water on Staten Island.
Underestimating Storm Surge
This wasn't the first time a storm had flooded Staten Island. There were storm surges in the 1930s, but back then many of the coastal areas were still undeveloped marshland.
When Sandy hit, thousands in vulnerable neighborhoods didn't evacuate, despite the warnings. More than 20 people died on Staten Island, most from drowning. Jamie Rhome, a storm surge specialist at the National Hurricane Center, says it's a problem seen in nearly every hurricane.
"In general, this nation does not understand storm surge, nor does it understand its vulnerability," Rhome says. "We've seen poll after poll of individuals, right at the coast, saying they're not vulnerable to storm surge."
As Sandy showed, it's a threat that's not limited to states along the Gulf and in the Southeast.
"The New York area is, what I think, one of the most vulnerable areas in the entire East Coast," says William Fritz, a geologist and president of the College of Staten Island.
Months before Sandy, Fritz worked with Alan Benimoff to map areas on the island vulnerable to storm surge. The map proved prescient. The morning after the storm, Benimoff was out on Staten Island charting the surge.
"It was terrible. I never saw anything like it," he says.
In some neighborhoods, he says, Sandy's storm surge reached 14 feet. It matched Fritz and Benimoff's model almost exactly.
With the help of supercomputers at the University of North Carolina, Fritz says, his team is now prepared to do real-time modeling to understand the threat of storm surge as a hurricane approaches.
The problem, he says, is that public awareness of the threat of storm surge now lags behind science's ability to forecast it
"Some of the people that lost their lives ... were a few blocks away from safe ground," Fritz says. "But they didn't know ... where the safe ground was."
Fritz is calling for a public education campaign similar to that used in the northwestern U.S. for tsunamis; one that would include signs identifying surge-prone areas and the nearest high ground.
An Easier-To-Understand Message
Learning from the experience of Sandy, Florida's Miami-Dade County has recently drawn up new maps dividing the county into five evacuation areas now relabeled "storm surge zones."
Related NPR Stories
On the new maps, the number of people who live in areas that could potentially be evacuated has tripled. Emergency Management Director Curt Sommerhoff says that's nearly 2 million residents — most of the people who live in Miami-Dade County.
"We're in the most hurricane-prone area of the most hurricane-prone state in the United States," Sommerhoff says. Since Florida is a peninsula, he says, it faces storm surge threats on three different fronts.
In a hurricane, emergency managers advise residents to shelter in place when at risk from high winds. But when there's a risk of storm surge — which causes the most damage and takes the most lives — they tell residents to evacuate.
Efforts to get that message to the public are also underway at the National Hurricane Center. One of the new tools is graphics and mapping software designed to be read and easily understood by the public.
Instead of technical terms like "height above mean sea level," the map tells coastal residents how deep the water is likely to be in their neighborhoods. The map is color-coded, too, explains Rhome, who helped design the software.
"The brighter the color, the deeper the water has the potential to be," he says. "But more importantly, people don't understand how far the water goes inland. This map clearly shows how far the water goes inland. If you're in one of those colored areas, you need to do something to protect your life."
The new storm surge maps were intended to be ready by next year, National Hurricane Center officials say, but because of the need and strong demand by emergency managers, they hope to begin using them this summer

130601-e
Water brings greatest hazard in hurricane
The News Herald - by Valerie Garman
June 1, 2013
PANAMA CITY BEACH — The biggest threat from a hurricane is not the wind.
It’s the water.
Storm surge, an abnormal rise in water brought by tropical systems, is often the greatest hazard to life and property for coastal areas, and predicting it is not an easy task for forecasters.
“The science is complex and not very dependable in terms of forecasting storm surge,” said Bay County Emergency Operations Director Mark Bowen. “I think the main thing for people to remember with storm surge is just because it’s a Category 1 storm doesn’t mean we won’t get significant storm surge.”
James Brinkley, storm surge operations manager with the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said the public often mistakenly judges storm surge based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which categorizes storms from 1 to 5 based on sustained wind speed.
Storm surge estimates were removed from the Saffir-Simpson Scale before the 2010 hurricane season after officials determined surge predictions were inconsistent with what was actually happening.
For example, Brinkley said Hurricane Isaac, a Category 1 storm that flirted with the Florida Gulf Coast before making landfall in Louisiana in late August, produced a much higher surge than its classification would have implied.
“Isaac made landfall as a strong tropical storm, weak hurricane, and we saw massive amounts of flooding along the coast,” Brinkley said. “You don’t have to have a strong hurricane to have a high storm surge.”
Another common misconception about storm surge is that it only affects the coast. Inland areas, especially those along bays, rivers and lakes, also are vulnerable.
“It can travel tens of miles inland,” said Brinkley, who advised the public to always “heed the warnings from emergency officials. When the call to evacuate is ordered, follow it.”
To alert the public of potential storm surge, the National Hurricane Center is developing an easy-to-digest graphic to help people better understand who is at risk.
“What we hope to improve later this year is something we’re testing called an inundation graphic,” Brinkley said. “It’s a high-resolution, color-coded map that basically shows the areas in greatest risk of storm surge.”
In the development process, the center reached out to social scientists and communications specialists to ensure the language was simple enough for the public to fully understand.
Brinkley said previous storm surge warnings from the National Hurricane Center were confusing to the public because scientists tend to use dense terminology.
“When we have to communicate storm surge to the general public it presents a challenge,” Brinkley said. “It’s easier to paint a picture and have something graphical to represent the forecast.”
Because surge varies with each storm, Bowen said local emergency officials also plan on re-evaluating and updating evacuation zones through the county’s GIS mapping system this year.
“Right now our evacuation zones are just zones based basically on the old Saffir-Simpson Scale,” Bowen said. “It’s not as easy as pulling out the phone book and looking at the Saffir-Simpson Scale anymore.”
The standard rule is to run from water and hide from wind, he said.
To predict storm surge, forecasters must analyze a variety of factors, including the storm’s radius of maximum winds, forward speed, direction and size. They also must consider the slope of the coastline and underwater ocean topography.
“It’s much more important for us to be accurate than depend on a tool that’s easy,” Bowen said. “We can’t just arbitrarily draw lines in between these evacuation zones.”

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