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Bill to reduce fed control over Florida's water issues passes House Committee
SunshineStateNews.com - by: Allison Nielsen
March 31, 2014
A permitting bill sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, passed through the House Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee meeting Monday, moving the bill one step closer to reducing government control of wetlands, springs and stormwater protections in Florida.
The bill passed the committee 8-4.
The goal of HB 703 is to eliminate duplicate regulation. Hydrologists, engineers, wetlands specialists and others within the state claim state standards currently in place are more than enough to protect businesses, residents and the environment. But Patronis said it costs too much in time, money and frustration to add a local layer of regulation that often comes without scientific justification.
On Monday, many legislators on the committee expressed a desire for further revisions to the bill, which Patronis seemed happy to make. The bill has enjoyed support from Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Florida Farm Bureau Federation.
A companion bill in the Senate, SB 1464, sponsored by Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, has been zipping its way through that chamber after Simpson filed it at the end of February.
The bills haven’t been met without opposition, however. Several groups, including Audubon Florida, 1000 Friends of Florida and Reef Relief, have made it clear they don’t support where Patronis’ bill is headed.
Progress Florida has even started an online petition in opposition to the bill.
“Please don’t leave the local decision-making out of the equation,” said Amy Datz of the Florida Climate Institute, speaking against the bill. “This legislation is bad ... for the health and well-being of our environment. We can’t depend on [the Department of Environmental Protection] to protect us.”
Also at issue in the bill is Section 6, which would provide for water use permits of up to 30 years for larger developments and up to 50 years for landowners who participate in water storage programs.
"We wouldn't want this to negatively impact the Everglades," said Audubon of Florida’s Mary Jane Young.
Patronis fully acknowledged his bill was a work in progress, noting several times during the meeting that there were still further revisions to be made. The bill has two more committee stops to make before it heads to the House floor.

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Everglades literacy focus of new curriculum
PalmBeachPost.com - Point of View by Eric Eikenberg, chief executive officer of the Everglades Foundation
March 31, 2014
Each morning, millions of Floridians begin their day by using water. We wash our children with it. We make our coffee with it. We water our lawns with it. Each morning we trust that the water will flow.
Most Floridians would be surprised to learn that the water they drink comes from the aquifers, lakes and rivers of America’s Everglades. More than 7 million of us, and millions of tourists, depend on America’s Everglades for our water supply.
On Monday, April 7, Florida celebrates the second annual Everglades Day. It is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of this unique natural wonder that is so critical to maintaining our water supply, growing our economy, and protecting scores of endangered and threatened species.
The Everglades Foundation Board of Directors recognizes that we must educate Floridians about their daily connection to America’s Everglades. Our board also believes that we must provide young Floridians with an understanding of the diversity, complexity and interdependence of the Everglades ecosystem.
During the past year, the foundation has teamed with Florida Atlantic University, Pine Jog Environmental Education Center and a group of Florida teachers to develop educational tools that can be used from kindergarten to 12th grade.
Lessons are designed to allow for field experiences for students in fourth, fifth and sixth grades. High school-level lessons include emphasis on science, technology, engineering, math, social studies and civics. When completed, the goal is for students to have achieved Everglades literacy.
These lessons have been field piloted with teachers in classrooms throughout South Florida. The curriculum will be ready to download on Everglades Day, April 7, at www.evergladesfoundation.org/curriculum.
As a science-based organization, the Everglades Foundation hopes that providing this educational opportunity will encourage high school students to consider careers involving ongoing research that is critical for protecting and restoring America’s Everglades.
Just as Arizonans treasure the Grand Canyon and Coloradans celebrate the Rocky Mountains, Floridians should feel a deep sense of pride and protectiveness about America’s Everglades.
After all, it is the water you drink.
ERIC EIKENBERG, Tallahassee

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Regional partnerships can help save our troubled water supply
Orlando Sentinel
April 1, 2014
As the legislative session reaches its midpoint, Floridians should consider the future of their water supply. In the next two decades, Florida's population is expected to grow from 20 million residents to more than 25 million, and freshwater demand is expected to increase by more than 20 percent during this same period.
We need sound water policies that ensure we all have clean drinking water for years to come in addition to meeting the needs of our sensitive environment as well as agricultural and commercial uses. Our reliance on groundwater will not be able to meet all of these needs.
It's time to responsibly manage our surface water to keep it in the system. Just draining and discharging it to the coast to the detriment of our estuarine water bodies is no longer acceptable. Innovations and solutions are coming to the forefront; we need to be paying attention.
South Florida Water Management District looked into ways to maximize water storage when the state experienced several months of above-average rainfall during the 2013 rainy season. After considering various alternatives, storing excess water on public and private lands proved to be the best option.
The district worked with property owners to retain water on their land and attenuate the amount of water flowing into surrounding lakes. This was a solid public/private partnership solution. We're starting to see a lot of well-conceived proposals requesting funding from the Legislature for water-management districts throughout the state to lease land from agribusinesses in order to build systems to capture and store excess rainwater on their land

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New lake promises to be fishing Mecca
Florida Today – by Jim Waymer, Brevard
March 30, 2014
West of Heritage High School, Malabar Road ends at a parking lot, a boat ramp and vast marsh that once was part of the St. Johns River.
By 1998, this mostly empty marsh was supposed to be a lake. By late this year, officials say it finally will begin to be.
Some 14,000 acres will become a sprawling lake named after Thomas O. Lawton, a retired Air Force colonel who dedicated his golden years to protecting the river. Officials had hoped to fill and open the lake more then 15 years ago. But budget snags and other delays mounted, and nature couldn't wait. Some water already surrounds the two concrete boat ramps in the Lawton Recreation Area, also known as the Three Forks Marsh Conservation Area.
But by late this year, much more water is expected to arrive. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the St. Johns River Water Management District assure that the lake finally will begin to be flooded, echoing years of similar promises. Lawton is the last piece of the Upper St. Johns River basin project, a $250 million replumbing of the river's headwaters — an ecological fix more than two decades in the works that has become the model for the Everglades restoration.
The highly-anticipated lake is expected to rival the Stick Marsh to the south as a bass-fishing haven. It will also cleanse the river and decrease the amount of freshwater flowing into the Indian River Lagoon, which has damaged the salty estuary for decades.
But while bass fishermen rejoice, some Native Americans lament the pending inundation of their ancestors who had been laid to rest there along the river's historic floodplain.
"If you had family buried in a cemetery, when you buried your family there, you pretty much assumed that would be a spot pretty much protected forever," said Fred Dayhoff, a consultant to the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.
Some water by the ramps hints at the river's past, but the vast marsh to the west is dry.
The challenges of assembling so much land, budget snags and a significant archaeological discovery have held up the project for more than 15 years.
In 2009 Lawton was almost complete, until an archaeological find that included several human teeth, animal bone fragments and tools — some up to 5,000 years old — put the lake on hold.
The items were along three well-preserved, oval-shaped mounds about 100 feet long and six feet high, an area totaling about 15 acres in the northern half of the Three Forks Marsh Conservation Area. The area had historically flooded during wet season.
Workers excavated layers of shell and other material by hand, with each layer exposing a different era of occupation. Lab analysis dated some of the finds back 5,000 years.
The oldest items date back to somewhere around 3000 B.C.
"They're what we call accretional mounds ... mostly animal and food bone," said David McCullough, an archaeologist for the Army Corps of Engineers in Jacksonville.
McCullough noted, however, that the site is not a formal burial ground.
The mounds include bones of white-tailed deer, raccoon, dog, snakes, turtles and other animals, as well as several thousand ceramic shards. The items indicate a fishing camp, not a permanent settlement, McCullough said.
"They were seasonal. They would go there when the fishing was good," he said. "I don't believe that they lived there year round."
The unearthed remains were reburied on site. Other dug-up items — fishhooks, awls to drill small holes with and tools fashioned from bones — were sent to a laboratory.
The more than $15 million Three Forks project stalled as federal officials negotiated with the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes over how to proceed.
Meanwhile, the Corps of Engineers couldn't finish the final 1,000-foot gap in a levee plug needed to flood Lake Lawton.
The corps had planned to build sheet-pile-wall ring levees and earthen embankments around the three mounds. Solar pump systems were to regulate the water level. But corps officials determined the levees would have been ineffective because of seepage.
Corps officials assure they have followed federal law.
"We have satisfied our regulatory obligation," said Nelson Colon, a project manager for the corps. "I hope that we can get to the end of it and satisfy all parties, and hopefully construction will be complete."
The project adds new levees, structures and flow-ways to move water across 13,737 acres of marsh.
Initially, the corps planned to finish the project by 1998. But as more farmland became available, the project had to be redesigned and new environmental studies completed.
Then, federal funding shortages because of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as hurricane disaster response, led to further delays.
The project provides flood protection to the St. Johns River's headwaters west of Vero Beach. It restored the river's flow by re-flooding drained marshlands, plugging canals and creating reservoirs. The project also is designed to improve water quality, reduce freshwater discharges to the lagoon, provide water supply, and to restore wetlands.
"We're excited that the project is going to come to fruition and be a successful contribution to the community and the environment," McCullough said.
The new lake could surpass the bass fishing at Stick Marsh, some say.
"Three Forks Marsh Conservation Area will be a much more diverse ecosystem," said Hector Herrera, Upper St. Johns initiative leader for the water management district. "It will look what the St. Johns marshes may have looked like at the turn of the century. This area was not as actively farmed as the Stick Marsh was."
Jim Porter, a fisherman and former fishing guide from Palm Bay, says Lawton could be teeming with fish within five years.
"I think Lawton's going to be a tremendous place," Porter said of the foreseen fishing opportunity. "It'll probably be the best in the world."
Environmental impact studies:
http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Portals/44/docs/Planning/EnvironmentalBranch/EnvironmentalDocs/ThreeForks CulturalResourceProtectionEA_FONSI.pdf
• http://wayback.archive.org/web/20041016163135/ http://planning.saj.usace.army.mil/envdocs/Brevard/ ThreeForks/index.html
• Three Forks Conservation Area: http://www.sjrwmd.com/recreationguide/threeforks/

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UN science report: Warming worsens security woes
CBSatlanta.com - by Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer
March 30, 2014
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) - In an authoritative report due out Monday a United Nations climate panel for the first time is connecting hotter global temperatures to hotter global tempers. Top scientists are saying that climate change will complicate and worsen existing global security problems, such as civil wars, strife between nations and refugees.
They're not saying it will cause violence, but will be an added factor making things even more dangerous. Fights over resources, like water and energy, hunger and extreme weather will all go into the mix to destabilize the world a bit more, says the report by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The summary of the report is being finalized this weekend by the panel in Yokohama.
That's a big change from seven years ago, the last time the IPCC addressed how warming affected Earth, said report lead author Chris Field of the Carnegie Institution of Science in California. The summary that political leaders read in early 2007 didn't mention security issues will, he said, because of advances in research.
"There's enough smoke there that we really need to pay attention to this," said Ohio University security and environment professor Geoff Dabelko, one of the lead authors of the report's chapter on security and climate change.
For the past seven years, research in social science has found more links between climate and conflict, study authors say, with the full report referencing hundreds of studies on climate change and conflict.
The U.S. Defense Department earlier this month in its once-every-four-years strategic review, called climate change a "threat multiplier" to go with poverty, political instability and social tensions worldwide. Warming will trigger new problems but also provide countries new opportunities for resources and shipping routes in places such as the melting Arctic, the Pentagon report says.
After the climate panel's 2007 report, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote that along with other causes, the conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan "began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change. " While the IPCC report this year downplays global warming's role in that particular strife, saying other issues were far more influential, the report's drafts do add that there is "justifiable common concern" that climate change increases the risk of fighting in similar circumstances.
"Climate change will not directly cause conflict - but it will exacerbate issues of poor governance, resource inequality and social unrest," retired U.S. Navy Adm. David Titley, now a Pennsylvania State University professor of meteorology, wrote in an email. "The Arab Spring and Syria are two recent examples."
But Titley, who wasn't part of the IPCC report, says "if you are already living in a place affected by violent conflict - I suspect climate change becomes the least of your worries."
That illustrates the tricky calculus of climate and conflict, experts say. It's hard to point at violence and draw a direct climate link - to say how much blame goes to warming and how much is from more traditional factors like poverty and ethnic differences. Then looking into future is even more difficult.
"If you think it's hard to predict rainfall in one spot 100 years from now, it's even harder to predict social stability," said Jeff Severinghaus, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution for Oceanography who isn't part of this climate panel. "Obviously that's going to be controversial. The most important thing is that it's going to be talked about."
Severinghaus and other scientists say this will be one of the more contentious issues as the panel representing more than 100 nations meets here and edits word-by-word a 30-page summary of the multi-volume report for political leaders. Observers said the closed door meeting went through the security and climate section Sunday, in the hurried last hours of editing.
There's an entire 63-page chapter on security problems, but most leaders will read the handful of paragraphs summarizing that and that's where there may be some issues, he says.
The chapter on national security says there is "robust evidence" that "human security will be progressively threatened as climate changes." It says it can destabilize the world in multiple ways by making it harder for people to make a living, increasing mass migrations, and making it harder for countries to keep control of their populations.
The migration issue is big because as refugees flee storms and other climate problems, that adds to security issues, the report and scientists say
While some climate scientists, environmental groups and politicians see the conflict-climate link as logical and clear, others emphasize nuances in research.
The social science literature has shown an indirect link, especially with making poverty worse, which will add to destabilization, but it is not the same as saying there would be climate wars, said University of Exeter's Neil Adger, one of the study's lead authors. It's not exactly the four horsemen of the apocalypse, he adds.
Joshua Goldstein, an international relations professor and expert on conflict at the University of Massachusetts, sees that link, but says it is probably weaker than people think. It's not as a big a problem as other impacts from climate change, like those on ecosystems, weather disasters and economic costs, he says.
Poverty is the issue when it comes to security problems - and policies to fight climate change increase poverty, says David Kreutzer at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington.
But environmental groups such as the Environmental Justice Foundation are issuing reports that dovetail with what the IPCC is saying.
Titley, the retired admiral, holds out hope that if nations deal with climate change jointly, it can bring peace instead of war to battling regions.
Related;           UN panel: 8 reasons to worry about global warming The Economic Times
Online:            The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: http://www.ipcc.ch

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Conservation land money falls short
TheLedger.com - blog by Lloyd Dunkelberger
March 29, 2014
TALLAHASSEE -- If lawmakers were planning to undermine the appeal for a new constitutional amendment requiring the state to spend more money on land conservation and other environmental initiatives, the House and Senate budget bills may fall short of that goal.
The House and Senate budget committees this week approved $75 billion budget bills that will increase spending on land conservation, springs restoration, the Everglades, water projects and other environmental initiatives.
But the spending is less than what environmental advocates said would be a reasonable move to restore some programs that have been fiscally decimated in recent years.
At the top is the state’s landmark Florida Forever land-buying program, which from 1990 to 2008 had an annual budget in the range of $300 million. It has fallen to less than 10 percent of that mark in actual cash in recent years — with only $20 million in the current year, with an additional $50 million from land sales that never materialized.
The Florida Forever coalition of environmental advocates came into the 2014 session asking lawmakers for $100 million for Florida Forever as well as $25 million for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program that allows the state to buy conservation easements on ranches and other large rural properties. The coalition also asked for $55 million for the restoration of some of Florida’s iconic freshwater springs.
The House budget may have come closest to winning the highest praise from the environmentalists as it calls for spending $70 million on land-conservation, including $15 million that would be earmarked for the rural lands conservation easements.
The Senate budget calls for $40 million in land conservation.
But both budget proposals are built on a financial concept that has proven more theoretical than real. The land conservation programs are expected to raise $40 million from the sales of non-conservation land owned by the state.
Lawmakers tried that concept this year by authorizing the state Department of Environmental Protection to sell some $50 million in surplus conservation land to finance the program. The proposed sales, which drew heavy criticism, were called off.
This year, lawmakers have tweaked the concept by targeting “non-conservation” land sales rather than conservation property. But critics maintain the concept remains flawed and is not likely to generate the cash.
On springs funding, the House has $50 million in its budget, while the Senate has $20 million for springs restoration. However, the Senate is also pushing a separate bill that could call for some $400 million for the springs, although it would come as a multi-year project.
The House and Senate bills drew praise for their commitment to improving water quality in the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee systems, a priority for Senate Appropriations Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart.
The Senate has $159 million for the Everglades, while the House has $132.5 million, including $17.5 million for Northern Everglades projects.
While funding for environmental initiatives and water projects will improve in the coming state budget, environmental advocates still see a strong reason to push the constitutional amendment on the 2014 general election ballot that will require the state to dedicate a portion of the tax on real estate transactions to environmental spending.
The proposal is expected to generate some $10 billion for programs like Florida Forever, the Everglades, springs restoration, rural lands and water supplies over the next 20 years if approved by more than 60 percent of the voters in November.
WINNER OF THE WEEK: State spending. The House and Senate budget committees approved spending plans in the range of $75 billion this week. Most state programs will see increases in the coming year. State workers won’t get an across-the-board raise. But university and college students won’t face tuition hikes. And Floridians should receive some $500 million in tax and fee cuts.
LOSER OF THE WEEK: Voter purge. State election officials dropped their “Project Integrity” program to eliminate non-citizens from the local voting rolls. They blamed the decision on problems with a federal database. But the move, called a voter purge by critics, has never been popular with most local voting officials.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “It’s going to sound silly and people are probably going to laugh at me but I love the moss on the trees. I’ve only seen it in scary movies. I’ve never seen it close up,” said David Beckman, the international star on his first visit to Tallahassee to lobby state officials on his plans to bring a soccer franchise to Miami.

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Keep oil away from Florida coast
TBO.com - Editorial
March 29, 2014
An oil spill along the Texas coast last weekend wasn’t of the magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe or the Exxon Valdez disaster, but it should be enough to remind Florida lawmakers that our shoreline and tourism industry shouldn’t be jeopardized for the illusionary promise of quick oil riches.
We’re not aware of any movement in Tallahassee or Washington, D.C., to lessen laws and regulations that protect Florida from near-shore oil-drilling at the present. But that doesn’t mean that a few naive lawmakers aren’t being courted by oil-industry lobbyists right now, or cooking up an insane scheme themselves to allow drilling within sight of our gorgeous beaches.
It’s happened before, and it’ll undoubtedly happen again. But common sense has always prevailed, with members of both parties working to ensure that drilling remains a safe distance from our coast.
The incident last Saturday in Galveston Bay — which occurred two days before the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez spilling 10.8 million gallons of oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound, causing colossal environmental damage — should give smart lawmakers cause to fight any attempts to gamble with Florida’s coast.
The spill of up to 168,000 gallons of fuel oil near Texas City occurred when a barge carrying 924,000 gallons of the substance collided with a ship. Oil has been detected at least 12 miles into the Gulf of Mexico.
Officials are concerned about the long-term effects in the area, which is home to a multi-billion-dollar commercial fishing and recreational industry, as well as to dozens of species of birds. The channel, part of the Port of Houston, contains critical shorebird habitat along both sides.
The spill’s consequences are frightening because it is not the type oil that poisoned the gulf during the Deepwater Horizon fiasco. It’s worse, according to some experts.
The barge was carrying “a black, molasses-like ‘bunker’ oil used in ships called RMG 380,” according to Newsweek, which described it as “the heavier material that remains after the more valuable fuel components of crude oil have been removed in a refinery.”
“Due to its high density,” Newsweek reported, “bunker oil is highly persistent: Much of the oil may sink, remaining in the bay for anywhere from several months to several years.”
We still don’t know the full effects of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, which poured more than 200 million gallons of crude oil into the gulf in 2010 and cost 11 workers their lives. But every week, it seems, we’re learning of more damage and harmful consequences.
Earlier this week, for instance, a new study led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was released. It revealed that young bluefin tuna and amberjack exposed to oil skimmed after the explosion are suffering from abnormalities.
These include heart defects that officials say likely will hamper their ability to catch food in the open water, putting their survival at risk.
Now, people are trying to determine the extent of another spill — this time in Texas, which doesn’t have the pristine beaches or the dependency on the tourism industry that Florida has.
Offshore drilling is necessary for our energy supply, but it makes no sense to allow it dangerously close to our coast.
Surely, no Florida lawmaker in his or her right mind would even consider inviting the oil industry to set up shop in our near-shore waters.

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Vast reservoir expected to prevent Everglades pollution
Sun Sentinel - by William E. Gibson, Washington Bureau
March 29, 2014
A gigantic above-ground reservoir — the largest in Florida at 24 square miles — is rising above sugar cane fields in southwest Palm Beach County to help cleanse polluted water before it rushes into the Everglades.
More than 100 construction workers each day are blasting rock and moving earth to build 12-foot walls and gates around a shallow basin bigger than the cities of Sunrise or Boynton Beach.
A lot is riding on the $60 million project — the health of the Everglades, the survival of endangered species and the settlement of a legal battle over the state's failure to meet federal water standards.
But will it work?
On a recent tour through the vast expanse, soon to be filled with 4 feet of water, state engineers said they were confident the reservoir and related projects will solve a pollution problem that now sends fertilizer-laden water into the Everglades after heavy rainfalls. Big doses of phosphorus pour into a delicate ecosystem, creating toxic mercury harmful to fish, birds, reptiles and mammals, including the endangered Florida panther.
"By the time the Everglades sees that water, it will be nice and clean, with the phosphorus taken out of it," said Alan Shirkey, who oversees the project for the South Florida Water Management District.
Skeptics who joined a lawsuit to enforce water standards are not so sure. They fear that Obama administration officials — under pressure to relax environmental restrictions during the 2012 election campaign — were too quick to accept the state's plan to settle the suit.
"This idea is a completely new one that has not been road-tested," said David Guest, an attorney in Tallahassee for Earthjustice.
Gov. Rick Scott sold federal officials on the idea — officially known as a "flow basin" — as the centerpiece of an $880 million plan to remove pollutants that wash off farmland and urban developments. The agreement in June 2012 spared the state from a federal proposal that would have cost nearly twice as much.
The basin taking shape on farmland acquired by the state on U.S. Highway 27 will cover more than 15,000 acres and store up to 20 billion gallons of water. That's enough to fill 45,000 football fields a foot deep.
Pump stations already draw polluted water from the New River and Miami canals into "stormwater treatment areas" — shallow pools lined with underwater plants that filter out phosphorus before the water seeps into conservation areas and flows south into the Glades.
But to prevent heavy rains from overwhelming the system, water managers sometimes must divert dirty water around the treatment areas and send it south, polluting wetlands, jeopardizing wildlife and violating federal water-quality standards.
The new flow basin is designed to solve that problem by temporarily storing all the water from the canals, drawing it in through supply canals and gated structures. Cattails along the bottom will filter out some phosphorus. But the main purpose is to hold water, especially during wet seasons, and release it slowly into the treatment areas.
The construction is marked by explosions that send clouds of dirt and rock into the air as crews blast out sections of limestone to carve out spaces for water to flow in or out. Giant dump trucks haul this material to the perimeter to help form 12-foot levee walls.
Solar-powered gates will help control the flow. Supply canals will be built at a higher elevation so that water runs downhill into the basin when the gates are opened. And gravity will pull the water through the basin to be released into the treatment areas.
Anthony Rosato, the project manager, said contractors are on track to complete the flow basin by July 2016.
A spokeswoman said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is satisfied the plan will meet water-quality standards but that it's too early to comment on the results.
Those who work on the site seem confident.
"I'm a critter lover. And if you go out there, you'll see the wildlife, the hogs, the deer, the coons. The birds are unbelievable," said Lori Fox of Clewiston, a pump station operator.
She fishes south of the treatment areas, where the water is clean and the bass have a golden color, rather than to the north, where the fish are as dark as the water they swim in.
"To me, you are what you eat. You are what your environment is," she said "I had no idea of the concept of what they were doing out here. But when you see it, you know it works."

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Clean Water Act: Lawsuits come and go, but debate over EPA veto rages on
EEnews.net - Manuel Quiñones, reporter
March 28, 2014
A legendary Senate environmentalist, Maine Democrat Edmund Muskie, staked out the reach of U.S. EPA regulatory authority during the 1972 debate over the Clean Water Act.
At issue: Should it be EPA or the Army Corps of Engineers that gets the final say on permits for development that would destroy wetlands or dump debris into waterways?
On Oct. 18, 1972, the day the landmark legislation became law over President Nixon's veto, Muskie came down solidly for EPA in extended remarks published in the Congressional Record. "Prior to the issuance of any permit to dispose of spoil," he said, "the Administrator must determine that the material to be disposed of will not adversely affect municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas. Should the Administrator so determine, no permit may issue."
Muskie's statement lives on in a legal and political fight that's been raging for more than 40 years over what's now known as Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act. Environmentalists, industry groups, government officials and judges have spun the late senator's words to justify the scope of EPA's authority to veto Army Corps permits for a wide range of projects -- from solid waste landfills and coal mines to reservoirs and flood control projects.
EPA has vetoed 13 projects in 42 years, but each one has packed a punch. Most recently, the agency used it to squash what would have been one of the largest coal strip mines in West Virginia. It is also playing a central role in a fight over the proposed development of a massive copper and gold mine in Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson in the District of Columbia cited Muskie when she ruled in 2012 that EPA's retroactive veto of the West Virginia strip mine, Arch Coal Inc.'s Spruce No. 1 project, was illegal. Berman Jackson wrote that Muskie saying "prior to the issuance of a permit" meant EPA couldn't veto a permit after it was approved. EPA vetoed the Spruce permit in 2011, four years after the corps issued it.
Arch Coal also cited Muskie it its Spruce No. 1 briefs and reminded the court that Congress gave the Army Corps, not EPA, authority to issue dredge-and-fill permits. Lawmakers, the company said, rejected a version of the Clean Water Act that would have treated dredged material, as it did industrial sewage, and recognized the corps' expertise in such matters, the company's attorneys wrote in briefs.
But EPA argued that Muskie's statement "does not imply a prohibition on post-permit action," adding that a single statement from a senator, albeit the legislation's main backer, should not outweigh the plain language of the law. And a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with the agency.
The law, the judges wrote, lets EPA veto or withdraw corps permit specifications or disposal areas "whenever" the administrator determined.
Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement also quoted Muskie in saying the Clean Water Act would bring "finality" to permitting when petitioning the Supreme Court on Arch's behalf to take up the case. But this week justices turned down a chance to review the Spruce No. 1 case. So if industry wants to overturn EPA's decision, it will likely have to go through Congress.
"It's huge," said Patrick Parenteau, professor at Vermont Law School, of the circuit court's decision. "I think those three judges said this is a plain text case. When the statute is as clear as this one is, that's sort of the end of the story."
To be sure, pro-coal and pro-mining lawmakers aren't ready to close the book. They have either introduced legislation or are in the process of writing a bill to overturn the appeals court ruling and also prevent EPA from pre-emptively vetoing other projects -- notably, the Pebble project in southwestern Alaska.
During its time in office, the Obama administration has broken ground with a retroactive Clean Water Act veto and may do so with a pre-emptive one -- both against mining operations.
EPA is in talks with Pebble developers, the corps and Alaska regulators to determine whether the agency wants to go the veto route in Alaska. The company has yet to submit a permit application.
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee's environment subpanel, said during a hearing yesterday that EPA's actions make it "clear the administration is not serious about creating jobs."
Administrator Gina McCarthy cited the uniqueness of the Pebble deposit and Bristol Bay's natural resources. "I think it was appropriate to do that," she said about beginning an evaluation.
Impact on Pebble
Both sides of the Pebble debate paid close attention to the Spruce mine fight. The Supreme Court opting not to take that case could be seen as a blow to Pebble because it bolstered a broad interpretation of EPA's veto power and the timing for exercising it.
In Parenteau's words, the judges concluded: "Whenever is whenever."
Given how unlikely it is that a bill addressing the issue will be passed by a divided Congress, Pebble CEO Thomas Collier, a former Steptoe & Johnson LLP attorney, recently floated another argument against a pre-emptive veto: Litigation is almost a certainty in the event of a veto.
Collier parsed Section 404 beyond the "whenever" language and highlighted segments suggesting EPA's veto power applies only to areas where the Army Corps has made some sort of determination or fill "specification."
Section 404(a) says the corps "may issue permits, after notice and opportunity for public hearings for the discharge of dredged or fill material into the navigable waters at specified disposal sites," he said.
Then, a few lines later, Section 404(c) says, "The [EPA] Administrator is authorized to prohibit the specification (including the withdrawal of specification) of any defined area as a disposal site."
Collier warned EPA in a recent letter: "We believe that EPA lacks statutory authority to initiate the Section 404(c) veto process for the proposed Pebble Mine Project, for which the Corps has made no such specification."
He added, "Congress only granted EPA authority to veto permits or permit applications for specified disposal sites under Section 404(c), not to set aside large tracts of land in advance of any permit application."
But Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Joel Reynolds said Collier doesn't have a strong case.
"There is no requirement that this defined area must first have been the subject of a permit application, and, again, the use of the term 'whenever' is an insurmountable obstacle," Reynolds said.
Parenteau went beyond the Clean Water Act text in questioning Collier's argument. He said EPA has traditionally interpreted the law as giving the agency the authority "to advance-identify areas that are not suitable for disposal."
"You have a very long-standing consistent agency interpretation." he said. "It's not by rule. It's clearly been their official interpretation."
And Parenteau added that courts give agencies a wide berth in making such interpretations. "It only has to be a permissible interpretation," he said. "What the company is saying is a possible interpretation but is not the one EPA adopted."
He added that Pebble has already identified a general area for its dredge-and-fill activities. After all, he said, the company knows where it wants to mine. So EPA can point to that or certain areas within the Bristol Bay watershed as its disposal site.
Parenteau asked, "Why isn't that a permissible interpretation? That's the only thing the court is going to want to know."
Section 404 precedent
EPA's McCarthy has addressed concerns about the legality of her agency's actions. She tried to make the case that, contrary to conventional wisdom, pre-emptive or retroactive vetoes are not unprecedented.
"I don't think you want to think of this as any trend," McCarthy told lawmakers yesterday, noting the few times EPA has used its veto power. Still, the agency contends it has done so before, during and after the permitting process and can do so again.
When defending the legality of the Spruce retroactive veto, EPA said it's twice used its post-permit authority to block existing corps approvals. The first, in 1981, halted a trash dump at the edge of Biscayne Bay in North Miami, Fla.
EPA said several million cubic yards of solid waste would be dumped from the Munisport landfill into the bay and its wetlands.
But Arch said the North Miami case didn't count because the veto was in response to an application to modify a permit. Therefore, the company argued, there was no retroactive veto.
The second example of a retroactive veto, as EPA described it in court documents, was in 1988 to stop development of a reservoir in Ware Creek in James City County, Va.
The agency initially made its decision during permitting for the reservoir. But a federal judge and then the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the corps to issue the permit anyway because, the judges said, EPA hadn't made a convincing case in arguing that the county had alternatives to the project.
After the corps issued the permit, EPA vetoed the project again. And the second time, with the agency relying on environmental arguments, the 4th Circuit ratified EPA's action in 1993. The Supreme Court declined to take up the matter.
Judges deciding the case didn't rule on the timing of EPA's veto. So when EPA recently suggested the litigation upheld the notion of retroactive vetoes, Arch Coal attorneys balked.
"The Fourth Circuit held no such thing -- it never even discussed the issue. That, no doubt, is why EPA made no such argument to the district court," they wrote.
In defending the legality of a possible pre-emptive veto for Pebble, EPA cited another Florida case from the late 1980s.
At issue were three sites comprising more than 400 acres in the east Everglades. Two tracts had permit applications pending; the third didn't.
"I conclude that the [three Everglades tracts] provide important wildlife habitat which would be largely destroyed if the sites are rockplowed as proposed," acting EPA water chief Rebecca Hanmer wrote in 1988.
Collier rejected the case as an example of a pre-emptive veto because owners of two sites had applied for permits and all were related.
He said in a recent interview, "They have never vetoed a significant project before a permit has been filed."

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Court finds fault with federal water transfer regulation
WTAQ.com - by Lawrence Hurley
March 28, 2014
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday threw out a federal regulation that allowed government agencies to transfer water between different water bodies, such as rivers and lakes, without needing to safeguard for pollution.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas of the Southern District of New York ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to go back to the drawing board on one aspect of the 2008 regulation. The regulation, known as the water transfers rule, exempts transfers from the national water discharge permit program that is administered by the EPA.
Local government entities, such as the South Florida Water Management District and the City of New York, supported the regulation in part because obtaining permits and staying compliant proved too costly.
They say no permits should be required because they are merely transferring water and are not adding any pollutants. Business interests that depend on government-funded water management systems, such as U.S. Sugar Corp, also supported the rule.
However, environmental groups such as the National Wildlife Federation and Riverkeeper Inc. say water transfers cause pollution and should require permits. The issue has been hotly contested in South Florida where water has been pumped from canals into Lake Okeechobee contaminating the drinking water reservoir.
Karas said in his ruling that the federal agency had failed to adequately explain why it had authority to treat water transfers differently from other types of discharges into water bodies.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley, editing by Ros Krasny and Diane Craft)

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Delray wetlands a great place to see tropical birds, fledglings
Sun Sentinel
March 28, 2014
Nesting season is in full swing for South Florida's splendidly feathered creatures, so see avian family life up close as you stroll on the boardwalk at Delray Beach's Wakodahatchee Wetlands, 13026 Jog Road.
Hours: 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. Admission: Free. For wetlands information: pbcgov.com/waterutilities/wakodahatchee .
Additionally, the Audubon Society of the Everglades will have a free beginner's bird walk there at 7:30 a.m. April 7. For information on this event: auduboneverglades.org.

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More water from Lake Okeechobee ?
PalmBeachPost.com – Point of View by John R. Poggi, president of Eco Advisors LLC/REP Associates Inc. of Palm Beach Gardens
March 28, 2014
Doesn’t it seem strange that South Florida water managers are increasing the capacity of flow into Lake Okeechobee while everyone is scrambling to stop the water from being discharged out of the lake and into the coastal rivers?
That’s right, while businesses and residents are still reeling over last summer’s discharges from Lake Okeechobee, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is constructing new drainage gate structures that can increase the flow rate from the Kissimmee River into Lake Okeechobee by an additional 50 percent. Once again, that’s a possible increased flow of 50 percent into Lake Okeechobee.
New drainage structures at S-65D and S-65E on the Kissimmee River just north of Lake Okeechobee are being constructed right now that will add five additional drainage gates. That’s an increase from the current 10 drainage gates. And yet, no progress has been made in easing the impacts of discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers — either by drainage to the south, or creating increased capacity for Lake Okeechobee by shoring up the Herbert Hoover Dike. This can only mean that potentially more water might be discharged into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers during the wet season.
Nowhere on either the South Florida Water Management District or Army Corps of Engineers websites is there any mention of this. Why do you suppose that is ? If I hadn’t observed these new drainage structures firsthand, I would never have known about it. Why are water managers so tight-lipped about this?
Truth be told, water managers freely admit that even without these new structures we can expect a repeat of what went down the rivers on the scale of last summer at least once of every five years.
Adding more flows into Lake Okeechobee at this time doesn’t seem to make sense to me. Why not spend the money on fixing the discharges from the lake first?
I think it’s time we get some straight talk from these water management folks about what we can expect this year, and in future years.
JOHN R. POGGI, Okeechobee, FL

140328-e
State lawmakers propose big budgets for Everglades and Lake Okeechobee restoration
WGCU.org - by Ashley Lopez
March 28, 2014
Lake Okeechobee and Everglades restoration is poised to get a massive funding boost from state lawmakers this year.
State lawmakers recently released their proposed budgets for projects aimed at restoring the River of Grass and polluted estuaries around Lake Okeechobee this year.
The House set aside $125 million for clean-up—which is considerably more than last year’s budget. However, the state Senate is proposing to double it. Lawmakers there are recommending $157 million.
Eric Draper with Florida’s Audubon Society said last summer’s water releases have inspired lawmakers to prioritize money for environmental restoration.
“The tragedy of the summer with all of that water being pumped out of Lake Okeechobee and discharged into the Caloosahatchee and the St. Lucie inlet, and impacting the Indian River Lagoon, I think woke up the political leaders in Tallahassee and throughout the state of Florida and they said, ‘we gotta do something,’” he said. “It’s a complicated problem but the political constituency is now there.”
Draper said pleas from residents living near the polluted water also spurred action.
The proposed budgets would fund projects such as restoring the Kissimmee River, completing the reservoir along the Caloosahatchee River, bridging parts of the Tamiami Trail and pollution treatment, among other things.
Draper said he hopes restoration remains a priority for lawmakers in the future.

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U.S. District Court Judge: 'Back pumping' into Lake O violates Clean Water Act
TCPalm.com and WPTV.com - by Ed Killer, Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
March 28, 2014
The problematic relationship between Lake Okeechobee and the Indian River Lagoon may have taken a step toward reconciliation Friday in a federal court in New York.
In a ruling called "long overdue" by environmental groups, a federal judge ruled that pumping water from farmlands into public water supplies - including Lake Okeechobee - is in violation of the Clean Water Act.
Earthjustice, a nonprofit public interest and environmentally-focused legal organization founded in 1971, has been arguing against the practice for 30 years and first filed the case in 2002.
Water from Lake Okeechobee is used in part for irrigation of sugar, vegetable and sod farms in the Everglades Agricultural Area in western Palm Beach, Hendry and Glades counties, but it is also used as a backup drinking water supply for many South Florida municipalities including West Palm Beach and Fort Myers. In times of need, agricultural operations draw water from Lake Okeechobee to irrigate crops. But in times of excessive rainfall, those farming companies are permitted to move excess water back into canals that carry the water back into Lake O.
The practice is frequently referred to as "back pumping."
Earthjustice said the water returned to the lake contains high levels of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus and does not meet the standards outlined in the federal Clean Water Act.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas in the Southern District of New York heard the case because Earthjustice "bundled" the Florida litigation with similar cases dealing with drinking water supply contamination in California, New Hampshire and Colorado. Earthjustice represented Friends of the Everglades, Florida Wildlife Federation and the Sierra Club, among others. The complaint named South Florida Water Management District, part of Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, as the agency responsible for violating the federal law.
In Florida, Earthjustice attorney David Guest said the legal action was necessary because the groups had no success partnering with the South Florida Water Management District or farming businesses in the Everglades Agricultural Area.
"We tried to talk to them for years and they just didn't want to talk," Guest told Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. "They basically ignored us all, sending us the message they would rather litigate."
The issue of moving water from farmlands south of Lake O back into the lake arose as recently as last year. Excessive rainfall in May on agricultural lands south of Lake O caused farmers to request permits from the water management district to move water into the lake even while the Army Corps of Engineers sent water into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers because, as they said at the time, there was nowhere else for it to go.
"It's well established by now that a city can't just dump sewage into a river - they've got to clean it first," Guest said in an Earthjustice news release Friday. "The same principle applies here with water pumped from contaminated drainage canals."
Randy Smith, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District, said in a statement the state agency will evaluate the "complex court ruling" next week.
Indian Riverkeeper Marty Baum applauded the ruling and decried the long-running and controversial water management practice.
Whoever signed off on those permits last year should be hauled off to jail in handcuffs," he said.
Smith said in a June 12 Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers article that during the 10-day long water transfer event in June, the district was operating under an "administrative extension while in the permit renewal process." Permits in force from 2007 until 2012 had enabled "flood control back pumping into Lake Okeechobee" but stated the practice "shall be minimized," as was reported by Scripps Newspapers' Tyler Treadway.
According to data from the Army Corps, water was pumped into the lake June 6 at a rate of slightly more than 1.1 billion gallons a day, enough to fill 1,721 Olympic-size swimming pools.
Tommy Strowd, the district's assistant executive director of operations, construction and management, said at the time it was a flood-control measure, citing heavy rainfall on the farmland primarily used to raise sugar cane.
Whither the Water: A Timeline of the Lake O Pumping Controversy
Environmentalists have fought the practice of pumping water from the Everglades Agricultural Area into Lake Okeechobee almost as long as the South Florida Water Management District has been doing it.
Here is a timeline showing significant dates in the controversy:
1979: The state Department of Environmental Regulation approves the Interim Action Plan stating drainage water from the agricultural area can only be discharged into the lake under declared emergency conditions for water supply or flood control. According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, "Prior to the (plan), the northern one third of the EAA was routinely back pumped directly into Lake Okeechobee."
May 2001: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection issues an emergency order allowing the district to violate water-quality standards temporarily and pump dirty floodwaters from farm canals into Lake O as a way to bolster reserves during a drought. Audubon of Florida, the Florida Wildlife Federation and Friends of Lake Okeechobee protest, saying the order sanctions the infusion of large amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen into the lake.
2002: Several environmental groups sue the South Florida Water Management District, claiming the district needs a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to pump polluted water.
June 2006: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under President George W. Bush, adopts an administrative rule that says a federal pollution permit isn't necessary for pumping, rather than discharging, polluted water.
June 15, 2007: U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga issues an injunction requiring the district to immediately apply for federal permits to pump polluted water into the lake.
June 18, 2007: The state environmental protection department issues the Lake Okeechobee Protection Act Permit to the district.
Aug. 9, 2007: The water district Board of Governors votes not to pump water into Lake O for supply purposes, even during dire drought circumstances.
June 4, 2009: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit rules pumping water into Lake O for flood control can continue without federal Clean Water Act permits.
Nov. 29, 2010: The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Friends of the Everglades v. South Florida Water Management District, allowing the EPA's 2006 rule to stand.
Tyler Treadway, Scripps Newspapers' environmental reporter, contributed to this report.

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Tradition a delicate balance for Florida tribes
Associated Press – by Chad Gillis
March 28, 2014
MIAMI (AP) — Cobalt blues and salmon pinks flash by like a meteor shower during a new moon as a group of middle school students parade through the main hall of the Miccosukee Embassy in Miami.
Dressed in colorful patchwork shirts and dresses, the 18 students are here to say the pledge of allegiance. The pledge isn't to the American flag. It's to the Miccosukee flag and a people who have survived 500 years of oppression.
"All helping one another," as one line says when translated into English.
These children are tribal members, part owners of the vast gambling and resort corporation. They're also the newest generation of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, who number about 600 and live mostly on reservation lands about 100 miles southeast of Fort Myers.
Once finished, the children scamper off to the banks of the Miami River, the aquatic artery that once connected the Miccosukee to the entire Everglades. There they eat fry bread and sip sodas, talk about the Internet, cellphones and school.
Miccosukee chairman Colley Billie takes the stage, his baritone voice bouncing off the marble floor.
"It was our refuge, it was a place that fed us," Billie says. "And the reason we wound up in the Everglades is because the United States government was unleashed on us to exterminate us. We went into the Florida Everglades as a place of refuge. We will always consider it our home."
The Everglades has changed in the last century, and Indians have changed with it. From a mostly ancient life of hunting, gathering and spiritual ceremonies, modern Indians have mastered the American economic model, building an international casino and resort empire.
The challenge is maintaining traditions and protecting the Everglades from further ecological damage while integrating technology and moving even more into the modern world.
Like any group, they vary in personal beliefs, spiritual convictions and financial status, but all factions The News-Press interviewed over the past eight months have similar goals: Grow their power and influence across the region — economically, environmentally and spiritually.
The tribes are taking control through a gambling and resort empire that brings in billions of dollars of revenue each year (the Seminole Tribe reported $2 billion in revenue in 2012).
Both the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida own resorts throughout much of Florida, the United States and in Europe and Asia.
These businesses started as high-stakes bingo in the 1970s, when the federal government gave exclusive gambling rights to Indian tribes. Although casinos were already established in the Miami area, the tribes have since established gambling in Tampa, Immokalee, Hollywood, Dania, Clewiston and Brighton. The businesses bring in billions of dollars of revenue each year, and members reportedly get $100,000 or more in annual dividends for being part of the tribe.
Business ventures include:
. Casinos in Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Dominican Republic, China and Singapore
. Resorts in Florida, California, Mexico, Thailand and Malaysia
. Extensive cattle and farming operations.
Even sponsorships of a NASCAR team from 2002 through 2009 were part of their economic DNA.
The Seminole Tribe is looking to expand its empire. After canceling plans to build a $465 million casino in Atlantic City, the Seminole Tribe is reportedly interested in buying the Revel Casino Hotel, which would also give them an Internet gambling license — another entry into the gambling world.
And there is talk of expanding its Immokalee casino, including a possible Hard Rock hotel nearby.
The money means the tribes can hire attorneys and water management experts to fight or support state or federal water policy changes or any Everglades restoration projects.
"It's not that we want to sue them," says Miccosukee Tribe member Michael Frank about water management agencies and the National Park Service. "It's just that they break their own laws."
The traditional Indians — relatives of tribe Indians who shun reservation life and American politics — are fighting a moral and spiritual battle, citing human rights violations, genocide and centuries-old treaties.
The future of the traditional Indians seems grim. As many have said, they are going extinct. They don't keep count of their people — it's against their cultural ways — but the estimated population is around 100.
"In the old days we were taught to keep out of the white man's way, but there are so many that we have to stand up and fight for ourselves," traditional Indian LeRoy M. Osceola explains.
They also want access to the national park lands — millions of acres Indians used for centuries. Everglades National Park lands were used to gather medicine, building materials and food. Those practices are now illegal because the lands are within a national park. Losing those lands makes living a traditional Indian life even more difficult, some say.
Bobby C. Billie and other Indians say these laws are used to force traditional Indians to live a more modern life. Regardless of their desires to hunt, fish and use medicine in their ancient ways, the outside world has made that life virtually impossible through laws and regulations.
"We have to talk to the government or Big Cypress preserve area to try to get into it to cut the material or go hunt or go fishing like we did when we was younger," says Bobby C., a traditional Indian. "They say 'you can't do that. You have to buy a permit or buy a hunting license.' But we can't (buy a license). It's not our way."
Most Indian children are part of the Seminole or Miccosukee reservations, although a handful are being raised in traditional villages by non-reservation clans. Most attend reservation school through eighth grade and then attend a public high school.
The modern wealth offers options as children start drawing reservation dividends shortly after birth. College, cars, houses, travel, fine meals, swamp buggies and airboats are financially feasible for reservation teens. Cellphones and iPads are common, too.
Some are preparing for college, others to be future tribal leaders, business owners, clothes designers, cowboys and environmental engineers.
Sandra-Laurie Osceola is focused on maintaining her traditional roots and clan ties. Her son, Standing Bear Osceola, 20 months, is one of a dozen or fewer Florida Indians still being raised in a traditional Indian village among non-reservation Indians.
Her future, she says, is with her clan — her close and extended family. Sandra-Laurie's father, LeRoy M. Osceola, is one of the most outspoken traditional Indians and is the head of four generations of traditional Indians living on their own land, not within the reservation borders.
"I get asked all the time, why I don't enroll and get the free money," she says. "For me, it's out of respect for my father, what he has taught us. I can't imagine betraying him like that."

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Water projects, Education funding - key differences between legislative budget proposals
WFSU.org - by Lynn Hatter
March 28, 2014
The Florida House and Senate are $400 million apart in their state spending plan proposals for the upcoming fiscal year. The House is pushing a $75.3 billion proposal while the Senate comes in at $74.9 billion. That’s a lot closer than the chambers have been in recent years, thanks to an influx of cash from a recovering economy. But the proposals take different routes to funding two key areas: water projects and school construction.
Water, Water Everywhere
Last summer, Central Florida was awash in water. Lake Okeechobee overflowed its banks, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers steered that polluted overflow into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers. The results included health warnings, toxic algae blooms, and animal die-offs:
“Early July, we saw about 50 percent dead. We went out a few weeks later, and it was about 99 percent dead," says Florida Oceanographic Society Scientist Vincent Encomio in describing the death of the Indian River Lagoon oysters.
Encomio and other researchers dubbed the Summer of 2013 “the lost summer”—as water-based businesses in the region suffered an economic shock.  “And then, we confirmed with other scientists doing work on oysters the St. Lucie River that when they went out, they had not found any live oysters," he said.
Now the Senate is poised to steer $225 million into projects re-routing water flow in the region, including cleaning up what gets dumped into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee. Everglades Foundation Ecologist Steven Davis says the projects include finishing a bridge on the Tamiami Trail which dams up water so it can’t flow into the Everglades.
“By fixing the problem we alleviate that issue and can restore the quality of water and quality of life for those who live along those water bodies. And that’s the message we try to convey," Davis says.
The Everglades is important, Davis says, because it also recharges Florida’s aquifer—where the state gets most of its drinking water. The House, though, plans to spend about $33 million less on those projects.  Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Joe Negron says there are bigger differences between the two chambers.
Springs To Become Negotiation Point Between House And Senate
“I think some of the bigger issues will be higher education we have a little more money on the Florida Residents Access Grants than the House does," Negron told reporters following Thursday's Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the chamber's budget proposal. "They have more funding in the Springs program than we have, but I think they are manageable differences we can work out.”
Take for example, North Florida's Wakulla Springs. For generations, Wakulla Springs has served as a tourist spot—with visitors coming to enjoy its clear cool waters. But in recent years, its famous glass-bottom boats haven’t been getting as much use. And those crystal clear waters have turned foggy due to an influx of pollutants. As the Senate attends to water flow in Central and South Florida, the House is proposing to put $50 million dollars toward restoring Florida’s springs. The Senate figure is around $20 million.
Chambers Differ On Funding School Construction, Maintenance
When it comes to education, both chambers have different ideas for how to fund the construction and maintenance of the state’s public schools, colleges and universities. It’s called Public Education Capital Outlay, or PECO.
PECO funding has been scarce in recent years, due drastic decreases in trust fund revenue and the amount of money being used to pay off already-completed projects.   The House wants to spend nearly $600 million on school construction projects in the upcoming fiscal year, with a big chunk of that going to charter schools. But Florida School Board Association President Wayne Blanton says the backlog of maintenance projects is so large, more is needed.
“If we could get a consistent amount of dollars in the range of $350 million to $400 million a year, it would allow us to not only keep our schools up, but replace those older schools which, quite frankly, cost more than an older school.”
The House arrived at its PECO budget using a proposal from State Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam which diverts some businesses tax revenue into the PECO fund.  The Senate’s PECO budget is more than $270 million less than the House’s—but that chamber’s leaders say they’re open to taking a look at the House’s PECO funding plan as negotiations begin to unfold.

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Development in Everglades Agricultural Reserve ?
BrowardPalmBeach.com - by Fire Ant
March 27, 2014
Caught between developers on one hand and environmental preservationists on the other, Palm Beach County Commissioners Tuesday postponed any decision on opening the county's Agricultural Reserve to greater commercial development.
See also:
- Developers Trying to Build in Everglades Agricultural Reserve
For now, that is. The board voted to move from this week's workshop to a "round-table discussion" this summer at which both sides will continue to argue the matter. So the fate of the reserve's 21,000 acres of specially protected, environmentally sensitive land still hangs in the balance.
The product of a 1999 referendum in which county voters authorized a $100 million bond issue to purchase farmland and create a buffer between suburbia and the Everglades, the Reserve's current guidelines permit just two commercial sites in the area.
The pave-and-build forces, with politically connected firms like Urban Design Kilday Studios and commercial developers Schmier & Feurring in the lead, present their case as mere minor adjustments to the reserve's guidelines. Also in that camp are some of the area's farm owners, who see their property values cramped by current limitations.
Those opposed to laxer rules fear a boiling frog scenario. "If we go ahead with this kind of plan," Myrna Rosoff, president of the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations told the board, "we're going to see pavement and concrete that will never come off the land again."
New Times will be interested to see which side coughs up new campaign contributions between now and the summer roundtable.
As previously reported, just months ago Schmier & Feuring and its principals, as well as its advocate Land Design South, donated $3,500 to Commissioner Steven Abrams' campaign. Commissioner Mary Lou Berger had previously taken $1,250 from LDS and its principal, Bob Bentz.
Additionally, in her 2012 campaign, Berger took more than $2,400 from Urban Design Kilday Studios and its principals, while developer attorney Mark Perry, who also spoke yesterday, has, over the years, given $750 to Commissioner Shelley Vana's campaigns.
Berger has been the most visible advocate of chipping away at the Ag Reserve. But Abrams too pushed for the camel's nose under the tent Tuesday, telling workshop participants that while major changes "would be ill-advised," the commission "should have the ability to make some minor modifications.''
The problem with that is, like junkies, developers are always hungry for just a little bit more.

140327-b
Florida DEP unveils restoration goals for Four Lakes
DredgingToday.com
March 27, 2014
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection conducted a public workshop in Bartow to present draft water quality restoration goals, known as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), for Lake Bonny, Lake Hollingsworth, Lake Lena and Deer Lake near the City of Lakeland.
The restoration goals will establish limits on nitrogen or phosphorus loadings to the lakes in order to bring them back to health.
Nitrogen and phosphorus occur naturally in surface waters and are necessary for the plants and animals living there. But excessive levels of these nutrients can lead to an imbalance in the ecosystem and cause algal mats and other problems for aquatic life. These four lakes currently suffer from high nutrient levels and do not meet Florida’s water quality standards.
“Nutrient impairment is Florida’s most challenging water quality problem,” said Tom Frick, Director of the Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration.
The Department has to date adopted 355 restoration targets for rivers, lakes, springs and estuary systems across Florida. Nearly 53 percent of these restoration goals address nutrients, with others setting targets to resolve water quality problems associated with bacteria and metals.
The agency has also adopted 19 restoration plans (Basin Management Action Plans) encompassing nearly six million watershed acres and setting in motion the projects necessary to restore the affected waterbodies.
Another nine restoration plans are under development, including Lake Okeechobee, the Suwannee River and seven major spring systems.

140327-c
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Hearing
InsuranceNewsnet.com
March 27, 2014
Chairman and distinguished members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the President's Budget for the Civil Works program of the Army Corps of Engineers for Fiscal Year 2015.. The FY 2015 Budget for the Civil Works program reflects the Administration's priorities through targeted investments to develop, manage, and restore water...
Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc.
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the President's Budget for the Civil Works program of the Army Corps of Engineers for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015.
OVERVIEW
The FY 2015 Budget for the Civil Works program reflects the Administration's priorities through targeted investments to develop, manage, and restore water resources. Commercial navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, and aquatic ecosystem restoration are the primary mission areas of the Army Civil Works program. The Budget also supports related efforts at existing projects owned or operated by the Corps (hydropower, recreation, environmental stewardship, and water supply storage); as well as emergency preparedness and training to respond to natural disasters, the regulatory program, and the restoration of certain sites contaminated as a result of the nation's early efforts to develop atomic weapons. These investments will contribute to a stronger economy, improve reliability of waterborne transportation, reduce flood risks to businesses and homes, increase public safety, protect and restore aquatic ecosystems affected by water resources development, and support American jobs.
The primary objectives of the Budget are as follows:
. Focus funding on water resources investments that will yield high economic and environmental returns or address a significant risk to public safety, including investing in restoring significant aquatic ecosystems to help promote their ecological sustainability and resilience.
. Support commercial navigation through investments in maintenance and related activities at the most heavily used coastal ports and inland waterways in the Nation.
. Increase the organizational efficiency and improve the management, oversight, and performance of ongoing programs.
FY 2015 DISCRETIONARY FUNDING LEVEL
The Budget for FY 2015 for the Civil Works program provides a fiscally prudent and sound level of Federal investment in the Nation's water resources.
In keeping with the Administration's commitment to continue to invest in those efforts that are a priority for the Nation, while putting the country on a sustainable fiscal path, the Budget includes $4.561 billion in gross discretionary appropriations for the Army Civil Works program offset by a $28 million cancellation of unobligated carry-in to FY 2015, including funds previously earmarked for particular programs, projects, or activities.
This gross funding level represents the amount of new Federal discretionary resources that would be available to the Civil Works program.
Within the $4.561 billion recommended appropriations, $1.125 billion is for projects in the Construction account, and $2.6 billion is for activities funded in the Operation and Maintenance account. The Budget also includes $80 million for Investigations; $245 million for Mississippi River and Tributaries; $28 million for Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies; $200 million for the Regulatory Program; $100 million for the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program; $178 million for the Expenses account; and $5 million for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Attachment 1 shows this funding by account and program area.
A total of nine construction projects (three navigation projects, four flood risk management projects, and two aquatic ecosystem restoration projects), 28 studies, and 6 designs are funded to completion in the Budget. Completed construction projects will result in immediate benefits to the Nation and directly impact many local communities as benefits are realized from the combined Federal and non-Federal investments.
BUDGET CRITERIA
The FY 2015 Budget continues the Army's commitment to a performance-based approach to budgeting to provide the best overall return for the Nation in achieving economic, environmental, and public safety objectives. Competing investment opportunities for studies, design, construction, and operation and maintenance were evaluated using objective performance metrics, which guided the allocation of funds.
Within the Investigations account, deciding which studies to pursue can be a challenge. The Corps must use its professional judgment in these situations. Generally, funding is allocated to those studies that appear the most promising based on the potential for high economic, environmental, and safety returns to the Nation; and have an active local sponsor. Under the SMART Planning initiative, to be eligible for funding the Corps (the District, Division, and Headquarters) must also have reached agreement with the local sponsor on the scope, cost, and schedule of the study. This improvement to the planning process is helping to bring studies to a conclusion sooner and with less money without compromising the quality of the analyses.
NEW INVESTMENTS IN FY 2015
The Civil Works budget includes $10 million to start construction of a nationally significant aquatic ecosystem restoration effort, the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration program. This program, authorized in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, is needed to restore habitat while reducing the risk of damage to coastal Louisiana from storm driven waves and tides, and complements the ongoing Federal effort under the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act. The Administration is committed to restoration of the Gulf Coast, and starting construction on this program serves as an important step in fulfilling that commitment.
The Budget also includes funding for eleven new study starts in the Investigations account. Two of these studies support efforts to encourage States and communities to assume responsibility for the development, management, restoration, and protection of water resources. Those studies focus on the disposition of locks that are no longer being used for commercial navigation, or have very little commercial navigation; these studies are the Allegheny River Disposition study in Pennsylvania and the Kentucky River Locks 1-4 Disposition in Kentucky.
Three additional studies are focused on deep draft navigation improvements - Manatee Harbor, Florida; New Haven Harbor Deepening, Connecticut; and San Juan Harbor Navigation Improvements, Puerto Rico. The principal criterion used to select these studies was the anticipated economic return to the Nation.
Three studies are focused on flood risk management - Du Page River, Illinois; Fairfield and New Haven Counties, Connecticut; and Short Creek and Wheeling Creek, Ohio. The principal criteria used to select these studies were the population affected, the condition of the flood damage reduction measures that currently exist, and the potential consequence of a flood event.
One new aquatic ecosystem restoration study--Salton Sea Restoration, California--will examine the potential for a project of environmental improvements to the Salton Sea.
Finally, the Budget again includes funding for the Water Resources Priorities Study. This study would assess the Nation's vulnerability to inland and coastal flooding; compare the flood risks faced by different regions of the United States; evaluate the effectiveness of current approaches to reducing these risks in different settings at the Federal, state, and local levels; and develop recommendations to improve existing programs to save lives, and reduce flood losses and associated recovery costs nationwide, in ways that will also promote the long-term sustainability of communities and ecosystems. In short, it would improve our understanding of why flood costs are increasing so dramatically and identify better ways for the Nation to address these risks. This is not being proposed as a study leading to a new project, and thus should not be subject to any potential limitation on new starts. Rather, this study will build on, and broaden, progress being made by the Corps in its North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study under the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, P.L. 112-3, and is a logical next step to that effort.
NAVIGATION
The Budget includes $1.825 billion in support of global and domestic waterborne transportation, with emphasis on the coastal ports and inland waterways that support the greatest national economic activity.
The Cleveland Harbor (Dike Raise), Ohio; New York and New Jersey Harbor, New York & New Jersey; and Texas City Channel (50-Foot Project), Texas Dredged Material Placement Facility projects are all funded to completion in FY 2015.
At a funding level of $915 million, the Budget provides, for the third consecutive year, the highest amount ever proposed in a President's Budget for work financed from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to maintain coastal channels and for related work. The FY 2015 Budget includes $595 million for the operation and maintenance of inland waterways.
Overall, the total number of lock closures due to mechanical failures at main chamber locks on the high and moderate commercial use inland waterways has decreased, in both FY 2012 and FY 2013.
For the operation and maintenance of navigation projects with a low level of commercial use (coastal and inland combined), the Budget provides $113 million. Starting in 2012, the Corps modified the levels of service for certain inland waterways locks. This has resulted in reduced operating costs and the Corps is using these savings for work on these waterways or other inland waterways.
The Budget continues to include funding in both the Investigations and Construction accounts on proposals to deepen and widen channels at several of our coastal ports to accommodate post-Panamax vessels with deeper drafts. Within the Investigations account, funding is included to complete feasibility studies for Charleston Harbor, South Carolina and Wilmington Harbor, North Carolina; continue design efforts at Boston Harbor, Massachusetts, Savannah Harbor, Georgia, and Freeport Harbor, Texas; and to complete design efforts at Jacksonville Harbor, Florida. Within the Construction account, funding is included to continue construction of a new dredged material placement facility at Charleston Harbor, North Carolina.
The Budget includes $160 million for Olmsted Lock and Dam, Illinois, of which $80 million would be derived from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. The Budget does not support a reduction in the portion of the costs of this project financed from this trust fund. The Budget also includes $9 million for ongoing work to address dam safety issues at Locks and Dams 2, 3, 4, Monongahela River, Pennsylvania, of which $4.5 million would be derived from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.
The Budget funds capital investments in the inland waterways based on the estimated revenues to the Inland Waterways Trust Fund under current law. However, the Budget also assumes enactment of the legislative proposal submitted to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction in 2011, which would reform the laws governing the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, including an annual per vessel fee to increase the amount paid by commercial navigation users of the inland waterways sufficiently to meet their 50 percent share of the capital investments that the Army Corps of Engineers incurs on their behalf. The revenue from this user fee would supplement the revenue from the existing excise tax on liquids used as fuel in commercial transportation on the inland waterways.
The Administration's proposal would generate an estimated $1.1 billion in additional revenue over 10 years from the commercial users of these inland waterways. This amount reflects estimates of future capital investment for navigation on these waterways over the next decade, including an estimate adopted by the Inland Waterways Users Board (Users Board). The proposal is needed to ensure that the revenue paid by commercial navigation users is sufficient to meet their share of the costs of capital investments on the inland waterways, which would enable a significant increase in funding for such investments in the future.
Under the Administration's proposal, the Corps would be able to structure the user fee in two tiers. Nearly all of the capital investment by the Corps to support commercial navigation on these waterways involves work at Corps locks and dams. Under a two-tiered fee system, those who use the locks and dams would pay more of the non-Federal share of capital investments, as they should. This would increase economic efficiency by requiring the specific users who benefit from these investments to internalize the costs. The Administration's proposal also includes other needed changes, which would clarify the scope of cost-sharing for inland waterways capital investment, and the authority for appropriating funds from the IWTF and from the General Fund to finance inland waterways costs; and would close an existing loophole under which traffic on roughly 1,000 miles of the inland waterways does not now pay the fuel tax.
FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT
Through both structural and non-structural measures, the flood risk management program serves as a vehicle to reduce the risk to safety and property from riverine and coastal flooding.
The FY 2015 Budget provides $1.3 billion for the flood risk management program, which includes $325.7 million for construction of dam safety projects, $34 million for the assessment of existing dam safety projects, development of dam safety modification reports, and preconstruction engineering and design for existing dam safety projects, and $38 million to continue the levee safety initiative, which involves an assessment of the conditions of Federal levees.
Between 10 percent and 15 percent of the levees in the Nation are maintained by the Corps, or are maintained by others and inspected by the Corps. The FY 2015 Budget includes funds for periodic inspections, levee screenings, and risk characterization by the Corps of these levees. The most prevalent deficiencies that the Corps has found to date have mostly been related to vegetation, encroachments, and culverts. Where the levee is a local responsibility, the Corps will suggest both structural and non-structural risk reduction measures that the local authority can take to improve the condition of its levee and manage its flood risk.
The Budget also includes $2 million under the National Flood Risk Management Program to support the continued development of interagency teams known as Silver Jackets to provide unified Federal assistance in implementing flood risk management solutions. Silver Jackets teams have now been established in 41 States.
The Dover Dam, Muskingum River, Ohio and Muddy River, Massachusetts projects are both funded to completion in the FY 2015 Budget.
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION
The FY 2015 Budget reflects a continuing effort by the Administration to have a coordinated approach to restoring significant aquatic ecosystems. The Corps has been working collaboratively with other Federal resource agencies on this effort. Attachment 2 provides a list of these ecosystems and the associated funding in the FY 2015 Budget for the Civil Works program.
The Budget for the Army Civil Works program provides $74.9 million for the ongoing South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Program, which includes the Everglades, consisting of $65.6 million in the Construction account and $9 million in the Operation and Maintenance account. The Budget includes $29 million in Construction and $500,000 in Investigations to continue efforts to combat the threat of Asian Carp and other aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes region. Approximately $1.5 million of FY 2014 funds are projected to be carried into FY 2015, which will be used in conjunction with the budgeted funds to further the Great Lakes Mississippi River Interbasin Study efforts.
The Budget includes $71 million for the Columbia River Fish Mitigation program in order to meet requirements laid out in the Columbia River Biological Opinion and to meet commitments made under the Columbia River Basin Fish Accords. The Budget includes statutory language to increase the authorized program limits for the Lower Columbia River Ecosystem Restoration, Oregon and Washington construction program and for the research efforts on the Lower Columbia River, which have both been relied upon to meet requirements laid out in the Columbia River Biological Opinion.
In addition, the Budget includes funds to initiate two new phase feasibility studies on the Russian River in California in order to address requirements laid out in the 2008 Russian River Biological Opinion. These feasibility studies will serve as the follow-up to the reconnaissance study that was initiated in FY 2014. The Corps anticipates that the operational requirements and the likely alternatives needed to address problems in the study area will be specific to each facility, warranting separate feasibility studies. It has been common practice for the Corps to use one reconnaissance study to determine if there is a Federal interest in addressing the same water resource challenge in the same geographic area with the same project sponsor, before moving to separate feasibility studies.
The Budget also provides $48.8 million for ongoing work under the Missouri River Fish and Wildlife Recovery program, including funds to award construction of the Yellowstone Intake Dam Diversion project.
RESILIENCE TO A CHANGING CLIMATE
The Budget supports continued progress on very important investments that will yield long-term returns for the Nation. For example, the Corps of Engineers continues its active role in climate change adaptation. Through the Administration's proposed Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative, the Corps would be able to further its efforts to increase the resilience of water resources infrastructure to a changing climate. This would include investments in small flood risk reduction projects, with the focus on nonstructural and/or natural approaches to risk reduction. It would also provide technical assistance to non-Federal, State, and local agencies to assist and enable their development and implementation of nonstructural actions to reduce risks; and an interagency study by Corps and the Bureau of Reclamation to develop more resilient approaches to Federal development and management of water resources infrastructure to support project planning.
SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY
We have redoubled our efforts to leverage third party financing to achieve Administration, Energy Policy Act (EPAct 2005), and Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA 2007) energy efficiency and renewable energy goals while reducing the demand on appropriated funds. By leveraging investments made since January 1999 in USACE hydropower infrastructure, we are now solidly "GREEN" on the federal renewable energy goal (7.5 percent of total agency electricity in FY 2013). We achieved a new high in renewable energy use in FY 2013: 12.1 percent of our electricity consumption in FY 2013 was provided by renewable resources, the majority of which (78 percent) we generated on-site in our hydropower dams.
REGULATORY PROGRAM
The Budget includes $200 million for the Regulatory Program, which is the level provided in the enacted appropriations for FY 2014, to enable the Corps to continue to protect high-value aquatic resources, enable more timely business planning decisions via a transparent and timely permit review process, and support sustainable economic development.
VETERANS CURATION PROJECT
In continued support of the President's Veterans Job Corps, the FY 2015 Budget includes $4.5 million to continue the Veterans Curation Project, which provides vocational rehabilitation and innovative training for wounded and disabled veterans, while achieving historical preservation responsibilities for archaeological collections administered by the Corps. The project supports work by veterans at curation laboratories located in August, Georgia; St. Louis, Missouri; and the Washington, D.C. area.
CONCLUSION
In summary, the President's FY 2015 Budget for the Army Civil Works program is a performance-based budget that supports an appropriate level of Federal funding for continued progress, with emphasis on those water resources investments that will yield high economic, environmental, and safety returns for the Nation and its citizens.
These investments will contribute to a stronger economy, support waterborne transportation, reduce flood risks to businesses and homes, restore important ecosystems, provide low-cost renewable hydropower, and deliver other benefits to the American people.
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I look forward to working with this Subcommittee in support of the President's Budget. Thank you.
Read this original document at: http://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP10/20140326/101933/HHRG-113-AP10-Wstate-DarcyJ-20140326.pdf

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House must join Senate's effort to rescue springs
Orlando Sentinel - Editorial
March 27, 2014
A bipartisan proposal to restore Florida's natural springs has been advancing through the state Senate during this year's legislative session. But it hasn't left the dock in the House.
The House version of the Senate bill hasn't even been vetted yet by a committee in the lower chamber. House leaders must not torpedo this historic chance to protect one of Florida's most valuable — but also most endangered — environmental and economic assets.
House Speaker Will Weatherford has said his chamber will support funding to respond to environmental emergencies in waterways around the state. But the speaker also has said any changes in water policy will have to wait until next year's legislative session.
Meanwhile, a different bill that would change water policy by weakening protections at the local level has been moving through the House. So who's kidding whom ?
Florida's hundreds of natural springs are, as the staff analysis of the Senate bill points out, "unique and beautiful resources." They are the heart of fragile ecosystems. They are primary water sources for rivers.
And they have delighted Floridians and visitors from around the world for generations. Recreation and tourism attributable to springs support thousands of jobs and pump millions of dollars into local economies.
But many springs are dying from decreased groundwater flow and pollution. Their once-crystal-clear waters have become fouled with algae and weeds.
The Senate bill lays out the kind of comprehensive response that this crisis demands. It includes a timetable for action and a series of measures to begin restoring flow and reducing pollution at 38 of the most-threatened springs.
Some of the stronger measures have been weakened under pressure from industry groups and local governments, which fear stricter limits on groundwater pumping and pollution. Even so, passage of the bill would be a big step forward in rescuing springs.
The Senate is proposing to dedicate $380 million a year from real-estate taxes to springs restoration. The House is calling for putting up just $45 million next year.
Considering the $155 million price tag for a recently announced plan to restore the groundwater flow at just one spring, Blue Spring in Volusia County, the Senate's figure is much more realistic.
If it still seems high, the cost of neglecting Florida's waterways is far higher. State and federal taxpayers are spending billions to restore the Everglades. The revival of Lake Apopka has cost the public more than $150 million, so far.
If House leaders won't move soon, Gov. Rick Scott needs to push them to act. Scott, who has talked up his interest in protecting springs on the campaign trail, has the political muscle to do it. But does he have the will?
Lawmakers need to get started — this year — on saving Florida's springs.

140327-e
Mercury in Seafood: A little clarity
Huffington Post
March 27, 2014
One of the most dangerous yet confusing toxic pollutants is mercury in seafood. Mercury is very bad for developing fetuses and children, and seafood is very good for them. But mercury is in all seafood. Like I said: confusing.
Last summer a friend caught a quite large bigeye tuna, over 200 pounds. He gave me a big chunk, about 20 pounds. Knowing that such a big, old fish would be pretty high in mercury, I started whittling away at it just a little at a time. My friend was eating a lot of this fish for the next several months, so much so that I advised him to get his blood tested. There's no sharp line between "safe" and "unsafe" levels of mercury in the body, but the average adult has a blood level of about 1 microgram per liter, and anything above 5 micrograms per liter is considered too high. When he called me saying he had over 40 micrograms per liter, I went to my doctor. My level was 24. I'm now off fish for several months. OK, so I was headed toward vegetarian anyway.
I recently spoke with Ned Groth, an environmental health scientist formerly with Consumers Union, and Michael Bender, co-founder of the Mercury Policy Project (MPP). Bender's group is suing the federal government in an attempt to update mercury guidelines that Michael says are out of date and not reaching the folks who need them most -- pregnant women and heavy fish eaters. It was time for me to understand more about mercury in seafood. What I learned might help clear up some confusion over risks, and how to eat seafood safely.
Mercury in ocean fish comes from natural and human sources. About two-thirds of each year's new mercury comes from human sources, especially coal combustion. Mercury is an impurity in coal.
From the air it falls into water where bacteria convert it to a form called methylmercury that gets into living things and builds up in them. Plankton with mercury get eaten by little fish, and little fish get eaten by bigger fish. A big fish has gotten a dose of mercury from every little fish it's ever eaten. If you eat it, it will pass that combined dose on to you. So hint #1: bigger fish and older fish have more mercury, because it accumulates up the food chain.
Ned says that among commonly consumed fish and shellfish, some kinds have 100 times more mercury than other kinds. The highest levels are found in larger, longer-lived predatory fish such as shark, swordfish, tuna, marlin, and grouper.
The developing brain is especially sensitive to mercury's effects, so pregnant women and young children are the main at-risk group. But the danger falls mostly on people who eat larger than average amounts of fish, and those who eat higher-mercury varieties like those just listed.
The more fish a person eats, the more aware they need to be of the mercury content of their fish choices. Ironically people trying to "eat healthy" can end up with more mercury -- including people who eat fish instead of meat and poultry; people pursuing a "heart healthy" diet; seafood lovers who eat fish multiple times a week; and recreational and subsistence anglers who eat what they catch.
I asked Ned, "What does mercury actually do to people ? Are people getting sick ?
He explained that methylmercury harms the nervous system to differing degrees depending on how much mercury is involved. The dose you get depends on two things: how much mercury is in the fish you eat, and how often you eat fish. One meal of high-mercury fish isn't going to kill you, but lots of continual eating of moderate-mercury fish can cause your mercury level to rise and cause problems.
At very high exposures, people can lose their ability to walk, speak, think and see clearly. At slightly lower -- but still far above average -- exposures, brain functions like reaction time, judgment and language can be impaired. Perhaps one percent of adults with the highest mercury exposure may suffer subtle brain function effects.
A recent study in Florida looked at memory, reaction time, decision-making and other brain functions in healthy seafood-loving adults. Those with blood mercury below 5 µg/L had the best cognitive functions. At blood mercury levels of 5 to 15 µg/L, several brain functions were mildly impaired, and at levels above 15 µg/L they were significantly impaired. Beyond that Florida study, several well-documented case reports have found severe symptoms of methylmercury poisoning in adults who ate higher-mercury fish 5 or more times a week.
People aren't usually aware of things like slower reaction times. Obvious methylmercury poisoning is very rare. The majority of effects are subtle.
You wouldn't necessarily know if your baby would have been just a little smarter. But when developing babies are exposed to relatively ordinary amounts of mercury in the womb, their intelligence, language and thinking abilities can be mildly reduced.
Mercury may affect the brains of several hundred thousand children born each year. Those at greatest risk for all these effects are people who eat the most fish, and who choose large fish, such as swordfish and tuna, whose predatory lifestyles cause them to accumulate high mercury levels. Ned emphasizes that risk is proportional to dose, and that fish is good but mercury is bad.
"In the last 10 years," Ned says, "at least a dozen studies, in nine different countries, have found adverse effects on brain development from very low doses of mercury, the kinds of doses associated with ordinary levels of fish consumption. That research shows that current safety guidelines do not protect public health. And yet many of the studies have also shown that fish consumption during pregnancy improves brain development -- which highlights the importance of guiding women to eat low-mercury fish."
When I asked Michael about MPP's recent lawsuit, he explained that they were suing the FDA "...because about 10 percent of the U.S. population--including many children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age, in particular--have mercury levels above the levels currently recommended for fetal and child health. We want the FDA and other responsible agencies to do a better job of informing pregnant women, heavy fish eaters and parents of young children about which fish have the most and also the least mercury, so they can make informed choices."
For us, for now, the trick is simply to choose low-mercury fish and shellfish. Many popular seafood choices are low in mercury, including salmon, shrimp, tilapia, clams, mussels, scallops, oysters, sardines, trout, pollock, flounder, sole, catfish, squid, anchovies and herring. Armed with the facts, consumers can enjoy seafood often and keep their mercury exposure very low.
Anyway, I'm staying off fish for a few months and then I'll get my blood checked again to be sure my mercury level is down. My boat goes back into the water in May.
Related:           Here is more info on mercury in seafood from Blue Ocean Institute.

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Proposed rule would close gap in FL water protection
PublicNewsService.org
March 27, 2014
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For more than a decade, 20 million wetland acres and 2 million miles of streams – including many in Florida – were left unprotected, despite the federal Clean Water Act.
Experts say the gap in coverage was the unintended result of two U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
This week, the Obama administration proposed a new rule to clarify which types of water have Clean Water Act protection, which will be helpful to Florida wetlands, streams and freshwater springs, according to Jan Goldman-Carter, senior manager of wetlands and water resources for the National Wildlife Federation.
"There will be no question that those waters are covered by the Clean Water Act,” she said. “And that in turn helps bolster the state-level protections for those waters, because the federal and state protections for water quality are closely intertwined."
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the rate of wetlands loss accelerated by 140 percent from 2004 to 2009, the years immediately following the Supreme Court rulings.
A public comment period is expected to begin in a few weeks on the proposed rule.
Manley Fuller, president and CEO of the Florida Wildlife Federation, said the 2001 and 2006 Supreme Court decisions have confused and limited the scope of the Clean Water Act – making it much more difficult to maintain and restore the state's streams, headwaters and freshwater wetlands.
"Wetlands are extremely important to fish and wildlife and outdoor recreation,” he stressed. “So we think that this rule, when implemented, will help clarify what is a wetland and what is not a wetland."
There are more than 50,000 miles of rivers and streams in Florida, in addition to many high-quality springs that circulate millions of gallons of pure water daily.
According to the Outdoor Industry Association, outdoor recreation generates $38 billion annually and more than half of the state's residents participate in some outdoor activity each year.

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Senate and House budgets close on Everglades and Lake Okeechobee spending, Negron says
Florida Current – by Bruce Ritchie
March 27, 2014
The Senate's proposed Fiscal Year 2014-15 state budget includes $157.8 million for Everglades restoration and modifications to the Lake Okeechobee flow system. That compares to $125 million in the House budget.
Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart and chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, said Thursday the differences are small compared to the size of the project.
He told reporters House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, had visited the region to learn about the issues and Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, is supporting spending on muck removal.
"I'm very encouraged that at Week Four we've already narrowed the differences that much," Negron said. "I think in the conference process we'll be able to wrap it up."
Negron was chairman last year of the Select Committee on Indian River Lagoon and Lake Okeechobee Basin, which recommended $224 million in projects over three years. Nearly all of the first year recommended $164 million in projects was in the Senate proposed budget.
Both the House and Senate have $40 million for the C-44 stormwater treatment area along the St. Lucie River, $32 million for Gov. Rick Scott's water quality treatment plan, $30 million for the Tamiami Trail, $5 million for the C-111 South Dade Project and $5 million for Kissimmee River restoration.
The additional projects in the Senate proposal include $15 million for the C-43 reservoir along the Caloosahatchee River along with $2 million each for Picayune Strand and Lake Worth Lagoon restoration projects. 
The Senate also has another $3 million for dispersed water management storage north of Lake Okeechobee, $7 million for Kilroy water monitoring devices, $2.7 million for pump station modifications and $1 million for pilot programs to re-establish oyster and sea grasses.
Both proposals have $10 million for muck removal in the Indian River Lagoon but in different areas. The issue will be resolved in conference committee, a House spokesman said.
The select committee's recommendation of $224 million in projects included $90 million over three years for bridging 2.6 miles of Tamiami Trail to improve water flow into the Everglades. The committee also recommended $10 million more for muck removal than was included in the Senate budget but $3 million less than the $7 million provided for water quality monitoring.
"Senator Negron has really stepped up with funding for the Everglades and estuaries," said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon Florida. "The projects recommended from the select committee will advance needed solutions."
Related Research:
* March 27, 2014 Senate-House Everglades Lake Okeechobee 2014-15 funding
* Nov. 5, 2014 Everglades Lake Okeechobee Senate funding recommendations
Monitor 'The Everglades and Lake Okeechobee' and 100+ policy issues with Legislative IQ or LobbyTools. Login or request a demo.

140326-a
Speaker Designate Steve Crisafulli talks water on Florida Chamber’s bottomline
SunshineStateNews.com
March 26, 2014
Florida needs water, both in quality and in quantity, as the state’s water demand expects to increase by 28 percent through 2030.
Leading the effort for a greater legislative understanding of water issues is State House Speaker Designate Steve Crisafulli, who stopped by the Florida Chamber of Commerce in Tallahassee for the latest edition of The Florida Chamber’s Bottom Line.

140326-b
University of Florida, St. Johns River water managers study pollutants in Florida's springs
Associated Press
March 26, 2014
OCALA, Florida — Two University of Florida institutes and the St. Johns River Water Management District are starting a three-year $3 million study of the impact of pollutants on Florida's springs.
St. Johns district chief scientist Ed Lowe says researchers hope to identify the areas that are the major sources of nitrates and other pollutants in the springs.
The study will focus on Silver Springs in Ocala and Wekiva Springs in Apopka. Lowe tells the Ocala Star-Banner (http://bit.ly/1nXMdZl ) that the findings likely will apply to many other springs in the state.
Scientists say nitrates from fertilizers, septic tanks and farming operations spur algae growth in the water. Researchers hope to learn how to better manage the sources of the pollution to improve the health of the state's iconic springs.

140326-c
Web tool measures Southern farms’ “water footprint”
Southeast Farm Press – by Brad Buck, University of Florida
March 26, 2014
A new University of Florida web-based tool worked well during its trial run to measure water consumption at farms in four Southern states. The system measures the “water footprint” of a farm.
In the broader sense, water footprints account for the amount of water used to grow or create almost everything we eat, drink, wear or otherwise use.
Researchers at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences introduced their WaterFootprint tool in the March issue of the journal Agricultural Systems, after using it to calculate water consumption at farms in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Texas.
The WaterFootprint is part of the AgroClimate system, developed by Clyde Fraisse, a UF associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering. AgroClimate is a web resource, aimed primarily at agricultural producers, that includes interactive tools and data for reducing agricultural risks.
Developed primarily by Daniel Dourte, a UF research associate, WaterFootprint estimates water use in crop production across the U.S. It looks at a farm in a specific year or growing season and gives its water footprint, Dourte said. Users provide their location by ZIP code, the crop, planting and harvesting dates, yield, soil type, tillage and water management.
The tool also retrieves historical weather data and uses it to estimate the blue and green water footprints of crop production. Water footprints separate water use into green, which is rainfall; blue, from a freshwater resource; and gray, an accounting of water quality, after it’s been polluted.
Water footprints can be viewed at the farm level or globally. For instance, if irrigation water is used to grow crops, it is essentially exported, Dourte said.
Once products are shipped overseas, the water used to grow the commodity goes with it, and it may not return for a long time – if ever, Dourte said. That’s a problem if the crop is grown in a region where water is scarce, he said.
Related:           Southwest water deficits could be Southeast agriculture’s gain

140325-a
Study to look at impact of nitrates on Florida's springs
Gainesville.com - by Cindy Swirko, Staff writer
March 25, 2014
Two University of Florida institutes and the St. Johns River Water Management District are about to begin a three-year $3 million study of the impact of nitrates on Florida's springs, with a focus on Marion County's Silver Springs.
The Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences and the Water Institute will try to provide greater understanding on the impact of nitrates on the springs and the impact of other pollutants or factors that are stressing the springs.
“We are looking for areas that are the major contributors to the nitrate loading of the springs. We hope to be able to identify the areas on the ground that are the major sources,” St. Johns district chief scientist Ed Lowe said. “The science will be the platform for making better decisions on where we put our money and projects, and forming whether regulatory changes are needed. It's the platform that the policy would follow.”
The study will zero in on the effects of nitrates on two springs and their runs — Silver Springs in Ocala as the primary subject and Wekiva Springs in Apopka secondarily. But Lowe and others involved in the study said it's likely many of the findings could be applied to other springs.
Nitrates are making their way into springs from a variety of sources, including fertilizer from agriculture and lawns, sewage from septic tanks and municipal spray fields, and dairy operations that produce a large amount of cow manure.
Scientists believe the nitrates spur the growth of algae that grows in long tendrils in the springs and attaches to any hard surface. Nitrates in high concentrations can cause health problems for humans, particularly in babies.
A goal of the study is to gain a better understanding of which sources are impacting the springs and how they can be managed.
Another aim is to learn the impact that other elements in the water have on the health of the springs as well as the impact of environmental factors such as water levels.
Researchers hope to get answers to some puzzling questions, such as why some springs low in nitrates are nonetheless filled with algae and why some springs are devoid of snails and other “grazers” that feed on algae.
Wendy Graham, director of UF's Water Institute, said the district and scientists want to know whether targeting only nitrates in the effort to clear the springs will be enough.
“This is a big effort to not only look at nitrates but look at spring flow, dissolved oxygen, micro elements like iron and manganese, and what grazers have to do with algae,” Graham said. “We have picked away at pieces of this, but this will be the first investment by the state in looking at the system as a whole with nitrogen as one of the drivers but not the only driver.”
Graham added that a model for the flow of nitrates through conduits in the aquifer also will be developed. That could help with reducing nitrates from their source, she added.
Several springs protection bills have been introduced in the Florida Legislature, which is now in session, though leaders said meaningful changes are unlikely to occur.
Several top lobbying groups including Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Fertilizer and Agrichemical Association and the Florida Chamber of Commerce oppose the measures.
Meanwhile, a recent survey by the IFAS Center for Public Issues Education found that Floridians ranked water third among public issues behind the economy and health care.
Most of the residents surveyed said they would be willing to pay somewhat higher utility bills for water, but the rate of willingness dropped as the increase rose.
Michael Dukes, director of UF/IFAS' Center for Landscape Conservation and Ecology, said the survey show that the public is concerned about water.
Dukes said more residents are adopting Florida-friendly landscaping with plants that do not need much water or fertilizer, and taking other actions to conserve.
“The message is getting across ... but it is not always what's on top of people's minds. In the past year, we've had a pretty wet period so people may not be as concerned about the issue of water and landscapes,” Dukes said. “People definitely want to do the right thing but when it comes down to the things that we need to do, it's the level of magnitude that varies widely.”

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Tommy Strowd, long-time water manager, to retire
PalmBeachPost.com - by Christine Stapleton, Staff Writer
March 25, 2014
Tommy Strowd, a 22-year veteran of the at the South Florida Water Management District, is leaving his position as Operations Director on April 2 to take a job at the Lake Worth Drainage District, according to district spokesman Randy Smith.
Strowd, an engineer, oversees operation and maintenance within the district’s 16-county region. The district provides flood control, water supply, water quality improvements and Everglades restoration.
Since joining the District in 1992, Strowd helped accelerate the design and construction of projects in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and to regional water resource planning and engineering. In 2011, he led the agency as Interim Executive.
Strowd is among several long-time, top executives who have left the district since 2011 after major restucturing, downsizing and complaints of croneyism. Strowd is leaving for a position at the Lake Worth Drainage District, which is now headed by Bob Brown, the former second in command at the district who left in February 2013 to become manager of the Lake Worth Drainage District.

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Critical funding to avoid toxic water at risk in Tallahassee
CBS 12 - by Jana Eschbach
March 24, 2014
STUART, Fla. - Tens of thousands of you on the Treasure Coast protested in the past year to save what was the toxic waters of the Treasure Coast.
Politicians heard your cry, pledging to fund projects to help fix the problem. But now, when the money is getting divvied up in Tallahassee, all those dollar signs promised to the Treasure Coast are disappearing.
Deemed toxic by the health department for close to 6 months, the uproar over the fresh water toxic algae coating the St Lucie Estuary and Indian River Lagoon created a wave of change politically in the region.
The Governor even pledged his help.
So, now things are better, right? Captain Don Voss, with One Florida Foundation says not really.
"It doesn't look bad," said Voss, "but it is."
He's fought for funding to Save the St Lucie Estuary and Indian River Lagoon from Miami to Tallahassee to Washington.  "It's just posturing," Voss said.
The Governor promised close to $300 million last Fall to fund projects to keep our waterways from turning toxic.
The C-44 Reservoir, and elevating portions of US 41 to allow more water to flow south, and not released east towards Stuart. 
Now, the Florida House of Representatives came forward this week with only $83 million.
Not new funding, but money needed to keep critical water quality projects already underway going.
"Yeah. Politicians promise. That's what they do. That's their job to make us feel better," Voss said shaking his head, "You really don't know what's going to happen here for another 35 or 40 days."
So how much is truly needed to keep us from going toxic green again?
A full $224 million this year. There is money in both the House and Senate Bills to help finish the C-44 reservoir project in western Martin County.
The C-44 Project will hold dirty excess Lake Okeechobee and rain water runoff, so it filters out pollution before it gets to the estuary.    And river supporters are encouraging all residents to contact your representatives now.
"We want every penny we can get. We want the $224 million that they just moved it to yesterday," Voss said, noting all the people who stood on the beach last year, the people who protested to Save the River. That was effective, but this is when it counts.
River advocates say call your legislators now and tell them anything less than $224 million dollars is unacceptable. Otherwise, Voss says, all that protesting, was just noise.
The Senate Bill to fund projects in the St Lucie Estuary and Indian River Lagoon is that exact magic number. $224 million.  Treasure Coast State Senator Joe Negron believes they can get more money in the House budget for the rivers before all is said and done.
Negron encourages supporters to contact your representatives to support the bill. We've made it easy:
If you'd like to sound off to let your legislators know water quality is important to you, see all the information below, or search it at Find Your Representative : http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/myrepresentative.aspx Critical funding to avoid toxic water at risk in Tallahassee

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Developers trying to build in Everglades Agricultural Reserve; hearing tomorrow
BrowardPlamBeach.com - by Fire Ant
March 24 2014
Business interests pushing for looser restrictions on commercial development within Palm Beach County's Agricultural Reserve -- 21,000 acres of specially protected, environmentally sensitive land -- have lead the County Commission to reconsider zoning in the area, causing alarm among members of the local environmental community.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday morning, before a board which includes two members -- Commissioners Steven Abrams and Mary Lou Berger -- who have received campaign finance support from the developer and its allies whose petition sparked the review.
County planning officials recommended against S&F in June but the measure was brought up before the Board of Commissioners in December. The developer's proposal was not approved but, with vocal support from Commissioners Berger and Abrams, the Board voted 4-3 to hold a workshop on looser restrictions.
Not typically a major contributor to local political campaigns, within a month of the Commission's workshop vote, Schmier & Feuring and its principals, as well as its advocate Land Design South, donated $3500 to Abrams' campaign. Berger had previously taken a total of $1250 from LDS and its principal, Bob Bentz.
Press reports indicate Ag Reserve residents are divided on the need for more commercial development in their neighborhood, an area where, following a 1999 referendum, the county has invested over $100 million for preservation. But the environmental community is up in arms over the prospect of eventually killing the Reserve by the death of a thousand cuts.
"It's just another example of [developers] changing the rules to help themselves," said Joanne Davis, a community planner with watchdog group 1000 Friends of Florida, when a similar proposal was floated to the Board in January. "It's turning into a free-for-all."
Ag Reserve workshop
PBC Commission Chambers,
Governmental Center, 6th floor
301 N. Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach

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Fund for cleaning springs expected to take 3 years
TBO.com – by Jim Turner The News Service of Florida
March 24, 2014
TALLAHASSEE — A group of senators will move ahead with a plan to flood the state’s natural springs with money.
But as the Legislature delves this week into the details of the budget, and as a separate large water issue draws attention, the senators say that money for their springs-restoration proposal might take years to get flowing.
“We look at this as a three-year process,” said Sen. Andy Gardiner, an Orlando Republican who is slated to become Senate president after the November elections.
Gardiner and Rep. Steve Crisafulli, a Merritt Island Republican who is slated to become House speaker in November, have declared water policy issues as a priority of the 2015 and 2016 sessions.
The springs proposal (SB 1576), which got its first committee approval Thursday, seeks $378.8 million. Meantime, Appropriations Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart, is pushing for about $160 million this year for a variety of projects to reduce pollution runoff from Lake Okeechobee and clean the Florida Everglades.
The House budget matches some of Negron’s proposal, which was spurred by outcries in his Treasure Coast district about the harmful impacts of the lake runoffs last summer.
Asked about the springs last week before the budget numbers were out, Negron said lawmakers were still early in the budgeting process.
“I’d expect there will be some funding for springs in the Senate budget,” he added.
The House plan, part of a proposed $75.3 billion budget which will be reviewed Wednesday, offers $132.5 million for Everglades and northern Everglades projects, and $50 million for the springs, $5 million less than Gov. Rick Scott has requested.
The Senate’s budget proposal, $74.9 billion, gets a public airing Thursday.
House Speaker Will Weatherford has said his chamber’s water approach this year will be to focus on tangible work over new policy, which would favor Negron’s Everglades proposals over the Senate’s springs effort. That effort continues to be crafted by Sens. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, and Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee.
Provisions of Negron’s plan include $40 million to speed construction of the state’s portion of a C-44 reservoir and stormwater treatment area for the Indian River Lagoon-South Restoration Project, and $32 million for projects tied to ensuring that all surface water discharges into the Everglades Protection Area meet water quality standards.
Both projects are in the House budget.
Negron also is seeking $30 million a year as part of a three-year funding plan for a Scott-backed proposal to bridge a portion of the Tamiami Trail in an effort to redirect water south through the Everglades. Funding for the bridge is in the Department of Transportation’s work program.
The Senate springs plan seeks to control the amounts of fertilizers allowed into waterways, redirect waste water and replace septic systems at no charge to homeowners.
Gardiner called the unanimous vote Thursday by the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee the “first step” in a multi-year effort that has seen resistance from business groups such as Associated Industries of Florida and the Florida Home Builders Associations, and wastewater utility operators.
“You are not going to study us to death on this one,” Gardiner said. “And you are not going to run out the clock.”
The springs programs — directed at protecting 33 first-magnitude springs and five others that are in districts covered by senators backing the bill — are proposed to be funded through a massive shift of state documentary-stamp tax revenues, which are fees already paid when real estate is sold.
Dean said the Senate proposal continues to be adjusted, while Simmons said the state’s economy will be damaged if the springs are allowed to continue to deteriorate.
“The future of our lifestyle is in our hands,” Simmons said.
Related:           Senators plan multi-year springs restoration   Gainesville Sun

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Indians have given us much to think about
News-Press.com - Editorial
March 24, 2014
Let’s all take a lesson from the Seminole and Miccosukee Indians, as well as the Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation of Aboriginal People, a group of 100 more traditional Indians, when they tell us our waterways are so polluted, they can no longer live off them. That we are finding ways to destroy ourselves by not doing enough to protect and preserve our treasured resources of land and water.
What the Indians were trying to explain in a powerful, three-day series by News-Press writer Chad Gillis and photographer Andrew West is that we may not understand their ways of living, or believe in what they believe, but they know the land and the water. They know that harmful nutrients flowing down rivers, lakes and canals are ruining estuaries and marine life. They know that land development cuts into the environment and the natural ecosystem.
The tribes have tremendous tradition; one, the natives will say, is slowly eroding thanks to the modern ways that have now infiltrated their villages. Even the traditional Indians, who believe reclaiming Florida in a moral way is the only way to save this area from its own destruction and reclaim their way of life, have accepted modernization. They have cellphones and pickups.
But the Indians also are big business, running billion-dollar casinos in Florida and other states. They own resorts in Florida and throughout the world and they are looking to expand with more casinos and hotels. Unfortunately, they are contributors to our water quality problems as well, running cattle and farming operations that also are responsible for polluting waterways.
There are about 3,800 Seminole and 600 Miccosukee Indians living on reservations in Florida. Many are not poor, collecting $100,000 each from dividends received from the gambling industry, one that started in 1970 with bingo after the federal government gave them exclusive gambling rights. Mixing today’s world with their traditional one , at least for those born into the Indian world today, is difficult. The dividends bring them the luxuries of life. They are well connected to the digital world with cellphones, iPads. It scares the 100 or so traditional Indians who still believe that those who have accepted too many of the modern ways and “our extensions of government” will see a hellish afterlife.
But there is also no denying the Indians are profiting off the modern world. The Seminole Tribe reports annual gaming earnings of $2 billion. Many have used the money to build modern homes, earn an education and give their children what they believe is a better way of life. But as Mondo Tiger, a Seminole reservation member and representative for the Big Cypress reservation near Clewiston, said: “A lot of us have gotten used to the finer things in life. I like to talk tradition, but at the end of the day, I’ll go home and turn the AC on.”
As most of Florida was taken from the Indians, the tribes found a way to survive even though they were exiled to the Everglades. They used the land to keep tradition and life going. But like most of our natural resources, time has crippled their ability to live, at least in the traditional sense.
Despite the beliefs of traditional Indians, they will not be able to reclaim Florida or the continent and bring it back to the Indian way. Too much has happened. What we can all hope is our leaders will keep pushing for and funding an environment that needs help. The Indians can’t fish for food anymore because our waterways are dirty. The Indians can’t hunt anymore because development has either rerouted wildlife or the government has restricted their ability to do so.
Living through beliefs built over hundreds of years is not irresponsible. In fact, maybe we all need a dose of tradition now and then to get us back on track.

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Patronis outlines changes to permitting bill as it comes up in Senate this week
Florida Current – by Bruce Ritchie
March 24, 2014
HB 703, the wide-ranging environmental permitting bill sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Patronis, will be amended in the Senate this week and will differ as the House bill moves forward in the coming weeks, Patronis told lobbyists on Monday.
The Senate companion bill, SB 1464, is scheduled to get its first hearing on Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation.
Twenty-eight lobbyists and three reporters crammed into a room with Patronis, with more listening from the hallway, as he went over expected changes in the Senate version of the bill. 
Patronis said the House bill would remain unchanged in its next committee stop, which Patronis said will not be held this week.
Mary Jean Yon of Audubon Florida opened comments from the audience by saying that environmental groups now are asking legislators to drop the bills.
Monitor 'Environmental Regulation and Permitting' and 100+ policy issues with Legislative IQ or LobbyTools. Login or request a demo.
"To me the bill, it demonstrates this insatiable appetite to for just continuing to kind of eat away at the regulatory protections that guide Florida at the state and local level," she said.
She added, that after four straight years of such bills from Patronis, "We're just fed up."
Patronis responded that Audubon had been consistent in its opposition to his legislation.
"I appreciate that," he said. "But your consistency also leads to changes in the bill that I'm willing to make today." 
"In saying that if you want me to leave the bill as is I will be happy to and not take any of your considerations in place," he said. 
Patronis said there will be clarifying language for Section 1, which prohibits counties from enforcing wetlands, springs or stormwater ordinances that have been enacted or modified since July 1, 2003. Local governments and environmentalists strongly oppose that law change.
Representatives of 1000 Friends of Florida and the League of Women Voters said the existing bill language conflicts with SB 1576, a comprehensive springs protection bill that passed its first committee stop last week. The House version of the bill, HB 1313, hasn't been heard in a committee.
"I don't know that there will be springs legislation this year," Patronis responded. "I just haven't seen any support."
Among the other changes is language has been dropped that would provide 50-year consumptive permits for landowners who participate in water storage programs, Patronis said. 
He said proposal for 30-year permits for developments of regional impact remains in the bill, despite opposition from environmentalists.
A section dealing with prohibiting local governments from rescinding development approval because lands continue to be classified as agriculture for tax purposes also was being dropped, Patronis said.
Gary K. Hunter Jr., an attorney representing the Association of Florida Community Developers and agricultural interests, said Patronis is making the effort to listen to concerns and make changes in the legislation.
"If you look at all the sections that remain in the bill, they are not a legislative poke in the eye on any issue," he said. "It is really an advancement of policy issues that is intended to facilitate continued renewed economic growth while being respectful of environmental interests and local governments."
March 24, 2014 Environmental groups news release: "Legislators Urged to Drop Environmental Permitting Bills."

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Tribes in Florida's Everglades pay price of prosperity
USA Today – by chad Gillis
March 24, 2014
Airboats scatter across the sawgrass like a flock of birds, only to gather again like metal shards to a magnet at the edge of an Indian village deep inside the Everglades.
Once at the tribal grounds, the captain parks near Michael Frank's family camp. Outsiders, mostly white people working for the tribe or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, take samples, and measure water depth and clarity during an annual Miccosukee water quality study.
MORE: See the full Voices of the Everglades project
Frank takes a sip of coffee, looks out over the Everglades and takes a deep breath.
"Our way of life is gone," he says while sitting on the bow of an aluminum airboat, arms folded, chin tucked. "We lived our way in the Everglades, the happy way, the good way. When I was young, you could drink the water. You could hunt and fish, and that was your lifetime."
Indian life was uprooted more than 500 years ago when Spanish explorers claimed and named Florida. Their world was upended again in the mid-1900s when state and federal agencies learned how to efficiently drain South Florida's massive wetlands and subtropical forests.
Indians were living in remote camps in the Everglades and at tourism villages in towns such as Miami and Hollywood when the draining began. The federal government proposed cutting ties with all tribes in 1953 as a way to cut spending in the aftermath of World War II. South Florida Indians responded by forming the Seminole Tribe of Florida in 1957. A second group that refused to join the Seminole reservation incorporated in 1962 as the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. A third group, about 100 traditionals, refused to join a tribe and still live an isolated life with no gambling dividends and little government support.
Today, Florida Indians number about 4,400, and most are members of the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes, living on reservation lands in Tampa, Immokalee, Hollywood, Fort Pierce, Brighton and Clewiston.
To get a better understanding of their lives in the Everglades, The News-Press spent the last eight months traveling through the Indian world, recording voices that have been mostly silent over the past 500 years.
Unlike the past, when children were taught to stay away from Americans and other cultures, Indians today are increasingly communicating with the outside world. It's their last resort to save the Everglades and their way of life, they say.
"It's not going to be the end of the world, just the end of us," Frank says while walking the Miccosukee museum grounds, a slight grin on his otherwise stern face. He opens the door to a building that contains photographs, clothing, tools and art and crafts, some of these things built or used by his clan. Once inside, he says, calmly: "The Earth will be just fine."
Two tribes
The Seminoles were the first tribe to bring extensive gambling to reservation lands in the 1970s. Bingo brought the first big influx of money in the 1980s; millions of dollars poured in each year. By 2004, the tribes were operating electronic slot machines and blackjack tables. The Seminole Tribe reports annual gambling earnings of nearly $2 billion.
The money has helped build schools, houses, fire and police stations and recreation centers.
Like trust fund babies in American society, reservation Indians want for little in the material world. Over the past 30 years, gambling dividends have grown from a few hundred dollars a year for reservation members to $100,000 or more.
"A lot of our tribal members have gotten wealthy and they don't want to do the common labor," said Mondo Tiger, a Seminole reservation member and representative for the Big Cypress reservation near Clewiston. "A lot of us have gotten used to the finer things in life. I like to talk tradition, but at the end of the day I'll go home and turn the AC on."
Culture crash
Indian culture was still isolated from the outside world nearly a century ago. The Tamiami Trail didn't open until 1928, bringing tourists to roadside Indian villages to watch them sew, carve dugout canoes and make traditional foods such as sofkee and fry bread.
Indians took advantage of the road as well, traveling to Naples, Fort Myers, Miami and Fort Lauderdale to trade hides, buy food staples and clothing. Clothing changed from the Seminole War era, when men wore dresslike smocks, to pants, neckties, belt buckles and blue jeans.
Everglades National Park opened in 1947 and brought more change. Park rules made it illegal for Indians to collect plants and hunt animals for medicine and food. They could fish under park restrictions but not hunt deer, ibis, alligators or even hogs, an invasive species.
By that point the reservation lands were already polluted, flooded or both, reservation and traditional Indians claim.
With parklands off-limits, and reservation lands practically devoid of animals to hunt, Indians were further encouraged to move toward a modern life, to get a job and move away from the villages and their traditional culture.
Their diet changed as well, switching from natural foods like gar fish, ibis and deer to KFC, Taco Bell and McDonald's.
Physical changes can be seen in photo collections from the Florida library system and at displays in tribal museums. Before the 1900s, Indians were smallish in build, muscular and lean. Even elders dressed in little more than loincloths and had the physiques of gymnasts. Today, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and other health issues – which Indians say weren't problematic before the 20th century – are prevalent.
Seminole tribe member Frank Billie Jr. says the old way of life kept people fit and that many lived past 100.
"When you're carrying 300 or 400 pieces of wood just to make a house, and about 2,000 or 3,000 fronds that you have to carry on your back, you become a well-oiled machine. Especially the diet they had, everything was natural, no chemicals," he says. "Now we're so used to Popeyes, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, that if you lay it in front of me, give me a fork. I enjoy it. I'm going to eat it up. But it wasn't that way all my life. I didn't hardly eat any sweets until I was twenty-something, because we weren't allowed to eat sweets."
Secretive society
Reservation life even divides clans and families. While some Indians are millionaires, others live in chickee camps, which range in size from a single hut to modern structures and garages.
Frank Billie Jr.'s family is divided among traditional and reservation Natives. Victor Billie is Frank's brother. While they're very close in a family sense and even work together as employees of the reservation, Frank and Victor are opposites.
Frank often wears Miami Heat hats and T-shirts, jeans and a pair of work shoes or boots. Victor wears a traditional, hand-sewn Seminole shirt, several sets of colorful beads, jeans and a pair of purple cowboy boots that he bought at a flea market in Clewiston. He likes the color.
"I can't tell you what they mean," Victor says when asked what the red, yellow, black and white beads draped around his neck mean in a spiritual sense. "I can't go that far."
Some Indians struggle to find their place in the modern world. The Billie brothers grew up in a traditional village.
But Frank wanted reservation money and joined the Seminole Tribe at the age of 17.
Now 42, he recently resigned from the Seminole Tribe's cultural education department because he no longer feels comfortable sharing Indian history and culture with outsiders.
"There are a lot of things that we keep secret, and the outside world needs to recognize that," Frank Billie Jr. says. "We can talk about some things, but then there's a point where we can't. We're not supposed to go that far. And that's why we're still alive today."
And while many Indians try to keep their lives, beliefs and traditions secret, both tribes host extensive public celebrations.
American Indian Day, held last September at the Miccosukee reservation, is one of the most important public displays of song, dance, alligator wrestling and patchwork clothing – strips of colorful fabric that are sewn together in patterns to make dresses, shirts and coats.
"We'll let the public come and go ahead and share our culture and give them an opportunity to get to know us,'' says Colley Billie, chairman of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. "To get to know that there's more than just a casino out here. We are a group of people. We're just like everybody else. We want to be respected. We want to be recognized; but, at the same time, we also want to be left alone."
These events, along with maintaining museums and libraries on the reservations, are how they try to balance their traditions while accepting parts of the modern world.
Oral stories are used to convey history and typically do not focus on a specific person. No individual is glorified or memorialized for their achievements. Traditionally, when an Indian dies, the memory of that person and his or her name fades with time.
The land is alive
The land is a living history, a reference point around which the Indian world whirs.
Frank knows the exact spot in the swamp where he was born, and uses it as a reference to where other villages and camps are located. He can point to it on a map of tribal lands, which sit between Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park and the sprawling Miami metropolis. He also knows where his mother and father were born, and where they first met and were later married.
His ancestors are buried in the Everglades. Their remains, he says, supply the nutrients and foundation on which trees and plants now grow — plants that are harvested for medicine, food, tools and building supplies. Burying people in a natural way allows their bodies to decompose. Indians often planted fruit or oak trees on top of the actual burial sites, which were typically located on cypress tree islands and near camps. The trees grew on top of the bodies of their ancestors, and the trees, in turn, provided food, fire wood and medicine.
"That's our existence. If we don't have camps and use our land, we lose our lives, our existence," says Frank, part of the last generation of Miccosukees who were born and raised in the Everglades.

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UN: 2013 extreme events due to warming Earth
Associated Press – by John Heilprin
March 24, 2014
GENEVA (AP) - Much of the extreme weather that wreaked havoc in Asia, Europe and the Pacific region last year can be blamed on human-induced climate change, the U.N. weather agency says.
The World Meteorological Organization's annual assessment Monday said 2013 was the sixth-warmest year on record. Thirteen of the 14 warmest years have occurred in the 21st century.
A rise in sea levels is leading to increasing damage from storm surges and coastal flooding, as demonstrated by Typhoon Haiyan, the agency's Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said. The typhoon in November killed at least 6,100 people and caused $13 billion in damage to the Philippines and Vietnam.
Australia, meanwhile, had its hottest year on record.
"Many of the extreme events of 2013 were consistent with what we would expect as a result of human-induced climate change," Jarraud said.
He also cited other costly weather disasters such as $22 billion damage from central European flooding in June, $10 billion in damage from Typhoon Fitow in China and Japan, and a $10 billion drought in much of China.
Only a few places - including the central U.S. -were cooler than normal last year, but 2013 had no El Nino, the warming of the central Pacific that happens once every few years and changes rain and temperature patterns around the world.
Jarraud spoke as top climate scientists and representatives from about 100 governments with the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change met in Japan to complete their latest report on global warming's impact on hunger, disease, drought, flooding, refugees and war.
Speaking in Geneva, Jarraud drew special attention to studies and climate modeling examining Australia's recent heat waves, saying the high temperatures there would have been virtually impossible without the emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
"It is not possible to reproduce these heat waves in the models if you don't take into account human influence," he said.

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Invasive species in Fla. escape efforts at control
Boston Globe, Washingtom Post - by Darryl Fears
March 23, 2014
Wildlife officials targeting pythons and other species.
WASHINGTON — Only in Florida can a search for one invasive creature lead to the discovery of another.
On a balmy Sunday recently, a group of volunteers called Swamp Apes was searching for pythons in Everglades National Park when it stumbled on something worse: a Nile crocodile, lurking in a canal near a Miami suburb.
It was an all-points alarm, prompting an emergency response by experts from the national park, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the University of Florida. They joined the Swamp Apes and wrestled the reptile out of the canal.
Nile crocs are highly aggressive man-eaters known to take down huge prey in Africa, and officials worried that the one in the canal might be breeding in the swamp since it was first spotted two years ago.
Worrying is what Florida wildlife officials often do when it comes to invasive species. The state is being overrun by animals and plants that should not be there, costing Floridians half a billion dollars each year in everything from damaged orange groves to maimed pets and dead fish in water depleted of oxygen by plants.
Florida spends $50 million a year just to eradicate invasive weeds from fields, pastures, and canals. Yet the problem is getting worse.
‘‘What have we learned?’’ said Linda Friar, a spokeswoman for Everglades National Park. ‘‘What strategy do we have in place for stopping these species from being brought here? Are we educating the public well enough? I don’t know.’’
Native Florida alligators are already in a death match with giant Burmese pythons and other python species to sit atop the food chain. Other invasive species include the Argentine tegu, which eats sea turtle eggs; the Nile monitor lizard, which kills house pets; the Cuban tree frog, which dines on other frogs; and the lionfish, which is eating scores of native fish.
Last year, Florida organized a month-long hunt, called the Python Challenge and enlisted volunteers to help remove its top-priority invasive species from the Everglades. When it was over, the state fish and wildlife commission and other experts came to this conclusion: Evicting the snakes is impossible.
Up to 100,000 pythons are estimated to be living in the Everglades, and more than 1,500 thrill-seekers, amateurs, and skilled hunters who flocked to the event from across the country caught only 68.
Pythons are excellent at stealth. Trackers with the US Geological Survey have stood a few feet from them — with radio transmitters — and failed to see them. In the challenge, 24 hunters with permits caught 42 snakes. About 1,500 others caught 26.
The low numbers show “why we have such a serious problem,’’ said Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida ecology and biology professor. ‘‘How do you win a war if you can’t find your enemy ? You really have to know what you’re doing to even have a low level of detection.’’
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ruled out a second challenge this year, partly because pythons are so hard to spot, let alone catch.
They were looking for signs that pythons are behind the disappearance of other animals in the Everglades, such as raccoons, rabbits, and foxes.

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Conservationists take up fight against water weed
Associated Press – DailyJournalOnline.com
March 22, 2014
(AP) — Conservation officials say an invasive water weed that has been discovered in southwest Missouri needs to be contained before it spreads to other areas.
Hydrilla is sometimes called the “Godzilla of invasive plants” because of how it takes over bodies of water and devastates fish habitat by lowering oxygen levels in the water and eliminating fish food sources, said Kara Tvedt, fisheries management biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
“It’s the perfect weed because it can grow in deeper water than most plants and out-compete native plants,” she told the Springfield News-Leader. “Once it reaches the surface it starts branching out and shading everything out below.”
Left uncontrolled, hydrilla plants can form mats so thick that some states in the South have to use special harvesting machines to cut paths through hydrilla beds so boats can pass. Hydrilla mats also can clog water intakes and render swimming areas unusable if not controlled.
The state Conservation Department has been working with property owners on ways to keep it from spreading to other waterways since it was discovered in Greene County ponds in late 2012, and later in ponds in Dallas and Warren counties.
Tvedt said it’s not known how the plant got into the Greene County ponds, though it can hitch a ride in boat bait wells, on boat trailers and even in the digestive tracts of ducks that eat it.
“Some waterfowl do like to eat hydrilla, and parts of the plant can pass through their digestive tract and still be viable,” she said.
The plant, which is native to Africa and Southeast Asia, arrived in Florida in the 1950s as an aquarium plant, according to the Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants at the University of Florida. Since then it has spread to at least 19 states and is on the Federal Noxious Weeds list.
Hydrilla can be killed with water-based herbicides. Also, the weed can be tamed by introducing grass carp, which have voracious appetites for the plant, into a pond.
Once it becomes established, however, hydrilla is difficult to control because of its ability to grow from roots embedded in the bottom of a lake, and from bits and pieces of the plant that form new plants when they break off.
Tvedt expects a major educational push to start in early summer so people will know how to identify the plant.

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Down the road: A moral takeover in the Everglades
NewsPress-com
March 22, 2014
Traditional Indians plan to take back land by persuading others to see the error of their ways
A faded Seminole flag flies tattered, hanging, literally, by threads along the Tamiami Trail about 60 miles southeast of Fort Myers.
LeRoy M. Osceola, seventh-generation son of the famed Seminole Chief Osceola, rubs his right hand in a counterclockwise motion against the surface of a hand-carved cypress table, summoning the oral histories of his people.
“You can’t see it,” he says of the traditional Indian ways. “It’s who you are.”
The 56-year-old is one of eight members of the Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanole Nation of Aboriginal People, a group of traditional Indians who are not affiliated with the Seminole or Miccosukee tribes. Their struggle is against Americanization. They don’t want to be part of modern society, and they see the reservations as extensions of a government that has killed and suppressed their people for centuries.
“When you surrender, you’re surrendering everything the Creator gave you. And by joining the reservation, you’re accepting this other way of life,” he says, “In our way, there are certain healings or medicine or counseling that you can do if people are mischievous, done crimes or hurt their own people. But when you surrender, when you sell out, there’s no cure for that.”
There are more Florida panthers than traditional Indians, he says, fewer than 100. And while panthers and other wild animals enjoy legal protection, this group of Indians is nearly extinct.
“We want to contact other people and let them know we’re still here,” he says. “Other Natives (aboriginal people in other countries) know we’re here — like South America and Africa. We have to reach out and talk to them and see who wants to help us.”
To get a better understanding of their lives in the Everglades, The News-Press spent the last eight months traveling through the Indian world, recording voices that have been mostly silent over the past 500 years.
“When you don’t say anything, disease goes over the life,” says Bobby C. Billie, 68, also part of the traditional movement. His English is choppy but mostly intelligible. “So you have to come up and try to stop that. Whatever has been done to you, try to heal them. Speak to them so they can heal themselves, to realize what they’re doing to the Mother Earth.”
Unlike previous generations, LeRoy, Bobby C. and other traditional Indians share their lives and the struggle to retain ancient traditions with outsiders. They must convince non-Indians, they say, to stop polluting water and developing wild lands.
The reservation divide
LeRoy’s family is split between traditional and reservation Indians. His wife is a member of the Miccosukee Tribe and gets gambling and resort dividends from the tribal corporation, reportedly $100,000 or more per year. But because she’s a reservation Indian, LeRoy says, she will go to the Indian equivalent of hell. The leader of four generations of traditional Indians, he hopes to spare his children and future generations the same fate.
“I call it a pawn shop,” LeRoy says of reservations. “That’s where you go to sell who you are — your kids. Today they sell little kids over there that have no say.”
Another goal of the Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanole Nation of Aboriginal People is to steer Indian children away from the reservations and the federal government and toward a more ancient, spiritual life. LeRoy, Bobby C. and other traditionals speak with reservation Indians. Some of their siblings are even tribal members, but they want to keep future generations from joining.
Apparently that idea is not well-received by the tribes.
“I think we represent what they’re trying to leave behind,” LeRoy says. “If they acknowledge us, their kids are going to say ‘Why is it different ?’ And they’ll have to explain it. Because (reservation life) is just a lifestyle — it’s not a thousand-year-old culture. They say we’re living in the past, that we don’t have anything. When they say that they’re talking about money. To us, money is not our way. We can make money to spend and buy things, but it’s not our way.”
He’s full-blooded Miccosukee and qualifies for reservation status, land for a home and gambling dividends, but LeRoy is a holdout. He can’t live completely off the land, he says, because pollution from Lake Okeechobee has contaminated the fish and animals. Make no mistake, LeRoy is not an American, he says. He’s a Native of this land, part of a people who have endured a 500-year military occupation, he says.
With a lineage that includes chiefs, medicine men and other Indian leaders, LeRoy’s life would be different if Europeans hadn’t taken over North America. Had their culture and traditions stayed intact fully, LeRoy would likely be what Americans call the chief – though words like chief, tribe and war are offensive to LeRoy and his culture because they are American terms that he says are used in derogatory ways.
Like countless generations before, traditional Indians do not pledge allegiance to the United States or celebrate the Fourth of July, a holiday that, from their perspective, pays homage to outsiders who killed their people and stole their land.
“If we go, everything is going to go, too,” LeRoy says.
Indian laws and government structure are already in place, LeRoy says, and could be used again. Example: LeRoy’s uncle, John Osceola, at the age of 80, shot a Seminole man in 1938 for breaking Indian laws, LeRoy says.
“In the old days (before guns) they’d use clubs to break their skulls,” he says of traditional punishments, which vary according to the crime. “It doesn’t have to be death. They cut off your arms, limbs, your tongue.”
Rebuilding an Indian nation
Hand-drawn maps from this traditional Indian group show a future with only Indians living in Southwest Florida, from Sarasota to north of Lake Okeechobee and then south to Florida Bay. This land was taken by Americans through violence, they say. Traditional Indians intend to take it back morally, by having Americans and the outside world realize their mistakes, correct those mistakes and then leave the region.
That plan, if realized, would include removing cities like Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples, Immokalee and Clewiston and replacing them with Indian villages and farms. The goal is to retake South Florida and use the area as a base to take back all the Americas – from the Arctic Circle to Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America.
This is a prediction Bobby C. repeats, part of a vision he and other Indians relay: America will destroy itself and Indians will regain control of the entire continent. The downfall will include natural disasters and infrastructure failures.
“It’s going to happen naturally, so we’re not concerned because, right now, just like the power plants, all those things are not going to work anymore,” he says. “The Mother Earth is getting smaller and smaller because of human population. You can see earthquakes, you can see floods, you can see heat, all of those things start happening now. And that’s going to keep happening.”

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Florida's Indian tribes prepared to fight over water quality
NewsPress-com
March 22, 2014
The Indian world is largely distant from the Fort Myers-Naples area, in geographic proximity, historic and spiritual beliefs, culture, money and morals. But all of South Florida – from south of Orlando to the Florida Keys — is linked by water.
That was evident last summer as The News-Press traveled to the Seminole and Miccosukee reservations and traditional Indian lands. One of the heaviest rainy seasons in decades swamped, well, the swamp, and the region suffered stormwater flooding, sprouted algae blooms and closed swimming beaches. We wanted to know what people living in the Everglades were experiencing, and what their plans were for addressing water quality and quantity challenges.
“We’d like to see water once again flow from Lake Okeechobee and wash out into Florida Bay. But the water needs to be cleaned up first,” says Miccosukee Tribe chairman Colley Billie. “The problem is the water is dirty. Everglades National Park, which is located south of us, they don’t want that water EITHER because they’re afraid it will change the environment of Everglades National Park.”
The root of many water quality problems is the management of Lake Okeechobee, where farmlands and urban development flush heavy nutrient loads into the heart of the Everglades. That water is then pumped to Fort Myers on the west coast and St. Lucie on the east coast – through water control structures that don’t store and treat water like the natural landscape did decades ago.
Both Seminole and Miccosukee reservation lands sit between Lake Okeechobee and Everglades National Park.
By law, phosphorus levels must be lower than 10 parts per billion to be released. Levels are currently so high in the lake that biologists have said it may take a century or more for the loads to drop to that level, and it would only start to drop when pollution from developed areas stops flowing to the lake.
Like they have for centuries, the tribes are prepared to fight. The difference today is knives and rifles have been replaced with lawyers, the battleground shifted from the swamps to the courtrooms.
Billie says the tribe understands the concerns in Fort Myers and St. Lucie, but that the tribe is obligated to protect its land, people and commercial properties. They have an arsenal of attorneys and water quality experts like former Army Corps Col. Terry Rice, who oversaw Lake Okeechobee management when Everglades restoration started in the late 1990s.
“Water needs to be released, and people on the east coast and west coast don’t want that water from Lake Okeechobee because it’s so contaminated there will be a fish kill,” Billie says. “Well, guess who they’re thinking of sending this dirty water to ?  Us Miccosukees. They’re using our land to store water. And we’ve been fighting that.”
Sending water south toward Everglades National Park would relieve some, but certainly not all water pollution concerns on both coasts. A 1-mile bridge was completed last year that government agencies say will be used to divert Lake Okeechobee water.
The bridge has been built — and more are planned — but the water is not yet flowing south, and that’s because phosphorus levels are about 15 times too high to be legally discharged, according to federal and state laws.
“You can put in as many bridges as you want but that’s never going to be utilized,” Billie says.
While Miccosukee lands near Miami are often artificially flooded, Seminole reservation lands, closer to Fort Myers, are typically too , to the point that reservation representatives have asked state and federal agencies to send any water to their lands, even polluted Okeechobee water.
Tribal representatives have asked the state and federal government to find a way to release Lake Okeechobee and Caloosahatchee River water to reservation lands south of Clewiston. They would rather have polluted water, representatives say, than little to no water at all.
“As long as we continue draining this land and putting more chemicals on the ground, pesticides and stuff like that, we’re going to continue on killing the vegetation,” says Seminole tribe council representative Mondo Tiger. “Once you start removing the vegetation and grass, you expose the topsoil to nothing but the sun, air. (And) it will turn into sand dunes.”

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Nothing’s Sacred: Oil industry wants to drill the Everglades
Care2.com - by Kevin Mathews
March 22, 2014
Running out of places to excavate oil, American energy companies are starting to eye Florida’s Everglades. The beautiful tropical wetlands of southern Florida have benefited from environmental protections previously, but now the oil industry is laying the groundwork for future drilling in the area.
The Department of Environmental Protection has been very adamant in claiming that no one has so much as filed a request to drill in the Everglades. However, as a writer of the Tampa Bay Times points out, this seems like more of “a bit of semantics.” Although no drilling will occur in the Everglades National Park, companies have made moves to purchase land that directly borders the protected park.
Besides, the Everglades extend well beyond what has been designated the national park’s boundary. Still, pretending for a moment that the parkland is the only area that matters, even that is at risk due to adjacent drilling and fracking. The environmental consequences of these activities are never contained to just the immediate area.
Jaime Duran, a resident of the Everglades, researched the likely harms after having an encounter he had with a representative for an oil company. Duran told NPR that the employee delivered a letter explaining that an oil well would be put on land just 1,300 feet from Duran’s house and that – as such – he was now living in an “evacuation zone.”
Due to his proximity to the well site, Duran is at risk of exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas leaks. Nonetheless, Duran is less frightened by that possibility than what he knows to be true. “[My] biggest concern is the brine, the produced waters,” he said. “[For] every gallon of oil that they extract, they will get 20 gallons of salt water, and that salt water is toxic.”
Duran’s neighboring land is not the only one in peril. The Sun Sentinel reports that oil companies are currently seeking permission to test acreage below the Big Cypress National Preserve for energy viability. Meanwhile, a Texas company has already received approval to drill next to the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.
Accordingly, conservationists are very concerned about the risk the oil wells would pose to the endangered Florida panther. Alas, the state of Florida enlisted an expert, Darrell Land, who testified that the drilling wouldn’t cause a problem. “Panthers have learned to coexist with all kinds of disruption,” said Land, which seems like a dubious claim considering that only about 150 of the creatures have managed to survive in the wild at this point.
Meanwhile other activists have voiced apprehension for the wellbeing of native black bear and wild turkey populations. Florida’s wildlife has at least one politician on its side. State Senator Darren Soto, a Democrat representing Orlando, wants Florida to stop issuing oil permits until lawmakers have an opportunity to fully discuss the ramifications of fracking and similar practices.
Currently, drilling in Florida is pretty minimal compared to other states. For example, Texas collects as much oil in a single day as Florida does in an entire year. If the energy industry get its way, however, it looks the Everglades could receive an oil-soaked makeover within the next few years.

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On Politics: Conservationists eye Legacy Amendment
Florida Today – by Jim Waymer
March 22, 2014
With the Indian River Lagoon and other waters reeling, and state government balking at buying more land to buffer them, green groups and citizens stepped up.
They gathered more than 700,000 signatures to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would force the state to spend more on environmental issues.
They say over the next 20 years at least a third of the state’s net revenues from the excise tax on documents should go toward conservation lands and to restoring waters such as the lagoon.
Come Election Day, Florida voters get to decide if they agree.
“This is not just restoring funds for land conservation,” said Clay Henderson, an attorney with Holland & Knight in Orlando who supports the amendment. “This was specifically designed to use funds for water-restoration projects ... You look at what’s happened to the Indian River Lagoon in the last year, and you see it needs all the help it can get.”
Amendment 1, also called the Florida Water and Land Legacy Amendment, would raise about $10 billion and sunset in 2035.
It would set aside less than 1 percent of the state budget, starting with $625 million in 2015, to protect hundreds of thousands of acres and fill the funding gap of the Florida Forever land-buying program.
The Florida Water and Land Conservation Amendment would dedicate 33 percent of net revenues from the existing excise tax on documents for 20 years to the Land Acquisition Trust Fund that counties and cities can tap for matching money.
Vince Lamb, of Merritt Island, likes the amendment’s chances in Brevard, given the wide margins by which voters have supported the county’s Environmentally Endangered Lands program in local referendums.
“A lot’s going to depend on how well it’s communicated,” said Lamb, a board member of the nonprofit Brevard Nature Alliance.
Brevard voters OK’d local property taxes in 1990 and again in 2004 to buy and manage green space. The county used the tax money to finance the purchase of 24,000 acres to protect in perpetuity, but has struggled in recent years to come up with the money to maintain those lands.
Lamb and other local conservationists say Brevard could use the additional state money to buy lands that would secure green space corridors linking large conservation areas already in public ownership (such as Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and the EEL lands in north and South Brevard to St. Johns River).
State funding that has helped share the cost of buying EEL lands in the past also has been less certain in recent years. The state’s Florida Forever land-buying program, which historically set aside $300 million a year, has been cut drastically since 2008, dipping below an average of $15 million annually under Gov. Rick Scott.
Money for the Florida Forever program also is collected mostly from document-stamp taxes on real estate transactions, which plummeted during the housing market collapse, beginning around 2007.
The Legislature also authorized another $50 million in spending to be paid for by selling surplus conservation lands, with the money used to buy higher-priority lands. But about a month ago, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced the agency would abandon its plan to sell the roughly 5,000 acres.
Florida’s documentary stamp tax is 70 cents per $100 on deeds. The tax is also levied at 35 cents per $100 on bonds, mortgages, liens and notes and other written obligations to pay.
The money goes into the state’s general fund and trust funds such as the State Housing Trust Fund, State Transportation Trust Fund and Land Acquisition Trust Fund.
But if the amendment passes, the Legislatures would have to determine which programs that get documentary stamp revenues might have to be reduced.
“We don’t see that it would be taking away from anything else,” Henderson said, adding that a main focus will be the lagoon.
“I think you’re going to see a big push for restoration of the lagoon itself,” he said. “The big issue is being able to create ways to hold water before it discharges.”
Conservation groups formed Florida’s Water and Land Legacy to campaign for the amendment. The coalition includes The Trust for Public Land, Audubon Florida, Florida Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club and others.
The League of Women Voters of Florida, in particular, campaigned hard for the amendment.
“There were a lot of people in Brevard County that worked real diligently for collecting signatures,” Lamb said of the petition drive.
Henderson echoed that sentiment.
“It’s a Herculean task to get something on the ballot these days,” he said.
The rest is up to voters.

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Our future depends on our water
TheLedger.com - by Mike Britt, Resources Division director for the city of Winter Haven, FL
March 22, 2014
For most of history, humankind has treated water with reverence. Many religious ceremonies use water for symbolizing purification and a new beginning. Many pilgrimages focus around rivers and ceremonies involving water. Native settlements all over the world still consider water to be sacred. Water is the lifeblood of the planet and our bodies.
Most people feel an attachment to water that transcends our immediate needs. Do you feel better when you are looking at the beauty and diversity that lakes, rivers, springs, estuaries and wetlands provide? Do you like to recreate near the water at places such as Circle B, Lake Hollingsworth, Lake Howard, Lake Wales, Lake Eva, the beach or one of the many rivers originating from Polk County? Do you fish, paddle or boat for exercise and mental refreshment? Most of us would answer yes to at least one of these questions.
As a person who grew up around lakes, rivers and estuaries, I tend to think of the spiritual and emotional aspects of water as being significant. Being around water clears my mind and touches my soul.
Paddling down the Peace River, boating on the lakes, walking along the shores of Lake Howard or fishing in Sarasota Bay provide a sense of nourishment and connection that is hard to describe.
One of the problems with how water is perceived is that it is so plentiful that we take it for granted. We tend to measure the benefits of water simply by whether it comes out of the tap when we want to cook, shower or water the grass.
The truth is that Florida is already running out of water. This is affecting some of our most treasured resources.
Decisions of the past have an impact on water resources today. Efforts to ditch and drain water 100 years ago are still wasting water needed by lakes, rivers and aquifers.
Overpumping the aquifer during the past 70 years has lowered groundwater levels to the point that springs have stopped flowing, and lakes and rivers in Polk County are suffering. Even our rules and regulations allow more pollution, less aquifer recharge and more waste.
Another factor is that water is so complicated. In many areas of Florida, including Polk County, all aspects of water are connected.
Pumping water out of the ground affects lakes and rivers. Discharging floodwater without thinking allows less water to be stored in the ground as it does naturally.
Existing regulations encourage this approach. The only real solution is to put things back to natural conditions as close as possible.
In Polk County, we have a unique opportunity to make this happen before the next wave of development adds a few hundred thousand more people.
If you are one of the people who loves to fish, paddle, boat or just walk near the water, and realize water is more important than just what comes out of the tap, then it is time to be a part of the “Blue Revolution,” which is the title of Cynthia Barnett's new book.
If Florida's water is to remain healthy in the future and not just meet minimum regulations, then each person should assess his relationship with water. Is it a special resource to be cherished and respected — or is it just a commodity to be used? The answer to this question will dictate whether our children and grandchildren will have the opportunity to enjoy water the way we have.

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Tampa Bay’s valuable lesson
TBO.com
March 22, 2014
The continuing revival of Tampa Bay holds a message for state lawmakers, who have been indifferent when not antagonistic to environmental concerns in recent years.
The remarkable comeback of the state’s largest estuary shows what can be accomplished when leaders at all levels recognize the value of the state’s natural gifts and work together to protect them.
There was a time when the Legislature could be counted on to lead such efforts. But recent sessions have demonstrated little of that foresight and, if anything, have been inclined to undermine local cleanup efforts — witness efforts to put a stop to the rainy season fertilizer bans that have proved effective or kill local wetlands rules.
Before sabotaging such efforts, lawmakers should consider the latest water quality report from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, which monitors the bay’s welfare.
Water quality of segments of the bay is improving and meeting cleanup targets. In addition, many areas of the bay now have record water clarity.
Moreover, the bay has recovered 34,642 acres of seagrasses, only 3,358 acres shy of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s goal, one the bay may well exceed.
The most recent seagrass survey found the bay gained 1,745 acres from 2010-2012.
Such progress would have been impossible to imagine a few decades ago.
In 1986 a study found Tampa Bay lost 81 percent of its seagrasses and 44 percent of its mangrove forests. Much of the bay was badly polluted. Fishing was pitiful.
But activists fought to save the bay, and local, state and federal leaders responded.
Congress’ Clean Water Act played a key role. So did the state’s law that required advanced wastewater treatment.
The state’s Surface Water Improvement Management Act, which aimed to clean up major water bodies throughout Florida, made Tampa Bay a priority.
The program, administered by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, invested millions in building stormwater systems, restoring altered creeks and shorelines to their natural state, planting seagrasses and other projects that would either reduce pollution or help the bay cleanse itself.
The SWIM effort was launched during the administration of Gov. Bob Martinez, a conservative Republican who understood the importance of the natural resources that make Florida such a wonderful place to live, work and visit.
The private sector also played a key role in the bay’s comeback, with companies such as TECO and the Mosaic fertilizer company (then Cargill) overhauling their facilities to minimize pollution.
Of particular note is how the Tampa Bay Estuary Program worked with industries and local governments to tackle nitrogen pollution, the major threat to the bay.
The public-private collaboration has led to dozens of projects in Tampa Bay’s watershed — including effluent treatment in Bartow, streetsweeping in Plant City, a fertilizer ordinance in Pinellas, restoring a settling pond near Hillsborough Bay — that have dramatically reduced nitrogen pollution.
All this progress has taken time, and sometimes involved political battles, but nurturing Tampa Bay back to health has made the region a more appealing place to live and enhanced its economic prospects.
This useful lesson in stewardship shows, in contrast to the familiar Tallahassee rhetoric, that thoughtful environmental regulations do pay off.

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Voices of the Everglades: Native words and phrases
NewsPress-com
March 22, 2014
SPECIAL SECTION: Find more stories, photos and videos at news-press.com/everglades
• Natives: Descendants of people who lived in North, Central and South America before 1500. Some oral histories say Viking explorers came to North America centuries before Christopher Columbus sailed to the Caribbean, so there may have been an earlier European invasion that was not successful in changing most Native traditions and cultures. Estimates on Native populations before 1500 in North America range from several hundred thousand to several million. The 2010 U.S. Census says there are 5.2 million people living in the United States who identify themselves as at least partially of Native descent. Of those, the report says 2.9 million identify themselves solely as Native Americans.
• Immigrants: People of European and African descent who now live in North, Central and South America. Indians here refer to this group as Europeans, white people, Americans, English, Spanish and Spaniards. People of African descent have often been welcomed into Indian societies as they were brought here against their will. Escaped slaves practiced traditional medicine, old-world religions and were skilled at herding and grazing animals such as cattle.
• Seminole: A group of about 3,800 Indians living in Florida who are part of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The word means “in its natural place” in the Miccosukee language, which is spoken by both tribes.
• Miccosukee: A tribe of about 600 Indians who live on the Miccosukee reservation, about 60 miles southeast of Fort Myers. Miccosukee refers to the indigenous people of this continent as well as their language. Tribal records say Miccosukee were originally part of the Creek Nation, and then migrated to Florida before it became part of the U.S., but traditional Indians say Miccosukee have used Florida lands for thousands of years.
• Traditional: Indians who aren’t members of a federally recognized reservation. Also called independents, about 100 remain today, and they do not receive gambling dividends, health care or other reservation amenities.
• Chickee: Structures made from cypress poles and woven palm fronds. Methods of attaching poles have changed over the years from strips of oak bark and other trees and plants to nails, screws and metal straps. The foundation posts of modern chickees are often made from pressure-treated pine as cypress poles will rot in about three years, according to traditional builder and artist LeRoy Osceola. The structures were originally designed for ease of erection as Indians were often fleeing European and American soldiers. A chickee functions like a room in a modern home. In a typical village, chickees are often built in a massive circular pattern with a cooking chickee in the center. Other chickees flank this crucial building and function as sleeping quarters, workshops and to store wood and tools. These structures have no hallways or walls. Some traditional Seminoles say the lack of walls allows air to flow. Walled structures, the story goes, keep air in an isolated area, exposing everyone in the room to germs, mental illness and even a bad attitude.
• Medicine: Natural materials from plants and animals used to treat physical and mental illness. Medicine is also used to elevate or diminish emotions. Tradition says one type of medicine was used for warriors to ward off what the modern world calls post-traumatic stress disorder. The medicine protected the warriors and took away the memory and pain of warfare. Medicine can also be used to induce vomiting during cleansing and fasting ceremonies, and as mind-altering agents that produce trance-like effects.
• Medicine man, or bundle carrier:
An elder, typically male, who knows how to properly gather the ingredients in various medicines, concoct those medicines and administer them to those in need. Miccosukee stories tell of bones from animals like the rhinoceros that were carried by African medicine men to the new world.
• Bundle: A collection of medicines used to treat the sick and during ceremonies. Bundles are often wrapped in ornate leafs and tied with simple string. They can contain 150 or more ingredients, and are passed down through generations, from one healer to the next.
• The Creator: The spiritual entity that created Indians and the plants and animals they use for food, shelter, clothing and medicine.
• Sofkee: A drink made from ground corn meal, roasted corn, dumplings and other starches. Sofkee is common in Florida and across much of the U.S. and it is typically consumed in the morning hours. Some families start every day by drinking sofkee with a dozen or more family members.
• The number 4: Four is a special number in the Indian world. There are four moon phases, four colors on the Seminole and Miccosukee flags (white, red, yellow, black) and the period of mourning after a clan member dies is four days. Some modern tribal literature says the number 4 is also linked to directional headings: north, south, east and west; but traditional Natives say they kept their bearings while traveling by keeping track of the position of the sun during the day and the moon and stars at night.
• Clan: The primary social structure, clans are an extended family of matriarchal order. Females are the center of clans because they bear children, and the women of a particular clan make most of the final decisions on everything from how a child will be raised to what types of discipline should be carried out.Each clan is tied to an animal, plant or natural phenomenon. Traditions say there were once dozens or even hundreds of clans before 1500. Now there are eight: Wind, Panther, Toad (or Bigtown), Bird, Snake, Otter, Bear and Deer. When the last female of a clan dies, the clan is considered extinct.
• Totem pole, or talking tree: A woodcarving used to convey history and traditions. Totem poles are like books, physical representations of concepts such as family, geographic locations and spiritual beliefs.
• Reservation: 1) Corporationlike entities created by the U.S. government. 2) Tribal lands in the U.S. that are home to the vast majority of the 5 million or so Indians today. Reservation lands are scattered around South Florida and are found in areas such as Tampa, Immokalee, Clewiston, Hollywood, Miami and Brighton.
• Village: A cluster of Native structures used for anything from a home for a small family to the infrastructure of a reservation.
• Patchwork: A style of sewing shirts, coats and dresses that emerged in Seminole and Miccosukee cultures. Patchwork is made by using a variety of colors and symbols to create clothing that tells a story and identifies the person wearing it. The process takes considerable time. Costs range from $150 to well more than $1,000.
• Beads: Small, decorative items strung together to make a necklace, belt or piece of decorative clothing used in ceremonies.
• Camp: A location where a certain clan or family lives, or a place in the Everglades where a significant event occurred. Camps are often used interchangeably with words like villages and hammocks.
• Ceremony: Periodic gatherings where culture and tradition are re-enforced. Ceremonies include healing and purification practices, dances and songs, seasonal food, sweat lodges and medicine. These events are also used to signal the changing of seasons and a new year.
Sources: Interviews with reservation and traditional Natives, tribal records.

140322-i
Warming, biodiversity
Reflector.com – by Jeff McKinnon, chairman of the Department of Biology at East Carolina University.
March 22, 2014
They say if you put a frog in a pot and slowly heat the water, it won’t know to jump out and will slowly get cooked. While the literal veracity of this old tale may be doubtful, the principle might well apply to societies.
At a recent symposium held by ECU’s Center for Biodiversity, a group of biologists from across the country discussed how our warming planet is turning up the heat on biodiversity loss. With a focus on the southeastern United States, the meeting provided findings and lessons of interest beyond academia, as well as the chance to hear from a recipient of a Nobel prize — Terry Root of Stanford — who gave the opening address. While there was plenty of back and forth between the experts on some topics, there was no argument about whether the planet is generally warming or whether human activity is playing a central role. There also was no dispute about whether human activities have caused extinction rates, and biodiversity loss, to accelerate. New data could always emerge on these points, but for the moment there is a strong scientific consensus. Any arguments concern the complexity of working out what happens in particular localities, what specific processes are involved, and how these processes interact.
One finding in which we can take local pride was articulated by Reed Noss of the University of Central Florida. He presented evidence that the southeastern coastal plain, which extends through North Carolina, is a hotspot of biodiversity that possesses an exceptional number of unique species even by global standards. With our distinctive Red Wolves, freakishly large salamanders and peculiar carnivorous plants, I was not entirely surprised, but pleased nonetheless.
It was heartening to hear from Adrienne Wootten of N.C. State that the southeastern United States has suffered less warming than other parts of the continent, a trend that will hopefully continue. But the situation is less encouraging with regard to sea level rise and rainfall. We can anticipate particularly severe sea level rise here, and both droughts and extreme storms are expected to worsen. Several presenters suggested that changes in temperature extremes may be especially important to biological systems, perhaps more so than changes in averages. Joel Kingsolver of UNC-Chapel Hill presented data on butterflies indicating that this is particularly so for evolutionary responses to climate change — and yes, we are already seeing such responses.
Some progress notwithstanding, Rob Dunn of N.C. State made a powerful case, focused on the faunas of our bodies and homes, that our knowledge of biodiversity remains shockingly incomplete. Thus in dealing with environmental challenges, we have to keep in mind how partial our understanding is and make use of approaches that do not require complete information. Still, Dunn agreed that we know enough to take positive steps with reasonable confidence.
For example, we can be sure it is a good idea to reduce our carbon footprints, and to plan for “corridors” of natural habitat that allow wildlife to move to areas that are cooler or not submerged.
Symposium participants came away with a heightened appreciation of the need to engage more of society on these issues. One promising suggestion was to involve more “citizen scientists” in the collection of needed data. Another was to raise awareness that addressing this crisis can create business opportunities — not just in alternative energies but also, for example, for the engineers and others needed to develop defenses against rising seas.
As climate change continues and the conversation between science and society becomes more urgent, symposia such as this one, and organizations such as ECU’s Center for Biodiversity, will have more to contribute to getting the frog — and ourselves — out of hot water.

140321-b
'Reclaimed' water bills better for environmentalists after a single word is removed
Florida Current – by Bruce Ritchie
March 21, 2014
Sometimes one word makes all the difference.
Bills that would require a study on expanding the use of treated wastewater are heading to the House and Senate floors with environmental groups having dropped their concerns -- largely because one word was taken out and replaced with a comma.
"I think they (environmental groups) were supportive of the bill, they just had some language they wanted to add to it," Rep. Lake Ray, R-Jacksonville and sponsor of HB 601, said Friday.
HB 601 on Friday passed the House State Affairs Committee, its final committee stop, by a unanimous vote. SB 536 on Thursday passed the Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation, also its final stop.
Florida in 2012 used 725 million gallons per day of treated wastewater -- also called "reclaimed water." That's more than is used any other state, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, but it's still less than half of Florida's total wastewater flow.
Supporters of the bills say expanding the use of reclaimed water would relieve pressure on groundwater supplies and help avoid the need for pumping water from rivers. But some environmentalists initially suspected the bills represented a water grab by utilities.
Rather than just defining reclaimed water as the reuse of treated wastewater, the bills as filed called for a study of the expansion of the "beneficial use of reclaimed water, including stormwater and excess surface water, in this state."
Audubon Florida and Sierra Club Florida representatives said they supported the study and the use of treated wastewater. But they also were concerned that the bill language broadened the definition of reclaimed water to include stormwater and flood waters, which they said are needed to replenish the environment.
Ray told the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee earlier this month that he didn't realize the wording would trigger concerns.
The House and Senate bills were amended this week to take out the word "including" and add a comma -- and that relieved most concerns
The bills now call for a study of on the expansion of "the beneficial use of reclaimed water, stormwater, and excess surface water in this state." That comma separated stormwater and excess surface water from reclaimed water in the study.
The bills were amended further to add language requested by environmental groups, including Clean Water Action, to provide for two public hearings.
And the bills now call for studying the efficient use of reclaimed water, resolving concerns about possibly wasting treated wastewater.
"Twenty to 30 percent of our water could be reused," Ray said Friday. "And that means 20 to 30 percent less is coming from our streams and aquifers." 
The bills are supported by Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida League of Cities and the Florida Association of Counties.The study report is due to the governor, House speaker and Senate president by Dec. 1, 2015.
Related - in Florida Current:
Hays says he screwed up on government conservation lands estimate (03/20/14)
Environment Appropriations (03/20/14)
Springs bill passage hailed as "major victory" despite funding questions (03/20/14)
Hays says Florida has enough conservation land as his panel provides no new revenue for buying (03/19/14)
PSC members breeze through first confirmation hearing (03/19/14)

140321-c
Restoration plan for manatee haven Blue Spring is a first for Florida
Orlando Sentinel - by Kevin Spear
March 21, 2014
Blue Spring in Volusia County, an international tourism draw where sea cows hunker down during chilly weather, is about to undergo the most ambitious attempt in Florida to reverse the dwindling flow of a particular spring.
The number of manatees seeking refuge there is expected to increase in the coming years, so work to replenish water surging from the Floridan Aquifer at Blue Spring is needed to keep more of the spring's stream warm along its picturesque run of 1,000 feet to the St. Johns River.
Several environmental activists said the $155 million flow-restoration project is commendable and is critical for hundreds of manatees but highlights how many ailing springs get too little attention.
"Other springs should be getting the same help regardless of whether manatees are using them or not," said Patrick Rose, director of Save the Manatee Club in Maitland. "We are abusing too many of our springs."
Decades ago, Blue Spring's flow was more than 100 million gallons a day. State experts say pumping from the aquifer for drinking, agricultural and other uses has contributed to reducing the flow to as low as 80 million gallons a day.
In recent years, local governments grew anxious that authorities, encouraged by manatee defenders and others, would demand that utilities reduce pumping from the aquifer. They hired a lawyer and negotiated with the state for ways to increase Blue Spring's flow.
At a cost of nearly $20 million, inaugural work will connect new pipelines to shuffle 6 million gallons of treated sewage each day between Volusia County, DeBary, DeLand, Deltona and Sanford. The recycled water will be for lawn and landscape irrigation otherwise done with aquifer water.
State experts don't know how much that first phase will help Blue Spring. The entire project is to reduce local aquifer pumping by 35 million gallons per day and increase spring flow by more than 6 million gallons per day.
At a small recognition ceremony Wednesday, local officials made it clear that the cost of fixing Blue Spring would be cheaper than not fixing an environmental treasure that attracts 250,000 visitors a year.
"The funding will come," said DeBary Mayor Bob Garcia, expressing optimism for the financial challenge ahead.
But state officials at the gathering made no mention that the Blue Spring initiative stands as Florida's most significant attempt to restore a spring's flow.
When asked about it, Hans Tanzler, director of the St. Johns River Water Management District, emphasized that studies and planning have been undertaken on behalf of springs. Other state officials pointed to programs designed to conserve or increase water in the aquifer.
Volusia's Blue Spring is one of hundreds of springs in Florida's world-class collection of the environmental jewels.
Nearly all of them are north of Interstate 4 and many have decreased flows and increased levels of pollution related to sewage and fertilizer.
Bob Knight, director of the Florida Springs Institute in Gainesville, said the Blue Spring rescue proposal came about because of unique circumstances driven largely by the popularity of manatees and their clear need for spring water.
Declining flows at other springs, Knight said, have been more easily ignored or denied by state authorities.
Rob Williams, a Tallahassee lawyer working with the Center for Earth Jurisprudence in Orlando, added that Florida officials claim to rely on "sound science" to examine spring troubles.
"But they have no science for what a beautiful spring is," Williams said.

140320-
DEP hosts meeting on Lake Okeechobee restoration
DredgingToday.com
March 20, 2014
Yesterday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection convened local stakeholders — government representatives, scientists, environmentalists, agricultural operators and others — to continue development of the Lake Okeechobee restoration plan.
This meeting was another in a series of monthly gatherings to establish the specific pollutant load reductions and action strategies essential to improving lake water quality.
“The Lake Okeechobee restoration plan is one of the most complicated we have undertaken,” said Tom Frick, Director of the Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration. “It is imperative we bring stakeholders together regularly to learn about the issues, develop restoration project options, and link this effort with other ongoing Lake Okeechobee protection programs.”
At 730 square miles, Lake Okeechobee is the largest lake in the southeastern United States and drains more than 3.5 million acres (5,500 square miles) spanning 10 Florida counties. It is in the heart of the greater Everglades ecosystem that stretches from the Kissimmee River to Florida Bay. With an average depth of only 9 feet, it is vulnerable both to pollution from surrounding land uses and flooding.

140319-a
Algae bloom kills large bay sponges
KeysNews.com – by Robert Silk, Free Press Staff
March 19, 2014
SOUTH FLORIDA -- A blue-green algae bloom caused a sponge die-off in a portion of southwest Florida Bay over the fall and winter.
"All the large sponges died, the ones larger than five inches," said Gabe Delgado, an assistant research scientist based at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Marathon office. "Probably thousands into the tens of thousands."
Scientists with FWC's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute are still analyzing water samples from the bloom. But it was at its most intense in September and October, according to Delgado.
Data mapping provided by the research institute shows that around that peak time the bloom was centered in Rabbit Key Basin. There the chlorophyll levels, which indicate algal buildup, were 15 times normal. The bloom extended close to 10 miles in every direction with its intensity, for the most part, gradually decreasing.
The cause of the bloom is unknown.
Islamorada-based backcountry fishing guide Ted Wilson said he noticed the bloom for approximately a month over the fall. But he said it didn't have a major impact on fishing, in part because it fell during the slow season.
"You get blooms every couple years," Wilson said. "I'd say on a scale of 1 to 10 on what I've seen over the last 20 years it was a 3."
But for the sponges of southwest Florida Bay, the bloom was apparently a disaster. Delgado said the loggerhead, variable and vase sponge species were among the hardest hit. A specific mortality estimate is not yet complete, but one will be forthcoming in approximately a month, and it should be relatively precise, he said.
That's because by coincidence the National Science Foundation was conducting sponge research in the southwest bay when the die-off took place. As a result, scientists have data that can tell them what the population was before the bloom. This week, the FWRI planned to collect date on the post-bloom sponge population in the area.
Sponges serve several functions within the Florida Bay ecosystem, including filtering the water of bacteria and nurturing small shrimp that live inside their internal organs. Their most prestigious role, however, is providing shelter for juvenile lobster.
Delgado said that during trips to monitor algae levels in the bloom vicinity it was easy to see that the absence of sponges was affecting lobster behavior. When he pulled monitoring equipment from the water it was crawling with lobsters.
"There was nowhere else for them to go," Delgado said.

140319-b
Floating islands and eco-manipulation: Nine technologies to clean Jordan Lake?
NewsObserver.com - by Andrew Kenney
March 19, 2014
The state’s current plan to clean the water at Jordan Lake is pretty straightforward: Deploy a fleet of water-circulating, solar-powered pumps and see if they kill algae. But that’s only the beginning of the “technological” solutions that the legislature might consider for the regional water supply.
Tom Reeder, head of the Division of Water Quality, briefed lawmakers Wednesday on a range of technologies, from ecosystem manipulation to man-made floating islands. It could be a good idea to test two or three more of these ideas as it tries to clear Jordan Lake’s waters, according to Reeder.
All this is happening, by the way, because legislators and developers from the Triad don’t want to pay for existing rules to control nutrient pollution in the eight counties upstream of the lake. That program is on delay for three years while the legislature explores a cleanup “pilot program.”
So, first, there’s the option that’s already set to go:
1. SolarBee: This is the machine that the legislature has agreed to test, starting in the next month, at a cost of $1.44 million. They’ll suck water up from below and pump it out across the surface. In the pilot, 36 big pumps will float in the Morgan Creek and Haw River arms of the lake. One theory is that they confuse algae – which is degrading the water – by confusing the microorganisms.
Then there are these alternatives, which Reeder researched for the new legislative committee on Jordan Lake. He wasn’t endorsing them, but he did offer his thoughts on each option.
2. Make islands: Put plants and microbes on floating manmade mats, which supposedly would take in the nutrients that are harming the lake. This is an emerging technology used in some wastewater lagoons around the state, but it could cost something like $30 million, and might attract geese or provide a foothold for invasive species, and it would take ongoing maintenance, Reeder said. Even so, it’s potentially promising, he said.
3. Change the ecosystem: “Food-web manipulation,” as it’s called, is not a popular option. Theoretically, the state could encourage water-cleaning species. “Once you start manipulating the ecosystem, people are not going to be very happy about that,” Reeder said.
4. Grow algae: Run water over a lakeside surface seeded with algae, called an algal turf scrubber. The algae growing on the surface would remove nutrients from the water, but it might need to be 1,000 to 2,000 acres in size. The state also could use “algae wheels,” Reeder said.
5. Add stuff: Add aluminum salts to the water, hoping they “bind” to phosphorous, a pollutant common in lawn fertilizer which feeds algal blooms. This tactic has worked in smaller lakes, but it could be toxic and costly, Reeder said.
6. Dredge the lake: Basically, the state could scoop out underwater sediment. This option requires a lot of permits, and it’s the least viable, Reeder said.
7. Remove water: Pump out the lake’s deepest waters in an effort to reduce algae. This technique, called hypolimnetic withdrawal, hasn’t worked often, and it’s not very viable, Reeder said.
8. Add water: Allow more “low-nutrient” water into the lake, diluting the high-nutrient water that feeds algae. This has only been tried a few times, Reeder said.
9 AquaLutions: A proprietary technology that removes nutrients from the water. It’s being tested in Florida, Reeder said, and Durham has explored a pilot program, according to the city’s website.

140319-c
Flood-prone South Florida considers proactive investment against rising seas
PBS.org – by Judy Woodruff
March 19, 2014
In recent years, increased flooding has been a stark wake up call for people living in South Florida. Projections calculated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers indicate sea levels will rise 9 to 24 inches by 2060 in that vulnerable region. Special correspondent Kwame Holman narrates this look by WPBT at how local governments are trying to prepare for the effects of climate change.
JUDY WOODRUFF: It’s often difficult to see how climate change is altering the environment in our daily lives. To counter that and draw attention to the issue, the White House today launched a new website to visualize scientific data on droughts, wildfires and the rise in sea levels.
As you will see in this report, the residents of South Florida are already noticing how higher water is changing their local landscape.
Special correspondent Kwame Holman narrates our story. It was done in collaboration with the South Florida public media station WPBT, and it begins with longtime fishing boat Captain Dan Kipness.
DAN KIPNESS, Fishing Boat Captain: I have lived in Florida my whole life. I’m actually a native. And, more importantly, I have been on Miami Beach for like 55 years, and I’m a captain.
Captains are used to looking at the ocean. If you look at it long enough — and I have had enough time to look at it — you can see small changes turn into big changes over a period of time. You’re going to see water coming out of Biscayne Bay, up the storm sewers, and onto the streets until it’s about a foot deep.
And that’s not freshwater. That’s saltwater. There’s no rain. There’s not a cloud in the sky. Everyone can see that. Some people go, oh, we broke a sewer main or a water main broke. That’s not what it is. That’s sea level rise.
KWAME HOLMAN: Miami Beach is a barrier island that is mostly only a few feet above water level. High tides are higher than they were in the past, and the risk of torrential rainstorms has worsened with climate change.
In recent years, increased flooding from high tide and weather events has been a stark wakeup call for people living on South Beach.
WOMAN: I remember people taking pictures and laughing when we saw people canoeing down West Avenue, but then a lot of people started asking questions. It’s scary in a lot of ways that what could actually happen here.
KWAME HOLMAN: Dr. Hal Wanless, professor and chair of the Department of Geologic Sciences at the University of Miami, has been studying sea level rise for decades.
DR. HAL WANLESS, University of Miami: The two big things that have been and will affect sea level are the expanding ocean as it warms. The second big factor affecting sea level rise now is ice melt. And the ice melt’s a totally different game. Ice can melt at rapidly accelerating rates.
I videoed this time-lapse footage in Greenland in August of 2013. As these icebergs melt, they add to sea level rise.
KWAME HOLMAN: South Florida political leaders have adopted a unified sea level rise projection, calculated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. the projections indicate sea levels will rise three to seven inches by 2030 and nine to 24 inches by 2060.
Pete Harlem knows these projections all too well. He is the geographic coordinator at Florida International University, and pioneered the precise mapping of sea level rise for South Florida.
PETE HARLEM, Florida International University: Two feet of sea level rise is projected from roughly from 2040 to 2060 some time. And so, when we get to that point, we’re going to see this as the Miami Beach of that near future.
So, now taking that water level to four feet, it’s just not going to be a place you want to live in a house.
KWAME HOLMAN: And it’s not just people living on barrier islands who need to be concerned about sea level rise. Most of South Florida is susceptible to flooding, as infrastructure becomes overwhelmed by rising seas or heavy rainfall.
Dr. Jayantha Obeysekera is the chief modeler and an expert in South Florida’s complicated hydrologic system.
DR. JAYANTHA OBEYSEKERA, South Florida Water Management District: We have regional flood control system that was designed and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers jointly with the state about 50 years ago.
And at that time, sea level rise wasn’t a major factor, that they didn’t worry about. But now some of the infrastructure we have on the coastal belt are basically not working as they were designed.
KWAME HOLMAN: When there is heavy rainfall, the canals receive and move the excess water. That water is released into the bays and estuaries and eventually into the ocean.
The system was designed for the water to flow by gravity, with the water flowing from the higher canal levels to the lower ocean levels. As the sea rises, however, gravity will no longer do the job and so there could be more flooding on the land as the water has nowhere to go.
Richard Grosso is the director of the Environmental and Land Use Law Clinic and a professor of law at Nova Southeastern University.
RICHARD GROSSO, Environmental and Land Use Law Clinic: It’s been the local utility directors, people who run water treatment plants, people who run sewage treatment plants, people who maintain roads, who have been required to institute very expensive retrofits.
KWAME HOLMAN: The Miami Beach Public Works Department is working on improvements now.
ERIC CARPENTER, Miami Beach Public Works Department: We have done our storm water management master plan that was adopted in 2012, and that had identified approximately $200 million worth of improvements that we needed to do over the next 20 years in order to keep pace with sea level rise and addressing flooding concerns within the city of Miami Beach.
KWAME HOLMAN: Some of that infrastructure includes pumps.
RICK SALTNICK, Senior Capital Projects Coordinator: Everything collects on the inlets on the streets and then runs through those white pipes down there. They’re PVC pipes. They then all drain via gravity to the storm water pump station, and then pumped out of the storm water pump station and injected into the ground 80 to 100 feet down.
We’re sizing these pumps to provide the proper level of service 20 years from now and at the sea level 20 years from now.
KWAME HOLMAN: Miami Beach is not alone in addressing sea level rise. South Florida has become a model for regional cooperation on this issue.
Projections by a four-county climate change compact were turned into an action plan with more than 100 recommendations. Those now are being reviewed. Some have been adopted by county governments.
Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs has been at the forefront of South Florida climate change discussions and has earned national recognition for her work.
KRISTIN JACOBS: I see one of the biggest hurdles for us in going forward is term limits, when you consider the leaders that are necessary, the cheerleaders that are necessary to continue pulling this very heavy train forward.
And without that leadership, the one that casts the vote, the one that decides the budget, the one that directs their staff resources to any given priority, if you don’t have that, at any point in time, all of this could all fall apart.
KWAME HOLMAN: But the plans come at a high price, something always politically difficult. As a member of the compact, former County Commissioner Katy Sorenson has been an advocate for planning for the coming changes.
KATY SORENSON, Good Government Initiative: No one wants to pay increased taxes or fees, but if people want to live here, we have to make these investments to do the infrastructure planning, the pump systems, all the stuff that needs to be done so that we can stay habitable.
RICHARD GROSSO: One of the biggest challenges we have in South Florida and across the country is this disconnect between the best long-term investment and economic strategies for a community vs. a political process that is short-term in terms of its rewards.
For most local elected officials, they’re not going to be around to reap the rewards of those smart, thoughtful decisions that they made 10, 20 years ago. And so that system still puts pressure on the folks who do have the power, who do have the votes to continue to make short-term gain kinds of decisions. That is our biggest challenge presented by sea level rise right now.
KWAME HOLMAN: Recently, commissioners for the city of Miami Beach voted on measures that are expected to double to $400 million, the cost of keeping water out of its city streets.
GWEN IFILL: You can read more about the White House’s new climate data initiative, and find a link to a full documentary on rising sea levels. That’s from South Florida’s WPBT, and it’s on our Web site.

140319-d
Hays says Florida has enough conservation land as his panel provides no new revenue for buying
Florida Current – by Bruce Ritchie
March 19, 2014
A Senate subcommittee is recommending no new revenue for land-buying in fiscal year 2014-15 along with $30 million for springs protection and $127.8 million for Everglades restoration.
The budget approved by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government signals possible eventual differences between the House and Senate leading to negotiations during the conference committee process.
On Tuesday, Rep. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula and chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee, recommended $70 million for the Florida Forever land-buying program including $30 million in new revenue and $40 million from the sale of nonconservation lands.
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On Wednesday, the Senate subcommittee voted to recommend $40 million for Florida Forever, all from the sale of nonconservation land next year with no new revenue.
Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla and subcommittee chairman, reiterated his belief that the state owns enough land already. 
He provided a document he said was produced by House staff showing that the federal, state and local governments own 16.4 million acres of conservation land, or 47.5 percent of Florida's land area.
"Forty-seven and a half percent of Florida is owned in government conservation lands," Hays said. "How much do you think we need?"
The document appears to differ sharply from other documents and communications from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection showing that 27 percent of Florida's 34 million acres is in government conservation ownership.
On the springs issue, Hays is supporting SB 1576, a comprehensive springs bill that would provide an estimated $378 million of documentary stamp tax revenue to springs protection.
Gov. Rick Scott recommended $55 million for springs while Albritton is recommending $45 million and the Senate subcommittee is recommending $30 million.
Hays, who said Tuesday that the $378 million would require "budget magic," said Wednesday he didn't know what would have to happen with the bill to align recommended spending.
"I would say that this budget in my opinion is a responsible budget being good stewards of the land assets and the cash assets that we have," Hays said.
His subcommittee's budget includes $125 million, which Scott requested, for cleaning up petroleum contamination sites. Albritton is recommending $100 million.
Hays said the $127.8 million for Everglades restoration doesn't include additional funding elsewhere in the budget for Tamiami Trail bridging to allow more water to flow into the Everglades.
Albritton recommended $115 million for Everglades restoration and the governor had requested $130 million, which is less than the $160 million recommended for next year by a Senate select committee.
The Senate subcommittee is recommending $125 million for petroleum contamination site cleanups, which is the same as Scott requested and more than the $100 million recommended by Albritton.
Related Research:
* March 19, 2014 House document provided by Hays reflecting government ownership of Florida land
* February 2014 "Summary of Conservation Lands," by Florida Natural Areas Inventory

140319-e
Is our cold winter a sign of climate change ?
Rabble.ca - by Curt Hull, Project Manager with Climate Change Connection
March 19, 2014
WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Canada - - Some winter we're having, eh ? This winter has been cold, no doubt about it. It is probably the coldest we've seen in North America since some time in the 1990s.
So, does this mean that global warming isn't happening? To really understand what's going on, we need to look at this winter in context and look at some of the mechanisms that have brought the cold.
First of all, there is a difference between weather and climate: weather is what is happening outside the door right now. Climate is the pattern of weather measured over decades.
The records clearly show that the earth is warming -- especially since 1980 or so. But, that warming is not happening equally to all parts of the world, it is different in different seasons. You have to look at decades of data to separate climate changes from normal weather anomalies. If you look at that trend over decades, the earth on average is indeed warming -- and quickly.
Dr. Danny Blair and Ryan Smith of the University of Winnipeg have been studying temperature data for Canada. The data shows that Canada's average annual temperature has been increasing. The rate of change is different for different parts of the country; the north is warming more quickly than the south, for example. But the starkest differences appear when you look at the seasons. The average annual temperature has been increasing at a rate of about 2 to 5°C per century since 1970. Canadian summer temperatures haven't really changed all that much but our winters certainly have gotten warmer -- at rates approaching 10°C per century in some places.
So, as cold as this winter has been around here -- it is probably more in line with winters that were commonplace a few decades ago.
When you step outside your door and it is cold, you may think that this means it's cold everywhere. But, of course, that's not so.
In Winnipeg, according to Environment Canada, December and January combined were the coldest since the winter of 1949-50. Much of North America has also been cold this winter. In many parts of this continent, November, December, and January this winter were colder than normal. However, this winter isn't extreme if reviewed in an historical context. In the U.S., December was only the 21st coldest since 1895 and the coldest since 2009. In January, despite some of the coldest Arctic air outbreaks to hit the eastern U.S. in several years, no state had their coldest January on record.
Globally, the combined land and ocean average temperature for November 2013 was the warmest since records began in 1880. December 2013 was the third warmest on record, and January 2014 was the 4th warmest. While much of North America froze, northern Alaska was much warmer (and wetter) than normal and Russia experienced its warmest November AND December on record.
Aside from normal year-to-year weather variation, the key driver of this phenomenon is variability of the polar vortex. The polar vortices are large air masses that rotate about both the north and south poles. These systems strengthen and expand in winter. At the outer edges of these vortices are jet streams, where the winds in the upper atmosphere are especially fast.
These vortices and their jet streams are driven by temperature differences between the equator and the poles. With a large temperature difference, the vortex rotates faster and tends to be quite circular. This keeps the cold air near the poles and the warm air in the mid-latitudes.
The polar zone of the northern hemisphere has been getting warmer more quickly than many other parts of the world. This differential warming has been due to a number of factors including loss of the polar ice cap, reduced snow cover, and anomalies in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). As the temperature difference between the pole and equator declines, the jet stream slows.
Just like a river, as the jet stream slows, it starts to meander. This meandering causes the undulations in the vortex -- called Rossby Waves -- to extend farther down toward lower latitudes. These waves move warm air toward the pole and polar air toward the equator. Hence, warmer Alaska, colder Florida.
A weaker polar vortex also tends to create weather systems that stay in place longer and increase the chance for weather systems to become blocked. This blocking was a key cause of Superstorm Sandy that hit New York in 2012, and has certainly contributed to the historic drought currently affecting California.
As the climate changes due to human-induced global warming, it does affect the weather. Scientists are still learning details about what those affects will be. We are seeing new effects every year because we are getting into uncharted territory. We don't yet know exactly what impacts and changes we should expect. Perhaps, one of those effects may be -- ironically, and at least for a little while -- a cold winter some years.
To prepare for this uncertain future, there are two broad objectives we need to embrace with vigor and determination: drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and build local resilience.
The first objective we've all heard before; in order to keep from compounding the coming impacts of climate change, we know we must drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on fossil fuels.
The second objective may not be as obvious -- but may ultimately be more important for meeting basic needs in an uncertain future. We need to build local resilience. We need to become more locally self-reliant. This means meeting more of our needs without relying on transportation and imports. Conserve and protect our water; minimize consumption requirements. Build better flood control and water retention systems. Create a system for production, storage, processing- and distribution of local food. Develop the ability to construct buildings with more local materials. Improve insulation and air-sealing in our buildings. Develop local sources of heat (e.g. solar, geothermal, biomass) and an electricity grid, including hydro, built to the highest standards of sustainability in consultation and partnership with Northern and Aboriginal communities. Promote active transportation. Repair our current infrastructure to make it sustainable, robust and long-lasting.
Done right, embracing these objectives will not only help us build a sustainable local economy -- it may also be what we need to see us through some tough winters to come.
For more information: www.climatechangeconnection.org

140319-f
NRL models Deepwater Horizon oil spill
eScienceNews.com
March 19, 2014
Dr. Jason Jolliff is an oceanographer with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). "The emphasis here," he says, "is on developing models of the ocean environment to help the naval warfighter." His most recent paper, published in Ocean Modeling (March 2014), shows NRL can also forecast where oil will go following a major spill. "If you're going to do forecasting," he says, "you have to get the ocean circulation correct. It's fundamental to all else." Jolliff plugged the distribution of surface oil following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill -- when it was still well offshore -- into a powerful NRL forecasting tool. He accurately predicted what would happen to the oil; in particular, the processes that made inevitable its landfall on Louisiana shorelines fully four days later.
Jolliff's second key point is, "When we look at oceanographic problems, we have to understand the scales of time and space we're dealing with." In 2010, there was concern about oil washing up on Florida beaches. But oil does evaporate and degrade; so knowing how far the oil will go over what period of time helps predict which beaches are at most risk.
Jolliff is part of a team developing a tool called Bio-Optical Forecasting (BioCast). "We're developing this framework where you can combine satellite images, that give you an estimate of what is in the ocean, with ocean circulation models." BioCast calculates "how those materials will ultimately be transported and dispersed."
Jolliff is interested in how "tracers" -- like plankton or nitrate distribution -- change water clarity. "That will help the Navy predict ocean optical properties." Divers need good visibility, as do airborne platforms that use electro-optics to "look" for mines in shallow waters. "But the general knowledge that we gain can be applied to a very wide range of forecasting problems, including contaminant distribution and oil spill response."
Jolliff validated NRL's capability for future operations by applying integrated forecasting to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He describes two sets of experiments: one at a local scale, focusing on currents near Louisiana; the second at a mesoscale, looking at the entire Gulf of Mexico.
Using satellite images from May 11, 2010 -- which show oil slicks still well away from shore -- Jolliff forecast how oil would move over the next 96 hours. He predicted oil would make a substantial landfall on the Louisiana coast, west of the Mississippi River Delta, on May 14. "The forecast was qualitatively accurate," he says. "That's precisely what happened."
Jolliff uses the NRL tool, Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS®). "[COAMPS] was designed to provide a direct forecast of oceanographic and atmospheric variables, things like surface temperature, surface humidity, sea surface temperature, current speeds, and atmospheric visibility."
With forecasts of how water is moving from COAMPS, Jolliff predicts how a tracer will be transported through that system using BioCast. With a tracer like surface chlorophyll, which indicates phytoplankton abundance, he might forecast water clarity for a naval operations environment. By using oil from a well-documented spill as a tracer, Jolliff validated how the models work together.
"One of the things we can do at NRL is we can start to explore areas that weren't necessarily thought of when [COAMPS] was designed," says Jolliff.
Following Deepwater Horizon's blowout, "the main surface aggregation of oil was offshore." For the oil to reach shorelines, surface water from the deep ocean would have to carry it in and exchange with coastal waters.
"What we find, generally," says Jolliff, "is that the water near shore tends to stay near shore, and the water off shore tends to stay off shore. So in order to forecast if this oil is going to impact some coastal area, you have to know where this water mass exchange is going to take place." With COAMPS, Jolliff was able to explain the water mass exchange that led to the severe oiling in Louisiana.
Where the Mississippi River Delta landmass protrudes out into the Gulf of Mexico, coastal currents can mix with offshore surface waters. "Oil that is initially offshore, it'll come near shore and bump up against the Mississippi River Delta. And then it gets whipped around and swept into this coastal current."
Additionally, there's an unusually deep feature on the ocean floor to the southwest of the Delta, called the Mississippi Canyon. The irregular ocean depths, or bathymetry, between the Delta and the Canyon; prevailing winds; and fresh water that drains from the Delta all contribute to water mass exchange.
To show oil would be concentrated where currents converge, and dispersed where currents diverge, "We had specific buoyancy restoring term in the model that would bring oil back to the surface." He was able to account for the tendency of oil, pulled under by currents, to rise back to the surface-critical to forecasting material transport. A three-dimensional framework made these zones of divergence and convergence easier to identify than in 2010 (Eulerian versus Lagrangian). (A future model that sought to include subsurface oil in the initial inputs would need a more complex accounting of how hydrocarbons interact with seawater and chemical dispersants.)
Jolliff doesn't compare his predictions to what federal agencies made at the time, because they were continuously updating their simulations. "The take home message is that COAMPS was able to forecast the atmospheric and oceanographic conditions that made that funnel [of water mass exchange] operate. And so what was happening in the model then happened in reality."
Mesoscale: why the oil spill didn't hurt Florida beaches
Next, Jolliff sought to explain what happened to oil over a longer time period and wider region. Unlike the first set of experiments, "We're doing what's called a 'hindcast'; and that's every 12 hours, the ocean model is assimilating information from satellites to correct deviations from those observations."
Except for two gaps, land hems in the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, ocean current tends to flow in through a gap between the Yucatan and Cuba, and then into a forceful clockwise Loop Current that turns toward the southeast.
Most of the time, the Gulf's Loop Current is able to squeeze out through the Florida Straits. "But it's unstable," says Jolliff, "so with some frequency, this big loop detaches and forms this sort of closed, clockwise circulation of water -- what oceanographers call a mesoscale eddy." And with the hindcasts, Jolliff observed exactly that.
"You see that the Loop Current itself pinched off to form an eddy." This fortuitous event prevented the current from carrying aggregated surface oil to Key West and eastern Florida beaches, like Miami. "This emphasizes the point that the only way you'd know that is to forecast the ocean circulation."
In addition to understanding regional currents, time scale is also very important. For the 96-hour forecast, Jolliff could assume oil was an inert tracer. But over time, oil "weathers" -- evaporating and biodegrading. Jolliff accounted for weathering in the mesoscale by assuming a rate of decay. He acknowledges this oversimplifies the true chemical properties of oil, and could be improved in a future model; but in 2010, most forecasters didn't account for weathering at all.
Even if the current had carried oil to Florida, the damage likely wouldn't have been severe. "What we see is that it takes more than 10 days for that surface oil to finally get entrained into the Loop Current. Enough time has elapsed that these materials are now significantly degraded."
NRL on the front line: improving ocean models supports readiness
While Jolliff tested NRL's operational capability against the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, he could make similar forecasts for a spill anywhere in the world. "What's very powerful about COAMPS," he says, "is we can take models that are much larger in scale, and we can zoom in to these local areas."
Going forward, he'll focus on integrating more cross-interacting variables directly into COAMPS to give naval operators a more accurate and complete forecast. "In any complicated system," he says, "you're going to have various feedbacks. The ocean and the atmosphere are constantly exchanging energy." By bringing the tracer directly into COAMPS, instead of using BioCast to perform transport calculations separately from COAMPS, he could see if materials in the ocean impact air-sea interactions.
He and NRL colleague Dr. Travis Smith are researching the biological, chemical, and physical properties of key tracers. "As you go out to longer and longer time scales, you have to bring more and more of inherent reactivity of these materials into your calculations: things like phytoplankton growth, settling of particles." Incorporating these properties, similar to what he did with the decay constant for oil, improves forecasts of ocean optics.
"The tools we've developed here at NRL are state of the art, without question," he says.

140319-g
Water conservation is cheap compared to the alternative
Miami Herald - by Lida Rodriguez-Taseff
March 19, 2014
I often hear public agencies say that water conservation is top priority and that the cheapest drop of water is the one saved. And they are right.
But if you look at the money invested in water conservation in the South Florida Water Management District, it looks like anything but a top priority. The district’s water-conservation budget has been sucked dry in the past few years. In fact, the South Florida Water Management District’s five-year capital improvements plan showed zero funding for alternative water supply and water conservation for 2015- 2018.
Why should you care about this? I like knowing that when I turn on the faucet, water will flow. You want to know that the toilet will flush. If you’re like me, you want know that the shower will pour and the dishwasher will run without having to think about it too much.
South Florida’s water supply is closely connected to our ecosystem. One in three Floridians depends on the Everglades for freshwater. Rainwater seeps from the wetlands in the Everglades into the Biscayne Aquifer to replenish our water supply. To conserve water in your Miami Beach apartment means conserving water for the Everglades and for all the rare and beautiful wildlife that depend on a healthy habitat. Likewise, to protect water in the Everglades means protecting water for your apartment.
South Florida is growing. The cranes have returned downtown, and that is a good thing. As we grow, we need to maximize our efficiency to sustain our water resources.
Some large-scale alternative water-supply projects will likely be needed in the future. But they are much more expensive than saving the water resources we have through conservation. In Miami-Dade, a gallon of water created through a large water-infrastructure project can be 10 times as expensive as a gallon saved through water conservation. And that extra cost filters down to your wallet.
Beyond turning the water off while we brush our teeth and only washing our dishes when the dishwasher is full, what needs to be done?
Public agencies need to help people modernize their water-use practices through incentive programs and measurable targets. Miami-Dade County has done well with its “Use Less” water-conservation campaign to provide incentives to homeowners and businesses to reduce their water use. They need to take it even further: Replace thirsty nonnative lawns with beautiful native landscaping to suit our subtropical climate. And who doesn’t like a shiny new sink or a modernized showerhead? Now that new buildings are set, let’s retrofit the older ones with water-saving devices. No one will cry for the water wasted in an old-fashioned, leaking, high-flow toilet. As important, we must hold utilities accountable to achieve measurable and mandatory reductions.
How do we make these changes? It is going to take time, a full commitment from the public to modify behaviors and a heightened appreciation of our limited precious blue commodity. But as an easy starting point, the South Florida Water Management District must restore water-conservation funding to levels before the deep cuts in 2011 to push these programs forward.
It is not enough to just say water conservation is a priority. The agency must put its money where its mouth is.

140318-a
Population growth spurs water shortage, other woes
Florida Today – Letter by Charlie Joe Allen, Melbourne, FL
March 18, 2014
After reading the recent letter, “Option for providing more drinking water,” which suggested building dams on the St. Johns River, it occurred to me these are only stop-gap measures that do not address the underlying problem — population growth.
Neither the water shortage problem nor the many other social problems facing Florida and the nation can be solved without containing the population growth rate. Politicians and most other people I encounter are reluctant to confront this problem since it apparently is not politically correct to do so.
Slowing the population growth rate requires only three relatively mild measures.
First, create financial incentives for having small, rather than large, families. Currently, the government encourages larger families for those who can least afford them.
Second, take away the financial incentives that bring and keep illegals in this country. Penalize employers who hire them and make them ineligible for any sort of governmental aid. Third, tweak the immigration laws to diminish the flow of legal immigrants.
If some action is not taken soon, the quality of life will decline due to too many people and too few resources.

140318-b
Relocated Everglades pythons can find their way home
Tampa Bay Times – by Craig Pittman
March 18, 2014
They aren't afraid of alligators. They eat everything in sight, yet they can be virtually invisible. An army of hunters vying for cash prizes didn't make a dent in their population.
Now there's another reason to respect the horde of Burmese pythons that have overtaken much of the Everglades: Even if you take them far away, they can find their way home.
Just like Lassie, but with scales
"This study provides evidence that Burmese pythons have navigational map and compass senses," eight scientists wrote in a just-published research journal article called "Homing of Invasive Burmese Pythons in South Florida."
Most snakes don't have that same homing instinct. Move them too far from the place they are used to and they will slither around aimlessly, trying to figure out where they are, the study says.
But not the pythons. The scientists captured six of them, attached homing devices, hauled them away from where they'd been found and turned them loose. They zoomed straight back to where they'd been caught.
The scientists made this discovery purely by accident, said the study's lead author, Shannon Pittman of Davidson College.
They had captured the pythons in Everglades National Park, intending to tag them with tiny transmitters, release them and track their movements, she said. But park officials didn't want those pythons released back into the park, even with tracking devices on them, she said.
So the scientists took the snakes to the park's outskirts and turned them loose — only to see them scurry straight back into the park, right to the spot where they had been captured.
"We were just completely amazed," Pittman said.
Every time the biologists repeated the experiment, the pythons found their way back to their origin. One of them traveled 22 miles to get back, a trip that took nine months.
How can they do this? No one knows for sure, but the study suggests the pythons may sniff their way back using olfactory clues, or they may be able to detect magnetic fields the way migrating sea turtles do.
The study calls for more research into what this discovery means as far as trying to track and control the pythons. However, Pittman conceded that most pythons found in the Everglades aren't captured. Instead, they get their heads chopped or blown off — and it's pretty hard for even a python to come back from that.
Related:           Experts tracking pythons in Fla. Everglades say the snakes have ...  Fox News
Researchers tracking pythons in Everglades learn the snakes have ...            The Republic
Florida pythons can find their way home       WTSP 10 News
Invasive Burmese Pythons Are Good Navigators and Can Find Their ...      United States Geological Survey (press release)
Python GPS Could Lead to South Florida Takeover Discovery News
Invasive Pythons Can Find Home 20 Miles Away, Study Says        National Geographic
Pythons stun scientists in navigating way home         P.M. News
Displaced pythons display record homing instinct     New Scientist
Add superb homing ability to pythons' many charms            Press Herald

140318-c
Spring bubbling back to life
MyFoxTampaBay.com – by Lloyd Sowers
March 18, 2014
TAMPA (FOX 13) -
A gathering place for Tampa residents a hundred years ago will soon be accessible again.
Ulele Spring in Tampa Heights was named for a legendary Indian princess. It still delivers up to 100,000 gallons of fresh water to the Hillsborough River every day.
The once-popular spring was covered by dirt and brush for generations, but now its bubbling output is visible once more.
"It's a jewel, in my opinion, to have the spring right here in the heart of the city," says Tom Ries of Ecosphere Restoration Institute, who's in charge of the project.
Ulele Spring will be a feature of Tampa's new Riverwalk. Pedestrians will be able to stroll from downtown Tampa and cross a bridge over the outflow of the spring as it flows from a stream and ponds into the river.
The spring is a main part of the restoration of the city's Waterworks Park, which will also feature a riverfront restaurant. The restoration is costing about $600,000, split between the city, Southwest Florida Water Management District, and federal dollars. They hope to have most of the work finished by summer.
Ries expects manatees to congregate here seeking warm water in winter. He says the new spring outflow will also attract many fish.

140318-d
Springs funding expected to come up short in House, Senate
Florida Current – by Bruce Ritchie
March 18, 2014
The FY 2014-15 state budget proposed by the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee chairman trims the governor's request for petroleum site cleanups, maintains money for land-buying and raises doubts about a springs funding proposal in the Senate.
The budget proposed Tuesday by Rep. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula and subcommittee chairman, includes $115 million for Everglades restoration and $45 million for springs protection. That is far less for springs protection than the estimated $378 million proposed by a group of Senate committee chairmen in SB 1576.
Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government, also cast doubt on the possibility of the Senate providing $378 million for springs from documentary stamp tax revenue. Hays, one of five Senate chairman supporting the springs bill, is expected to issue his budget recommendation on Wednesday.
"Oh no, we won't have $378 million," Hays said. "That's going to require some budget magic in order to do that."
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Albritton pointed out that his recommendation includes $100.5 million for water projects submitted by local governments, which compares to $32 million in the 2013-14 state budget.
"What it means is there is a lot of pent-up demand (among local governments) for water infrastructure," he said.
The $115 million for Everglades restoration recommended by Albritton includes $32 million for the governor's cleanup program, $40 million for the C-44 reservoir, $5 million for Kissimmee River restoration, $5 million for the C-111 South Dade project and $5 million for a Tamiami Trail bridge. 
The governor had requested $130 million, which is less than the $160 million recommended this year by a Senate select committee.
Albritton also recommended $70 million for the Florida Forever program, including $40 million from the sale of non-conservation lands as Gov. Rick Scott requested. 
But Albritton would split the $30 million between conservation land-buying and the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program at the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Scott had recommended no funding for that conservation easement program.
"I think that's a strong initial request," said Janet Bowman of The Nature Conservancy. "As it moves through the budget process we hope that more cash would be added to enhance the cash available for the Florida Forever program."
Albritton recommended $100 million for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for petroleum contamination site cleanups, which is less than the $125 million recommended by Scott. 
Site owners and cleanup contractors want $150 million, which is closer to the amount received annually through a tax on petroleum products to pay for cleanup.
Phil Leary, a lobbyist for the Florida Ground Water Association, was critical of that recommendation as the $6.5 million recommended for removing contamination from dry cleaning sites. His group has requested $10 million for those cleanups.
"It reminds me of Rome burning while Nero fiddles," he said. "The governor and Legislature and DEP are fiddling with our drinking water supplies by not funding the tanks program or dry cleaning program anywhere it needs to be."
Albritton's recommendation also includes $50 million for Florida Keys wastewater improvements.

140318-e
Water management district, UF/IFAS, UF Water Institute team up to examine springs
UF News – by Kimberly Moore Wilmoth
March 18, 2014
GAINESVILLE, Fla. —The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is joining forces with two entities as part of a $3 million, three-year contract to provide scientific data to help protect and restore the state’s springs system. UF/IFAS’ partners in the effort are the St. Johns River Water Management District, which is funding the project, and UF’s Water Institute.
“The state of Florida and the St. Johns district have made protection of Florida’s springs one of their highest environmental priorities,” said Hans G. Tanzler III, the St. Johns district’s executive director.  “The challenge is finding cost effective means for restoring and protecting these precious natural resources. This collaboration between the district and UF will develop the strong scientific foundation needed to focus resources to achieve the maximum benefit of restoration and protection.”
The funding comes from the St. Johns district’s Springs Protection Initiative, which combines science, projects, planning and regulatory programs to reduce nitrate loading and protect spring flows.  The partnership’s primary focus will be on the Silver Springs springhead and ecosystem, including:
Improving the scientific foundation for the management of nitrates flowing into the springs;
Evaluating whether nitrate reduction alone will be sufficient to restore the balance of nature;
And assessing the influence of other pollutants and stressors.
Scientists will also look at rainfall and runoff quantity and quality; aquifer storage, flow and spring discharge; nitrate sources, nitrate uptake and nitrate loss in soils and groundwater; how the springs function and algae abundance.
A secondary system for in-depth research will be the Wekiva Springs system in Apopka, which sits at the headwaters of the Wekiva River – one of two National Wild and Scenic Rivers in Florida.
“Focusing the best water researchers in Florida on this issue will allow us to take the next major step toward the ultimate protection of these jewels in the state’s crown,” said Jack Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources.  “This collaboration will develop the strong scientific foundation needed to restore and protect Florida’s world-class springs.”
Florida has one of the largest concentrations of freshwater springs on Earth, with more than 700 bubbling up from the state’s aquifer. There are 96 springs within the SJRWMD, including Silver Springs.
The springs’ crystal-clear water, which maintains a year-round temperature of 72 degrees, is the source for many of North and Central Florida’s rivers and streams.  They provide the habitat for wildlife and fish, including manatees, alligators, limpkins, herons and turtles.
The threats to Florida’s springs are complex. Steps to reduce pollution and groundwater usage, and minimize other impacts on the springs are at the heart of many projects under way at the water district and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Water Institute Director Wendy Graham noted that the program involves 10 Water Institute-affiliated faculty from UF/IFAS, the School of Natural Resources and Environment, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences  and the College of Engineering – each working with a water management district scientist – allowing the group to look at the problem from many perspectives.   
The research will begin immediately under the leadership of K. Ramesh Reddy, chair of the UF/IFAS Soil and Water Science Department and Ed Lowe, SJRWMD’s chief scientist.
Reddy noted that UF has partnered with SJRWMD for the past four decades on various projects that dealt with management and restoration of ecosystems within the St. Johns River basin.
“Florida’s springs serve as living laboratories to provide invaluable opportunities to understand more fully the complex processes regulating the health of these fragile ecosystems,” he said.

140317-a
CH2M Hill picked for Everglades restoration
theConstructionIndex.co.uk
March 17, 2014
South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) has awarded CH2M Hill an engineering services contract as part of a US$880m (£528m) plan to restore the Everglades.
CH2M HILL will work in tandem with SFWMD to help enhance the natural region of tropical wetlands in Florida.
The Everglades, which once covered nearly 11,000 square miles of South Florida, is one of the largest US freshwater wetland systems and is home to dozens of threatened and endangered species. Efforts to drain the marshland for agriculture, development and flood control have reduced the Everglades to half the size it was a century ago.
CH2M Hill is also working with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) on its watershed management programme—a multifaceted project to develop flood risk information for watersheds throughout west-central Florida. In February, SWFWMD awarded CH2M Hill four contracts to help in the management of water and water-related resources in southwest Florida.
Related: South Florida Water Management District awards contract to CH2M HILL WaterTechOnline.com (March 20, 2014)

140317-b
How climate change could cause an Ice Age in Europe
AmericaBlog.com - by Gaius Publius
March 17, 2014
So far, the progress of global warming and climate change has been relatively smooth, a gradual decline in livability marked by a gradual increase in increasingly catastrophic events. Yes, catastrophic events — but a gradual increase in their number and degree. Key word, gradual.
We assume, perhaps to comfort ourselves, that the (so far) slow and gradual decline in the livability of the planet will remain … slow and gradual.
But there’s no reason to assume that there won’t be sudden collapses as well, sudden discontinuities, the way a steady dribble of small chunks of ice might fall from a Greenland glacier into the sea, then suddenly a piece the size of Ohio splits and floats away, lost, never to come back. A discontinuity, a break from the gradual.
Discontinuities work in the social sphere as well, in the sphere of confidence and panic. As I’ll show you shortly, the first major (white) American city to end its life forever following a Haiyan-sized hurricane — Miami, for example — will cause a collapse in American confidence in the future that will never return. That loss of confidence and the panic that will result is a collapse as well, a discontinuity, fear the size of Ohio breaking the population from its safe assumptions and presumed security.
Here’s another discontinuity. The Gulf Stream, the warm-water current that starts in the Gulf of Mexico and terminates in the Atlantic north of Scotland, also has collapse potential. Because of the Gulf Stream, northern Europe is moderate in climate. What if the Gulf Stream collapses and stops warming Europe ?
What is the Gulf Stream ?
What’s the Gulf Stream and where does it flow ? Here’s a look at surface temperature in the western North Atlantic, from Wikipedia:
Figure 1: Surface temperature in the western North Atlantic. North America is black and dark blue (cold), the Gulf Stream red (warm). Source: NASA
Study the graphic by first finding North America on the left, and the coasts of Florida and Cuba. The rest is water, of varying temperatures. Note the suggestion of a current traveling north. The Gulf Stream is, in fact, an actual plottable current, like a river within the ocean, that carries warm water from west of Florida — yes, west — through the water that divides Florida from Cuba and into the North Atlantic.
The following is from Wikipedia; note that the Gulf Stream splits at some point and warms both Europe and West Africa
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The process of western intensification causes the Gulf Stream to be a northward accelerating current off the east coast of North America. At about 40°0′N 30°0′W, it splits in two, with the northern stream crossing to Northern Europe and the southern stream recirculating off West Africa. The Gulf Stream influences the climate of the east coast of North America from Florida to Newfoundland, and the west coast of Europe. Although there has been recent debate, there is consensus that the climate of Western Europe and Northern Europe is warmer than it would otherwise be due to the North Atlantic drift, one of the branches from the tail of the Gulf Stream.
Again from Wikipedia, here’s the same image as the one above, with Europe and Africa shown, as well as the Gulf Stream itself. Click to see a very large and detailed version of this image.
Figure 2: Evolution of the Gulf Stream to the west of Ireland continuing as the North Atlantic Current
To orient yourself, start by finding the North American coast, then locate Spain and the British Isles. Then click to study the image if you like (it opens in a new tab). Keep Scotland in mind as you watch the video below — the unnaturally western Scottish climate puts in a surprising early appearance in the program.
The Gulf Stream isn’t a one-way flow; it’s a loop with an underwater return
What’s not apparent from the images above, nor from the Wikipedia link, is that the Gulf Stream is a loop, not a one-way water flow.
As you’ll see in a minute, the current holds together as a “stream” because it’s both more salty (thus more dense) and more warm (thus staying on the surface) as it is driven north by the Trade Winds. When the Gulf Stream stops being more warm — because it’s now further north and has given up its heat to the air and the ocean — it’s still more salty (still more dense) than the Atlantic water around it, so the salt current sinks to the ocean floor, still as a current, and returns south as part of a giant chain of surface and submerged oceanic currents.
At some point the global underwater currents warm, rise to the surface, enter the Gulf of Mexico and repeat the cycle. You can see the Gulf Stream part of this in the following three stills from the video’s animation. The first image shows the surface Gulf Stream current (taken from about 12:00 in the video). Note the cooler water entering the Gulf from the south, being warmed, and then driven north.
Figure 3: Gulf Stream showing surface flow (from “The Gulf Stream and the Next Ice Age”)
The second still image shows the start of underwater return current along the floor of the Atlantic (12:45 in the video). The view is from underwater. The cooler light blue stream is now diving to the bottom, having given up its heat. The “cliff edges” you see in the background are the underwater portions of Norway and the British Isles:
Figure 4: Gulf Stream showing the start of “thermohaline”underwater return flow (from “The Gulf Stream and the Next Ice Age”)
And here’s that dense salt water, “thermohaline circulation,” returning south along the Atlantic floor. The red images near the top of the graphic are warm surface currents flowing north, toward the “camera.” The lighter blue current near the bottom of the image shows the “return flow” as it moves south and away from the camera.
Figure 5: Gulf Stream showing the “thermohaline”underwater return flow heading south along the Atlantic floor (from “The Gulf Stream and the Next Ice Age”)
There’s more about the global thermohaline circulation here, along with a nice map and a NASA-produced video (if you watch, be sure to full-screen the animation).
So what would happen, do you think, if the Gulf Stream part of the global mid-ocean circulation stopped, was interrupted? That’s what this video is about.
The Gulf Stream and the Next Ice Age
This video considers the Gulf Stream, what it is, how it works, what drives it, and what happens when it’s interfered with, as it appears to have been in the past. The program is well produced — a NOVA-quality production — but to my knowledge has never been broadcast in the U.S. It appears to be a co-production of a U.K. video house and a French one.
Please watch, and if you like it, watch a second time, perhaps in the evening using your Chromecast or whatever. (When the video starts, click the “gear” icon to turn off annotations and increase the resolution.)
Figure 6 - VIDEO-Thalassa: The Gulf Stream and the Next Ice Age - Future Focus Episode 2013 .  “We believe that the heat waves will become more frequent.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyAEucg6teg   
Here’s a quick rundown of the show’s main sections to help you navigate:
(Start) A vision of frozen Europe, then after the titles, an exploration of the effects of the Gulf Stream on the climate of western Europe, starting with Brittany and Scotland. (The Scottish segment at 5:30 is striking — Australo-Asian plants ? Really?)
(7:30) Information about the Gulf Stream itself, starting with its discovery by Ben Franklin. The animation in this section provided most of the still images in this piece.
(13:25) Effect of the Gulf Stream on the availability of marine life for fishing and food supplies, especially cod.
(18:20) A discussion of the science — how the Gulf Stream could be interrupted and a look at paleo-climate. Core samples show there’s evidence of just this kind of interruption in the past 20,000 years.
(26:00) The bottom-line explanation — sudden influx of much fresh water from melting glaciers dilutes the high-density saltiness of the Gulf Stream and dissipates it in the surrounding fresh water. This prevents the stream from sinking and returning as a stream. The return flow from the North Atlantic stops and the return starts much further south.
(29:30) Information about global warming itself — where we are and where we’re going.
(39:30) Report of a Pentagon paper that warns in detail about the destabilizing effects of global warming, region by region.
(48:10) We may have “another ten years” … sound familiar ?
Finally, a view of the animation showing Europe with the northern part of the Gulf Stream switched off. The extent of the glaciation (down to just before the Pyrenees) is not a guess. (To orient yourself, find Spain near the bottom, then look north to find the British Isles.)
Figure 7: Glaciation in Europe with the northern Gulf Stream “switched off” (from “The Gulf Stream and the Next Ice Age”)
Dramatic ?  These cooling events have occurred before, often starting suddenly from periods of warming, lasting as little as a few decades, then reversing. The cause of sudden glaciers in Europe following periods of warming is still being discussed. But the interruption of the natural Gulf Stream flow one of the most likely candidates.
How does this relate to today ?
It is believed that this dynamic, sudden glaciation of Europe, happens as a result of a global warming event that melts enough fresh-water ice in the north Atlantic to desalinate (dilute the dense salt content of) the surface part of the northern Gulf Stream. Because the surface current is no longer heavier than the surrounding ocean, it fails to sink when cooled. This causes the surface current to terminate further south than before, never reaching Europe.
The mechanism at issue is the same as the one we’re watching today — global temperature increase. We’re already at +1°C from the pre-Industrial norm, which is also the norm of the last 10,000 years. Prior to industrial times, the whole of the last 10,000 years never saw a global temperature variation outside of ±½°C. We’ve already exited the climate of the Holocene, the climate of the past 10,000 years. What awaits us?
Whatever that future is, our ability to be “civilized” in the modern sense depends on our ability to farm. Prior to studying the Gulf Stream, I had assumed that many major farming regions would be lost to heat, monsoon, flooding or drought, but that many growing regions would be preserved. The regions lost would include the California Central Valley, much of the American Midwest, the Northern Plain of China (its breadbasket), Ukraine (another breadbasket), almost all of Africa, most of India, and so on.
But I had also assumed that areas near or north of latitude 45°N (roughly Portland, Oregon, and Paris, France, etc.) were far enough north to remain or even improve as growing regions. These would include much of Canada, much of Europe, and all of Scandinavia. But glaciers in Europe, despite warming elsewhere on the planet, would make almost the entire north European continent unfarmable. Is northern Russia farmable today? I don’t think so, but research will tell us for sure.
Bottom line: The future may not be the ride we want it to be. Is it time to consider initiating a Zero Carbon regime voluntarily and interrupting most of the worst of these consequences? I still think we have a 5–10 year window.
If this stuff concerns you, tell everyone you know that Zero Carbon Now is the way out — and the only one. Education is our first task at this point, since the other side is selling us hard the wrong way. ”Carbon neutral” is just another trick for keeping David Koch in walking money. Even “lying pantsuit lady” — the Exxon spokeswoman — probably knows that. After all, she’s cashing those checks too; just smaller ones.

140317-c
Reporting on a world of environmental catastrophes - All in just one month
Truth-Out.org - b y Dahr Jamail
March 17, 2014
When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money.
- Cree Prophecy
Earth
One-third of all the organic farmers in the United States are now reporting widespread contamination by genetically modified crops. Over half of the growers have had entire loads of their grain rejected due to their having unwittingly been contaminated by GMO’s.
Speaking of frankenfood, in Sri Lanka and South American, an herbicide developed by Monsanto, along with a phosphate fertilizer, are likely the causes of an epidemic of a mysterious kidney disease in the areas where rice and sugarcane are grown.
On the fossil fuel front, in Canada, large man-made lakes of oil sands mining waste are leaking into the Athabasca River, while "progress" is being made towards the building of two new giant pipelines that would rapidly expand Alberta’s tar sands project.
In Australia, it was recently revealed that the Australian "Environment Department" did not conduct an independent analysis of how much it would cost monetarily to dump dredged soil onto land before it granted permission to dump it on the Great Barrier Reef.
Given the ever-growing preponderance of our usage of electronics, all of us are morally obligated to look at these photos of Agbogbloshie, which was formerly a wetland in Accra, Ghana. Today, it is now the world’s largest e-waste dumpsite, where discarded computer monitors are used to build footbridges to cross rivers.
A new study has confirmed that a magnitude 5.7 earthquake in Oklahoma - one of the state's biggest man-made quakes - was caused by fracking-linked wastewater injections.
Water
Even the depths of the oceans are now at risk.
Two and a half miles deep in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, mining companies are looking for ore deposits needed to keep feeding the industrial machine and continued production of "smart" phones. The number of companies looking to mine the pristine ocean depths has tripled in recent years, and the deputy secretary general of the International Seabed Authority had this to say of the ramping up of movement toward destroying ecosystems we hardly understand: "The amount of activity has expanded exponentially."
Never mind that the rapacious machine that runs upon exponential growth has quite possibly already driven Anthropogenic Climate Disruption (ACD) past the point of no return, making short-term human extinction not out of the realm of possibility.
Like the rest of the planet, the oceans are being mined, drilled, dredged, polluted and irradiated.
Examples of this abound, but here are just a few.
The state of Alaska now wants the federal government to remove endangered species protections for humpback whales, so as to remove a hurdle for companies that want to explore the Arctic Coast for oil. Given that the Obama administration has provided no evidence that the president will make a decision that would prioritize environmental protection over corporate profit, humpback whales are in trouble. Even the Supreme Court is doing what it can to protect the major emitters of greenhouse gases.
The lunacy of Alaska’s decision comes into even clearer focus given the fact that this year’s Iditarod sled dog race is facing a minor problem - not enough snow.
A new study led by NASA researches shows that fresh water flowing from rivers into the Arctic Ocean is having a powerful impact on the extent of sea ice cover, since the warm water discharges accelerate the melting of sea ice near the coast. This melting also has a wider climate impact: It creates more open water, which is darker than ice and thus absorbs more heat from sunlight, further accelerating planetary warming.
Not surprisingly, in the Gulf of Mexico, dolphins that were exposed to BP’s oil and dispersants from what remains (to date) the largest marine oil disaster in US history, are suffering from a host of maladies, including lung disease and adrenal problems.
A new study published in Current Biology shows that small fragments of plastic waste are damaging the health of lugworms, which happen to be a key cog in the marine ecosystem.
A massive die-off of oysters and scallops off the coast of British Columbia has fishermen and seafood salespersons deeply troubled. Ocean acidification, a direct result of ACD, is suspected as the cause. Further south, Brazil’s shellfishing communities are now blighted by industrial pollution. "There’s this chemical product in the water," fisherwoman Edinilda de Ponto dos Carvalhos said of the phenomenon. "It has no smell, but it kills everything."
Off the coast of South Africa, 4,000 penguins and hundreds of seabird nests were oiled when a fishing trawler carrying approximately 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel ran aground less than three miles from the Betty’s Bay Marine Protected Area.
Back in the United States, a recent oil spill closed down a 65-mile stretch of the Mississippi River that included the Port of New Orleans. The Mississippi, of course, flows into the fragile marsh, where 90 percent of all the organisms in the Gulf of Mexico spend some part of their lives.
Drinking water problems continue to grow all over North America.
People in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, are trying to stop the state from spreading sewage sludge on soils. The state calls the sewage sludge "biosolids" and says it will enrich the soil and improve the overall health of the land and animals. The people are complaining of the stench of the sewage, in addition to the fact that it is making them sick.
Speaking of feces, factory farms of pigs are poisoning Iowa’s drinking water, due to the fact that millions of pigs are jammed into overcrowded barns across the state. While they are being fattened for slaughter, they are also breeding superbugs, which can find their way into the groundwater.
Meanwhile in Delaware, the water quality of the creeks, rivers and streams running through the state is so bad that little of it is even considered healthy. In fact, 94 percent of the state’s rivers and streams are so polluted, fish are unable to thrive. Humans are even told not to swim in 85 percent of them.
In West Virginia, the January chemical spill that contaminated drinking water for 300,000 West Virginians around Charleston garnered immense media coverage. However, most Americans remain unaware of the fact that many people in rural West Virginia living in places outside the reach of the spill had already been living without drinkable tap water for months, and in some places, years due to contamination from the mining industry.
Of course the rapacious march for ever more oil drilling continues apace, with prospectors now hoping to find their next big gusher in south Florida’s fragile Everglades, whose wetlands are habitats for more than 60 threatened and endangered species, along with the fact that they play an integral role in providing around 7 million residents in south Florida with their drinking water.
As the industrial growth society continues its destructive trundle of consumption and pollution in the name of increasing profit for next quarter’s financial statement, the signs of ACD continue unabated.
Low-lying countries are, of course, already losing land to rising oceans, with even greater displacement coming soon. A recent report shows that Indonesia will likely lose an estimated 1,500 islands to rising oceans by the year 2050. But before that happens, likely by 2030, the country’s International Airport, which serves the capital, will be completely under water. In fact, Jakarta, with 40 percent of its land below sea level, is sinking and will see all of its northern districts turn into lakes by the time the airport is under water.
The flipside of rising seas is increasing drought and/or flash floods on the continents.
In northern India, the once massive Tawi River used to flow through the city of Jammu so powerfully that residents had to take boats to cross it. Today, the river is barely knee deep for most of the year and has turned into a dumping ground for untreated city waste.
Ongoing research published recently in the journal Nature Climate Change shows us that the number of days with extreme heat will continue to increase even when the overall average does not. And, disturbingly, it is these days of heat extremes, not the average daily temperatures, that matter most when it comes to impact on wildlife, farming and humans.
Another recent report forecasts California’s climate to continue to become hotter and drier, aside from occasional torrential rains and flash floods. The state will continue to get less and less water from an ever-decreasing snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, and the Pacific Ocean will continue rising and consuming the state’s coastal areas.
Weather extremes, the new normal due to ACD, are visible daily around the globe.
Malaysia, a country that usually brings to mind tropical rainforests and beaches, now finds millions of residents having to ration their water due to a scorching drought.
Sri Lanka is also in the midst of an extreme heat wave and accompanying drought. Fears there continue to mount as increasing power cuts and interruptions to the country's water supply due to low reservoir levels worsen.
The flip side of this part of the climate coin is deluges of rain and the flooding that comes with it.
Residents on Caribbean islands hit by massive storms over Christmas are still struggling to recover, as are folks in the UK, who have recently experienced the worst flooding in the history of the country. A recent study brings no solace to UK residents, as it shows that the frequency of severe flooding across Europe is set to double by 2050, a phenomenon which will bring a fivefold increase in annual economic losses resulting from flooding.
Australia can expect the other extreme, as the recent State of the Climate report by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology shows the country being hit by even more extreme heat and high fire danger and the southern regions of the country drying up. The report says these trends will only continue to accelerate as the planet continues heating up and that the projected increase in the number of extremely hot days is underlined by the fact that there were more extreme heat days in 2013 than in the entire 1910-1940 period. 
This is particularly bad news, given that the current drought in Queensland is officially the worst and most widespread on record, with 15 more districts and shires in Australia recently declaring drought.
A coal seam gas project in Australia has contaminated a nearby aquifer with uranium at levels 20 times higher than those set by safe drinking water guidelines.
Regarding the oceans, ACD has advanced enough already that even the ocean dynamics of Antarctica are being disrupted, according to another recent study. The report cites the example of a massive ice-free region the size of New Zealand, which used to be a frozen part of the ice blanket of the southern ocean surrounding the ice continent, but has recently disappeared from the region.
Meanwhile at the other pole, new research shows that the Arctic sea ice season has been shortening by five days per decade, due to the formation of sea ice being delayed by warming weather. The study, which appeared in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, indicates that the Arctic Ocean is absorbing more of the sun’s energy in the summer due to shrinking ice cover, and this is leading to the delayed appearance of the autumn sea ice.
Air
Is it not amazing that humans construct massive cities, populate them by the millions, then live amid pollution so intense it kills us?
Beijing is perhaps the best example, being the worst-case scenario of countless smog-choked cities around the planet. Scientists have deemed the air there to be so bad the place is "barely suitable" for living. Last year’s monitoring of Chinese cities showed that more than 95 percent of them failed to meet environmental standards.
Air pollution from coal already kills over 1,000,000 people per year in China, and in vast swaths of the country, life expectancy is already reduced by at least five years.
In fact, Chinese scientists now warn that the entire country’s air pollution is so bad that it resembles a nuclear winter that is even slowing the photosynthesis in plants, which of course will be catastrophic to the country’s food supply for its massive population.
Amazingly, the Chinese state is deploying drones that will spray chemicals into the smog, causing it to solidify and fall to the ground, as part of their "war on pollution."
In Australia, residents in the Latrobe valley are protesting because smoke from a nearby coalmine fire has blanketed their area for several weeks, bringing the town to a standstill and turning the town into a "national disaster" since the pollution reached levels more than 22 times above the recommended safe levels, triggering a health alert.
Then there are the other ongoing, unintended consequences.
Researchers recently found an ancient "giant virus" that was, emphasis on "was," buried deep within the Siberia permafrost. The virus had been previously untouched for more than 30,000 years, but now has been revived. Scientists, of course, blame ACD and "industrial activities" for bringing this and other potential pathogens to the surface.
Another pathogen, the West Nile virus, is now expected to increase in incidence, also due to advancing ACD.
Warmer temperatures are also now causing malaria to spread to new altitudes in the African and South American highlands, traditionally havens from the disease, scientists say.
A doctor in the United States is now proclaiming that ACD constitutes a public health emergency, because it is causing an increase in asthma, hay fever, ADHD, blue baby syndrome and gastroenteritis.
Fire
Radiation from the ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster is being tracked, and a recent study shows radioactive cesium from the Japanese plant reaching the Pacific Coast of North America by April.
Fukushima remains on the forefront of many folks’ minds because it is an ongoing disaster, and its direct impact on our health is obvious. However, we tend to forget how much radiation has already been bombed into the oceans.
Those who have been bombed, however, haven’t forgotten.
Residents of the Marshall Islands recently marked 60 years since the United States dropped a hydrogen bomb on the Bikini Atoll, causing islanders to be exiled from their homeland. Islanders, rightly remain too fearful to go back because of the nuclear contamination.
The United States conducted six nuclear tests there in all, leaving hundreds of forgotten victims among the islanders to live with ongoing health effects and painful memories of loved ones lost from radiation exposure.
Closer to home for those living in the United States, "significant construction flaws" in some of the "newer" double-walled storage tanks at Washington state’s Hanford nuclear waste complex could lead to additional leaks of some of the worst radioactive waste at the most contaminated nuclear site in the country.
Not to be outdone, the only nuclear waste repository in the United States, located in Carlsbad, New Mexico, has an ongoing radiation leak. But that has not stopped the brilliant minds running the repository from pushing to obtain even more nuclear waste.
Japan is struggling with ongoing radiation problems, as more than 500 tons of radioactive waste from Fukushima that is being stored in Tokyo is threatening residents.
Shockingly, all of this ongoing pollution and dramatic evidence of ongoing ACD are happening amid what US and UK scientists recently described as a brief slowdown in global warming. Everything you’ve just read is occurring despite the planet being in the midst of a "pause" in a longer-term trend of increasing temperatures, according to Britain’s Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences.
Their joint announcement added that the current "slowdown" in the pace of global warming since a peak in 1998 "does not invalidate our understanding of long-term changes in global temperature arising from human-induced changes in greenhouse gases."
Yet, there remain those who have chosen to remain willfully ignorant of ACD and ignore the evidence from around the globe that is slapping us in the face every day. Those folks aren’t likely to believe the pedantic scientific data produced by sophomoric institutions like Britain’s Royal Society or the US National Academy of Sciences.
Hence, they are also unlikely to believe anything that comes out of the "progressive" and "left-leaning" US Pentagon, which just released its 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review Report, which states:
"Climate change poses another significant challenge for the United States and the world at large. As greenhouse gas emissions increase, sea levels are rising, average global temperatures are increasing and severe weather patterns are accelerating. These changes, coupled with other global dynamics, including growing, urbanizing, more affluent populations, and substantial economic growth in India, China, Brazil, and other nations, will devastate homes, land, and infrastructure. Climate change may exacerbate water scarcity and lead to sharp increases in food costs. The pressures caused by climate change will influence resource competition while placing additional burdens on economies, societies and governance institutions around the world. These effects are threat multipliers that will aggravate stressors abroad such as poverty, environmental degradation, political instability, and social tensions - conditions that can enable terrorist activity and other forms of violence."
Every single piece of information you’ve just read is only from the last month.
This is what catastrophic ACD looks like.
This information may lack the dramatic background music and thrilling scenes that would accompany the Hollywood blockbuster movie that many in the United States might expect advancing ACD to look like. However, it is real. It is happening right now. And it is time for all of us to pay attention.

140216-a
Conservationists take up fight against water weed
The Associated Press
March 16, 2014
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Conservation officials say an invasive water weed that has been discovered in southwest Missouri needs to be contained before it spreads to other areas.
Hydrilla is sometimes called the "Godzilla of invasive plants" because of how it takes over bodies of water and devastates fish habitat by lowering oxygen levels in the water and eliminating fish food sources, said Kara Tvedt, fisheries management biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
"It's the perfect weed because it can grow in deeper water than most plants and out-compete native plants," she told the Springfield News-Leader (http://sgfnow.co/1fZkfb7). "Once it reaches the surface it starts branching out and shading everything out below."
Left uncontrolled, hydrilla plants can form mats so thick that some states in the South have to use special harvesting machines to cut paths through hydrilla beds so boats can pass. Hydrilla mats also can clog water intakes and render swimming areas unusable if not controlled.
The state Conservation Department has been working with property owners on ways to keep it from spreading to other waterways since it was discovered in Greene County ponds in late 2012, and later in ponds in Dallas and Warren counties.
Tvedt said it's not known how the plant got into the Greene County ponds, though it can hitch a ride in boat bait wells, on boat trailers and even in the digestive tracts of ducks that eat it.
"Some waterfowl do like to eat hydrilla, and parts of the plant can pass through their digestive tract and still be viable," she said.
The plant, which is native to Africa and Southeast Asia, arrived in Florida in the 1950s as an aquarium plant, according to the Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants at the University of Florida. Since then it has spread to at least 19 states and is on the Federal Noxious Weeds list.
Hydrilla can be killed with water-based herbicides. Also, the weed can be tamed by introducing grass carp, which have voracious appetites for the plant, into a pond.
Once it becomes established, however, hydrilla is difficult to control because of its ability to grow from roots embedded in the bottom of a lake, and from bits and pieces of the plant that form new plants when they break off.
Tvedt expects a major educational push to start in early summer so people will know how to identify the plant.

140316-b
Fracking bill unlikely to pass Legislature this year
TCPalm - by Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Scripps/Tribune Capital Bureau
March 16, 2014
TALLAHASSEE — Last year, a bill aimed at creating hydraulic fracturing requirements was well on its way to the state House floor — sailing through all of its committee stops within the first month of the 2013 legislative session.
A year later, the bill’s sponsor said the mood in Tallahassee has changed, making the likelihood of the proposal passing much less likely.
“I suspect that it being an election year has led to a desire to draw lines of distinction on a number of issues,” said Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, who again is sponsoring legislation requiring the state to put disclosure requirements in place before hydraulic fracturing, a type of oil and gas drilling known as fracking, begins in Florida.
“I think when you’re dealing with a subject that’s as controversial as creating a disclosure registry for fracking, it’s really an issue that you need to show has broad support. I’m not sure we can obtain that in this current session,” he said.
HB 71, or the Fracturing Chemical Usage Disclosure Act, directs the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to “establish and maintain” an online registry for all of the wells in the state where fracking treatments are performed.
The department may designate FracFocus.org, an existing online chemical disclosure registry, as the public online registry instead of the DEP website. FracFocus is managed by the Groundwater Protection Council, a nonprofit organization of ground water regulatory agencies, and the Interstate Oil and Gas Commission, a multistate government agency.
Rodrigues has filed a companion bill, HB 157, allowing oil and gas industry trade secrets to be exempt from the state’s public records law. The proposals, Rodrigues said, are exactly the same as the ones he initially filed in 2013.
Last year’s version of the Fracturing Chemical Usage Disclosure Act passed the state House 92-19, but failed to progress in the Senate. Its companion bill failed to receive a vote last year.
Rodrigues said he’s somewhat surprised with the pushback this year, especially since the disclosure bill seemed to be well-received in 2013. He said he wasn’t expecting election-year politics to have an effect on the measure.
“This is a disclosure bill,” he said. “The question I ask anyone at the end of the meeting is, ‘Do you want to know what’s being put in the ground?’ Not one person has said no, so I’m mildly surprised with the way it is being framed.”
David Guest, the managing attorney at Earthjustice, said he isn’t surprised that bill is making little progress this year.
“I have my doubts about whether it will pass,” he said.
Guest said the combination of 2014 being an election year and increased suspicion among consumers about corporations means that the bills — which Earthjustice has opposed, based on the public records exemption component — have little chance.
The resistance started early this year. When the bills went before the House Agriculture and Natural Resources subcommittee in January, they passed 8-4 along party lines.
A year earlier, the same committee heard the disclosure act bill, passing it unanimously.
While Rodrigues said the partisan vote contributed to the slowdown this year, Guest said the larger problem is the public records exemption bill.
“The proposition that these are trade secrets is ridiculous. It’s like pancake mix,” he said. “If you’re going to inject something into the ground, you have to say what it is. This is a groundwater contaminant secrecy bill.”
Rodrigues said he isn’t giving up hope and continues to try to gain support among his colleagues. Still, he said, if he can’t build bipartisan support it might just get put on the back burner.
“If all I have is partisan support, then I’m not going to be pushing it as hard this session as I did last session when I had broad support,” he said. “It’s something that’s needed and I believe it’s the right thing to do. What’s unfortunate is those who have opposed us have framed this as a fracking bill, when it’s not. It’s a disclosure bill.”

140316-c
Officials give up on evicting pythons — big but nearly invisible in the wild — from Everglades
Washington Post - by Darryl Fears
March 16, 2014
Only in Florida can a search for one invasive monster lead to the discovery of another.
On a balmy Sunday recently, a group of volunteers called Swamp Apes was searching for pythons in Everglades National Park when it stumbled on something worse: a Nile crocodile, lurking in a canal near Miami suburbs.
It was an all-points alarm, prompting an emergency response by experts from the national park, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the University of Florida. They joined the Swamp Apes and wrestled the reptile out of the canal. Nile crocs are highly aggressive man-eaters known to take down huge prey in Africa, and officials worried that the one in the canal might be breeding in the swamp since it was first spotted two years ago.
Worrying is what Florida wildlife officials often do when it comes to invasive species. The state is being overrun by animals, insects and plants that should not be there, costing Floridians half a billion dollars each year in, among other things, damaged orange groves, maimed pets and dead fish in water where plants have depleted the oxygen.
Florida spends $50 million a year just to eradicate invasive weeds from fields, pastures and canals. Yet, the problem is getting worse.
“What have we learned?” said Linda Friar, a spokeswoman for Everglades National Park. “What strategy do we have in place for stopping these species from being brought here? Are we educating the public well enough? I don’t know.”
Native Florida alligators are already in a death match with giant Burmese pythons and other python species to sit atop the food chain. On top of that is a rogues’ gallery of bad-to-the-bone lizards, fish and frogs. They include the Argentine tegu, which eats sea turtle eggs; the Nile monitor lizard, which kills house pets; the Cuban tree frog, which dines on other frogs; and the greedy lionfish, which is eating scores of native fish.
Last year, Florida organized a month-long hunt, called the Python Challenge, and enlisted volunteers to help remove its top-priority invasive species from the Everglades. When it was over, the state fish and wildlife commission and other experts came to this conclusion: Evicting the snakes is impossible.
Up to 100,000 pythons are estimated to be living in the Everglades, and more than 1,500 thrill-seekers, amateurs and skilled hunters who flocked to the event from across the country caught only 68.
Pythons are excellent at stealth. Trackers with the U.S. Geological Survey have stood a few feet from them — with radio transmitters — and failed to see them. In the challenge, 24 hunters with permits caught 42 snakes. More than 1,500 others caught 26.
“That was the key . . . result and shows why we have such a serious problem,” said Frank J. Mazzotti, a University of Florida ecology and biology professor. “How do you win a war if you can’t find your enemy? You really have to know what you’re doing to even have a low level of detection.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ruled out a second challenge this year, partly because pythons are so hard to spot, let alone catch.
“Definitely, we’re understanding that better-trained people are going to do this,” said Kristen Sommers, the commission’s leader of exotic-species coordination. Officials are not sure of the next step. “If we did it again, what would it look like?”
Critics called the challenge a flop, but Mazzotti and a team of biologists who conducted necropsies on the snakes disagreed. At a university lab in Lauderhill, Fla., they faced dissecting a huge pile of giant snakes, more than any of them had seen at one time.
For the first time, they examined animals as if on an assembly line — one person slicing snakes open, another examining stomach contents, a third studying sex organs.
It was “the same thing Henry Ford did for making automobiles,” said Mazzotti, who oversaw the work. “Instead of putting them together, we took them apart.”
They were looking for signs that pythons are behind the disappearance of animals in the Everglades. For a 2012 study, researchers who counted Everglades National Park mammals found that 99 percent of raccoons have disappeared since pythons became established. Marsh rabbits and foxes completely vanished.
Over a decade ending in 2009, federal and state agencies spent $100 million on the recovery of wood storks, a staple of the python’s diet.
But the necropsies did not find evidence that the 68 pythons ate such animals. Caught throughout the Everglades, except in the national park, where their capture for monetary gain is forbidden, they feasted largely on cotton rats.
Still, the commission wants to evict as many snakes as possible, and it would like to provide some type of incentive to groups such as Florida Python Hunters, led by Ruben Ramirez, who caught 18 snakes to win the challenge’s top prize.
But there is no money in the budget to pay them, Sommers said. The commission has turned to a Python Patrol of enthusiasts who are trained to identify and possibly remove snakes.
As for criticism of the Python Challenge, federal and state wildlife officials dismissed it. “Our measure of success wasn’t the same as what the public had,” Sommers said.
Raising public awareness was the main priority, “and we did that,” she said. “Eight million people worldwide read or saw something related to it.”
And the necropsies already answered one odd question from Floridians: Is it okay to eat snake meat? Mercury levels varied in the dead snakes and were lower, on average, than levels in pythons captured earlier in Everglades National Park.
But no, Sommers said, don’t eat the pythons.

140316-d
On foot, wing or claw, invasive species make way to Florida
St.Augustine.com – by David Breen, Orlando Sentinel
March 16, 2014
Burmese pythons. Cuban tree frogs. Nile monitor lizards. Giant African land snails.
Just as humans from all corners of the globe flock to Florida, so, too, do creatures of every conceivable classification: mammals, fish, reptiles, mollusks, even microbes.
Recent reports of Argentine tegu lizards running wild in the Tampa area and a Nile crocodile turning up in the Everglades are just the latest incidents of potentially harmful invasive species taking root — or wing, claw or whatever — in the Sunshine State.
Taking one look at a map listing of hundreds of invasive-species sightings, available online at ivegot1.org, is enough to make you want to bar the door and shut off the lights.
But don’t fear. For even though snails may be eating the stucco off homes, and pythons might be suffocating alligators, there is some good news.
“They don’t all become established, and they don’t all become invasive,” said Kristen Sommers, exotic-species coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Sommers said many species sightings involve “singletons” that may not get a chance to breed and spread.
“Just because you see an animal reported in an area, that doesn’t mean that the animal is reproducing or causing disruptions,” she said.
In one recent case, a family in Winter Haven stumbled upon a monitor lizard in a restaurant parking lot, Sommers recalled. But it was more sad than dangerous.
“The reality was this animal was really hungry,” she said. “It probably got released or accidentally escaped. It was thin and underfed.”
But for those animals that do take hold and prosper in their new surroundings, the effect can be devastating. They compete with, and eat, native species. And they alter or destroy habitat. Some can spread disease to crops or other plants. And some, such as pythons and boa constrictors, can be a danger to humans. Invasive fish can prey on commercial- and recreational-fishing stocks, putting a multibillion-dollar industry at risk.
So what’s the most destructive invader? Though many people may not want to hear it, Fish and Wildlife spokesman Gary Morse notes that it’s actually “feral cats, by far.”
“The nature of cats is to hunt,” Morse said. “That’s what they do, even when they’re not hungry.”
Nonnative species can make their way into the wild here in a dizzying array of ways. Wild hogs are thought to be descended from pigs brought by the Spanish in the 1500s. Rhesus macaques have escaped from tourist attractions. Boas and monitors get released by pet owners. African cattle egrets flew across the Atlantic and decided to stay. Smaller invaders can arrive as stowaways on boat hulls or in produce shipments. And others, most of them small agricultural pests, arrive every day, according to Fish and Wildlife and the Florida Department of Agriculture, which has the responsibility for dealing with threats to state crops.
Floridians who spot invasive species are asked to report them online at ivegot1.org or by phone at 888-483-4681. The sooner authorities know about an invasive-species threat, the better the chance that it can be dealt with.
“Once they become established, they’re virtually impossible to eradicate,” Morse said.
And for those who have exotic pets that they no longer want, there are better options than turning them loose.
“We do pet-adoption days throughout the state where people can bring their animals,” Morse said. “But releasing them into the wild is not an answer. It’s a problem and a serious one. And taxpayers wind up footing the bill for trying to manage these species to the tune of millions of dollars a year.”
Related:           Lowman: Helper becomes an invader Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Wolves, chills and pythons: Next wave of Lowcountry invasive ...  Charleston Post Courier
Bills give legs to anti-lionfish policies            Pensacola News Journal

140315-a
County says bill would endanger local wetlands
Gainesville.com - by Morgan Watkins, Staff writer
March 15, 2014
House Bill 703, a wide-ranging, controversial piece of environmental regulation legislation, has drawn opposition from Alachua County government in part because it would nullify a portion of the county’s long-held wetlands protection policy, forcing the county to abide by less-protective state policies.
The state bill, which has a Senate companion, would prohibit local governments from enforcing certain springs protection and stormwater or wetlands regulations if these regulations have been modified or readopted since July 1, 2003.
Wetlands are critical to preventing further degradation of the springs, Alachua County Environmental Protection Director Chris Bird said. Taking away local governments’ ability to better protect wetlands basically leaves pricey restoration projects as the only remaining recourse, Bird said.
“We call them nature’s kidneys, and they filter pollution,” Bird said of wetlands. “They don’t require some big government appropriation to do it. They just do it.”
Alachua County also has other concerns with the bill, Bird said, which he believes as a whole would cause environmental damage statewide that would outweigh the improvements afforded by the $55 million in springs funding Gov. Rick Scott has proposed.
HB 703 was filed by state Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, who had not by late Friday returned phone messages seeking comment.
Bird also said claims by the bill’s proponents that the pre-emption provision eliminates duplicative regulations is misleading.
Alachua County has had a wetlands policy in place since 1992 but updated its Unified Land Development Code in 2006, which included updating the wetlands policy, he said.
The county’s policy initially established protections for wetlands such as 35-foot buffers, he said. When the county updated its land development code, it increased those buffers for some lands but had to keep the original 35-foot buffer for agricultural lands because of the Agricultural Lands and Practices Act, a state law passed in 2003 that banned counties from adopting regulations limiting the activities of bona fide farm operations on agricultural land if they already were being regulated through best management practices or other specified measures.
The law didn’t limit a county government’s ability to enforce related springs protection, stormwater or wetlands rules that had been adopted prior to July 1, 2003, but HB 703 would exclude modifications approved on or after that date, which would include part of Alachua County’s wetlands policy.
Phil Leary of Leary Governmental Affairs Consultants said counties were duplicating regulations and further restricting agricultural operations, costing the farms time and money, which the 2003 law addressed. The best management practices work, Leary said, and farmers who don’t implement them still can be regulated by county government.
Leary said he worked on developing the pre-emption language in HB 703 that would invalidate part of Alachua County’s wetlands policy, among other regulations, on behalf of the Alachua County Farm Bureau, and Leary asked Patronis to include it in his legislation.
Attorney Frank Matthews of the firm Hopping Green & Sams and another attorney from the same firm helped him develop that section, Leary said. Matthews had not responded by late Friday to The Sun’s request for comment.
Alachua County is essentially ignoring the Agricultural Lands and Practices Act, of which he was a co-author years ago when he worked for the Florida Farm Bureau, Leary said.
“Alachua County EPD are out there trying to continue to justify their existence and their jobs. I mean, it’s a complete duplication,” Leary said.
“Show me where there’s environmental degradation or impacts that those additional regulations are going to address. They’re not.”
Rather than spend a couple hundred thousand dollars on a lawsuit, which is still an option, Leary said he and his client, the Alachua County Farm Bureau, decided to try clarifying the issue legislatively through Patronis’ bill.
Leary provided a letter that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services sent to Alachua County in December that stated the county’s wetlands regulations regarding relevant agricultural operations conflict with the 2003 state law because the 1992 rules were repealed when the current ones were adopted.
Alachua County government disagrees, Bird said.
Aside from the pre-emption provision that concerns Alachua County government, HB 703 would allow water-use permits of as long as 50 years for landowners participating in water storage programs and permits of as long as 30 years for developments of regional impact located in rural areas of critical economic concern. Alachua County is not one of those state-designated rural areas.
Audubon Florida’s primary concern with the bill is its water-use permitting provisions, Audubon Legislative Director Mary Jean Yon said, although Audubon Florida opposes the proposed pre-emptions as well.
This is the fourth time in as many years that Patronis has introduced a broad environmental regulation bill like this, she said, and two of the prior three have passed with changes that, she said, weren’t usually positive ones.
“To be fair, every year there’s a couple things in there where you just go, ‘Well, that’s not so bad. That’s not the end of the world,’” she said. “But that’s not the tenor of the bill.”
Patronis’ environmental bills are known for the damage they do, not the good they do, Yon said.
Audubon Florida Executive Director Eric Draper said the provision for 50-year permits basically turns the permits into an incentive to participate in water storage programs. Plus, issuing a 50-year permit means the public will have no say in how that water is used for half a century.
“We shouldn’t pay people with permits,” he said.
Patronis didn’t write this bill, Draper said. Lobbyists did, and he compiled everything into a single piece of legislation.
“No one thinks this bill is a good idea except for the developers that have special favors in the bill,” Draper said.
Although some developers have been involved in this legislation, Draper said he hasn’t seen Plum Creek, which is the largest private landowner in Alachua County, engaged on this issue.
General Manager Todd Powell of Plum Creek confirmed that in a statement emailed to The Sun and noted that Plum Creek doesn’t have a position on the bill.
“We’re not a part of the discussion on HB 703, and this bill seems to represent the old way of doing things — fights at the local level get decided upon by the Legislature,” he said. “Plum Creek, through the Envision Alachua process, is taking a different approach. We want to set a new standard of working with the community to resolve issues.”

140315-b







Crist vs.Scott

140315-b
Environment becomes an issue in the gubernatorial race
SunshineStateNews - by Kevin Derby
March 15, 2014
With a tough election looming in November, Gov. Rick Scott looked to showcase his commitment to the environment while his chief rival went on the attack this week.
Scott, state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Sec. Herschel Vinyard and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs held a media event on Friday to announce 11 wastewater and stormwater projects are getting more than $27 million in loans from DEP’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
“We’ve made protecting Florida’s natural treasures a top priority, and this $27 million investment will make critical upgrades to water infrastructure so we can help improve water quality for families in our Central Florida,” Scott said. “Helping improve Florida’s water quality is another step in the right direction toward making Florida the best state in the nation to live, work and raise a family.”
“It’s wonderful to hear that Orange County has been included in today’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund program announcement,” Jacobs said. “We are deeply committed to protecting our cherished natural resources, and to ensuring and maintaining water quality. Upgrading the Eastern Water Reclamation Facility will help us maintain our excellent water quality record, and will help to ensure clean water for future generations.”
Three projects are getting the bulk of the money with Cocoa Beach getting $6 million for sewer rehabilitation and stormwater improvements, Orange County’s Eastern Water Reclamation Facility in Orlando is getting the same amount for improvements while a sewer project in Lake Wales is also getting $6 million. Other communities are getting less funds, with Cape Canaveral getting $3.9 million, Daytona Beach getting more than $2.2 million for two projects, $1.5 million headed to Gulfport, Umatilla receiving $800,000, two projects in Tavares getting $700,000 and South Daytona receiving $160,000.
Legislative leaders from the area applauded the loans on Friday.
“This money will help the residents of Umatilla reduce the potential for flooding and also treat storm water, which carries nutrients into our water bodies,” said Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla. “Gov. Scott and DEP continue to show a willingness to address these issues throughout Florida.”
Scott is trailing in the polls to former Gov. Charlie Crist. Despite spending most of his political career as a Republican, Crist is the favorite for the Democratic nomination to challenge Scott in November. Earlier this week, Crist pointed to a Politifact story focusing on Scott’s commitment to spending on the evironment and went on the attack.
“Rick Scott claims he's invested ‘record funding’ in protecting our environment. Unfortunately, that's simply not true,” Crist insisted on Monday.
The former governor maintained Scott was more concerned with padding his record for November instead of actually caring about the environment.
“Isn't it time we had a governor who truly cared about conserving our environment instead of just playing election-year games ?” Crist asked.

140314-a
Natural-gas breakthrough could lead to cheaper fuel
Sun Sentinel - by Marcia Heroux Pounds
March 14, 2014
A discovery in South Florida could lead to wider use of clean-burning fuels.
Scientist Roy Periana, who heads the Scripps Energy Materials Center in Jupiter, has devised a more efficient method of converting the major components of natural gas into useable fuels. The discovery, announced Thursday, could open the door to cheaper, more abundant fuel with lower emissions, Scripps said.
"This is considered one of the Holy Grails of chemistry," said Periana, who said he has worked on the problem since the early 1990s. "If we can learn how to control the chemistry, we can have huge impact. The United States could move away completely from oil and build an economy on natural gas."
The research will be published Friday by the journal Science.
Jim Robo, chairman and chief executive of NextEra Energy, parent company of Florida Power & Light Co., said the discovery is exciting.
"We share the strong belief that technology will continue to drive down the cost of energy in this country, improving efficiency, benefiting our environment and ultimately our customers," Robo said. "We are fortunate to have such a renowned research facility in our back yard."
FPL, the state's largest electric utility, is partnering with Scripps on a separate project focusing on clean energy. About 68 percent of the utility's electric generation runs on clean-burning natural gas, a spokesman said. FPL's plant at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale is being converted from oil-burning to natural gas.
While Scripps is known best for its research to defeat cancer and other diseases, the institute "is a teaching organization," Periana said. "We're also interested in creating technology that would benefit mankind."
The U.S. Department of Energy has said natural gas will replace coal as the largest source of U.S. electricity by 2035. Natural gas production is forecast to grow steadily, increasing 56 percent from 2012 to 2040, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in December.
The U.S. and Canada are the only major producers of commercially viable natural gas. Currently, natural gas has to be heated to high temperatures to convert it to useable fuel. Producers have had to build expensive plans to convert it.
The plant can represent 70 percent of the cost of the product, Periana said.
Periana said he has figured out a way to use chemistry to get the molecules to react without using high temperatures.
But he said more research is needed before the process can be commercialized. Scripps could spin out a company or partner with an energy or chemical company. Either method would benefit Scripps, bringing revenue to hire scientists and potentially breakthroughs, he said.
"If we could locate that here in Jupiter, that would be fantastic," he said. A lab to continue the studies would cost $2 million to $3 million over three years, Periana estimates.
The county and state invested more than $600 million in taxpayer-backed incentives to lure the Scripps Research Institute from La Jolla, Calif., to Palm Beach County. Scripps opened its permanent campus in 2009 and has had only limited success at commercializing its discoveries

140314-b
Rick Scott touts $27 million loan for Central Florida water projects
SunshineStateNews - by Kevin Derby
March 14, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott, state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Sec. Herschel Vinyard and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs held a media event on Friday to announce 11 wastewater and stormwater projects are getting more than $27 million in loans from DEP’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
“We’ve made protecting Florida’s natural treasures a top priority, and this $27 million investment will make critical upgrades to water infrastructure so we can help improve water quality for families in our Central Florida,” Scott said. “Helping improve Florida’s water quality is another step in the right direction toward making Florida the best state in the nation to live, work and raise a family.”
“It’s wonderful to hear that Orange County has been included in today’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund program announcement,” Jacobs said. “We are deeply committed to protecting our cherished natural resources, and to ensuring and maintaining water quality. Upgrading the Eastern Water Reclamation Facility will help us maintain our excellent water quality record, and will help to ensure clean water for future generations.”
Three projects are getting the bulk of the money with Cocoa Beach getting $6 million for sewer rehabilitation and stormwater improvements, Orange County’s Eastern Water Reclamation Facility in Orlando is getting the same amount for improvements while a sewer project in Lake Wales is also getting $6 million.

140313-a
9 Investigates: Lawsuit filed against state over Indian River Lagoon ecosystem
WFTV.com – by
March 13, 2014
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — 9 Investigates first reported last year about the record number of dolphins dying in the mucky waters of the Indian River Lagoon.           
ON Thursday, we learned the state of Florida is about to be sued for it.
Investigative reporter Christopher Heath went to Brevard County to speak to the group behind the pending suit and their fight to save the ecosystem.
Business leaders and environmentalists said the Indian River Lagoon's ecosystem is at a tipping point, and they want to force the state's hand.
As a small business owner, Tim Chastain makes his living off the Indian River Lagoon by taking customers kayaking. He's also suing the state.
"It affects my business but it also affects the species," he said.
Chastain is the named plaintiff in the 60-day notice of pending litigation against the Florida Department of Health.
The notice said the state has failed to regulate the growing use of septic tanks along the lagoon, with human waste killing the species that call this water home.
"We have seen record number of endangered species turning up dead on the shore," said former Department of Environmental Protection attorney Christopher Byrd, who drew up the suit.
In the lawsuit, Byrd said an estimated 300,000 septic tanks are draining into the lagoon, killing the ecosystem.
The suit demands the state fix the system, most likely by installing sewers.
"This has been a barbaric practice that the state has known about for 30 years," said Byrd.
9 Investigates reached out to the Florida Department of Health, a named defendant in the suit, but have not heard back.

140313-b
$5.5 million approved for water project in Bay County
WMBB.com
March 13, 2014
The Northwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board voted today to provide nearly $5.5 million in grant funding to Bay County for the development of an alternative pump station for Deer Point Lake Reservoir, which serves as the county's primary water supply source.
"As Deer Point Lake Reservoir is vulnerable to impacts from major coastal storm surge events, this project is vital to ensuring a clean, safe and reliable supply of water for the region," said Governing Board Chairman George Roberts. "The District is pleased to partner with Bay County to implement this project and achieve one of our long-standing water supply planning priorities."
The funding will be used to develop an upstream intake near the mouth of Econfina Creek. The project includes the construction of a surface water intake, pump station and pipeline—which will have the capacity to deliver approximately 30 million gallons per day (mgd) of raw water to the Bay County Water Treatment Plant. 
 "The new pumping station will be located in the northernmost portion of Deer Point Lake Reservoir," said Paul Lackemacher, Utility Services Director at Bay County Utilities Services.  "This new pumping station, surface water intake, and pipeline will ensure our residents that the County will have an available back-up water supply in the event of extreme conditions."
Bay County provides water for local governments and utilities across the county. The development of this alternative water supply source will improve Bay County's water supply and provide water for the public while also sustaining water resources and associated natural systems. 
"This project is vital to ensuring a safe and reliable water supply for the residents, visitors, and businesses of Bay County," said Chairman Guy Tunnell of the Bay County Board of County Commissioners. "We thank the Northwest Florida Water Management District for their support and look forward to continuing to work with them to manage and protect Bay County's water and natural resources."
Deer Point Lake Reservoir is included as a priority in the Northwest Florida Water Management District's Region III Regional Water Supply Plan. The District continues to work with local governments and utilities across the Florida panhandle to provide communities and natural resources with a sustainable supply of water. In addition to this funding, the District recently announced nearly $10 million in grant funding for 24 water supply projects across Northwest Florida. 
Related:           Bay County to get $5.5 million water grant   The News Herald

140313-c
Citizens of Florida rally at Capitol in defense of clean water
EarthJustice.org – by David Guest
March 13, 2014
Grassroots movement demands an end to slimy, toxic waterways
Hundreds of citizens came from all over Florida to the state Capitol in Tallahassee on Feb. 18 with a strong message for the state’s leaders: we have a fundamental right to clean water, and we want our leaders to preserve that right.
The Clean Water Tally Rally also drew some forward-thinking legislators who stood with the demonstrators and said they are concerned about the water quality decline in the Sunshine State. All the leaders signed our grassroots movement’s Clean Water Declaration, which says:
The people of Florida have an inalienable right to:
1) Clean drinking water whether that water is drawn from public sources or private wells.
2) Safe lakes, streams, springs, rivers, canals and coastal waters for swimming and fishing.
3) Protection from water pollution and its effects.
4) Know the sources of pollution that threaten Florida’s waters.
5) Protection from water privatization and its effects.
6) Abundant water for drinking, fishing and recreation.
The people of Florida, the state government and the industries that benefit from Florida’s natural resources have the responsibility to:
1) Stop pollution at its source rather than allowing it to enter our waters.
2) Protect Florida’s waters, as well as the people who depend on them, from overconsumption and privatization.
3) Protect the natural environment which is critical to the health of Florida's people, wildlife and economy.
4) Provide clean water for future generations.
The lively Capitol rally is part of a movement that started with demonstrations in various parts of the state by people who are fed up by green slime covering their local rivers, lakes, bays and springs.
It’s good to see people keeping the pressure up. A recent poll by the University of Florida's Center for Public Issues Education found that Floridians rank water as the third-most important issue facing the state. Water ranked just behind the economy and health care but ahead of taxes and education in the survey, conducted in December. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they'd pay a 10 percent increase in water bills if the money would be used to ensure future water supplies.
To those of us in the legal trenches, where fighting for enforceable water standards can feel like a walk through Alice in Wonderland, this groundswell of citizen activism and concern is good to see. All of our hearts are breaking to watch the gorgeous waters of this sought-after state turn green and cloudy and too dangerous to swim in.

140313-d
Climate change showdown in Florida governor's race
InsideClimateNews.org - by Katherine Bagley
March 13, 2014
‘Areas will be wiped out and communities evacuated.'
'Even if the [average] forecasts for sea level rise come true, much of the state will be in trouble, Florida, the most vulnerable state in the country to climate change, faces a key election this November that could have significant ramifications for its ability to cope with the challenge of rising seas and intensifying coastal storms.
If incumbent Tea Party-aligned Rick Scott is reelected governor, it is expected to mean four more years of inaction on global warming. His likely opponent, Democrat Charlie Crist, a former governor of Florida, is committed to aggressive climate action. Environmental groups, scientists and policy experts say that if Crist or another climate hawk wins, it would give the state at least a shot at staving off the worst effects of global warming. 
"It is critically important that the governor of Florida take action on climate change," said Frank Jackalone, senior organizing manager of the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club. "Even if the [average] forecasts for sea level rise come true, much of the state will be in trouble, areas will be wiped out and communities evacuated."
Florida is widely seen as America's ground zero for global warming because the majority of its population and economy is concentrated along low-elevation oceanfront.
The state has already experienced as much as nine inches of sea level rise along its nearly 1,200 miles of coastline. Beaches and barrier islands are starting to disappear and oceanfront cities such as Miami and Fort Lauderdale frequently flood during heavy rainstorms and full-moon high tides. Florida's geologic makeup also poses a problem. Rising salt water is creeping through the porous rock underlying much of the state and into freshwater aquifers, threatening the drinking supply for millions of Americans.
Scientists warn these problems will get worse as the climate warms and coastal development booms. The state, about to pass New York as the nation's third most populous, could see an additional seven to nine inches of sea level rise by 2030, and more than three feet by 2100—which could put a third of southern Florida underwater.
"The longer we wait to take action, the harder it will be to turn the course in terms of impacts," said Jennifer Jurado, director of Broward County's natural resources planning and management in southeast Florida.
Though nearly 84 percent of Floridians believe the climate is changing, according to a Stanford University poll, the issue ranks low among voters who put much higher priority on the state's economy and education. That has left state lawmakers who downplay climate change open to do what they please without much notice or protest from voters.
During the past three years, Gov. Scott, a climate skeptic allied with fossil fuel companies, has led a systematic unraveling of nearly all the climate policies passed under his predecessor Crist. Several coastal communities have tried to take up the slack by implementing local climate policies—but they have found themselves limited in what they can do without financial and legislative support from Tallahassee, Florida's capital.
Scott spokeswoman Jackie Schutz declined to answer questions about the governor's actions to undo climate policy and what he plans to do on climate if reelected. She said only that Scott "believes we need to be good stewards of our natural resources" and "has invested in Florida's environment."
Crist, a former Republican, has pledged to restore climate change as a top priority. "As governor, I tackled climate change head-on, promoting new green energy jobs, making our state more energy-efficient and supporting the construction of one of the world's largest solar energy plants," he told InsideClimate News. "Some of that progress has been undone under this governor, but I'm an optimist. ... I believe we can grow our economy and take on climate change at the same time."
Experts say there's more at stake in this race than Florida's own climate progress.
Once reliably Republican, Florida's electorate has become more polarized in recent years, as populations grew in liberal cities and the Tea Party took hold and thrived in conservative rural areas. Its divided political landscape—plus its sheer size—make Florida a good microcosm of voters' views on climate issues across the country, according to Barry Rabe, an expert on the politics of climate change at the University of Michigan and a fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Whether climate becomes a priority in Florida "is an indicator of how significant or salient [the issue] is going to be" in the next presidential race," he said. It "is an early measure or test for 2016."
Florida's History of Climate Action
Scientists began warning lawmakers in Tallahassee about the dangers of climate change in the late 1990s, but it wasn't until Crist entered the governor's office in 2007 that state leaders began talking about the issue seriously, said Walter Rosenbaum, an expert in environmental and energy policy at the University of Florida.
During Crist's first few months in office, he signed executive orders calling for stricter tailpipe emission limits for cars sold in Florida, reductions in the state's greenhouse gas emissions, and a mandate requiring utilities to generate at least 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Over the course of the next few years, he stacked the Public Service Commission with appointees who had similar climate views as him, resulting in the PSC's rejection of six new coal-fired power plants. Crist also helped broker deals for solar and wind facilities across the state. He signed into law the Florida Climate Protection Act in 2008, which urged the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a greenhouse gas reduction strategy. The bill also created the Florida Energy and Climate Commission to be housed within the Governor's Office. The group was in charge of devising climate change programs and policies, such as increasing energy efficiency and raising funds for adaptation projects.
On a more personal level, Crist installed solar panels on the governor's mansion and was transported around Tallahassee in an ethanol-powered car. He was frequently heralded as a "climate crusader" by the media and put into the same category as former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Arizona Senator John McCain—Republican leaders who pushed hard for global warming action while most of their party-mates maintained that nothing was happening.
But Crist's actions caused pushback from fellow Republicans and he gradually scaled back his climate agenda. (McCain did the same thing around that time.) In 2009, Crist decided not to run for a second term, opting instead to enter the race for an open Senate seat. In the primary, he went up against Tea Party favorite Marco Rubio, speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. On the campaign trail, talk of climate change virtually disappeared from Crist's rhetoric—a move that some critics say he made to appease the growing far-right wing in his party. When he lost the primary to Rubio, who appeared to shift from a climate change believer to a skeptic midway through the race, he continued his pursuit of the Senate seat as an Independent. In November 2010, he lost the election to Rubio.
"No matter how far he tried to move back to the right to appease the Tea Party and conservative business interests, it didn't work," said Jackalone of the Sierra Club. "They didn't trust him."
In the same year, Rick Scott, a former hospital CEO and venture capitalist, narrowly defeated Democrat Alex Sink for the governor's seat, left open when Crist decided to go for the Senate. Scott poured an estimated $75 million of his own money into his campaign. He was also heavily buoyed by Tea Party support. On the campaign trail, Scott told reporters that he had "not been convinced" that climate change was happening and human caused. It was one of the only times Scott spoke about the issue before winning the election. When he took office, the new governor quietly began dismantling all of the climate initiatives passed by the Crist administration. 
Under Scott's guidance, the state legislature repealed Crist's Climate Protection Act and dissolved the Energy and Climate Commission. The Department of Environmental Protection ceased all climate change policy and programming. He killed mandates for renewable energy and initiatives to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Scott also appointed several well-known climate skeptics to key positions in state government, including to the Public Service Commission, which regulates electric, natural gas and other utilities. 
"It was a very deliberate and conspicuous reversal of policies," said Rosenbaum, the environmental policy expert at the University of Florida. "There was no ambiguity about it."
Several local communities projected to be hit hardest by climate change stepped in to try to fill the void. Four of the southernmost counties in the state—Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach—set up an alliance to coordinate mitigation and adaptation strategies to protect the region's 5.6 million residents. So far the coalition, known as the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact, has adopted unified sea level rise projections for use by municipal planners, examined how climate change will impact human health in the area and created a regional climate action plan.
But without leadership and support from the state, there's only so much they can do, said Jurado, who represents Broward County in the alliance.
"It makes it challenging when you're trying to advance local infrastructure that is resilient and the concurrent investments being made at the state level don't represent those same design standards or considerations," she said. The result is a patchwork of climate-resilient structures—roads, bridges and buildings funded by local governments to withstand climate threats sit next to state-funded projects that are not.
According to research by Ben Strauss, a climate change and sea level rise expert at Climate Central, an independent research and news organization, there are approximately $156 billion worth of property and 300,000 homes less than three feet above the high tide line in Florida. There are also 2,555 miles of road, 35 public schools, one power plant and 966 hazardous waste dumps and sewage treatment plants at the same level. All of these structures are at risk from permanent or frequent flooding due to sea level rise.
Scientists and municipal planners say the rising seas will likely turn underground aquifers into salty water, contaminating the drinking supply for millions of Floridians. And it will force the groundwater table across the state closer to the surface, which could prevent floodwaters after heavy storms from draining or cause salt water to pool in inland areas, destroying vegetation.
The Everglades, Florida's beloved ecological gem, could be inundated with saltwater due to sea level rise. The change in salinity would damage 734 square miles of freshwater marshland that acts not only as a hub of economic activity, but also an important natural buffer against storms.
Ben Kirtman, a climate scientist at the University of Miami and a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's latest assessment, said he and other scientists have tried talking to politicians in Florida about these risks, including both Scott and Rubio, who is a possible presidential contender in 2016. But they have largely been ignored.
Kirtman said that is partly the result of "political forces getting out of control" and partly the fault of scientists.
"Scientists have spent way too much time focused on what is going to happen in 2100 and beyond,” he said. "For politicians and the guy on the street, however, that is a hard timeline to wrap your head around. We've been trying to frame the issue around what is going to happen in the immediate future, but I worry we're too late. They aren't listening."
The Year Ahead
For many experts, Crist's campaign is a glimmer of hope that climate change could return to Florida politics. A poll conducted last month by the University of Florida put Crist ahead of Scott by seven points. Another by Quinnipiac University showed a similar lead. 
But supporters are still concerned about his chances of winning. Crist formally left the Republican Party in 2012 and registered as a Democrat, angering GOP leaders across the state. It is unclear how Scott's strategists will capitalize on the party-switch and how Florida voters will react. Nan Rich, a popular former state senator and Crist's main opponent in the primary, calls herself "the only true Democrat running for governor of Florida." Rich supports environmental protection, but hasn't focused much on climate change during her career.
"[Crist] is vulnerable to the criticism that he is like a pancake, he flips sides, and is therefore not reliable in his commitment to issues—and the Republicans have certainly recognized it," Rosenbaum said.
Scott's campaign said it expects to spend at least $100 million on his reelection. Until recently, that amount was far larger than what pundits expected Crist to spend. Late last month, however, investment banker-turned-climate campaigner Tom Steyer announced he and his political organization, Next Gen Climate Action, would spend $100 million during the 2014 campaigns to get state and federal candidates who prioritize climate change elected. A significant portion of that money will be spent on the Crist-Scott race in Florida—though a spokeswoman for the organization wouldn't reveal details.
Environmental groups in Florida are paying close attention to the race. The Sierra Club's Jackalone said the organization has not made a decision about who it will endorse between Crist and Rich, but will get involved soon with ad campaigns and voter outreach. It also plans to push candidates to focus on climate and environmental issues during in the campaign.
"Every time [Floridians] see a major superstorm hit, like Sandy or Katrina, we all know it could be us next," said Jackalone. "There is a lot of debate and discussion about whether the increasing temperatures will increase hurricane activity. That scares people. It is on their minds, but they aren't sure what to do about it. That is why we need good public servants."
Even if Crist does get elected, he will likely be forced to tackle climate change through executive orders—similar to what President Obama has been forced to do at the national level—because the state legislature is expected to stay predominantly conservative, said Rabe at the University of Michigan.
"Unless there is some huge shift in Florida politics giving Crist a Democratic legislature, which is a long shot, I think he would face pretty formidable obstacles," he said.
But according to several experts, even executive action would be better than the no action they've seen the last few years in Florida by Scott.
"People, especially in south Florida, are almost literally getting their ankles wet," said Rosenbaum. "The state can't afford to put this off any longer."

140313-e
Columnist Carl Hiaasen aims to connect with readers' frustrations
Herald-Tribune - by Susan Rife
March 13, 2014
Columnist and social critic Carl Hiaasen hasn't entirely given up hope that his thousands of words in print in the Miami Herald will have much of an effect on life in the Sunshine State.
"There's certainly an element of beating your head against the wall," acknowledged Hiaasen, who on Tuesday will be keynote speaker at the Library Foundation for Sarasota County's 2014 Author Luncheon. His topic: "Stranger than Fiction."
"The corruption is just as bad as ever. Florida is an absolute cesspool for public corruption, always, beginning back before statehood," he said in a recent phone interview.
But, he said, "certain things, you do see a ray of hope, not because of anything I've written but because people are getting more educated. Kids in particular are much more plugged in, much more aware and savvy than my generation and that's encouraging."
The purpose of his columns instead is to try to "establish a connection with the readers who feel the same way and don't feel their voices are heard. A lot of us frustrated, a lot of us are pissed off. They find a resonance in your column and that's why they read them."
Hiaasen, a Florida native and graduate of the University of Florida, has spent his entire journalism career at the Miami Herald. He's been writing his column since 1985; a new collection, "Dance of the Reptiles," has just been published by .....and debuted at No. 15 on the New York Times best sellers list.
The collection was edited by Diane Stevenson, who's edited two earlier collections as well.
"She generously offered to go through years and years of columns," said Hiaasen. "I can't do it. I'm not objective about it at all and don't have the time. She gets a boxful of stuff that she thinks is OK and worth putting in a collection and I start going through it."
Reviewing "a tonnage of material" points out recurring themes, "and you could white-out the name of one scoundrel from 10 years ago and put another one in today."
He's also written repeatedly about the environmental damage done to the Everglades and other vast swathes of Florida in the name of development and "this locomotive engine of greed (that) has always been what runs Florida."
But, he said, crazy levels of public corruption in Florida don't mean every public servant is corrupt.
"There are a lot of very good people in public service and in public office," he said. "They really try to do their best. That shouldn't be overlooked. There are people who do the right things for the right reason and sometimes they get trampled. I write the column so people will remember that they're out there."In addition to his columns, Hiaasen has kept up a steady publication schedule of comic and satiric fiction, and for the last decade or so has delved into books for young readers.
"Originally I was going to do one" book for kids," he said. "My stepson and nephews and nieces were all about the same age. They were clamoring to read the grown-up novels which they were not allowed to do."
Instead, he wrote "Hoot," published in 2002.
"It was really sort of ripped out of my own childhood," he said, and meant to be something to give to the young readers in the family. Since "Hoot," he's written "Flush," "Scat" and "Chomp," with a fifth coming out in September.
"It took off, unimaginable to me, and the mail — you get hundred and hundreds of letters every year from kids who read these books. It opened my eyes. You get so cynical in the news business. I got a pack of letters from South Korea the other day. You don't ever think that they'd touch the same nerve as they do in Flodau.e You hat to use the word inspirational, but I read them and I think this is kind of an important thing to be doing. They're probably the best thing I ever did.
"The adult books are written from a different place; they're really psychotherapeutic for me. The tone is similar, but the adult books are something I had to write to purge the demons. The kids' books come from a little different place."

140313-f
Help for the Everglades faces $100 million hurdle
Sun Sentinel - by Andy Reid
March 13, 2014
Delivering help for the Everglades and relief for polluted coastal waterways requires squeezing $100 million a year of public money out of the Florida Legislature, South Florida officials said Thursday.
Cost concerns remain a huge hurdle for the Central Everglades plan — which could get more Lake Okeechobee water flowing south to the Everglades instead of draining it out to sea and hurting coastal fishing grounds.
Florida officials are trying to persuade Congress to split the nearly $2 billion total cost of the new Everglades project, but must first show how the state would pay for its share.
On Thursday, the South Florida Water Management District — which leads Everglades restoration — disclosed that it anticipates needing $100 million a year for about 20 years from the state's Save Our Everglades Trust Fund to pay for the Central Everglades plan and other ongoing restoration efforts.
But the Everglades Trust Fund isn't as trustworthy a funding source as it sounds, with state lawmakers ultimately deciding how much of that money flows to Florida's famed River of Grass.
The Everglades trust fund money directed to the water management district has been cut back during lean budget years, yo-yoing from $176 million in 2008 to $27 million in 2013. This year it was about $67 million. That raises questions about whether the money for the Central Everglades project will be there when needed.
Next month, the water management district's nine-member board will be asked to support moving the project forward, despite the cost concerns.
The money is there if state officials are willing to spend it, according to Martha Musgrove, of the Florida Wildlife Federation.
"This is just an essential step, so suck it up and take it," Musgrove said.
While the money for this project may be there, the costs of Everglades restoration continue to grow for taxpayers.
In addition to the $1.8 billion Central Everglades proposal to start moving more lake water south, the state is also pursuing an $880 million plan to clean up Everglades water pollution.
Those expenses are in addition to the nearly $2 billion that Florida taxpayers have already spent for Everglades restoration.
District officials contend that the state money will be there when needed to pay for the Central Everglades plan.
"We will be financially capable," said Tom Teets, who is heading the Central Everglades project for the district.
The Central Everglades plan calls for removing portions of levees, filling in canals and increasing pumping to get more Lake Okeechobee water moving south toward Everglades National Park.
Water overflowing Lake Okeechobee's southern rim used to naturally flow south and replenish the Everglades, until South Florida farming and development got in the way.
Now to avoid South Florida flooding, lake water gets dumped to the coast, with damaging environmental consequences.
Last summer, the discharge of hundreds of billions of gallons of fresh lake water into normally salty estuaries was blamed for killing sea grass and oyster beds, scaring off fish and fueling toxic algae blooms that made some coastal waterway unsafe for swimming.
The Central Everglades plan is aimed at redirecting at least some of those freshwater discharges from the lake, which are so damaging to the coast, to help the thirsty Everglades.
The state needs to "move that water in different directions, rather than those damaging discharges [to] the estuaries," said Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart, where waterways suffered from the discharges.
The water management district, which has a $622 million budget, can afford to pay for the Central Everglades plan, said Caroline McLaughlin of the National Parks Conservation Association.
"This will have benefits through the entire system," McLaughlin said. "We need to continue moving forward."

140313-g
Where does your water come from ?
WLRN.com - by Elaine Chen
March 13, 2014
If you mention “desalination,” most people probably think you mean taking salt out of seawater, and they probably think you’re talking about what happens in desert nations in the Middle East.
While the United States doesn’t desalinate as much as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, the country's share is growing, and the state that desalinates the most is Florida, “the land of 1,000 springs.”
Communities around the state are by and large taking salt out of brackish water from the ground. Brackish water is a lot less salty than ocean water, which makes it cheaper to process.
Within the state, the region that’s desalinating the most is South Florida.
Why salt
The reason South Florida’s turning to a saltier water source is that relying entirely on our traditional water source, the Biscayne Aquifer, is no longer an option.
That's because we’re not the only ones who rely on the Biscayne: the Everglades do as well. And that already damaged ecosystem would continue to deteriorate if we kept increasing our water withdrawals.
We also risked ruining the Biscayne Aquifer itself.
Charlie DaBrusco, director of environmental services with the city of Deerfield Beach, explains, “The more cities that wound up pulling water out of the Aquifer, the more saltwater intrusion became a problem.”
Very salty seawater started to get mixed in with freshwater.   
So in the last several years, communities in South Florida and nearby have built facilities to tap into another aquifer, the Floridan Aquifer.
Within the South Florida Water Management District, which stretches from Orlando to the Keys, cities and utilities have more than quadrupled the amount of water they can desalinate, from about 60 million gallons a day in 2000 to about 250 million gallons a day in 2012.
Most of the state already relies on the Floridan, a huge groundwater source that lies underneath the entire state and parts of Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina.
In Central Florida, the water in the Floridan aquifer is fresh and close to the surface, much as the Biscayne is for us. But as water in the Floridan Aquifer moves south, it picks up salt from the rocks it flows through. In South Florida, the Floridan Aquifer is farther down, more than 1,000 feet, and it’s saltier.
The cost
To get that salt out, utilities have to use more energy to filter the water, which means more money. Though it depends on the size of the facility and how salty the water is, the cost to process Floridan water is 30 percent to 300 percent more expensive than the Biscayne.
But most likely consumers of desalinated water probably didn’t notice a big difference in their water bill. That’s partly because water pricing isn’t a real-time reflection of actual costs and partly because the proportion of water coming from the Floridan is still small in most parts of South Florida.
Water customers of Miami-Dade County only recently started getting desalinated water when a facility opened up in Hialeah earlier this year. That plant provides 7.5 million gallons a day (mgd) of Floridan Aquifer water. But the county supply is about 310 mgd.
In the South Florida Water Management District as whole, desalinated water provides less than 10 percent of the water used.
Despite the cost, the Floridan Aquifer is still a pretty good alternative to the Biscayne because It’s drought-proof. The Floridan is so deep and sits below a layer of non-porous rock, it doesn’t depend on rainfall here.
Answer for future water needs?
But it does depend on rainfall in Orlando.
 “Maybe 5 years ago, people were thinking [the Floridan Aquifer] was a sustainable source,” says Jeff An, assistant director of public services for North Miami Beach. But now, An adds, state agencies and cities in South Florida realize “the Floridan Aquifer is not really a long-term solution.”
Remember that layer of rock protecting the aquifer ? It also means none of our rainwater gets in. To recharge, water must travel down from Central Florida, and it takes a long time.
Virginia Walsh, hydrogeologist with MIami-Dade Water & Sewer, estimated, “30,000 to 35,000 years.”
 “I wouldn’t say it’s quite geologic time,” says Mark Elsner who heads the water supply development section at the South Florida Water Management District.  
Moreover, we still don’t know how much we can really rely on the Floridan. The South Florida Water Management District is studying out how much water South Florida can safely take from the Floridan Aquifer.
Central Florida right now is finding that it can’t pump a much greater share from the Floridan without impacting wetlands, springs and rivers up there.
Cynthia Barnett is an environmentalist and journalist who has written a lot about Florida’s water problems. “One of our past mistakes, which you can see in the Everglades,” she says, “has been over-reliance on big solutions instead of just trying to live differently with the water we have.”
Failing that, if our consumption continues to grow, we may need to look to our largest water source, the ocean. And then our water systems would indeed start to look more like desert nations in the Middle East.

140312-a
Campaign for clean water meets with EPA
Ft.Myers BeachTalk.com - Guest commentary by John Heim , Fort Myers Beach Bulletin, Fort Myers Beach Observer
March 12, 2014
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency held a informational meeting at the South Florida Water Management District office in Fort Myers to better explain what the state level is doing to protect our waterways. During the meeting, local clean water activists brought the EPA a present of more than 50 dead oyster shells as a way to show the evidence of what we are losing from our waters being deemed unhealthy. During the Lake O discharges last year, 100 percent of our local oyster population was killed off.
My daughter, Willow Bird Heim, and I wanted to make a statement to the EPA from our community by placing each dead oyster one by one on the desks of the EPA reps. The looks on their faces was of sheer shame, while I promised more acts of civil disobedience at every meeting that has anything to do with our water standards and by any agency deemed responsible for our local water woes. Frustration began to build as the EPA admitted to being so short staffed that they cannot keep up with the amount of impaired water ways throughout Florida and asked for the public's help to report them when observed. The EPA also spoke of a list that they have to keep tabs on the ailing waters, which in fact are on their list of critical bodies of water.
Willow was depressed that the leaders are not doing their jobs when it comes to keeping our local waters clean of pollution. She spoke to the local NBC2 media outlet of how this is not right for us "all" and that her "home" being neglected. Many times when posed a question to the EPA about solutions and remedies, the EPA basically looked dumbfounded and answered questions by circling around them as a whole. The water quality activists became frustrated and began to demand action not only from the EPA, yet promised to do it ourselves if they will not. We informed the EPA that the clean water movement is more than 300,000 members strong statewide and that the power of the people will hold them accountable for not doing their jobs as well as promising more rallies and educational forums to be ongoing every month statewide.

140312-b
Coral Gables Museum will hold a panel discussion Thursday on South Florida’s fragile water supply
Miami Herald - by Matias J. Ocner, South Florida News Service
March 12, 2014
Imagine turning the faucet on a hot summer day in South Florida and nothing comes out.
This was almost the case in West Palm Beach in 2011, when a significant drought lowered the level of the local lakes from which the city drew its drinking water. The city was within weeks of running out of water.
West Palm Beach is not an isolated case. Much of South Florida gets its drinking water from the Everglades, which is involved in a complex federal restoration project in which managers are trying to balance environmental needs with the state’s agricultural interests.
“The Everglades Ecosystem is the drinking water supply for 7.9 million Floridians,” said Dawn Shirreffs, senior policy advisor for the Everglades Foundation. “Local folks need to be active and stay in support of Everglades restoration because it has a direct impact on our daily lives.”
Shirreffs is one of three speakers who will lead a panel discussion on water at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Coral Gables Museum, which last week opened an exhibit called “Water is Life.” Douglas Yoder, deputy director of Miami-Dade’s Water and Sewer Department, and Silvia L. Garzoli, Ph.D., an oceanographer, will join Shirreffs on the panel.
“Water is everything,” said Rosa Lowinger, who curated the exhibit and who has almost 30 years of experience in sculpture and decorative art. “We are water, and without water we don’t sustain ourselves.”
Lowinger, who worked with 11 Coral Gables galleries and students from the Masters of Fine Arts program at the University of Miami, chose 26 pieces to display for the exhibit.
“What is interesting is that we have such a good variety,” Lowinger said. “We have color photography, we have black-and-white photography, we have paintings, works on papers, and there’s quite a number of sculptural pieces.”
Coral Gables Mayor Jim Cason emphasized the exhibit’s important teaching role.
“We were able to bring arts relating to water into the museum, as well as having a panel of experts to remind people of how important those rising waters and falling waters are,” he said.
Droughts are not the only threat facing Florida. Water managers also have to contend with the impact of flooding during the rainy season.
“This summer with the heavy rains, we wound up having to dump massive amounts of water from Lake Okeechobee out into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee River estuaries,” Shirreffs said. “That resulted in unbelievable ecological and economic damage.”
Chantal Gabriel, a creative-writing student at the University of Miami, attended the exhibit opening.
“It gives me a sense of unity, of how much we're connected to nature,” said Gabriel. “Water is essential, and there are some really interesting pieces that can promote conversation.”
Among those pieces: two sculptures by Lauren Shapiro, 29, a visual artist and UM graduate student. She described one of her works as a “ceramic vessel that is a highly texturized piece, a hybrid between a coral reef with human features. . . . Sometimes, it seems that nature is very inhuman, but it’s the idea that the sea is alive, a coral reef is alive.”
The exhibit benefits students such as Shapiro, connecting them to local galleries.
“If I were an artist that had that opportunity, I would really put my mind into trying to come up with something really out of this world,” said Sergio Cernuda, senior art consultant for Cernuda Arte. “You just never know who is looking.”
Cernuda Arte lent the exhibition two pieces by Manuel Mendive, an Afro-Cuban Yoruba priest from West Africa.
“He was really the perfect fit,” said Cernuda. “Many times, [Mendive] depicts Yemaya, who is the goddess of water of this religion. Their way of life is to protect water and to keep it clean.”
For Yoder, the deputy director of Miami-Dade’s Water and Sewer Department, the exhibit brings to life the importance of water — a fact he is focused on.
“In the last 100 plus years, public supply systems have come to be taken for granted by the public in general, which is not at all the case in the rest of the world,” Yoder said. “I think any effort to [sensitize] people to the value of water is a good thing to do.”

140312-c
EPA extends comment period on oil company drilling in Everglades, panther habitat
BrowardPalmBeach.com - by Fire Ant
March 12 2014
After a massive citizen turnout at public hearings in Naples yesterday, Environmental Protection Agency officials have extended the comment period on a Texas oil company's request to drill a wastewater disposal well in the Everglades.
Environmental activists at the meeting claim 300 to 400 of their number were in attendance. The Naples Daily News described them as an "angry crowd" and put their number at 200, reporting:
So many people packed the Golden Gate Community Center on Tuesday night to attend hearings on a water injection well for the proposed oil well in Golden Gate Estates that the Sheriff's Office finally had to close the doors.
See also: Oil Drilling in Everglades Subject of EPA Hearing in Naples Next Week
The immediate subject of Tuesday's hearing was a Class II underground injection well intended to service an exploratory oil well for which the Dan A. Hughes Co. of Houston has already won preliminary approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, though the oil well still faces legal challenges.
Both wells, and others the company plans, are located in Collier County, where Hughes mineral rights leases cover 115,000 acres, including large portions of the Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge, Big Cypress National Preserve and Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, home to some of Florida's last old-growth cypress.
What remains to be determined is whether the EPA will act on public comments and deny the injection well permit application. If it does, that could but will not necessarily put an end to the Hughes Co.'s oil drilling plans. The drillers could resort to disposal by truck of the exploratory well wastewater, though that prospect is likely to draw further citizen protest.
The agency could take from 60 to 90 days to make a ruling, according to a Region 4 media rep, and "even longer, depending on the volume of comments."
Related: Oil Industry Gets An Earful As It Eyes Florida's Everglades           90.5 WESA

140312-d
EPA should protect the endangered Florida panther, not oil and gas profits
Switchboard.NRDC.blog – by Amy Mall
March 12, 2014
Earlier this week, NRDC sent a letter to U.S. EPA asking the agency to deny a permit application for an oil and gas waste disposal well proposed in prime habitat for the endangered Florida panther in south Florida.
NRDC is very concerned that this wastewater disposal well would be located in prime habitat for the Florida panther--a very endangered species. The panther is so endangered, with perhaps only 100 individual panthers still in existence, that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has stated that “every individual is important for the panther’s survival.” Yet the oil and gas industry wants to turn this prime habitat into a dirty and dangerous oilfield. This proposed waste disposal site would threaten Florida panthers by: dramatically increasing vehicle traffic in the area with hundreds of truck trips, creating noise and light impacts that can disrupt panther habits, and leading to more human activity and other impacts. The map below illustrates locations of panthers documented by telemetry, sites where panthers have been killed by vehicles, the proposed wastewater disposal well site, and roads that trucks would travel that are right in the midst of panther habitat.
The waste that will be injected may be very toxic – but no one will know how dangerous it is because there are no requirements that the contents be disclosed. Oil and gas wastes have been shown to contain toxic substances which endanger both human health and the environment, but Congress exempted them from federal hazardous waste law back in the 1980s. Because of this loophole, oil and gas waste disposal wells aren’t built to standards needed to protect underground sources of drinking water from hazardous waste--regardless of how toxic the waste may be.
Compliance with the rules for these types of disposal wells is very poor. An investigation by the news outlet ProPublica found more than 1000 serious violations nationwide, and concluded that “fundamental safeguards are sometimes being ignored or circumvented." ProPublica also reported that the EPA staff that is charged with enforcing the law in Florida employs very few people to inspect these wells.
The Florida Panther was designated Florida's State Animal in 1982, and a national wildlife refuge was established for the panther in 1989. But panthers don't read maps and also venture outside the refuge on a regular basis. It's a critical time for the survival of the species, but nevertheless the oil and gas industry is eager to push ahead and put profits ahead of panthers.
The Endangered Species Act requires EPA to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that permit approval will not jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species. EPA needs to take the full scope of potential impacts on the panther population into consideration and consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as required by law.
In addition, there are important sources of drinking water near the site, but the EPA hasn’t fully assessed the risks posed to drinking water by the proposed injection well.
For all these reasons, NRDC opposes this injection well and urges EPA to deny the permit.
There was a clear divide between the activists and the state. The activists now have the state's attention. We reminded the EPA that we have been to Tallahassee several times and spoke with our leaders, including Governor Scott's personal aide. We have traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak as activists to Congress, and we have met with local reps such as Lizebeth Beniquesto, Matt Caldwell, Heather Fitzenhagen and many more. We spoke up to show them that we are doing our jobs as citizens and that we demand the same from them as the state. Also while in attendance , we as clean water activists asked the EPA to sign the declaration for clean water provided by the Sierra Club as a state-wide effort to raise awareness and to make the promise to be good stewards of our environment. The EPA refused to sign the pledge I am sad to report. Willow also explained of how there are no more sea life left, such as sand dollars and oysters and the new Lee County record of over 280 reported manatees lost due to water quality. She went on to explain that we will not be able to live here very much longer if something is not done quickly as the water being ill is making humans ill, while tourists will eventually stop coming here to our "home" and that we cannot make it without them vacationing here, which is our driving force financially to be able to live here.
Willow was in attendance as a "River Kid" - a youth Eco arts organization that has been formed on both east and west coasts of Florida to educate our kids of the reality and to get them involved to help protect the environment and to preserve their own futures as young clean water activists. The River Kidz have been to DC, the state capital and many more high-profile meetings to show their own force and voice their own concerns about their futures here in our state. We and our kids are fighting for you and our community and clean water in Florida and to end the neglect to our precious Eco system by the powers that be. We have a saying we use constantly as activists: "If we do nothing then we too are a part of the problem."
We will promise to fight as hard as we can to end this madness. We ask for you too to get involved for clean water as residents.
John. G. Heim is a clean water activist who was recently honored as River Champion by Washintgon D.C.-based American Rivers organization.
Related:           Protestors rally at EPA and DEP meetings in Golden Gate   Wink News
EPA Extends Comment Period on Oil Company Drilling in ...         New Times Broward-Palm Beach (blog)
Angry crowd urges EPA to reject permit related to Estates oil well ...          Naples Daily News

140312-e
Good land management saves water
Sun Sentinel - by Ernie Barnett
March 12, 2014
South Florida received over 45 inches of rainfall in 2013, making it the wettest season since 1960. This excessive rainfall caused Lake Okeechobee to rapidly rise, prompting the Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of lake water out to sea to ease the strain on the dike that protects lakeside communities from flooding.
To compound the problem, the Caloosahatchee River and St. Lucie River basins received extraordinary rainfall, causing runoff to flow into coastal estuaries. The deluge of basin and canal discharges disrupted the balance of salt and fresh water in the estuaries and brought an influx of sediment and nutrients that harmed vital coastal habitats.
Gov. Rick Scott, Sen. Joe Negron and Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. tasked the South Florida Water Management District to quickly help alleviate harmful effects of the excess freshwater flowing into the estuaries.
The district implemented a plan that included operational and structural changes to the regional flood control system, diverting water south to be treated through stormwater treatment areas before flowing into the Everglades, and also partnered with private landowners to store water on ranchlands and citrus groves.
This past year, over 16 billion gallons of water were retained on private lands in South Florida, which strengthened my belief that private landowners provide significant benefits through continued stewardship of their lands. Additionally, ranchers and other landowners worked with water management districts by storing excess surface water on private lands, and this "dispersed water management" effort has been expanded to include "water farming" on fallow citrus groves.
Private landowner involvement typically includes cost-share cooperative projects, easements or payment for environmental services. Holding water on these lands provides valuable groundwater recharge for water supply, improves water quality and enhances habitats. The partnerships avoid high land acquisition and management costs and keeps land on local tax rolls.
Funding will provide water managers with an important tool to help provide flood protection and protect Florida's natural resources. Undoubtedly, the partnerships with farmers, ranchers, and grove owners should be part of a comprehensive approach to meet Florida's water management needs.
Ernie Barnett is a former interim executive director of the South Florida Water Management District and is currently the director of Water and Land Advisors, Inc. an environmental consulting firm in West Palm Beach.

140312-f
Making our water problems worse
Gainesville.com – by Bill Bucolo, President of the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida
March 12, 2014
On a day people from across the state traveled to Tallahassee to voice their concerns about the appalling water quality problems of our state, one politician attempted to hijack this public concern and direct it towards empowering the state of Florida to commit even greater environmental abuses.
Senator Joe Negron, R-Stuart, released a statement that said, “I am asking Congress to remove the Army Corps’ sole jurisdiction over Lake Okeechobee releases …”
Negron’s attempt to evict the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from Lake Okeechobee, Caloosahatchee River and St. Lucie River water control structures is a deceptive maneuver aimed at convincing Floridians that the solution to our state’s current water problems is to get rid of the corps. The truth is the exact opposite.
For the past several years it has been only the Corps of Engineers that has worked to introduce some balance into water management decisions. The corps has listened to Caloosahatchee Estuary environmental advocates and sent much needed lake water westward in the dry season to moderate estuary salinity levels.
By contrast, the state of Florida agencies have failed to implement “shared adversity” whereby cities, agriculture, and the environment all share the hardships brought on by too much, too little or too dirty water.
If we allow Negron to get rid of the federal “adult in the room” then Florida pocket-politicians will have greater power to make our water problems even worse. They already have the inclination.

 140312-g
Nile crocodile captured in Everglades
Sun Sentinel - by David Fleshler
March 12, 2014
A Nile crocodile, thousands of miles from its native Africa, was captured alive over the weekend in Everglades National Park.
A criminal investigation has been opened by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission into how the reptile got there. Agency spokesman Jorge Pino said investigators think it escaped from a facility in the vicinity that has Nile crocodiles and they are conducting DNA tests to confirm this.
The crocodile is a young one, with a length of about five and a half feet.
But the species is the second-largest crocodile species in the world, behind only the saltwater crocodile of the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is capable of a reaching a length of 20 feet, dwarfing the native alligators and crocodiles of the Everglades.
Members of a volunteer group called the Swamp Apes spotted the crocodile in the park's Chekika area while looking for Burmese pythons, non-native snakes that have infested the park. A group of employees from various agencies cornered the crocodile in a canal, where it was captured.
Allowing the species to escape into the wild is a third-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500 and jail time of up to six months.
The Nile crocodile is thought to be responsible for 275 to 745 attacks on people a year, most of them fatal, making it the third-most dangerous species in Africa, after the lion and hippopotamus, according to the Crocodile Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Related:           Deadly Nile crocodile captured in Florida Everglades           Fox News
Deadly Nile croc captured in Everglades       Ocala
Nile crocodile captured in the Everglades      ActionNewsJax.com
Capture of Nile crocodile adds to Everglades invasion risk   Palm Beach Post
Two-year search for deadly Nile croc ends with capture in ...           Highly Cited-MiamiHerald.com
Nile Crocodile removed from Everglades National Park       The News-Press

140312-h
Tegu invasion worries Florida wildlife biologists
WUSEF News - by Robin Sussingham
March 12, 2014
Giant lizards called Argentine black and white tegus are coming out of hibernation right now -- and they're in the Tampa Bay area. Wildlife officials say the invasive species eat everything -- including the eggs and hatchlings of native animals that conservationists are trying hard to protect.
The tegus are native to South America, but now have breeding populations in Miami/Dade, Polk, and Hillsborough counties. They're kept as pets, but some escape or might be set loose when they get too big. They can grow to be about four feet long.
Brian Pavlina, self described herpetology enthusiast and wildlife educator, pursued one into an armadillo burrow in Brandon -- then spent the next eight hours digging out the three and a half foot lizard.
"These animals have very large claws and they're very strong," he says. They've also got a bite that's strong enough to crush your finger, and a powerful tail that whips around to kill their prey.
"I'd much rather handle an alligator than a tegu," says Pavlina.
Pavlina named his tegu "Beast" and keeps it as a pet, but that's rare. When state wildlife officials catch them, they euthanize them. Here -- in the land of scary critters -- like alligators, water moccasins, snapping turtles and sharks -- tegus are NOT welcome.
Frank Mazzotti, a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Florida, says biologists know that tegus have a voracious appetite. They especially love eggs, and they have the potential to harm the native ecosystem.
 "We're worried about their proximity to one of the biggest nesting habitats of American crocodiles, their proximity to the last remaining populations of Key Largo wood rats and Key Largo cotton mice, and their proximity to Everglades national park," Mazzotti says. 
And that's just in south Florida. Further north, they're also eating gopher tortoises, a species of special concern.
Mazzotti says that by  the time you can actually document negative effects, it will be too late.
 "That's the Burmese python situation," he says. "By the time it has built up to a size that you witness those impacts, it's too late to do anything about the population."
Mazzotti says it's going to take more money and more resources right now if they hope to contain the tegu.
One person who knows just how thin resources have been spread in this battle is conservation biologist Todd Campbell at the University of Tampa. Campbell was one of those who several years ago began sounding the alarm that the tegu had spread up to west central Florida. But Campbell was already swamped with work on invasives species.
"I was working on the Nile monitor in Cape Coral and had five other projects going on, one on the Cuban tree frogs up here, and some anolis lizards as well," Campbell says.
Meanwhile, much of the available money has been going toward the Burmese python -- the giant snake that's caused such a big public reaction since it was spotted slithering through  the Everglades.
Campbell was eventually able to hire a student assistant who spent the last two summers  trapping tegus, and she caught nearly 40 in a rural area southeast of Tampa. But trapping the big lizards takes expertise, and it takes money.  Campbell figured that one way to get more money to put into the effort would be by turning the tegu skins into leather and selling them. 
"The scales are beadlike, so they're very round and small," says Campbell. "Beautiful scales, and with a nice consistent pattern.
Campbell says he'd be happy if they could just make enough money to replace the tegu traps, but producing the leather does not make economic sense, so far. Though it might... if they start catching a lot more tegus, and no one knows for sure how many are out there.
Hundreds have been trapped in south Florida, but more recently there have been over a hundred tegu sightings near Tampa, around preserves and  remote agricultural lands. And that makes them like the Burmese python, Campbell says, because it's hard to know where they are and where to trap them. Which means, he says, that wildlife officials will be managing them, rather than eradicating them. In other words, they're probably here to stay.

140311-a
Bacteria No Match for Deep Floridan Aquifer
USGS – Press release
March 11, 2014
New USGS study assesses the fate of coliform bacteria in recharged water.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.-- A first of its kind study has the potential to impact future regulatory decisions on disinfection practices for water prior to its recharge or following its storage in the Floridan Aquifer.
The U.S Geological Survey report found that coliform bacteria die off faster in a regional aquifer system than was previously known, though a small percentage survives. One of the state's regulatory criteria for ensuring the quality of recharged water is whether it contains coliform bacteria.
Aquifer storage and recovery facilities have been used in Florida for about 30 years to store large volumes of water over long periods of time, increasing water supply during seasonal and multi-year droughts. Potable water, treated and untreated groundwater, partially treated surface water and reclaimed water is recharged into zones of the Floridan Aquifer and later recovered when needed.
"Although it is commonly believed that bacteria are few in number and mostly inactive in the lower zones of the Floridan aquifer system, we found relatively high numbers of bacteria that are alive and active," said USGS microbiologist, John Lisle. "However, when we looked specifically at coliform bacteria, we found that they died off at higher rates in the aquifer than was previously known." Understanding that coliform bacteria die off faster than previously known has the potential to shape the standards or monitoring requirements that are set.
In addition to the coliform die off data, this study is the first to characterize both the geochemistry and natural microbial ecology of the Floridan Aquifer and how they influence groundwater quality. It provides a baseline that can be used to enhance geochemical models that predict changes in groundwater quality following any type of recharge event.
"Characterization of native bacterial communities in aquifers is important because of the direct connection between some groundwater quality variables and bacterial activities. Groundwater bacteria catalyze geochemical reactions under conditions that can be significantly different within the same aquifer," said June Mirecki, a hydrogeologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "Fundamental studies, like this study, have significant implications for truly understanding the fate of contaminants in aquifers targeted for aquifer storage, carbon sequestration and deep well injection."
The Floridan Aquifer flows southward at between 800-3,000 feet below the ground. It is among the most productive groundwater sources in the U.S. The upper zones of the Floridan aquifer are used as a drinking water source, while the lower zones, like those in this study, have been targeted for the recharge of treated surface water and reclaimed water and carbon sequestration repositories.
The fate of coliform bacteria injected into the lower zones of the Floridan Aquifer was studied as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. The study was done in cooperation with the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The full report "Survival of Bacterial Indicators and the Functional Diversity of Native and Microbial Communities in the Floridan Aquifer, South Florida" by John T. Lisle is available online.

140311-
Charlie Crist loves to love you
TheAtlantic.com – by Molly Ball
March 11, 2014
Florida's ex-governor is running for his old job—now as a Democrat. Is he a craven opportunist or a voter-pleasing pragmatist for a time of ideological exhaustion ?
Every time I say something about politicians, Charlie Crist corrects me.
“Public servant. Please,” the former governor of Florida says, gently but firmly, a grave look in his big, long-lashed eyes. His eyebrows are raised, his tanned forehead furrowed. “Politician is such a derogatory.”
Crist is sitting across a flimsy table at a sandwich shop in the tony Miami suburb of Coral Gables. He has just flown in from Key West on a plane belonging to Steve Mostyn, a Texas-based trial lawyer and Democratic mega-donor. Crist’s shiny white hair is gel-combed into perfect rows. He is wearing tan seersucker pants with a belt embroidered with little palm trees and a short-sleeved cotton shirt with an electric-blue collar and narrow orange-and-white horizontal stripes. He has brought me a copy of his new book, inside which he has written, “Great to have you in Florida!!” The dots on the exclamation points form the eyes of a smiley face.
Over the past six years, the 57-year-old Crist has followed perhaps the most unusual trajectory of any American politician. As a popular Republican governor with an independent streak, he was vetted for his party’s 2008 vice-presidential nomination; by the spring of 2010, he was dropping out of a U.S. Senate primary and the Republican Party, one of the then-ascendant Tea Party’s proudest scalps. He ran as an independent in the general election but lost to the brash young state legislator who had pushed him out of the primary, Marco Rubio.
Crist now says he never should have been a Republican, the sort of blithe declaration that makes Florida Republicans choke on their food.
It did not take Crist long to begin refashioning a political identity. Rubio and the rest of his Republican foes had long accused him of being too liberal, too friendly to the Democratic president; they said he wasn’t fit to call himself a Republican. And so, in 2012, Crist took their advice. He endorsed President Obama for reelection, spoke at the Democratic convention, and stumped across Florida for him. After four days of counting, Obama was named the winner of Florida by the narrowest margin—less than a percentage point—of any state.
related story
The Agony of Crist
“The Crist story contains many lessons, but one is that the price of leaving your political party can be a radical form of political isolation. ‘It’s an incredibly sad story—it’s Shakespearean,’ a prominent Republican media consultant told me.”
In November 2013, in his hometown, St. Petersburg, Crist launched his Democratic campaign against Rick Scott, the current Republican governor.
The chutzpah of it! Florida Republicans, who thought they’d permanently excommunicated him from politics, still can’t quite believe this is happening. To them Crist is a joke, a con artist, a pathetic phony still lusting for approbation long past his sell-by date. A thousand Republican knives are out for him, the people he betrayed (or did they betray him first?) lining up to get their revenge: the Tea Party people, the Rubio people, the Jeb Bush people, the well-funded Republican Party of Florida machine Crist once commanded. The Scott campaign is said to be prepared to spend $100 million to defeat Crist. And yet despite it all, and despite a campaign that could generously be described as bare-bones, Crist leads in the polls. Democrats, desperate to take the Tallahassee governor’s mansion after two decades’ shutout, have embraced him. He could do it. He could win.
His bid, if Crist is to be believed, is about more than a politician hoping for a comeback. It is nothing less than a referendum on the politics of the moment.
An October 2013 ad for Crist's current gubernatorial campaign
In recent weeks, Crist’s campaign has dovetailed with the book tour for his new political memoir, The Party’s Over: How the Extreme Right Hijacked the GOP and I Became a Democrat. Like any campaign book, it is intermittently disingenuous, self-glorifying, and selective in its omissions and inclusions. But its underlying theme is difficult to dispute: that the Republican Party has been thrown into chaos by the right wing’s purifying zeal, and has often presented an unappealing face to the wider public as a result. If the unhinging of the GOP—the way the party of genteel stand-pattery came to be dominated by angry obstructionism—has been the dominant drama of American politics in recent years, no one has lived it more than Charlie Crist. He is martyr and mascot of the great Republican crack-up.
But what does Charlie Crist actually stand for? “Some use the word opportunist,” he tells me. (Crist is one of those politicians who will tell you all the terrible things people say about him.) “Yeah, this is a delightful opportunity, to run into a $100 million buzz saw face-first. That’s a joyous thought, right?”
What he stands for, he says, is “fairness and trying to treat people right.” He thinks now that he never should have been a Republican, the sort of blithe declaration that makes Florida Republicans choke on their food. But it’s true that Crist’s actions annoyed plenty of Republicans even when he was one of them. As a state senator in the 1990s, education commissioner in the Jeb Bush gubernatorial administration, state attorney general, and governor beginning in 2007, Crist enjoyed bucking his party. He blocked abortion restrictions, restored felons’ voting rights, sided with teachers unions and trial lawyers. He took aggressive action on the environment, including spending more than $1 billion in taxpayer money to buy back tens of thousands of acres of the Everglades from a sugar plantation and turn them into a preserve. Other than the party label, Crist says, “None of this is new. I haven’t really changed.”
“It irritates me when people say, ‘Oh, Charlie doesn’t have core beliefs,’ says Crist’s friend Steve Geller. “His core belief is that the voters are his boss.” 
Yet it takes only a casual perusal of the public record to find that plenty has changed. After voting for Florida’s gay-marriage ban in 2008, last year he announced his support for marriage equality. As a gubernatorial candidate in 2006, he once told a Catholic priest he would sign a restrictive ban on abortion; just hours later, he told reporters he didn’t think that was government’s role. Crist wears as a badge of courage his February 2009 appearance with Obama in support of the stimulus bill; he rarely mentions that a few months later he pretended not to know that the president would be appearing in the state. A few weeks ago, after years of supporting the Cuba embargo, he suddenly declared himself against it—conveniently, according to recent polling: Floridians are now mostly against the embargo, too.
Crist seems to have a nearly pathological need to tell people what they want to hear, and he is not very artful about covering his tracks. On the embargo, Crist tells me, a half-century of stasis proves it hasn’t been an effective policy and it’s time to try another approach. More generally, he says, “Yeah, well, you know what, if the president is allowed to have a new position now and again, can’t I? Isn’t it okay? Would you rather have your leaders be open-minded or head-in-the-sand?”
I ask Crist why anyone should trust him given his record of changing his mind. “Judge me by my deeds,” he says. “Who vetoed the ultrasound bill? Who vetoed the bill that would have been hard on teachers? I did. As a Republican. Who stood up for the Everglades? You know what you’re going to get if you vote for me.”
Some politicians are ideologues. Others are policy wonks. Crist is neither of these; he is an empath. He is elaborately, embarrassingly solicitous of everyone he meets: the waiter, the billionaire, the activist, the security guard, the local television reporter who thanks him for his time only to have him respond, “Oh, no, no, my pleasure! Thank you for taking your time!” He is especially good with old people, a valuable skill in Florida politics: kissing the old ladies, sympathizing with tales of hearing aids and detached retinas and heart surgeries. His handlers, to the extent he has them, spend an inordinate portion of their time trying and failing to extract Crist from restaurants, 7-Elevens, and street corners, where he just cannot stop meeting people and asking them questions. The owner of the sandwich shop where I'm interviewing Crist, a pepper-haired Frenchman, comes by to see if we need anything. “This is Pete!” Crist says. “Pete, this is Molly!” I see you've been here before, I say. “First time!” Crist says. “Now we’re friends.”
To Crist’s detractors, this exhausting, maniacal personability is a sign of a fundamental shallowness—a needy personality with nothing underneath. Crist’s allies insist it is a genuine human interest that is too rare in politics. “It irritates me when people say, 'Oh, Charlie doesn’t have core beliefs,'" Crist’s friend Steve Geller, a Democratic former state senate leader, tells me later. “His core belief is that the voters are his boss. Most people say that, but they don’t mean it. He does.” At first, this seemed to me to be a hilarious unwitting admission, defending Crist against the charge of lacking an ideology by arguing that his ideology is whatever people want it to be.
For days afterward, I find myself feeling more attentive, more curious, slower to anger. Crist makes people feel good. It’s what he does.
But maybe the reason people respond to Crist is that this quality is what people crave—and are not getting—from their leaders nowadays. A record number of voters call themselves neither Republican nor Democrat, and you cannot turn on cable news without hearing “partisan gridlock” bemoaned. A vast, unlistened-to swath of the electorate is burned out on ideology, tired of the passionate but unbending followers of rigid creeds, sick of politicians who say over and over that they “care about the issues” but don’t seem to care about them. To these voters, politics has become a game of litmus tests and talking points and constant, pointless argument, when all they really want is someone who feels their pain, who makes them feel safe, who listens and promises to help.
I ask Crist what he thinks the people of Florida know about him. “Well, I hope it’s that Charlie’s a good guy, and that he cares about us, and he'll try to do what’s right,” he says. “He may make mistakes, but he’s trying. He’s got our back. Because I do—really. I love them. I feel for them. I do.”
This declaration of fellow-feeling seems a remarkably naked encapsulation of Crist’s touchy-feely philosophy. In the cynical world of politics, believing this makes you basically an idiot. The voters of Florida may feel differently.
 “He goes up to the podium, we embrace, and that’s it for me as a Republican,” says Crist, describing the hug that was used against him during the 2010 Senate campaign. (AP Photo)
In 2010, at the high point of the Obama backlash that drove the Tea Party and swept Republicans into office up and down the ballot, Rick Scott barely defeated Alex Sink, the state’s chief financial officer, 49 percent to 48 percent, to become governor.
The fight to succeed Crist was an ugly, expensive battle between two little-loved candidates. Scott, a multimillionaire former hospital executive, was best known for the $1.7 billion fine his former company, Columbia/HCA, had paid to the Justice Department to settle charges of Medicare and Medicaid fraud during his tenure in the late 1990s—at the time, the largest healthcare-fraud case in history. Scott’s campaign spent $85 million on the race, including $73 million of Scott’s personal fortune; Sink’s spent $18 million. (This week, Sink lost again, this time as the Democratic nominee for a vacant congressional seat in a special election.) Skull-faced and terminally awkward, Scott has been nicknamed Voldemort by his detractors.
At the New Birth Baptist Church, an African-American megachurch in a part of town marked by barred windows and Caribbean restaurants, Crist is meeting with Bishop Victor T. Curry, a major power broker in the black community, who is telling him how to avoid Sink’s mistakes. In particular, Curry believes Sink’s poor outreach to the black community helped doom her campaign. So absent was she that Curry’s assistant once gave him a message reading, “Alex Sink called, he wants to speak with you.” Sink turned down invitations to speak to Curry’s congregation and to go on his radio show. Curry’s pitch is self-serving: Among other things, he wants Crist’s campaign to advertise on the gospel radio station he owns, which is struggling to stay afloat financially.
“We’re going to do that,” Crist says. “A lot.”
“Don’t take us for granted,” Curry says. “I want to vote for you. I don’t just want to vote against Rick Scott.” Crist’s liberalizations of the voting process, from expanding early voting to re-enfranchising felons, give him credibility with Curry, who has led the charge for voting reforms.
“Other than his gender,” says Florida GOP strategist Ana Navarro, “the guy has flip-flopped on everything, and I don't put that past him either.”
On the way to the sanctuary—a vast, purple-draped space that seats 2,000—Crist encounters a wiry black man with a big gray beard and missing teeth. With his baseball cap and short-sleeved orange shirt with his name stitched on the breast, he looks like a janitor. Crist places a hand on his shoulder and asks, “What do you do here? Tell me.” It turns out the man, Johnnie Bell, is pastor of the church’s family-life ministry.
Bell’s lean frame is twisted and sloped to one side; one arm is withered and ends in a clenched hand in a fabric brace. Some people might be too polite to mention it. “What happened to your hand?” Crist asks.
“I was shot with a .45 through my neck in 1970,” Bell says. “I was paralyzed—couldn’t talk, couldn’t walk, couldn’t think. But God is good.”
“All the time,” Crist says.
He keeps asking questions: How did it happen? Soon Bell is showing him the points on his neck where the bullet went in and out, telling Crist about the inspirational book he wrote about his life. It occurs to me that Crist would make an excellent reporter.
“You got a book? I got a book!” Crist says to Bell. “What’s your book?” It is called The Blessed Bullet Covered by the Blood. By the time we leave, Bell will have fetched a copy and signed it in red ink: “To Governor Charlie Crist. God made you the best.”
Crist’s eyes gleam as he strides down the hall. “Wow! Didn’t know that was going to come out,” he murmurs to me. “But you never know until you listen.”
It’s cheesy, and yet for days afterward, I find myself feeling more attentive, more curious, slower to anger, more attuned to people’s capacity to surprise. I feel bolder and less embarrassable. Crist makes people feel good. It’s what he does.
Crist is barely running a campaign in the conventional sense. His friend Dan Gelber, a trial lawyer and Democratic former state senator, drives him around Miami in his black Honda Odyssey minivan. (Gelber, bespectacled, balding, and sarcastic, occasionally launches into paeans to the virtues of the Honda Odyssey, which he considers the best minivan ever made.) A loose constellation of political professionals orbits Crist, but they appear to have minimal say in what is very much The Charlie Show. At book signings, Crist’s newish deputy campaign manager, Jessica Clark, a former Obama finance official who is also his fundraising director, supervises. Jim Messina, Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, is an adviser. “I have no day-to-day, tactical role,” Messina tells me from D.C. “I'm just trying to be helpful.”
In November, Crist hired Bill Hyers, a hotshot Democratic guru who’d just gotten Bill de Blasio elected mayor of New York, to manage his campaign, but the relationship fell apart before Hyers could move from New York to Florida. (When I ask about Hyers, Crist says he didn’t want to leave New York because he “fell in love.” Hyers, in an email, did not disagree with this.) A few weeks ago, Crist replaced him with Omar Khan, a well-liked Floridian who worked in the political department of both Obama campaigns and has never managed a statewide race.
Granted, the election is eight months away. But in an age when most politicians are scripted, choreographed, and consultant-driven, Crist is notably his own master. This gives his campaign a high-wire-act feel, and makes some Florida Democrats acutely nervous. One Democratic operative, while acknowledging Crist’s lack of a campaign infrastructure, compared the situation to the Miami Heat’s acquisition of LeBron James: “You don’t build a conventional team around LeBron.”
When I mention that he never seems to eat, his face lights up in agreement. “I don’t!” he replies. “One meal a day! Just dinner!”
Crist is a prodigious fundraiser. Since beginning his campaign, he has raised more than $6 million, the most in that time period of any Democrat in Florida history. He does not seem to mind asking his friends for money, and he has a lot of friends. At lunch in South Beach, at the famous Joe’s Stone Crab, Crist is joined by Joe Falk, a subprime-mortgage zillionaire, Obama bundler, and gay activist; Fedrick Ingram, president of the Miami-Dade teachers union; and Tom Sullivan, CEO of the flooring company Lumber Liquidators. Sullivan has brought his curly-haired four-year-old daughter, who sits at the end of the table. Gelber is there, and Mike Burns, Crist’s longtime body man, a small, leathery Pensacolan with a Southern accent who has worked for Crist since his attorney-general days.
This is clearly a power lunch of some sort, but no business is obviously transacted, just a bunch of very important friends hanging out. Crist doesn’t hold court, and he frequently isn’t even the center of attention. He passes on the bread basket—“eat bread, look like bread,” he mutters; he orders the bisque and never touches it. When I mention later that he never seems to eat, his face lights up in agreement. “I don’t!” he replies. “One meal a day! Just dinner!” He does, however, ingest lots of caffeine—preferably Diet Red Bull; coffee or Diet Coke in a pinch. He introduces us to our waiter, reminisces with the owner of the restaurant, clasps the hand of the busboy. “I'm going to give you something to remember me,” he says, handing the man a card. “I want you to go online and give me a dollar. I'm running against—well, you know. I'll have your back.”
Crist discovered his talent for politics early, when he canvassed for his father’s campaign for school board as a 9-year-old. His parents, a doctor and a housewife who moved from Pennsylvania to Florida when he was 3, were Republicans, so he was a Republican. (Crist’s immigrant grandfather, a Greek from Cyprus, shortened the last name from Christodolou; Crist is also a quarter Lebanese and, on his mother’s side, half Scots-Irish.) The Republican Party was the party of nice, popular white guys with good manners whose fathers were doctors. The party of washout college quarterbacks who got elected student-body vice-president, scraped through a third-tier law school, and passed the bar on their third try. The party of seersucker slacks and tasseled loafers.  It was the other party that was the home of the shouty rebels who wanted to take things away from people.
In January 2008, the governor of Florida’s endorsement was seen as pivotal in the hotly contested Republican presidential race. Three days before the Florida primary, Crist came out in favor of his friend John McCain. The gesture infuriated the other candidates. Rudy Giuliani believed he had been promised Crist’s support, while Mitt Romney believed he had been promised that Crist would make no endorsement. In the recently released documentary Mitt, Romney can be seen slumping in his chair when he gets the news of Crist’s McCain endorsement. Six years later, the wound is still raw. Asked about Crist, Romney told a radio host in January, “There are some people that you can’t trust.”
McCain won the Florida primary and the nomination, and by summer, Crist was filling out vice-presidential vetting questionnaires and hobnobbing at McCain’s ranch with fellow GOP prospects Romney and Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana. Less than an hour before Sarah Palin’s selection was announced, McCain called to tell Crist he’d “decided to go in another direction.”
Asked about Crist, Romney told a radio host in January, “There are some people that you can’t trust.”
On the eve of the 2008 election, as lines stretched for early voting, Crist overruled his own lawyers to issue an executive order expanding voting hours. Obama won Florida by three points. At a meeting of Republican governors in Miami a couple weeks later, Crist gave a speech calling on the party to “listen to the voters" and embrace inclusiveness and bipartisanship. For the most part, the GOP made a different decision—not to give an inch. Crist was alone among Republican governors in welcoming the millions earmarked for Florida in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus bill. He greeted the president in Fort Myers, on the southern Gulf Coast, with a laudatory introduction and a warm embrace.
Had he stayed governor, Crist almost certainly would have been easily reelected in 2010. But he was running for U.S. Senate, against Rubio, who positioned himself to Crist’s right (not difficult to do) and caught the Tea Party wave. Rubio’s campaign put the image of Crist hugging Obama in commercials, on fliers, even on the envelopes of his fundraising letters. “He goes up to the podium, we embrace, and that’s it for me as a Republican,” Crist recalls. “My friend Marco used that hug to great political gain.”
Crist scrambled awkwardly to rebrand himself a conservative, but soon he was down 20 points in the Republican primary polls. He dropped out—shortly after swearing he’d never leave the GOP—and became an independent instead. His staff, good GOP soldiers all, resigned en masse; donors and former allies renounced him. He lost his longtime campaign strategists, Stuart Stevens and Russ Schriefer, later best known for steering Romney’s presidential campaign. Crist’s longtime chief of staff, George LeMieux, whom he had appointed to the U.S. Senate, sided with Rubio.
Crist’s older sister became his campaign manager. The Democratic candidate, a congressman named Kendrick Meek, rebuffed pleas to drop out. Rubio won with 49 percent of the vote. Crist came in second with 30 percent. Crist likes to quote the former Democrat Ronald Reagan’s famous quip about how he didn’t leave the party, the party left him. But the Republican Party didn’t so much leave Charlie Crist as forcibly eject him.
At the time he left office, Crist had a net worth of less than half a million dollars (compared to Scott’s more than $200 million). After finishing his term, he took a job with the firm of his friend John Morgan, a Democratic personal-injury lawyer who promptly put Crist’s face on a billboard. “Just go around Florida and be Charlie Crist—that’s his job,” Morgan tells me. Morgan says he pays Crist a “pretty decent" salary, plus a percentage of the business he generates.
In December 2008, while still governor, Crist married Carole Rome, a New Yorker 13 years his junior he’d met 14 months before. Crist’s book offers this droll account of their first conversation: “Her family was in the Halloween business, she said. I don’t think I’d ever met anyone in that field before.” He bought Carole’s engagement ring at a strip-mall storefront a couple of doors down from his local Publix grocery store—then delayed asking for her hand when, in the elevator after dinner, some fellow residents of his condo building invited them over to watch the end of a Rays baseball game. The marriage at the time was viewed as a political stunt, but five years later, it appears to be going strong. Long-running rumors that Crist might be gay appear to have quieted somewhat as a result.
Crist’s wife, Carole, is friendly, but she has boundaries. Like a normal person. Not like her husband.
When Crist left office, the couple moved out of the governor’s mansion—back into the same rented condominium in St. Petersburg where Crist had lived before taking office. Carole Crist, accustomed to a rather different lifestyle, brought a $4 million condo on a private island near Miami to the partnership. Today, Carole calls herself Charlie’s “cheerleader-in-chief.” She’s constantly pushing signs and bumper stickers on his audiences, urgently pleading with them to vote and volunteer and help him win.
For someone who runs a multimillion-dollar costume business and is close friends with one of the Real Housewives of New York City, Carole seems remarkably unaffected. She wears jeans and sneakers and a simple long-sleeved T-shirt; her sun-streaked dark hair is wavy and loose, her olive complexion evenly tanned. She looks 10 years younger than her age, 44. Like Crist, Carole is high-energy, but she lacks his air of tranquility. I ask her what it’s like to be married to him, and she gushes, “Awesome and fun and dynamic and great.” I ask for her version of their meeting, and she turns brusque: “What he says in the book is accurate. Love at first sight.” Carole is friendly, but she has boundaries. Like a normal person. Not like her husband.
he Florida sun is shining on the bright-green grass of the Biltmore Hotel’s golf course as I sit down to lunch with Ana Navarro, a tart-tongued Nicaraguan, CNN commentator, and Florida GOP strategist. Navarro was a top adviser to McCain in 2008 and is a confidant of both Jeb Bush, who keeps an office at the Biltmore, and Rubio, who sometimes works out at the Biltmore gym. (Navarro’s boyfriend owns the hotel.) The thought of Charlie Crist makes Navarro extremely irritated.
“It’s quite unbelievable that Charlie Crist is getting away with this reinvention of himself—this rewriting of history for blatantly political purposes,” Navarro says, stabbing at her salad. “Other than his gender, the guy has flip-flopped on everything, and I don’t put that past him either.”
Navarro has a cameo in Crist’s book: After his 2008 expansion of early voting, he writes, he was riding in an SUV with her and then-Senator Mel Martinez when she chewed him out, saying, “You just handed the election to Obama.” (He describes her as not “the sweetest person I've ever met,” which is what most people like best about her.) Navarro doesn’t deny that she reamed Crist. She recalls the scene as happening not in an SUV but aboard the McCain campaign plane, though, and she does not recall the high-minded lecture about democracy that Crist claims to have answered her with.
“Charlie Crist has gone through his entire political life with one stump speech—his grandfather polishing shoes,” Navarro says. This may be literally true. Crist’s current pitch hinges on a set of priorities beginning with “E"—education, the economy, ethics, energy, and the environment—and at one campaign stop he mentions that the “five E’s" were also the platform for his long-ago state-senate campaign. Navarro acknowledges that Crist "can be very personable,” but to her, that's the problem: “He’s a freak! When he sees me, he'll open up his arms and say, ‘Anaaaa!’ But we hate each other.”
It is one thing to lament the forces of extremism and stupidity that plague the GOP. It is quite another thing to join the other side.
In addition to the flip-flopper rap, Crist’s foes point to his unsavory associates. Scott Rothstein, a convicted Ponzi schemer now doing 50 years in federal prison, resurfaced recently to testify in the trial of a former underling, and alleges that Crist sold federal judgeships in exchange for campaign contributions. Jim Greer, an obscure activist Crist elevated to chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, was accused of turning the powerful and lucrative state GOP machinery into his personal piggy bank; he pleaded guilty to several felonies last year and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Crist professes innocence of the men’s schemes.
Navarro has her own reputation as a Republican rebel; she favors gay marriage and urges her party to embrace immigration reform. She even, in 2012, prodded the current Republican governor, Scott, to expand early voting, as Crist had done to her annoyance in 2008. But Navarro does not buy Crist’s critique of the GOP. “The only thing that matters to Charlie,” she says, “is staying in the game.”
“I felt liberated,” says Crist of his new party affiliation. “I feel at home as a Democrat, I really do.”
This visceral loathing is a common sentiment among the Florida Republican establishment. It is one thing to lament the forces of extremism and stupidity that plague the GOP, as Bush has also been known to do. It is quite another thing to join the other side.
If more Republicans had taken Crist’s tack in 2009, the story of the Obama Administration would be a very different one. The gratitude of the president, his aides, and Democratic donors for Crist’s early embrace consequently runs deep. According to Messina, it was 2011 when Crist, just a few months out of office, summoned the president’s campaign manager to Orlando for dinner with Charlie and Carole. “I want to help,” Crist said, of the reelection campaign. (The story is told differently in Crist’s book, which has Messina requesting the assistance rather than Crist offering it.) Throughout 2012, Messina says, Crist aided the Obama campaign with strategic advice.
Crist figured he was most useful to the campaign as an independent. But once the election was over, he sought to make an official conversion. At a White House Christmas reception, he took the Florida voter-registration form out of his pocket and, resting it on the music stand of a member of the Marine Band, checked the box for “Florida Democratic Party" and signed his name.
“I felt liberated,” he says. The zeal of his conversion can be startling. His new party has welcomed him as heartily as his old one spurned him. “I feel at home as a Democrat, I really do,” he says. Though he campaigned for McCain in 2008 and they remain friends, Crist is now fond of pointing out to Democratic audiences that his expansion of early voting probably helped Obama get elected—"and thank God for that!”
It is as if the old Crist, the Republican one, never existed.
Crist puts an affectionate arm around his wife, Carole, during a November 2013 campaign rally. (AP Photo)
Florida Democrats have had it bad for a long time, Obama’s two wins notwithstanding. Ever since Bush v. Gore, in 2000, it has been one defeat after another for the party. Every state office from governor on down is now in Republican hands, as are both houses of the legislature. The majority of the state’s congressional delegation is Republican. A Democrat was last elected governor in 1994. This long dry spell may have as much to do with Crist’s welcome by Democrats as anything else. “We’re desperate!” Geller, the former senate leader, says merrily. There is another Democrat, state Senator Nan Rich, running in the August primary, but Crist is crushing her in the polls. General-election surveys show Crist would beat Scott and Rich would not.
Democrats also have a way of hearing what they want to hear in Crist’s eclectic utterances. At a Democratic activists’ meeting in a firehouse in West Palm Beach, Lynne Hubbard, the president of the local chapter of the Florida Democratic Black Caucus, wants to know what Crist plans to do about “stand your ground,” the notorious self-defense law that critics say protects instigators of deadly violence. A Florida case, the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, ignited a national debate on the issue.
“Right now, you know, young black males are fair game,” Hubbard says. “One way or another, we need to put a stop to it.”
Crist starts by declaring his loyalty to the Second Amendment and an individual’s right to self-defense. But it’s just not right, he says, to allow the person who starts a fight to “stop it in a deadly way.” As governor, Crist says, he would not have the power to change the law, but he would recommend that the legislature do so. “I don’t know exactly how we fix it, but I know we'd better,” he says.
Crist adds, “I'm with you. They’re against you. They’re against us.”
After the meeting breaks up, I ask Hubbard what she thought of Crist’s answer. From what I heard, he expressed only qualified opposition to “stand your ground"; he said he would work to repair the law rather than ending it. But that’s not what Hubbard heard. “He said he’s going to lead the charge to repeal it,” she says.
Crist joins hands with voters during a June 2010 protest against the BP oil spill. (Reuters)
The Republicans have been sending protesters to each stop on Crist’s book tour, in order, a staffer tells me, to prevent Crist from going unrebutted in local coverage. But the gambit may be backfiring, as the picketers’ ire contrasts with Crist’s sunny self-assurance—a convenient object lesson in exactly the sort of toxic partisanship to which he offers himself as the solution. When a local reporter asks him about the protesters at one stop, Crist replies, “I'm flattered! I hope they buy the book!”
The protesters get to Crist’s book signing in the moneyed enclave of Palm Beach before he does. A heavyset white man with a ponytail circles the block repeatedly in a white SUV, waving a laminated drawing of Obama as Alfred E. Neuman out the window (big ears, blacked-out front teeth) as he passes. On his bumper, a sticker reads, “IMPRISON HOLDER/IMPEACH OBAMA.”
The other Republican volunteers have plain white posters inked in black Sharpie. “Charlie 2010 or Charlie 2014: Which One Do You Believe?” reads one. By the time the Crists pull up, the guy with the white SUV guy has parked and joined the protest. He heckles Crist as he walks up.
“The tea is getting ready to pour, buddy!” he intones. “The party’s not even started yet!”
A woman with a “You Can’t Trust Charlie" sign joins the chorus. “Opportunist!” she shouts. “Traitor!”
“The tea is brewing!” says SUV Guy. “It’s going to pour! It’s going to be scalding!”
“Traitor!”
“The teeeeea is brewing, buddy!”
Crist walks through the gnat-cloud of protesters into the tiny store. He claps an employee on the shoulder, helps set up the electric fan he demands for every public appearance. (Critics love to ridicule Crist’s ever-present fan, but he is notably unashamed, mentioning it early in his book.) A woman named Lisa Burford begins to tell me about her youthful felony conviction, how Crist got her back her right to vote, and how she’s been faithfully volunteering for him ever since.
At the back of the store, only Crist’s gleaming white head is visible, bowed over each book as he inscribes it. “Department of Corrections!” I hear him say, over the hum of the crowd. “Stephanie! A public servant ! I love that !”

140311-c
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan to be heard in local and Federal Affairs Committee
WCTV.tv - by Press Release by the Florida House of Representatives
March 11, 2014
PORT ST LUCIE – Representative Gayle Harrell’s, House Memorial 607 which urges the United States Congress to enact, before adjournment, the Water Resources Development Act authorizing the next phase of Everglades restoration as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan will be heard on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 1:00pm.
Key projects include the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands, the C-111 Spreader Canal, the Broward County Water Preserve Area, the Caloosahatchee River C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir and the Central Everglades Planning Project. The Memorial calls for continued funding of projects already under construction as part of the Indian River Lagoon South project including the C-44 canal. It specifically urges Congress to authorize and appropriate funds for all these projects.
“This Memorial sends an important message to Congress and the President. It is the voice of the people of the State of Florida as expressed through their elected representatives in the Legislature,” stated Representative Harrell.
The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP or Plan) established a plan for the restoration of the Everglades and provided a framework and guide to restore, protect and preserve the water resources of central and southern Florida in 16 counties covering over an 18,000-square-mile area. Under CERP the State of Florida entered into a partnership with the federal government to share the cost of restoration equally. The Plan was approved in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2000 and includes more than 60 elements that will take more than 30 years to construct.
“These projects are a key component for improving water management and addressing the ecological crisis facing the Indian River Lagoon, Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River and the St. Lucie River,” said Representative Harrell.
Since 2000 the State of Florida has spent over $2.4 Billion on various projects and land purchases connected with CERP. Federal authorization and appropriation of funds for projects that are already underway under WRDA 2007 (the last WRDA bill passed by the federal government) as well as the inclusion of the Central Everglades Planning Project in the final version of the current WRDA bill are essential to reducing the ecological damage and negative economic impact of the large releases of water from Lake Okeechobee.
“The State of Florida is living up to its promise under CERP,” stressed Representative Harrell, “Now is the time for Congress to step up to the plate and do it’s fair share by passing WRDA and funding these important projects.”

140311-d
Farmers take the lead in water conservation
Tallahassee.com – by John Hoblick, President of Florida Farm Bureau
March 10, 2014
Nearly every Floridian recognizes that we must conserve water resources. The quality of life we enjoy depends upon our success with this objective.
Explosive population growth since the 1950s has placed heavy demand on water, land and other natural treasures. If current projections are accurate, more than 31 million people will claim residence here in 2050 — nearly double the 2010 census count.
Water management district officials, utility managers and university researchers have warned that the steadily increasing water consumption could lead to an emergency previously unknown in Florida.
In sharp contrast to this trend of increased consumption, farm families have taken steps to slash their use of the resource.
According to field monitoring data compiled by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, farmers and ranchers across the state currently conserve 11 billion gallons of water each year.
During the past two decades, the installation of state-of-the-art systems of water management on farm properties such as micro-jet irrigation for citrus trees and comprehensive water recycling has made this accomplishment possible. Farm owners large and small have made investing in the conservation of water a priority.
Many citizens have begun to recognize farmers as the first stewards of natural resources. We share the same overall environmental goals.
As Charles Lee of Audubon Florida recently noted, water storage on farm properties serves both natural ecosystems and human need. “We think the farmers are the potential salvation of these systems simply because their land areas are so large and the capacity to hold water on their land is so great,” Lee said. He also agreed that the benefit deserves compensation.
Conservation by farm families also addresses the issue of water quality.
These families have enrolled more than 9 million acres of agricultural land under the state’s Best Management Practices programs. Their willingness to embrace advanced, science-based natural resource management techniques while welcoming expert assessments of their efforts continues to produce measureable results.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has determined that citrus growers in south-central Florida reduced nitrogen levels in groundwater by nearly 33 percent in three years with their advanced management efforts.
The South Florida Water Management District has reported that farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area cut phosphorus levels by 71 percent in water flowing from their properties during 2012.
Florida Farm Bureau’s County Alliance for Responsible Environmental Stewardship (CARES) program highlights these and many similar achievements. More than 600 farm owners around the state have received a CARES award since 2001. The award signifies that a recipient has implemented an effective strategy for conserving natural resources. Independent experts confirm the practical success of the strategy.
Farm families live and work on the land around them. Many of them represent 10 generations of people who have continuously produced food and fiber. They have an immediate stake in the condition of land and water resources that support their livelihoods. Their calculation of use involves the health and well-being of their children and grandchildren along with respect for the bountiful natural materials at hand.
The pioneering naturalist John Muir identified a subtle danger posed by the awareness of spectacular natural abundance. After a captivating trek through Florida and other locations in 1867, Muir wrote that, in the encounter, you can “lose consciousness of your own separate existence: you blend with the landscape and become part and parcel of nature.”
Our deep appreciation for and careful management of water resources must not lead us to overlook other material needs of human beings. The timeless responsibility for preserving the sources of life also includes attention to related qualities of existence for ourselves and others.
That responsibility can be fulfilled only by devoting attention to the multiple challenges of our society. We must pursue a balanced approach that supports our economy and our communities, recognizing that no dramatic, overnight remedy will likely present itself.
Inspired by such a spirit, Florida Farm Bureau will always support reliable courses of action that combine the ability to maintain our farm families’ livelihoods and improve our society as we continue to care for the natural world.

140311-e
Option for providing more drinking water
Florida Today – Letter by Gary Branch, Melbourne Beach, FL
March 11, 2014
Sunday’s FLORIDA TODAY article, “Will seawater, sewage be Space Coast’s next source of drinking water?” left a feeling of doom and gloom.
The St. Johns River, which provides most of the drinking water for the St. Johns River Water Management District, has its headwaters just south of us and flows north to Jacksonville, where it exits into the Atlantic Ocean. North of Sanford, many natural springs feed into the system and provide increased flow northward.
Why can’t the flow be contained by a series of dams and locks that would renourish the groundwater and provide a controlled supply for general use and still provide access to sports persons and commercial traffic? Spillways and fish ladders would provide for our wet friends.
I am sure it would be expensive, but all of the bottled water companies that take millions of gallons of water a day from the Floridan Aquifer could help by paying a little more for our public resource. The river is not that wide, and additional reservoirs could be created on existing wetlands. This also could provide some flood control up river during heavy rainfall, and might be a better option than drinking treated sewage water or seawater.
Water systems in other states already use this approach to control their natural resources. Why not ask them how they did it.
If we wait 20 years to work it out, it might be too late to reverse the process.

140311-f
Protect our waters from contaminants
TheLedger.com - by Kriyana Reddy, Correspondent
March 11, 2014
Polk County is home to some of the most beautiful rivers and lakes in Florida. Winter Haven is even known as the "Chain of Lakes City."
Because water is so prevalent in our society, it makes sense to want to keep it clean.
West Virginia recently realized this. When a Freedom Industries facility released a chemical waste known as "4-MCHM" into the Elk River, the West Virginia American Water treatment center found its entire water supply contaminated. Charleston, W.Va., was and still is without 100 percent potable water. West Virginia citizens were provided with some government help, but the aftermath of this incident is long-lasting. Even if the water can be treated so residents can drink it, the contaminated water in the river will sit unaffected. Populations of fish and other marine animals can die, and plant populations could decrease. This is why water protection is incredibly important.
The problem of water contamination is prevalent in Florida as well. For example, in August of last year, toxic algae slimes were found in the St. Lucie River, its estuary and the Indian River Lagoon. Overwhelming concentrations of bacteria in these rivers pushed local officials to warn the public of the risks associated with physical contact with this water. One reason for this boom in toxic algae comes in the form of cultural eutrophication, the interference of human additives (i.e. nitrates, sulfates) into water bodies, which speeds up ecosystem response. The result could be overgrowth of algae, decline in fish populations, hypoxia, etc.
Last year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) conducted a study on tap water quality across the country. It showed that 42 states in the U.S. are contaminated with nearly 141 unregulated chemicals. Florida was among the 10 states with the most contamination. This contamination, the EWG says, is mainly because of industry, agriculture and pollution from construction.
Because many of our rivers and lakes are connected, the domino effect of contamination would be catastrophic. For example, imagine if Zephyrhills Water faced contamination at one of its bottling facilities. Before it found the root of the problem, thousands of homes would already be exposed to the contaminants. To resolve this, state legislatures must regulate further to protect our water systems.

140311-g
US govt:  Climate change threatens energy infrastructure
Reneweconomy.com - by Bobby Magill
March 11, 2014
Oil refineries and drilling platforms in the U.S. are vulnerable to sea level rise and greater storm surge. Fuel pipelines, barges, railways and storage tanks are vulnerable to melting permafrost and severe weather. Warming seas and water shortages put nuclear and other electric power plants at risk. Power lines can be blown away by hurricanes and other extreme weather.
In other words, all the infrastructure Americans rely on to heat their homes, power their lights and fuel their trains, trucks and cars is becoming more and more exposed to failure in a changing climate.
That may seem clear to any one of the 1.1 million people who lost power in the New York area during and after Hurricane Sandy, but those are the conclusions of a U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released in January and just made public.
The report summarizes much of the research published in recent years about the vulnerability of U.S. energy infrastructure to a changing climate. It is a response to a request from members of Congress for details about risks posed by global warming, how infrastructure can be adapted to withstand the ravages of a changing climate and what role the federal government plays in helping make the adaptation happen.
The GAO report shows that climate change is a practical concern for U.S. energy producers and operators of energy transmission and distribution lines, said Klaus Jacob, a seismologist at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and an expert in climate change adaptation. Jacob is unaffiliated with the GAO and was not involved in the report.
Multiple effects of climate change are likely to work together to threaten U.S. energy infrastructure, the GAO reported. Increased air and water temperatures are likely to wreak havoc on the U.S. electricity sector, helping to reduce water available for cooling electric power generators, reducing electricity supply while increasing consumers’ demand for electricity, the GAO said.
Sea level rise along with more extreme weather and coastal erosion threaten infrastructure in low-lying areas, while warmer temperatures and drought increase flooding risk and wildfires, eventually limiting the amount of electricity that can be generated and transmitted during periods of high demand.
Because the report focuses on the financial risks posed by taking no action in the face of climate change, government officials may take the report more seriously than if it were only making an environmental argument for taking action, Jacob said.
The GAO report does not question scientific findings on global warming and it shows that many energy companies recognize the risk they face from climate change, said Steven Weissman, director of the Energy Program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at the University of California-Berkeley School of Law.
“This nonpartisan report should shift the burden of proof for any firms or agencies that are dragging their feet,” Weissman said, adding that the report could focus the attention of the public and policymakers on the need to strengthen all public infrastructure to better stand up to climate change.
Jacob said the GAO’s report may help accelerate the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s assessments of aging nuclear power plants in the U.S., set higher standards for those plants and encourage the federal government to appropriate more money for the research and development of new renewable energy production and storage technologies.
He criticized the report for underestimating sea level rise. The report says that the sea level rise is occurring faster than at any time in the last 2,000 years, and “sea levels are projected to continue to rise, but the extent is not well understood.”
Sea levels have risen globally by roughly 8 inches since the beginning of the 20th century, and a new study published in February in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences projects that sea levels could rise between 9 and 48 inches by 2100, depending on the uncertain rate of Antarctic and Greenland ice sheet melting.
The 8 inches of sea level rise over the past 114 years is already enough to have made storm surges more powerful, put pressure on infrastructure in places like South Florida and exposed millions living along the coast to additional flooding. Three more feet expected over the remainder of the century will make these problems exponentially worse, threatening electric power plants already at risk from water shortages and higher temperatures, the GAO concluded.
Both coal and nuclear power plants require a significant amount of water to generate, cool and condense steam. In 2007, a drought in the southeastern U.S. forced some power plants to shut down or reduce power production because water levels in lakes, rivers and reservoirs nearby dropped below intake valves supplying cooling water to those plants, according to the report.
The Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in Alabama had to reduce its power output three times between 2007 and 2011 because the temperature of the nearby Tennessee River was too high to receive the plant’s discharge water. The opposite situation occurred in 2012 when the Millstone Nuclear Station in Connecticut shut down one reactor when water from Long Island Sound was too warm to be used for cooling the plant, according to the report.
“Higher temperature of intake cooling water does not pose an additional risk if proper operational procedures are followed, but it means that the efficiency of nuclear power production is reduced, and that when that happens, there will be additional need for power produced largely by fossil fuel, which in turn accelerates climate change,” Jacob said.
The report emphasizes that sea level rise and extreme weather are just as much of a threat to electric power plants, which often exist in low-lying areas and along coastlines.
Hurricane Sandy forced several Northeast coastal nuclear power plants to shut down, and a 2013 Stanford University paper identified three coastal nuclear power plants in the path of the storm as among the nation’s most vulnerable nuclear power plants to storm surge.
Renewables are also vulnerable to climate change, the GAO said.
Hydropower is possibly the renewable energy source most vulnerable to climate change because rising temperatures leading to increased evaporation can reduce the amount of water available for hydropower and degrade fish and wildlife habitat. For example, a 1 percent decrease in precipitation leads to a 3 percent drop in hydropower generation in the Colorado River Basin, the GAO reported. Climate change is expected to make precipitation events come in heavier bursts, while increasing the length of dry spells in between in many regions.
High temperatures and poor air quality from regional haze, humidity and dust in the air can reduce the energy output of utility-scale photovoltaic (solar) power plants, while concentrated solar plants that don’t use photovoltaic cells are susceptible to drought because they require water for cooling, the report said.
The GAO said energy and power companies are taking measures to shore up, or ”harden” — make the infrastructure more resistant to extreme weather — their equipment, lines and infrastructure so they can withstand high winds, more significant storm surge and other challenges posed by climate change.
Such measures are expected to be implemented in New York State as power companies there plan for power line and equipment improvements. The expectation was outlined in a Feb. 20 settlement between the New York Public Service Commission and Consolidated Edison, the New York City-area’s largest utility, requiring ConEd to study how climate change will affect its systems and find ways to mitigate those effects.
“We have performed extensive analysis of our system and the impact of climate patterns and believe our proposals are a significant step toward protecting critical equipment and customers from major storms,” ConEd spokesman Allan Drury said Friday via email when asked about the GAO report. ”We plan to spend $1 billion on storm hardening and resiliency measures over four years to protect our electric, gas and steam systems and in fact have already put many protections in place. With the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise, temperature increase, and violent storms becoming more frequent, we expect our storm-hardening and resiliency program to evolve for many years.”
The GAO concluded that the federal government’s role in adapting the nation’s energy infrastructure to withstand climate change is limited, but it said the government can support the private sector in its adaptation measures through regulatory oversight, technology research and development and providing information about the climate.

140311-h
US Senators — including Bill Nelson — up all night to talk climate
Alligator.org – by Beatrice Dupuy, Staff Writer, The Independent Florida Alligator
March 11, 2014
About 26 Democratic senators, including Florida Senator Bill Nelson, and two independents pulled an all-nighter Monday in the Capitol to discuss climate change.
The talkathon was held by the recently launched Senate Climate Action Task Force. The task force, organized by California Senator Barbara Boxer and Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, was started to “wake up Congress” to issues surrounding climate change.
According to C-SPAN, the all-night session was the 35th of its kind in the history of the Senate. Senators could tweet throughout the night using the hashtag #Up4Climate.
Nelson wrote in an email that Florida needs to be concerned with climate change.
“With over 1,300 miles of coastline and most residents living near the water even a 1 - 2 foot rise, in the opinion of some experts, would have a disastrous effect on the state,” he wrote.
Unlike a filibuster, there was no legislation up for debate during the talkathon.
Carolyn Cox, coordinator at the Florida Climate Institute at UF, said although she was happy to see Nelson attending, she is not sure how much of an impact the talkathon will have.
“It’s going to take more than a night,” she said. “It’s good to see senators that are taking a stand now. It’s a positive step to getting something done.”
The institute reached out to Nelson on social media offering him its expertise for his talk.
At the talk, Nelson said he will be meeting with a commerce committee in April to have a hearing on how climate change is affecting Florida.
“Florida is ground zero for sea-level rise,” he said Monday.
Alix Kermes, a 20-year-old UF sustainability studies junior, said it’s important to have a Florida senator who took part in the talkathon.
“Florida will be greatly affected by the climate change,” she said. “Our water usage will depend on climate change.”
Republican senators were not listed to speak at the event.
UF biology professor Ted Schuur said participation from both parties will be needed to get any effective climate change legislation passed.
“Climate change is not a partisan issue,” he said. “The climate continues to change, and it’s not something we want to let slip to the back of our minds.”
Last June, President Obama unveiled his plan to fight climate change. The plan included actions to combat carbon pollution and prepare for climate change effects.
Alex Ahrenholz, a 21-year-old UF sustainability and the built environment junior, said more needs to be done to handle climate change, and the talkathon was a good way to start.
“Hopefully it gets the conversation going,” he said.

140310-a
Elevation Zero: South Florida Prepares For Rising Sea Level
WBUR.org – by Kenny Malone
March 10, 2014
This week we’re going to hear about the consequences of rising sea levels in South Florida through a series of reports from Here & Now contributing station WLRN in Miami.
Miami, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is the world’s most threatened coastal city when it comes to sea level rise. Its economy, infrastructure — just about everything is vulnerable.
Climate scientists largely agree that sea levels are rising and will continue to rise. But by how much? Reporter Kenny Malone set out with a simple question: In the year 2100, how high will the sea level have risen? He found that there was no simple answer.
WLRN special correspondent Tom Hudson oversaw the station’s extensive coverage of sea level rise, and speaks to Here & Now’s Robin Young about the economic implications, especially on Miami’s real estate market, and what the region is doing to prepare.
Read more on this story via WLRN
See the whole “Elevation Zero” series on WLRN
Reporter: Kenny Malone, reporter for WLRN. He tweets @RadioMalone.
Guest: Tom Hudson, special correspondent for WLRN. He tweets @HudsonsView.
Transcript
ROBIN YOUNG, HOST:
It's HERE AND NOW. All this week we're going to hear about the consequences of rising sea levels in South Florida through a series of reports from HERE AND NOW contributing station WLRN in Miami. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Miami is the country's coastal city most threatened by sea level rise, which means the region's economy, infrastructure, just about everything else is vulnerable.
Climate scientists largely agree that sea levels are rising and will continue to rise. But by how much? WLRN's Kenny Malone went in search of answers.
KENNY MALONE, BYLINE: In the year 2100, how high will the sea level have risen?
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE #1: One-point-six to 4.6 feet.
MALONE: OK, so that's it.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE #1: Yup, according to the National Research Council.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE #2: I respectfully disagree. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says .65 to 4.9 feet.
MALONE: OK, anybody else?
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE #4: Point-seven to 6.3 feet.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE #5: Point-three to 2.2 feet.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE #6: (Unintelligible)...
MALONE: OK, shh, down, computer voices. Let's start from square one.
DAVID ENFIELD: Sea level rise consists of two components.
MALONE: David Enfield is a climatologist with the University of Miami and NOAA, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. That first component...
ENFIELD: That's the heating of the ocean.
MALONE: As the climate warms, the oceans warm, the water expands, and sea level rises.
ENFIELD: And the other is the disappearance of landlocked ice.
MALONE: Against as the climate warms, land-locked ice sheets start to melt. Water goes into the ocean, sea level rises. Based on what Enfield's seen, for example, he says sea level rise in 2100 will be at least two feet, possibly three, but if ice sheets wind up melting faster than we've been seeing already...
ENFIELD: We could be seeing six feet by the end of the century.
MALONE: A six-foot sea level rise puts the majority of Miami-Dade County below sea level. But that's Enfield's very unlikely scenario. Herald Wanless, on the other hand...
HERALD WANLESS: Six to 20 feet, somewhere in there.
MALONE: Six to 20 feet. That's like "Waterworld" for South Florida. Wanless is a geologist at the University of Miami, and he says if you look at the past, sea level rise happened in rapid, catastrophic leaps because somewhere, an ice sheet collapsed suddenly. And he thinks we're starting to see that again.
At this point, though, ice sheet melt effect isn't really built into the climate change models. It's more or less tacked on using expert judgment. That's part of why you get expert projections that span anywhere from two feet...
WANLESS: To 20 feet.
MALONE: But some of the highest profile projections don't come from a single voice.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: We more or less agree .8 to 3.2 feet.
MALONE: That's the latest projection from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, .8 to 3.2 feet.
RONALD STOUFFER: The role of the IPCC is to do an assessment of the stated literature, not to actually produce new science.
MALONE: Ronald Stouffer works at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey.
STOUFFER: I study past, present and future climates.
MALONE: Stouffer co-authored four of the IPCC's five reports. The panel is made up of hundreds of experts from dozens of countries that discuss what models to use, what papers to believe and how to make sense of it all. The IPCC catches flak from both ends of the spectrum. Many say their numbers are too conservative; others have said they overstate the problem. Stouffer says...
STOUFFER: It's the nature of the game, right. When you're making a consensus, you're trying to hit that middle.
MALONE: Many of the projections you'll see emerge from groups of experts like the IPCC, and even those groups don't necessarily agree. For example, here's the projection from NOAA's National Climate Assessment.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE #7: Eight inches to 6.6 feet.
MALONE: The projection from the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE #8: One-point-six to 4.9 feet.
MALONE: And the projection from the Miami-Dade Climate Change Advisory Task Force.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE #9: Three to five feet.
MALONE: And so back to our question. What will sea level rise be in 2100? Simple answer: somewhere between...
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Unintelligible).
MALONE: For HERE AND NOW, I'm Kenny Malone.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: In Miami.
JEREMY HOBSON, HOST:
Clear as mud. Well, joining us now is Tom Hudson, special correspondent for WLRN, who oversaw the station's extensive coverage of the effects of sea level rise in South Florida. Tom, welcome.
TOM HUDSON, BYLINE: Jeremy, glad to be here. I'm high and dry today, by the way.
(LAUGHTER)
HOBSON: OK, good. Well, we just heard there a lot of conflicting reports about what might happen. So what is the region doing to prepare for whatever the sea level rise might be?
HUDSON: You know, preparation really begins with acknowledgement, and we have seen that mostly. Back in 2010, in fact, four counties making up the bulk of the population here in Southeast Florida got together and essentially signed on to the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact, which does a number of different things but essentially is a public acknowledgement of climate change and the risks here in Southeast Florida, particularly because of sea level rise.
It's really been seen a model of public acknowledgement, but as Kenny just reported on, the vagaries of the forecast has led to really varying degrees of engagement on the part of public policy. I think it's fair to say there's no coordinated effort yet in Southeast Florida.
HOBSON: Well, let's talk about a couple of the effects of this, and one of them would be real estate. We know that the market has been heating up in South Florida after a big dip following the financial crisis. But now there are condo buildings going up all over Miami. What's happening there? Are people thinking it's a little too risky to take out a 30-year mortgage on a property that's close to the sea?
HUDSON: No, not yet. Lenders are still lending. And in fact that gets to the point, Jeremy, where, you know, change is likely to come from the financial industry forcing the change, foisting the change, upon the real estate market here in South Florida. Yeah, it has certainly been red hot, but we saw that change foisted upon the market after the housing collapse, right.
Folks were buying condos with no money down or one percent money down. Those days are long gone. Condominium developers now are requiring 50 percent cash down in order to buy a condominium on spec. So the market changed significantly. In all likelihood, that's what it's going to take for the real estate market to really acknowledge the threat along the coastal lines and along the suburban lines where sea level threat is going to be seen first.
HOBSON: What do we know about what would happen not just from normal rising sea levels but from a storm surge if there is a hurricane?
HUDSON: Well, it could be a disaster here with the sea level rise forecast that Kenny spelled out in the decades ahead, and you get a significant storm coming in the right time of day, high tide, and the right direction, the wind's blowing in the right way. It could be certainly disastrous not only for the coastal communities up and down Southeast Florida but also the suburban communities, those off-coastal areas, which actually, Jeremy, are usually at a lower elevation than right along the coastline.
Miami Beach, for instance, which folks are familiar with South Beach, that's among the highest places along that barrier island. It's on the inside of Miami Beach, on the Intercoastal coastway, that's actually at a lower and a higher risk area for rising seas.
HOBSON: Well, so what does it mean for infrastructure, then? We think of the famous, what, A1A that runs right along the coast, but you're saying it could even impact roads further in.
HUDSON: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, A1A washed out to sea, a chunk of it in Fort Lauderdale, because of Hurricane Sandy, which remember for Southeast Florida was an event 200 miles offshore for us. A chunk of it fell into the sea. It has been rebuilt and reinforced against the threat of rising seas. The local community, local developers, local municipalities really required that, not the state of Florida.
And that really gets and illustrates the challenge, that there has been no coordinated, no quasi-coordinated effort here. It really has been a piecemeal response that we've seen to the threat of rising seas.
HOBSON: But Tom, no expectation that people are going to start retreating to the inland.
(LAUGHTER)
HUDSON: No, no, none at all. Money is hot. Real estate is hot in South Florida. And until the financial industry won't lend the money or is requiring significantly higher amounts of insurance to lend that money, I think you're still not going to see a significant response.
HOBSON: WLRN special correspondent Tom Hudson, joining us from Miami, and we'll be following this story all this week on HERE AND NOW. Tom, thanks so much.
HUDSON: Thank you.
HOBSON: You're listening to HERE AND NOW. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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FY15 Budget: Significant reductions for Everglades projects (USA)
DredgingToday.com
March 10, 2014
Last week, Governor Rick Scott issued a statement regarding the U.S. President Obama’s budget that makes significant reductions to the Lake Okeechobee dike system and Everglades projects.
“Last year, Florida communities experienced a rainy season that exposed the short comings of the federal government’s inaction in funding projects to protect South Florida estuaries,” said Governor Scott.
“Following review of the President’s proposed budget, it appears he is chosen to reduce funding to the Herbert Hoover Dike System at Lake Okeechobee by $11 million, and reduce funding to Everglades projects by $22 million.”

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HB 703: Martin County vs. Jimmy Patronis ?
SunshineState News.com -by: Nancy Smith
March 10, 2014 3:55
House Bill 703 is not a popular bill in some South Florida counties. But in Martin County, where agriculture interests are akin to estuary green slime, the ruling class puts the bill in a special category of disrepute.
To hear some of them speak, bill sponsor Jimmy Patronis sold out to the devil. In Martin County that would be Big Ag.
These folks take HB 703 personally. They believe the Panama City Republican produced all 14 parts of the proposed legislation -- "an act relating to environmental regulation" -- because landowners suing Martin County told him to.
In a newsletter to county residents called the Martin County Defender, one of the commission majority's disciples threw Patronis in with "the Legislature’s lackeys of landowner/business/lobbyists (who) are willing to sacrifice county home rule to enrich their masters."
On the session's first full day of business, HB 703 survived its first reading by a 10-2 vote in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee. (See the meeting video here.) And Sen. Wilton Simpson of New Port Richey filed a companion bill in the Senate. Like it or not, this legislation is on its way.
Rep. Patronis gets high marks from local governments and organizations for his inclusive approach -- Martin County excepted. He's no dictator and stakeholders one after the other complimented him for his willingness to listen. In the end, expect this bill to have more tweaks than David Beckham has tattoos. Patronis has met once with the stakeholders -- for example, representatives from cities and counties, the Audubon Society, 1000 Friends, the Florida Farm Bureau -- and says he'll have more such meetings to arrive at as much compromise bill language as possible.
But the goal of HB 703 is to eliminate duplicate regulation. Hydrologists, engineers, wetlands specialists and others within the state claim state standards in place now are more than enough to protect businesses, residents and the environment. Patronis said it costs too much in time, money and frustration to add a local layer of regulation that often comes without scientific justification.
In fact, according to Phil Leary of the Florida Ground Water Association and Alachua County Farm Bureau, 35 percent of the costs in agriculture are due to regulation compliance.
Also at issue in the bill is Section 6, which provides for water use permits of up to 30 years for larger developments and up to 50 years for landowners who participate in water storage programs. Martin County, Audubon of Florida and other organizations prefer keeping ag interests on a short leash. "We wouldn't want this to negatively impact the Everglades," said Audubon's Mary Jane Young. 
But committee member Katie Edwards, D-Plantation, former executive director of the Miami-Dade County Farm Bureau, says no wonder farmers want to maximize their consumptive use permits: it can cost them millions of dollars to prepare their land for water storage. She said if the state wants them to participate, it has to be worth their while, and as she understands it, not every applicant would be granted a 50-year permit.
Meanwhile, in Martin County two former county commissioners with their own agendas, are whipping up the Martin email drive to kill HB 703.
Donna Melzer, an attorney up to her eyeballs in lawsuits against the county since she was voted out of office in 2000, after one commission term, got the ball rolling in January with a letter to the County Commission. "A Bill was filed in Tallahassee this week described as 'bill to kill local planning and environmental protection,'" writes Melzer. Says who ? I haven't heard that one except from the Martin County lawyergarchy.
Maggy Hurchalla, author of Martin County's controversial, often-litigious, comprehensive plan rewrites, wrote a letter to county residents urging them to rally against HB 703. "Rep. Jimmy Patronis has introduced a bill which looks like it was designed by the big landowners who are challenging the Martin County Comprehensive Plan. The bill says Martin County can’t do what it did. It is retroactive. The basic theme seems to be that local government shouldn’t protect its local residents and its local environment."
Florida Statute 163.3162, Agricultural Lands and Practices Act became law in 2004. HB 703 simply clarifies that no regulations after 2004 can be overridden by local law. The 2004 act says this:
"... a county may not exercise any of its powers to adopt any ordinance, resolution, regulation, rule, or policy to prohibit, restrict, regulate, or otherwise limit an activity of a bona fide farm operation on land classified as agricultural land pursuant to s. 193.461, if such activity is regulated through implemented best management practices, interim measures, or regulations developed by the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, or a water management district and adopted under chapter 120 as part of a statewide or regional program; or if such activity is expressly regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, or the United States Environmental Protection Agency."
Patronis admits the email is rolling in. "I don't mind having hundreds of emails from Martin County," he said. "I'm not here to do harm, I'm here to deal with contentious issues."
Oddly, Kate Parmelee, intergovernmental and grants coordinator for Martin County appeared at the March 4 meeting, but when given a chance to speak, didn't elaborate on the county's positions. "Martin County will continue to work" with (Patronis), she said.
I seriously doubt HB 703 is a put-up job by businesses challenging Martin County's draconian comp plan rewrite, as Martin bill-naysayers claim. But I have a feeling it could have been an unintended consequence of those rewrites, particularly because the state Department of Agriculture and the South Florida Water Management District didn't get their day in court with Martin County.
Remember, a three-page Sept. 19 letter to the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) -- the Department of Community Affairs' successor -- from the ag commissioner's general counsel, Robert Williams, ran through large swatches of the comp plan rewrite -- from definition of development to wetlands regulation to agricultural classification -- saying they failed to comply with state statutes. If the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services put a bug in Patronis' ear, I wouldn't be a bit surprised.
Remember, too, the people in power in Martin County today -- the people who serve on the County Commission right now -- are the people who were suing the county in 2009, and who amended the comp plan with the cavalier attitude that "we're right, you're wrong, if they sue, so what -- we'll win." 
Melzer's letter says, "The bill proposes to STOP our requiring 4 votes for critical changes, making it easier to weaken our river protections, making it easier to end our four (4) story building height, making it easier to gut our urban boundary -- cost us our conservative fiscal planning."
The end of the supermajority vote on the County Commission -- four out of five votes -- isn't a bad idea. Why should one side have to spot the other 20 points in what should be a fair, democratic vote? And does anyone really think it's going to take four votes to hold onto a sacred cornerstone of the "Martin County difference" -- the four-story height limit, for example? 
I remember all the years I lived in Martin County -- most of us wanted more ag land, not less. We liked that it kept us green. We liked being part of the food chain. We used to bemoan the loss of farmland to development. Now Martin persecutes the farmers it has left, tells the world farmers are responsible for their polluted rivers. I guess I don't get it.
I like what Rep. Edwards said at the conclusion of the March 4 meeting: "I realize we have to maintain a difficult balance going forward on this bill. But remember, farms didn't move to cities, cities moved to farms." 
Edwards said every year the Legislature should be having this conversation with local governments: "Where are our state laws falling short in protecting our cities? We're happy to work with you," she told Patronis and stakeholders like Martin.
Give HB 703 a chance. It's a work in progress.

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Getting water right requires getting politics right
Ocala.com - by Gary W. Kuhl, Special to the Star-Banner
March 9, 2014
Just when it was starting to feel like the governor and the Florida Legislature might be trying to head in the right direction and “get the water right,” things look like they are headed south again.
Gov. Rick Scott recently suggested putting money in the state’s budget to assist with Everglades management and improvement in water routing to minimize the disastrous impacts seen this past summer in the Indian River Lagoon — putridly polluted runoff waters released into the lagoon from Lake Okeechobee apparently killed hundreds of dolphins, pelicans and manatees over this past year. Even though Scott’s proposed budget amount for the Everglades is a pittance compared to what is needed, it seemed like a positive start.
State monies were recently spent with great fanfare to clean up some of the state’s springheads, too, including Silver Springs in Ocala. It is well known that it is going to take serious action upstream of these springheads to stop the nutrient and water consumption problems, but again, these springhead cleanup projects seemed to be a good start.
There seemed to be a few other good signs of recognition by elected state officials of our water problems and, hence, potential problems for Florida’s future.
But not so fast. Enter Pam Bondi — Florida’s attorney general, who surely receives direction from Gov. Scott — joining some 20 other state attorneys general with formal letters supporting a lawsuit by the American Farm Bureau Federation filed against the feds and the state of Maryland for (gasp!) cleaning up Chesapeake Bay. She, Bondi, claims her only desire here is to stop federal overreach, i.e., to stop a cooperative environmental cleanup program between six states, the District of Columbia and, yes, the federal government.
How does her action make any sense ? It’s embarrassing. When’s the last time you ate an oyster or crab harvested from Chesapeake Bay ? That bay is a mess — kind of like Indian River Lagoon.
Then right behind Bondi comes Panhandle Rep. Jimmy Patronis with proposed legislation (HB 703) to eliminate or severely limit Florida counties and municipalities from managing and regulating their own local development and projects impacting our environment. Remember, the Florida Legislature two years ago dismantled Florida’s growth management laws and the state department responsible therefore. The reason given was, gosh, the local county and city governments could handle all that stuff. Is there a pattern here?
Is there a decided approach to dismantle the substance of 40 some years of environmental consciousness promulgated by bipartisan Florida governors and legislators? Looks like no one will be overseeing development or long-term planning in Florida, a state that has now has almost 19 million residents and millions more annual visitors.
Guess who supports this bill, HB 703 ? Is it the same folks who are suing Maryland because they are trying to clean up their own Chesapeake Bay through planning and, yes, regulation of farming and development practices ? Over the long haul, fair and well thought-out regulations are job savers, not job killers.
And finally, along comes Speaker of the House Will Weatherford, who proclaims he is “punting the water stuff” to next year’s legislative session. He acknowledges that Florida’s water issues are real and have been a long time in the making and will take a long time to solve. It is very hard to understand how a responsible leader could make such an ill-considered statement for non-action. It is a problem. It will take a long time to solve it. So, let’s put it off another year?
Kudos to State Sen. Charlie Dean, along with four other Florida senators, who have drafted a proposed bill aimed at protecting and enhancing Florida’s dying springs, and really, our fresh groundwater resources for drinking, irrigation and industry use. Dean cited the proposed bill as long overdue and the “right thing to do” for our state. These five state senators and their proposed bill need our strong support through citizen letters and phone calls to elected officials, such as our governor and other state senators and representatives.
Dean, along with getting his proposed bill passed, will need to fight to quash HB 703. Patronis’ bill opens the door to the old days in Florida — totally unmanaged growth along with an apparent path to privatization of our water resources. Guess who is already strongly lobbying against Dean’s bill  You got it — lobbyists for agricultural and development interests.
Don’t get me wrong, I like agriculture, chambers of commerce and homebuilder folks — many of us have relatives and good friends in these groups. I like Rep. Patronis; several of us met with him this past summer to express our concerns about his bill that passed last year, further weakening water management districts in Florida. I like jobs being created here in Florida and good pay for employees.
However, if we mess up what brings people and businesses to our beautiful and unique state, we can kiss it all goodbye. Selling or polluting our natural resources to the highest bidder to get re-elected as governor or attorney general or legislator is dead wrong.
Maybe many have never seen a Florida spring in the wild, and maybe some could care less about “the environment,” but we taxpayers will pay the bill to try to fix the mess if our water is not properly managed
Help Sen. Dean get his bill passed and kill HB 703.
Gary W. Kuhl is a former Citrus County administrator and former executive director of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

140309-b
Local groups fighting inlet expansion
Palm Beach Daily News - by Aleese Kopf, Daily News Staff Writer
March 9, 2014
Opposition submits 1,000 pages of expert studies.
As the comment period for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to deepen and widen Lake Worth Inlet ends winds down, several civic and environmental groups are speaking out against the project.
The Everglades Law Center on Friday filed 60 pages of comments on behalf of the Palm Beach Civic Association, Florida Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity. The comment period ends Monday.
In addition, they submitted more than 1,000 pages of expert studies, including videos and photographs, that they believe show that the Port of Palm Beach expansion project threatens endangered species, fishing, recreation — and homeowners around the Lake Worth Lagoon.
On Tuesday, some of the groups began an email campaign encouraging residents to voice opposition to the project. Civic Association Director Bobbie Lindsay and Florida Wildlife Federation President Manley Fuller drafted a letter to the Corps that points out what they believe are deficiencies or adverse effects in the Corps’ report, including:
* Unmitigated impacts to critical sea grasses and hard-bottom;
* Impacts to the many critically endangered manatees that live and forage around the port;
* Large-vessel traffic near designated swimming areas that could endanger swimmers and operators of small watercraft;
* A projected 4-inch increase in storm surge that could result in increased risk of flooding.
“Homeowners around the Lake Worth Lagoon should all be alarmed,” Lindsay said in a news release. “This project could put many of us living near the lagoon at risk of flooding during a big storm.”
‘Pork-barrel project’
Added Fuller, “We believe that this project is environmentally destructive, and not economically justified. It is an example of a pork-barrel project that should not be permitted or funded.”
About 1,200 people had joined the email campaign as of Friday afternoon, with a few hundred more expected during the weekend, according to the Civic Association. Information about the campaign also was forwarded to the Surfrider Foundation, West Palm Beach Fishing Club and Scuba Club so those organizations could send it to members.
Bradford Gary, a Palm Beach resident and president of Southern Ocean Research Co., wrote an opposition letter stating, “alteration of the current channel dimensions will significantly hazard swimming and other water activities at the current Peanut Island Recreation Area.”
He also noted, large ships could create a dangerous “draft suction effect” that could suck in nearby floating objects. A U.S. Coast Guard safety and security review is needed, he said.
Mayor Gail Coniglio, acting on behalf of the town — which has expressed “concerns” but has not directly opposed the project — sent a letter Tuesday to the Corps’ Jacksonville District Engineer Col. Alan Dodd, making a “broader and stronger statement of opposition.
“The Town of Palm Beach is concerned that the proposed expansion … will have an adverse impact on the residents of the town and will further adversely impact the Lake Worth Lagoon environment, to the detriment of the town and the surrounding area,” the letter stated.
Coniglio already had appealed to the Corps to ensure that all beach-quality sand dredged from the project is placed on the town’s dry beaches.
In addition, Town Manager Peter Elwell has suggested that the Corps use a storm-surge model that indicates surge levels based on more frequent, yearly storms, rather than on a model based on a 100-year storm.
The Army Corps of Engineers proposes to deepen the main turning basin and the inner channel at the port from 33 feet to 39 feet, to deepen the entrance channel from 35 feet to 41 feet, and to widen the existing footprint in certain places up to 150 feet.
Last update: 1963
Port officials say the project will bring the port, which hasn’t been updated since 1963, to current standards by improving inlet conditions, navigation and economic inefficiencies. Inadequate depths and widths, high shoaling, maneuverability difficulties, tidal delays, and expensive and frequent maintenance dredgings are some of the existing challenges.
The Civic Association has said it is submitting numerous studies to “build a record” in case it decides to make a legal challenge later.
The report still has to go through the Corps’ headquarters and U.S. Congress for authorization.

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Will seawater, sewage be Space Coast's next source of drinking water?
Florida Today – by Dave Berman
March 9, 2014
Regional planners say sources would cost consumers more
Could cleansed sewage or seawater become this region’s next big source of drinking water ?
They would be pricier, but regional water planners say those alternative sources might be ways to spare groundwater and wetlands.
The St. Johns River Water Management District is looking for ways to meet the region’s future need for water, triggered by projected population growth and development within eastern and Central Florida.
Increased conservation is one approach, but that will not come close to meeting the demand, district water-supply experts say. So the water management district is looking for unconventional ways of boosting the water supply.
A study by the district, which governs water issues for an 18-county area that includes Brevard, shows that the region’s population is likely to increase by almost 1.8 million from 2010 to 2035. Water demand is expected to increase by 314 million gallons a day.
But existing groundwater sources can produce only an additional 58 million gallons a day.
The district is working on a 20-year plan on how to provide the other 256 million daily gallons.
Jim Gross, project manager for the district’s water supply plan, said the good news is that the draft plan identifies a series of conservation and alternative water-supply projects that could meet future demands “without unacceptable impacts to water resources and related natural systems. We don’t think it’s all gloom and doom.”
The bad news, Gross told Brevard County commissioners during a recent briefing, is it could be more costly to develop our water supplies.
“We need to do things differently into the future to make up that shortfall of about 250 million gallons per day,” Gross said.
One challenge water officials face is developing a plan acceptable to the wide variety of communities across the sprawling district.
“The district needs to be thinking about the entire district as being in this together,” said Bill Kerr, a former chairman of the district’s board, who spoke at a recent public workshop on the issue in Viera, one of six held in the district. “I think there’s a huge disconnect in the district from the south end to the other end” — from the Vero Beach area to north of Jacksonville.
Complicating matters is the fact that the district is divided into four planning regions, and must coordinate efforts with other water-supply entities whose boundaries include other water management districts.
Melbourne’s water production superintendent, Frederick Davis, said there are many competing interests for the limited water in the region — farmers and ranchers, water bottlers, manufacturers, homeowners and so on.
“They may be using different straws, but it is the same cup,” Davis said.
Ralph Reigelsperger, director of Melbourne’s public works and utilities administration, said that means the region needs to consider water sources that haven’t necessarily been tapped before to a great extent, such as treated seawater or sewage.
But it’s one thing to use recycled sewage for irrigation, and quite another to use it for drinking water.
Nevertheless, the water management district says in its report that “it is conceivable that potable reuse will be a major method the increase water supply in the district in the near future.”
Blending treated wastewater directly into the potable water system via pipeline connections has been used in many countries, and is being tried in parts of California and Texas, according to the district report.
One of the more immediate options and much less radical options is conservation. water management district officials said water conservation can reduce 2035 water demand projections by anywhere from 84 to 214 million gallons a day, depending on the level of implementation.
Conservation can “take a big bite” out of the supply vs. demand gap, and is “cost-effective,” compared with some other options, Gross said.
Some of the water-conservation measures are relatively low-cost and convenient to implement, such as more efficient shower-heads, faucets, toilets and irrigation systems. Others are more costly or more difficult to implement — high-efficient dishwashers and clothes washers, “water-wise” low-maintenance landscaping and changing land-development rules, for example.
But even, at the high end of conservation measures, the water saved would not be nearly enough districtwide.
“Conservation is not going to get us all the way there,” said Kerr, owner and president of B.K.I. Inc. Consulting Ecologists in Indialantic.
The Water Management District cites seawater as having “significant potential” as a water source that “is inherently reliable and virtually drought-proof.” Drawbacks include seawater being a costly option because “it must be treated with an energy-intensive desalination process” and also would generate a concentrate byproduct that could pose an environmental challenge to dispose.
Other potential ways to increase water supply include expanded use of surface water from lakes, rivers and canals; use of storm water; implementing new water management and storage techniques; and plugging abandoned artesian wells.
Reigelsperger said, as demand for water increases, the region’s water-management officials are “going to have to get serious” about looking at wastewater and seawater as alternatives.
Gross said, had it not been for the economic downturn during recent years and the decline in demand for water from the shrinking agricultural sector, the water supply situation could be worse than it is now.
Cynthia McCurry of Orlando, who spoke at the Viera hearing on water supply, said she is worried about how efforts to close the gap between water supply and water demand will affect residents.
“My concern is the citizens are going to be paying for this,” McCurry said. “It’s always the individual taxpayers.”

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For lagoon, better safe than sorry
Florida Today – by Matt Reed
March 8, 2014
All of Banana River now shielded by fertilizer rules
If the Indian River Lagoon will benefit from new limits on lawn fertilizer, look for results first in the Banana River.
From Port Canaveral to Dragon Point, local governments along both sides of the waterway have now passed ordinances prohibiting application of nitrogen-rich lawn food during the rainiest months, from June 1 through September.
Brevard County commissioners joined the grand public science experiment Thursday. They added all of unincorporated Brevard — including Merritt Island and South Patrick Shores along the Banana River — to a list that already included Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach and Indian Harbour Beach.
The goal: reduce pollution and algae blooms and help native seagrass and fish populations recover.
“We just made history,” Commission Chairwoman Mary Bolin Lewis said after Thursday’s vote.
We should all hope so.
Scientists continue to debate the merits of such ordinances. But in the meantime, the river ecosystem is dying and threatening critical local industries such as sport fishing, birding, commercial fishing and services such as bait-and-tackle shops.
Combined with costly muck-dredging projects and overhauls to city water-treatment systems, the lawn-feeding restrictions could help Brevard County’s signature waterway recover. The new rules also require 50 percent of fertilizer to be slow-release.
Better safe than sorry seems to be the consensus among city and county leaders.
For homeowners, this is one regulation that requires LESS work and expense to comply.
Consensus for cleanup
If Brevard does one thing well, it pulls together and takes risks to solve major crises. Government, business, colleges and nonprofits lived up to their pledges to help after the shutdown of the space shuttle program.
They deserve applause for doing the same with the lagoon, knowing that some initiatives will work harder than others.
In a series of interviews, local leaders agreed “nutrient” pollution has caused the crisis in the lagoon. All supported a multi-pronged approach that now includes more city and county fertilizer restrictions.
Cocoa Beach Mayor Dave Netterstrom: “But when you get up in the air and look down on Cocoa Beach, with all the people living right there, you’ve got to believe we have a large impact on the lagoon and it’s our responsibility to be as conscientious and conservative as we can about it.”
State Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island: “This is not a Republican or Democrat issue, it’s a Florida issue, and that’s how we’re going to work on it. I still believe that we need some kind of comprehensive approach ... But there’s nothing stopping local governments from doing their own ordinances.”
Marine Resources Council Executive Director Leesa Souto: “Nobody thinks their little piece of the watershed does that much. But when you multiply that by 100,000 or 500,000 across Brevard County, it becomes a huge number.”
Congressman Bill Posey, R-Rockledge: “There will be a lot of solutions suggested ... cut through another inlet, you name it. It will need to be a holistic approach. It’s dirty because of what goes into it. And you’re only going to clean it up if you stop putting bad stuff in it.”
Demand results
How much “bad stuff” will city and county lawn-fertilizer restrictions keep out of our prized estuary ? That’s still unclear.
University of Florida scientists say grass absorbs more nutrients, preventing runoff and leaching, when fed during the warm, rainy months. Local environmentalists seem bent on discrediting those scientists as tools of the fertilizer industry.
I say if people must comply with new environmental rules or face code-enforcement fines of up to $500, then they have a right to demand results.
On the Banana River, I expect to see improvements in water quality within two years.
That’s long enough to educate the public, most of whom will gladly comply — same as they have done with seat-belt laws and watering restrictions. It’s long enough for lawn services to adopt new plans. Long enough to cut fertilizer application by a trainload or two.
I hope results are positive, but understand they will be modest.
In places that have taken steps to reduce their “daily loads” of pollution, the state Department of Environmental Protection credits fertilizer rules with up to 3 percent of the improvements.
Better safe than sorry.
Said Netterstrom: “If science proves we went too far, then we’ll back off.”

140307-
Florida water expert appointed WateReuse director
Desalination.biz
March 7, 2014
A former deputy secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has been appointed as the executive director of the WateReuse Association and the WateReuse Research Foundation.
Melissa L Meeker will take the place of G. Wade Miller, who announced his resignation from WateReuse in August 2013.
Meeker takes up the reins on 25 March 2014. She will lead the strategic growth of the two organizations, as well as operational programs, staff and execution of their missions.
The new executive director is described by WateReuse as "a seasoned water executive" with more than 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, with a broad range of expertise that includes regulatory issues, policy development and executive management.
Immediately prior to joining WateReuse, Meeker served as vice president of business line management for CSA Ocean Services Inc, a marine environmental consulting firm founded in 1970. She was responsible for financial and office management, as well as business development.
While previously serving at the Florida DEP, Meeker was appointed executive director of the South Florida Water Management District. During her tenure, the agency rebounded from financial instability, improved efficiency, and focused its efforts on providing flood protection and water supply for 7.7 million south Florida residents, and made landmark progress on Everglades restoration.
She also held senior level positions at Tetra Tech from 2005 to 2010, where she headed the company's Florida operation and later ran its national Water and Natural Resources Program.

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Fracking: Suicide capitalism poisons the air that we breathe
DissidentVoice.org - by Dylan Murphy
March 7, 2014
“Shortly after operations began, we started to experience extreme headaches, runny noses, sore/scratchy throats, muscle aches and a constant feeling of fatigue. Both of our children are experiencing nose bleeds and I’ve had dizziness, vomiting and vertigo to the point that I couldn’t stand and was taken to an emergency room. Our daughter has commented that she feels as though she has cement in her bones.”
– Pam Judy 20 July 2011, Carmichaels, Pennsylvania resident
In 2006 Pam Judy and her family had a new home built on their farm. For three years Pam and her family enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the countryside. However, in 2009 that all changed when a gas compressor station was built 780 feet from her home. Within a short space of time Pam and her family were unable to spend time outside any more as they came down with all sorts of mysterious health problems.
In November 2010 Pam’s son went outside and came home with blisters in his mouth and had extreme difficulty swallowing which led to a visit to the nearby hospital.
This led Pam to conduct research into emissions from compressor stations. She then contacted Calvin Tillman Mayor of Dish in Texas where many people had experienced similar health problems. Mayor Tillman provided Pam with a list of blood and urine tests to determine levels of chemical exposure. The results of the tests revealed measurable levels of benzene and phenol in her blood.
Pam was determined to force the authorities to take action that would protect her family. In June 2010 she persuaded the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to carry out air quality tests over four days on her land. The results revealed the presence of 16 chemicals, including benzene, which are all known carcinogens.
In November 2010 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection released a final report into air pollution in the area where Pam Judy and her family live. The report stated that the Department “could find no emission levels that would constitute a concern to the health of residents living near Marcellus operations …”
Sadly, the experience of Pam’s family is becoming all too familiar to ordinary people all over America who are being poisoned by the toxic chemicals being released by the fracking industry.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a damning report in February 2013 which admitted that there is no systematic air quality monitoring of the emissions from the fracking industry which emits,”large amounts of harmful pollutants that impact air quality on local, regional, and global levels.”
The report further noted how the EPA underestimates chemical pollution from oil and gas wells and did not have a, “comprehensive strategy for improving air emissions data for the oil and gas production sector …”
Politicians Fail to Protect The Public
At a state level the same failure to protect the public is in evidence. In some states there is open collusion between the oil and gas industry and elected officials. The situation in Texas shows how the interests of big business come first while no action is taken to protect local people who are being poisoned.
Inside Climate News has produced a series of excellent reports that chart the collusion of corrupt Texas officials who worked hand in glove with the fracking industry to prevent regulation of toxic air emissions. In 2011 the Texas legislature approved SB1134, a bill that prevented new environmental regulations from being applied in the Eagle Ford region of South Texas.
Inside Climate News reports, “Since then, more than 2,400 air emissions permits have been issued in the Eagle Ford without additional safeguards that would have reduced the amounts of benzene, hydrogen sulphide, formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals that drift into the air breathed by 1.1 million people.”
This should be no surprise considering how large sections of the political establishment of Texas has been bought off by the big bucks of the fracking industry. State Representative Tom Craddick, who steered the bill that prevented new regulations from being applied in the Eagle Ford shale region, has shares in five oil companies that are active in the Eagle Ford area and has received $800,000 from industry employees and related political action committees.
To compound matters Craddick’s daughter Christi has received $600,000 from the fracking industry to win a seat on the Texas Rail road Commission. The Rail road Commission issues permits for drilling.
The corruption of the Texas political establishment goes much further. According to a Centre for Public Integrity review of financial disclosure records 42 members of the Texas legislature or their spouses own stock or receive royalties from oil and gas companies active in the Eagle Ford area. Governor Rick Perry who approved SB1134 has revived $11.5 million in campaign contributions since 2000. The attorney General of Texas Greg Abbott has received over $4 million in contributions and has sued the EPA eighteen times for interfering in Texas affairs!
Not all members of the Texas legislature are cheerleaders for the oil and gas industry. Representative Lon Burnham openly admits that the Texas legislature is “a wholly owned subsidiary of the oil and gas industry.”
Environmental group Earthworks carried out an investigation into air pollution in the Eagle Ford area. The report noted how Texas regulators discovered pollution so dangerous they evacuated themselves from the area. Meanwhile, the regulators took no action to warn or protect residents about the dangerous level of air pollutants.
A growing number of residents are suffering adverse health effects from the poisonous air they are breathing in. These include difficulty breathing, severe headaches, eye burning and skin rashes.
Lynn Buehring developed migraine headaches so intense they have induced temporary blindness. Meanwhile one resident reported an odor “so bad that their lungs feel as if they will burst.”
The Earthworks report does not pull any punches. It concluded that negligent regulators and wild west fracking operators are responsible for the slow poisoning of the people of Karnes County Texas.
Evidence from state regulators and Earthworks/ShaleTest investigations indicate that “air pollution from oil and gas development in the Eagle Ford Shale definitely threatens, and likely harms, the health of Karnes County Texas residents, including the Cerny family. Despite these findings, no action has been taken by regulators to rein in irresponsible operations, or otherwise protect area residents.”
If fracking posed no danger to the public and was perfectly safe why is the CEO of Exxon Mobile Rex Tillerson joining a lawsuit to prevent a fracking project near his Texas home? Tillerson’s company is the biggest natural gas producer in America and fights regulatory oversight at every turn. His name is on the lawsuit that objects to a 160 foot water tower near his luxury home.
The owners of the water tower would sell water to oil and gas explorers “leading to traffic with heavy trucks on FM 407, creating a noise nuisance and traffic hazards” and an “unsafe… nuisance to children of the area.”
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argue that the water tower would, “devalue their [multi-million dollar] properties and adversely impact the rural lifestyle they sought to enjoy.” It will be interesting to see what success this group of multi-millionaires has against the fracking industry.
Air Pollution in California
All over America independent environmental groups are doing the job of the regulators and finding that fracking causes air pollution that poses a threat to human and animal health.
In September of 2013 the Center For Biological Diversity in California released a report that detailed its investigation into air pollution caused by the fracking industry in the LA basin. It found that oil companies had used 12 ‘air toxic’ chemicals on over 300 occasions. Air toxic chemicals are considered as extremely dangerous as they can cause cancer, harm the heart and damage the lungs and eyes.
Among the dirty dozen is Crystalline Silica a known carcinogen which has been used 117 times and is harmful to skin, eyes and other sensory organs, respiratory system, immune system and kidneys.
Another toxic chemical that has been used at least 85 times is methanol that can damage the brain, liver and immune system.
Hydrochloric acid is a very dangerous chemical that has been used 43 times and causes severe burns upon contact with the skin while also posing a threat to eyes, respiratory system, gastrointestinal system and liver, immune system and the cardiovascular system.
There has been a cluster of health problems reported by residents living near the Inglewood oil field due to air borne exposures to these toxic chemicals.
A major problem facing the public is that the oil and gas companies are protected by regulators who allow the companies to keep the identity of certain chemicals hidden on the grounds of “trade secrets.” Oil and gas companies report certain chemicals as “lubricant,” “surfactant,” or simply “mixture.” In other words, the regulators who are supposed to be protecting the public, don’t have a clue as to what toxic poison is being used and churned out into the air.
“Every Californian deserves to know that oil companies are pumping dangerous chemicals into our air, but disclosure alone won’t protect our hearts and lungs,” said the Center’s Hollin Kretzmann. “The best way to shield ourselves from this pollution is to halt fracking, acidification and other extreme oil recovery techniques. We need Gov. Brown and state lawmakers to put public health ahead of petroleum industry profits and shut these dirty operations down.”
On 28 February Los Angeles city council voted to support a moratorium on fracking and other dangerous drilling. The motion puts a moratorium on fracking until the city decides that it does not pose a danger to the safety of residents or their drinking water.
This is a big victory for the people of Los Angeles who have faced oil and gas regulators dragging their feet on enforcing existing environmental rules. More than 200,000 petitions have been signed by Californians urging Governor Brown to ban fracking throughout the state. Californians Against Fracking have organised a state wide demonstration for 15 March in Sacramento to push Governor Brown and his administration into taking this action.
Air Pollution A Toxic Time Bomb
The fracking industry is releasing a toxic time bomb into the air whose full impact may not be felt for many years to come. The indefatigable Theo Colborn, President of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX) and Professor Emeritus of Zoology at the University of Florida, has pointed out that there are no government safety standards for many of these chemicals. Where there is a safety level for some chemicals it is based upon a male worker doing an eight hour shift five days a week. It does not take into account low level exposure for residents exposed 24 hours a day seven days a week.
In a speech given in 2013 to a conference organised by Citizens For a Healthy Community Professor Colborn identified five sources of airborne chemicals that people can be expected to be exposed to if they happen to live near a fracking well.
Firstly, there is the raw natural gas that comes to the surface during drilling. The gas released by drilling has the following composition: 78.7% methane, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) 17.9% and Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide 3.3%.
Methane is a well known greenhouse gas that is toxic to humans. Professor Colborn is particularly worried by the VOC’s which are extremely toxic and have been given little attention by public health agencies. These fugitive volatile organic compounds can cause irreversible damage to the brain and central nervous system if a person is subject to prolonged exposure over time.
Secondly, there is the air pollution caused by exhaust from trucks, compressors and other equipment related to fracking. These produce nitrogen oxide and particulate matter that have the secondary effect of producing ozone which can damage lung tissue. The health effects of exhaust fumes include premature birth, low birth weight, early onset lung disease, cardiac ischemia, myocardial infarction and endocrine disruption.
Thirdly, there are the hundreds of chemicals used during the fracking process itself. The injection of these chemicals into the ground is a well known cause of water pollution across areas affected by fracking.
Fourthly, there are the chemicals released during the cleaning and maintenance of the drilling pad and equipment. Professor Theo Colborn has highlighted Methylene Chloride used to clean fracking equipment which is extremely toxic and has 12 adverse effects upon human health.
Last but by no means least there is air borne pollution caused by the waste water that is put into evaporation pits. The objective is to evaporate as much waste fluid before it is hauled off for processing. However, the evaporation process leads to the release of poisonous chemicals into the air. Professor Theo Colborn notes that there is “very little information” about the air borne pollution coming from thousands of evaporation pits which can also contaminate water supplies.
Failure to Regulate
The fracking industry in America has been subjected to light or no touch regulation. Oil and gas industry lobbyists have successfully fended off effective regulation of their industry and won exemptions from most environmental regulations: Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Air Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), Emergency Planning Community Right to Know Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.
Meanwhile, Congress has agreed not to apply the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to fracking fluids which contain hundreds of poisonous chemicals. Oil and gas companies keep from the public which chemicals are used claiming they are “trade secrets.” By its own admission the EPA has been ineffective in protecting the public from this rapacious industry which has plans for massive expansion all over America and the rest of the planet.
Earthworks calls the fracking industry a “reckless endangerment” of the public’s health. As government fails, the public’s health suffers while oil and gas companies rake in massive profits. Never mind the permanent damage to the plant and animal kingdom by the poisoning of the environment.
One thing is clear from a modicum of research into the air borne pollution caused by the fracking industry. We cannot rely upon corporate politicians to protect the air that we breathe.
The clock is ticking. The question you have to ask yourself is: what am I going to do about it ?

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No time to wait
Gainesville.com – Editorial
March 7, 2014 at 6:01 a.m.
When the Florida Legislature convened this week for its 2014 session, it did so amid a broad and long-awaited consensus that Florida cannot continue to ignore its water crisis.
From the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers to Apalachicola Bay in the Panhandle, from the Everglades to Silver Springs, Florida’s waters are in trouble, big trouble, from overpumping and pollution. Now, the Legislature appears poised to begin taking meaningful steps to stem the degradation of our springs, rivers, lakes, estuaries and bays.
We hope the belated action, which environmental advocates have been demanding for decades, is not too late. One needs to look no further than our own backyard to see the evidence of water policy nihilism and neglect.
The Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute, whose namesake began studying Silver Springs in the 1950s, announced last week that its latest measurements done in December show the granddaddy of Florida’s springs is no longer the world’s biggest first magnitude spring.
“And if drastic steps are not taken now to reverse the damage being done, (Silver Springs) could stop flowing in the next 20 years,” said Robert Knight, head of the Gainesville-based institute.
Knight told our sister paper, the Ocala Star-Banner, that his measurements of Silver Springs’ flow show that Rainbow Springs is now the largest first magnitude spring in the world. But the study also noted that Rainbow, also in Marion County, is suffering from its own decline in flow.
The combined flows of the two natural wonders have declined from 1,010 mgd in the 1950s to about 650 mgd today, a drop of about more than a third. Silver Springs’ flow is down 45 percent alone.
Add to that the decimation of the plant life along the bottoms of both springs and the rivers they feed, as well as the massive decline in the fish population of Silver River — estimated at more than 90 percent — and we are stunned when Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford and Speaker-designate Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, both said they do not expect any major changes in water policy this year.
“Nobody has come up with one silver bullet answer,” Crisafulli told reporters last month.
Of course there is no silver bullet! But there are stacks upon stacks of studies that outline in detail what needs to be done: reduce the pumping of the aquifer and reduce the flow of nitrates into our waterways.
The Senate — led in part by Sen. Charlie Dean, whose district includes parts of Marion, Gilchrist and other counties in our region — are taking steps to try and start curbing nitrate pollution and develop sensible alternative water supply sources.
Weatherford, Crisafulli and the House need to get on board — and not next year. As shown by Silver Springs, the granddaddy not only of Florida’s springs but its tourist attractions, allowing the state’s waters to keep declining is bad for the environment and economy.

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Oil drilling in Everglades subject of EPA hearing in Naples next week
Broward/PalmBeachNewTimes.com - by Fire Ant
March 7 2014
A Texas oil company's request for official permission to drill a wastewater disposal well deep into the Big Cypress watershed is the latest flashpoint in South Florida's enviro-wars. Next Tuesday, in Naples, EPA officials will hold public hearings on the proposal, with activists statewide planning to converge there and confront them.
See also:
- Oil Companies Are Planning to Drill in Florida Panther Habitat
The disposal well -- technically, a Class II underground injection well -- is intended to service an exploratory oil well for which the Dan A. Hughes Company of Houston has already won preliminary approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, though the oil well still faces legal challenges.
Both wells, and others the company plans, are located in Collier County, where Hughes mineral rights leases cover 115,000 acres including large portions of the Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge, Big Cypress National Preserve and Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, home to some of Florida's last old-growth cypress.
The company proposes to drill the injection well 2800 feet deep, into the "boulder zone" beneath the Floridan Aquifer. The wastewater to be stored there, a byproduct of the oil drilling process, is for the most part salt water, more saline and thus heavier than the salt water naturally occurring in the zone, so that theoretically it will not intrude into state drinking water supplies.
Allied against the Hughes company is a coalition of South Florida environmental groups. First to rise up were Naples-area residents alarmed at the prospect of oil drilling within 1,000 feet of some homes. Organized as Preserve our Paradise, they held demonstrations, wrote letters and flocked to DEP hearings, striking a chord with environmentalists statewide. Eventually they won the ear of Senator Bill Nelson, who prevailed on EPA officials to hold public hearings.
Critics of the drilling object to the project on several grounds -- the presence of heavy metals, radioactive substances and known carcinogens in the wastewater; a history of injection well failures and drinking water contamination; traffic congestion and safety associated with drilling; and the impact on the habitats of the Florida Panther and other wildlife.
The Hughes Company is a family operation, midsized by Texas standards (estimated annual revenues of about $65 million) though with operations worldwide. The company failed to respond to New Times' request for comment.
James Ferreira, an official with the EPA's regional office in Atlanta, told New Times his agency's main task is the protection of underground drinking water -- "That trumps everything else." He said the underlying geology of the Hughes leases has been "pretty well documented by the state of Florida and in university studies." As to the long term safety of injection wells in the area, he said, "Senior people at my office say there's never been a problem with Class II wells in Florida."
If the EPA is persuaded to retract its provisional approval of the injection well, the well is history, even with Florida DEP approval. "It's a dual-permitting process," Ferreira said. "They can't even put a hole in the ground."
It would also probably spell the end of exploratory oil drilling in the area, as wastewater would then need to be removed by truck or pipeline, neither of them cost-efficient. And beyond the immediate question of the injection well, preventing oil drilling in the Everglades is the environmentalists' ultimate goal.
"It makes no sense to be drilling in such an environmentally sensitive area," Jennifer Rubiello, a field associate at Environment Florida, told New Times. "And we don't need to use the aquifer as a trash can."
EPA Informational meeting and public hearing
Tuesday, March 11, 4:00-6:00 p.m and 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Golden Gate Community Center
4701 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples

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$4.5 million Gibsonton wetlands restoration project almost complete
TampaBayCurrent.com – by Kevin Brady
March 6, 2014
A massive project to restore wetlands in Gibsonston should be completed next month.
Almost a decade in the making, the program started last summer to restore mangroves at two plots along U.S. Highway 41.
“We should be finished on schedule next month,” said David Townsend, an assistant vice president at Mosaic.
Work on restoring 10 acres of mangroves and adding new oyster reefs, part one of the project, started in July at Giant’s Camp, a stone’s throw from the Alafia River Bridge on U.S. Highway 41. Part two, a similar project just north of the Giant’s Camp on U.S. Highway 41, began in the fall.
Mosaic, the world’s largest phosphate company, is footing the bill for the project as part of a compensation package the firm worked out with the federal government after a dike at its Riverview plant broke and contaminated local waters in 2004.
Heavy rains from Hurricane Frances that year broke the back of the company’s dike, sending 60,000 gallons of contaminated water into Archie Creek, killing vegetation and fish. The creek flows into Tampa Bay.
Mosaic has since spent $30 million to improve water-storage capacity at the Riverview fertilizer plant. “We can now handle up to 80 inches of rain,” Townsend said.
One of the largest agro-chemical companies in the world, with mines in Central Florida and North Carolina, Mosaic provides fertilizer to farmers in 40 countries. Most of the fertilizer used in the U.S. comes from Florida phosphate mines, much of it mined by Mosaic in Polk County.
The restoration project includes digging a 1,500-foot-long by 50-foot-wide channel through the mangrove habitat, breathing new life into the mangroves. The mangroves are currently cut off from any real tidal flow by a marina built in the 1950s and since abandoned.
Tidal flows are the lungs of mangroves; without it, the plants grow in on each other, eventually leading to a “mangrove heart attack” that kills the mangroves and turns them into mudflats. One acre of the property, clearly visible from overhead photos, has already turned into a mudflat.
“Mangroves are the heartbeat of Tampa Bay,” said Roy Lewis III, president of Lewis Environmental Services, the Riverview company that designed the restoration project. “It’s where juvenile fish hang out and mature and move into the bay. Tampa Bay has lost 40 percent of its mangroves over the last 100 years, and, as a direct result, commercial and recreational fishing have declined.”
The restoration project will bring new life to the mangroves, securing their future for hundreds of years, Lewis said.
“When it’s done, there will be four tides a day flushing through the property, and when the tide is ripping, you will see a significant amount of fish coming through,” Lewis said.
Reopening the mangroves to the natural flow of the tide will also involve dredging a 1,000-foot- long and 5-foot-deep channel in the existing waterway, bringing a healthy flow of water into the area. Engineers also built a bridge over the new channel.
While the tides will breathe new life into the mangroves, the new oyster beds, also part of the restoration project, will help clean that water before it enters the area.
Some 5,650 square feet of rock will be used in the project for the oyster beds.

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Controversial alligator hunt approved for Loxahatchee refuge
Sun Sentinel – by David Fleshler
March 6, 2014
A controversial alligator hunt has been approved for the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in western Palm Beach County as part of a general expansion of hunting at wildlife refuges around the United States.
Opposition to the gator hunt came from around the world, with the vast majority of more than 1,300 letters and emails to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service saying it was incompatible with the concept of a wildlife refuge.
But the service said hunting is a traditional activity long been allowed at wildlife refuges and that the refuge's alligator population was thriving and unlikely to be harmed by a modest amount of hunting.
"Hunting and fishing are time-honored ways to enjoy the outdoors and teach people to value nature," said Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Our National Wildlife Refuge System has millions of acres of public land and water to provide quality hunting and fishing experiences. We hope these expanded hunting and fishing programs will allow more Americans to experience this connection with nature."
Initial plans call for permits to be issued to 11 hunters, with each allowed to kill two alligators. If that goes well, the hunt will be expanded.
The 147,392-acre refuge, west of Boynton Beach, encompasses the northern remnants of the Everglades, serving as habitat for endangered snail kites, wood storks and many other wading birds. The refuge already allows duck hunting.

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Endangered waters: Silver Springs dwindles
TheLedger.com
March 6, 2014
When the Florida Legislature opened its annual 60-day session Tuesday, it did so amid a broad and long-awaited consensus that Florida cannot continue to ignore its water crisis.
From the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers to Apalachicola Bay in the Panhandle, from the Everglades to Silver Springs, Florida's waters are in big trouble — from overpumping and pollution.
Now, from preparation made prior to the session, the Senate appears poised to begin taking meaningful steps to stem the degradation of springs, rivers, lakes, estuaries and bays.
Hopefully that help will come through and won't be too late. And hopefully the House, which has been reticent, will help as well. The evidence of water-policy nihilism and neglect is clear, unlike too much of the water.
The Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute, whose namesake began studying Silver Springs, just outside Ocala, in the 1950s, announced its latest measurements last week. They were significant-and-sad: Silver Springs is "no longer the world's biggest first-magnitude spring."
Bob Knight, head of the Gainesville-based Springs Institute, said "if drastic steps are not taken now to reverse the damage being done, the springs could stop flowing in the next 20 years."
Knight said his measurements of Silver Springs' flow show that Rainbow Springs is now the largest first-magnitude spring in the world. Nonetheless, Rainbow Springs — west of Ocala — also is declining in flow.
DEPRESSING TREND
As Knight explained, before the 1950s, Silver Springs had about 55 million gallons per day more than Rainbow Springs. That was about 10 percent greater flow than Rainbow Springs.
Now, Rainbow Springs has 65 million gallons per day per day more than Silver Springs. That's about 20 percent greater flow than Silver Springs.
Combined, the flows of the two major springs have declined from 1.01 billion gallons per day in the 1950s to about 650 million gallons per day now. That's about 33 percent less flow combined — and 45 percent less flow over the decades for Silver Springs.
Given these worrisome declines — as well as loss of plant life at the springs and related rivers, and a 90 percent loss in the fish population of the Silver River, never mind the many water problems statewide — one must question the position of Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, and speaker-designate Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, against "major changes" in water policy in this year's session.
"Nobody has come up with one silver-bullet answer," Crisafulli told reporters last month.
Weatherford, Crisafulli and the full House of Representatives should recognize that thoughtful solutions — if not silver bullets — are needed now, not later.

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Environmentalists appeal Florida water ruling
Ocala.com
March 6, 2014
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Environmentalists are appealing a federal judge's approval of Florida's water pollution rules.
In January, a federal judge in Tallahassee ruled that state and federal authorities could move ahead with an agreement that allows Florida to take the lead in writing and enforcing water pollution rules.
Environmental groups argued that the state rules had loopholes and that the ruling meant that stricter federal Clean Water Act protections would not apply to two-thirds of Florida waters.
The nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice filed an appeal Thursday in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. In a statement, Earthjustice attorney David Guest says the state and federal agreement is "doing the bidding of the big polluters and selling out the public."
State environmental and agriculture officials hailed the Jan. 7 decision.
Related:           Environmental groups to challenge federal judge's ruling allowing ...           The Florida Current

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Getting firm on fertilizer
Florida Today - by Jim Weimer
March 6, 2014
County commissioners will reconsider more rigid rules for lawn care in unincorporated Brevard during tonight's hearing
Fertilizing yards during summer months may soon be illegal in unincorporated Brevard County, in an effort to sow greener pastures for the Indian River Lagoon. If commissioners approve the rainy-season fertilizer ban tonight, Brevard would join more than 50 local governments statewide — including several within the county — that already have done so.
The ban would effect only unincorporated parts of the county and would run from June 1 to Sept. 30. Other new rules under consideration include prohibiting use of phosphate fertilizer without a soil test first to prove it’s needed, requiring at least 50 percent slow-release nitrogen fertilizer, and no longer allowing people who use deflector shields on spreaders to fertilize within 3 feet of waters.
County commissioners declined to implement a ban and other strong measures in 2012, but are revisiting the matter as the lagoon’s woes have become more apparent.
In recent years, unprecedented algae blooms have choked off tens of thousands of acres of seagrass in the lagoon. Seagrass is important source of food and shelter for marine life in the lagoon.
The seagrass die-off was followed by the mysterious deaths of large numbers of manatees, dolphins and pelicans.
Excessive nitrogen and phosphorous — the active ingredients in most fertilizer — in the lagoon is widely suspected of feeding the algae blooms.
While fertilizer isn’t the sole source of nutrients in the lagoon, it is a major one. Leaking septic tanks, pet waste, power plants, tailpipes and groundwater also contribute nitrogen and phosphorus to the lagoon, with each pound capable of growing more than 500 pounds of algae.
With so much sandy soil, it doesn’t take long for those two main fertilizer ingredients to reach the lagoon, where they trigger toxic algae that smothers seagrass, fish and the rest of the lagoon’s web of life.
“We do know we have a groundwater pollution problem,” said Virginia Barker, the county’s watershed program manager.
“For most of Brevard County, it only takes a few months — weeks to months — for the groundwater to flow to the lagoon.”
Advocates for stricter rules point to studies that show lawns survive just fine without fertilizing during rainy months. Opponents — most who have connections to companies that make fertilizer or treat lawns with fertilizer — say depriving grass of nutrients when it’s most able to absorb them, during peak growing season, can result in more nitrogen and phosphorus running off the weaker grass when applied at other times of the year.
Today’s hearing will harken back to recommendations made more than a year ago by the county’s Local Planning Agency. It had recommended the ban as well as:
• Extending fertilizer free zones from the current 10 feet from waterways to 15 feet.
• Eliminating the waiver to the 15-foot zone for those using a deflector or liquid application, which currently allows it to be reduced down to 3 feet.
• Only allowing no-phosphate fertilizer, rather than low phosphates, without a test to first determine whether the soil is deficient in the chemical. Florida soil is typically rich in phosphates already.
Reading University of Florida’s research swayed Judy McCluney, a retired psychologist on Merritt Island, in favor of a rainy-season ban and the other stricter rules. Based on UF’s studies, she’s now convinced that applying the recommended fertilizer rates during rainy season can result in significant amounts of nitrogen leaching beneath the roots and into groundwater, which flows to the lagoon.
But using slow-release fertilizer leaches much less nitrogen into the ground, according to the UF research she’s looked at.
McCluney has lived near the lagoon for four decades, and says she rarely uses fertilizer in her vegetable garden.
“We’ve caused an imbalance by putting this stuff in,” she said of synthetic fertilizers.
As evidence that fertilizer ordinances work, advocates point to the large seagrass gains in Southwest Florida estuaries such as Sarasota Bay and Tampa Bay after fertilizer ordinances were enacted.
But some in the lawn-care industry doubt that the ban alone had much effect and see many other factors at play in the seagrass recoveries, such as stormwater fixes and septic tank removals.
In December 2012, Brevard commissioners adopted an ordinance similar to the state-suggested rules, balking at a rainy season ban and the other stricter rules the Local Planning Agency recommended. But increasing public awareness of the lagoon’s ecological distress prompted them to revisit the issue.
Rainy-season bans on fertilizer use are the most hotly debated aspects of state-required local ordinances to improve water quality of the lagoon and other waters.
The state’s model ordinance stops short of a rainy-season ban on fertilizer use, instead prohibiting fertilizer use during storm watches or warnings or when heavy rain is expected.
But local governments can opt for bans and other stricter fertilizer rules.
The state rules are based on research by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Florida forces municipalities to adopt ordinances at least as strict as state-suggested fertilizer rules if they are located near waters the state determines to be taking in too much nitrogen and phosphorus.
In 2008, the state estimated some 3.28 million pounds of nitrogen and more than 471,460 pounds of phosphorus flow into the lagoon and the Banana River annually. That’s from runoff and other “non-point” sources.
Brevard County must within 15 years sharply reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous flowing into its share of the lagoon, according to state environmental officials.
To pay for further reductions from stormwater system improvements, county officials plan in early April to consider increasing to $64 the current $36 fee that single-family homeowners pay each year for stormwater management. That first-ever increase would bring the fee on pace with inflation. The fee hasn’t been increased since it was enacted in 1991.
A year ago, as hundreds of manatees and pelicans happened to be dying in the lagoon, Rockledge — Brevard’s oldest city — became the county’s first city to ban use of fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus from June 1 to Sept. 30.
Several Brevard cities have since joined in banning fertilizer during rainy season, including Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach.
Conservationists worry that state legislators will once again try, as they have in past years, to pass a law to prevent local governments from adopting rules stricter than the state’s recommendations.
The fertilizer industry counters that keeping lawn-care businesses and residents from applying fertilizer for a third of the year threatens livelihoods and property rights.
They point to a 2009 state law that says municipalities can only go stricter than the state-suggested ordinance if they prove — via a science-based, economically and technically feasible program — the tougher rules are needed and that they’ve considered all relevant scientific information.
Otherwise, they may be opening themselves up to lawsuits from industry to undo the stricter ordinances, warns Jason Steele, of the law firm Smith & Associates, which represents Florida Partnership for Sustainable Greenspace, a conglomerate of fertilizer, real estate and other associated industries.
“We think all of the cities have violated the statute,” Steele said. “They need to stop this.”
Last year, Melbourne agreed, and balked at a stricter ordinance.
County officials assure that they followed the 2009 law.
Either way, Steele says the fertilizer ordinances are unenforceable.
County code-enforcement officers would not proactively seek out offenders, county officials have said, but would respond to complaints that the fertilizer rules were being broken. Those who code-enforcement officers witness violating the rules could face fines up to $500.
Steele sees runoff, septic tanks and leaky sewers as more significant nutrient contributors to the lagoon.
“And yet everybody wants to hang their hat on this fertilizer ordinance,” Steele said.
“If they continue, we’ll end up in lawsuits with all of them,” he added. “Nobody seems to want to address real hard problems.”

140306-g
Mormon church completes huge buy of land – now owns 2 percent of Florida land
Orlando Sentinel - by Kevin Spear
March 6, 2014
The Mormon church through its subsidiaries now owns nearly 2 percent of Florida with the completion Thursday of a $562 million purchase of more than 382,000 acres in North Florida's Panhandle region.
The megapurchase of most of the timberland holdings of real-estate developer St. Joe Co. was announced in November. That property combined with Deseret Ranches in Central Florida leaves the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 678,000 acres in Florida.
AgReserves Inc., a taxpaying company of the church, said when the deal was first made public that it will continue to use the North Florida land for timber and agriculture.
Deseret Ranches has more than 40,000 cattle and is one of the nation's largest producers of calves, and stands to become a key player in Central Florida's development patterns, water consumption and transportation corridors.
The closing of the land deal was announced by CBC Saunders Real Estate in Lakeland, which confirmed that terms remained the same as when first disclosed.

140306-h
‘Water is Life,’ and it’s beautiful too
Voxxi.com - by Daniel Lastra
March 6, 2014
Miami is a city that is surrounded by water, and natural beauty, but the way the population ravages this precious resource is cause for concern as well as the inspiration for a new art exhibit “Water is Life”,  in Coral Gables this March.
March 6th is the opening nigh reception for the 2nd Annual Coral Gables Gallery Exhibit, where the public is invited to attend and celebrate works from dozens of artists, innovative exhibits, as well as the collaborative efforts of several area galleries, all focusing on the importance of water.
SEE ALSO: Rio’s waterways ravaged by pollution
Organizers of the event stated in their official announcement: “The Water is Life gallery exhibition at the Coral Gables Museum explores one of the most important elements on the planet. Water is often overlooked in terms of beauty, its vitality and its importance, but its nonetheless central to almost all aspects of our lives.”
Rosa Lowinger, the curator of the exhibit, chose works from prestigious galleries, including Latino ones such as the Cuban galleries Cernuda Arte and HBenitez Fine Art Gallery. The exhibit promises to be a visually stunning event.
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, water conservation is one of the most important actions residents can take to sustain our precious water supplies in the present and future.
You would think that with so many rivers, springs and wetlands, Florida would have nothing to worry about with concern to its fresh water supply. In fact, it’s so important that a coalition of three large regional water management districts in the state predict that if we continue using water at the present rate,  Central Florida will run out of fresh water in 21 years.
The exhibit is running through March 30th at the Coral Gables Museum.

140306-i
Will Amsterdam’s floating homes become the new living trend ?
AlJazeera.com - by Lori Jane Gliha , Nicole Grether
March 6, 2014
AMSTERDAM – Even on a gray, gloomy day, the view from Leo Noordergraaf’s Amsterdam home is still breathtaking.
“It just felt like you were walking in a holiday park,” he said of his first encounter with the three-story home, located just a few miles from the city center.  “How great would it be to live every day in a holiday park?”
If living in a holiday park means hanging out in a house that floats on water with walls made of windows and a front yard in which he can swim, Noordergraaf has definitely made his vacation dreams come true. 
His house is one of 75 structures that floats in the Amsterdam neighborhood of IJburg, built along a series of artificial islands, and loosely anchored to long poles that are drilled deeply into the ground. While houseboats have traditionally been the refuge of the working class, priced out of landed dwelling, these bobbing homes offer luxury living.
Ranging in size from 1,200 to 1,700 square feet, the houses cost between $460,000 and $780,000. If you look out the windows in warm weather, you may see people swimming and canoeing. And when the water freezes, an ice-skater may whoosh by.
“What I really love about the house is all the windows,” he said.  “So you have like a great view, and so even when it’s not nice weather…everything still looks spectacular.”
Noordergraaf and his partner, Alejandra Morales, have a 2-year-old daughter, and they’re looking forward to the days when she can truly appreciate the wonder that surrounds their home.
The Netherlands, threaded by canals, dikes, sluices and floodgates, has long been a pioneer in the relationship between man and water. After Hurrican Irene battered America's East Coast in 2011, then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called up the Dutch for advice. 
It is also one of the most densely-populated countries in the world. Space has always been scarce, and about 60 percent of the population lives below sea level. So around 10 years ago, a group of engineers and architects gathered to brainstorm ways to better use the water that surrounds the country. They decided to try building homes that float.
“This project was a very big challenge for me,” said Marlies Rohmer, the architect who designed the Noordergraaf and Morales' home.  “I wasn’t anxious at all. I was very curious how we could do that.”
In all, the project took seven years of research, designing, engineering and building. In order to make the whole community come together successfully, each home first had to be built on land. Since a tugboat would pull the homes to their final floating locations on the water, developers had to build narrow houses – thin enough to fit through a tight canal passageway. 
The process also presented a lot of urban planning questions.
“You have to think about where do you park the cars,” said Rohmer, explaining that residents can park their vehicles in a nearby, non-floating garage. “Where do you make enough storage? In Holland, we have bikes, so you see people putting their bike on the jetties,” she said.
In the United States, there are a handful of floating communities, in Florida, Seattle and Sausalito, Calif. But until last year, they hung in a kind of legal limbo. When a Florida marina tried to kick a man and his floating house out in 2008, however, the case wound its way up to the Supreme Court, which declared last January that floating houses, without self-propulsion or steering, were distinct from houseboats, and therefore did not fall under maritime law. The ruling cleared the path for more floating villages.
But that doesn’t mean the lifestyle is for everyone. 
“Sometimes it can really shake,” said Morales, explaining how balance can be a tricky thing. One time a lot of people came over for a party, and neighbors told them they could see their house sink lower in the water, Noordergraaf said.
The home had to be built around their heaviest piece of furniture – the tub on the bottom floor.  Since the bathroom sits below the water, Morales said sometimes she sees people swimming by her house when she’s in the shower.
For the most part, the couple wouldn’t change a thing about their quirky living situation.
“I think you can explore this idea all over the world,” he said. “It’s very easy. Everywhere you have water, you can create this. It’s excellent.”

140205-a
Farmers, ranchers aim to reduce environmental impact
Florida Today – Guest Column by Billy Kempfer
Mar. 5, 2014
Fla. agriculture producers save water, reduce runoff
In his recent guest column in FLORIDA TODAY, “Fixing springs takes political will,” attorney David Guest ignores significant progress by Florida’s $108 billion agriculture industry to conserve water and reduce its impact on the environment.
Every segment of agriculture — forestry, cattle, sod, row crop and other smaller segments — has its own best management practices.
And Kempfer Cattle Co. and Deer Park Ranch is one of 3,000 similar agriculture producers across Florida that applies best management practices. Collectively, we save more than 25 billion gallons of water a year through conservation measures. During the past 10 years, agriculture producers have reduced nutrient runoff by an average of 30 percent statewide.
Mr. Guest asserts that if an agriculture producer enrolls in best management practices, their operation is exempt from monitoring. That is not accurate. Enrolling in best management practices does not exempt us from monitoring and requires the agriculture producer to not only take soil samples but also tissue samples. In addition, phosphorus cannot be applied unless levels are below what is considered critically low for forage.
Mr. Guest refers to “factory farms,” but the average size of farms in Florida is 244 acres and the average cow herd is 80 head.
We own a cattle ranch in Brevard and Osceola counties, and though we are a sizable operation, our factory consists of myself, my brother, our children and one full-time employee. My brother and I are the fourth generation to own part of those resources, with two generations after me that now call the ranch home.
Our ranch enrolled three years ago in the BMPs developed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Trained professionals with FDACS visited our ranch to evaluate and recommend specific improvements and upgrades to our operations that will save water and reduce our impact on the environment.
While we were already using many of the BMPs on the ranch, we incorporated the state’s recommendations and, as a result, we use water more efficiently and use fertilizer based on scientifically researched university recommendations.
We believe Mr. Guest is just trying to rally public support for upcoming legislation to further hinder those who make a living feeding the world. Based on his involvement in numerous lawsuits against agriculture producers, most notably, his involvement in the Everglades Agricultural Area, farmers now have to clean their stormwater discharge to a phosphorus level lower than that of rain water.
It seems agriculture always gets the blame when the environmental community has an issue or agenda. But the farmers and ranchers of today must take great care of the environment and our resources, if the United States is to be the bread basket of the world.
If agriculture producers are forced out of production, their only option is to sell their land. This would cause agricultural lands to go into premature development or, as we farmers like to say, “planting our terminal crop of concrete.”
Mr. Guest fails to recognize that if we legislate and tax our hardworking farmers and ranchers out of business, most of our food will come from beyond our borders. It would serve him well to remember the adage, “Don’t blame a farmer with your mouth full.”

140305-b
Murphy and Rooney urge Army Corps to finalize decisions on Kissimmee River project
SandAndGravel.com
March 5, 2014
US Representatives Patrick E Murphy (FL-18) and Tom Rooney (FL-17) recently sent the following letter to US Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo-Ellen Darcy in support of the Army Corps making the final policy decisions necessary for the Kissimmee River Restoration Project to be completed.
The project is vital to helping restore flows and addressing water quality issues in the northern Everglades. Once completed, the project has the potential to alleviate water flows into Lake Okeechobee by raising the levels of Lakes Kissimmee, Cypress and Hatchinehaw. (Please find below and attached a copy of the letter.)
The Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy
Assistant Secretary of the Arm (Civil Works)
108 Army Pentagon, Room 3E446
Washington, DC 20310-0108
Dear Assistant Secretary Darcy:
Thank you for your recent visit to the great state of Florida and your continued interest in and support for restoration efforts of the Everglades.
As we are sure you understand, approval of the final stage of the Kissimmee River Project is crucial to helping restore flows and addressing water quality issues in the area. In 1992, Congress authorized the Kissimmee River Restoration Project, which de-channelizes the Kissimmee River to restore its oxbows and natural path. Once the Kissimmee River Restoration Project is complete, more than 40 square miles of the river’s floodplain ecosystem will be restored, including almost 20,000 acres of wetlands and 44 miles of historic river channel. Additionally, the project has the potential to add 100,000 acre feet of storage to the watershed, which will help alleviate water flows into Lake Okeechobee by raising the levels of Lakes Kissimmee, Cypress and Hatchinehaw another 1.5 feet. The project also maintains the flood reduction benefits of the original Kissimmee River channeling.
To date, over US$650 million has been invested in the project and construction is slated for completion by 2016. We understand the Corps is committed to seeing the project completed, but that the Corps and the State of Florida still must make some final decisions before the project can reach this goal.
We respectfully request to know what policy issues are still under consideration, their associated rationale, and the Corps’ expected timeline for a final decision on these issues. We also encourage the Corps to include in its response any recommended Congressional action that could aid in expediting and ensuring this project’s timely completion, and we are ready to be of assistance if there’s any way we can be helpful.
We look forward to your response and subsequent efficient decision-making on the final details of the Kissimmee River Restoration Project. Should you have any questions, please contact Morgan Cashwell at (202) 225-3026."

140205- c
Tegu lizards invade South Florida
Local10.com - by Jacey Birch, Reporter
March 5, 2014
FWC fights to capture exotic lizards being dumped in Everglades
MIAMI - Tegu lizards are reproducing all over South Florida, and they're taking over the Everglades.
They are cold-blooded killers, eating their way through the Everglades and putting an entire species at risk.
Tegu lizards call South America home. But because South Floridians are buying them as pets, the large reptiles are the latest animals to be dumped in the woods when they outgrow their welcome.
In order to capture the lizards, traps with eggs used to bait the tegus are hidden in the brush throughout the Everglades.
They are a large-bodied lizard, very stocky, they're black and white. They have this white banding down their body, they have a fairly long tail that's pretty thick and then they have these long toes and claws.
They are similar to an iguana, but with a larger head and jaw. They could grow to be about four feet long. They appear to be harmless, but don't be fooled. The biggest risk is that they like to eat.
"These lizards are not native to Florida," said Jake Edwards, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). "Right now were trying to assess their risks and what they could pose to some of our native wildlife."
Tegus eat a wide variety of food items, everything from fruits and insects to small insects and small animals, but they also really like eggs.
"Tegus like to eat eggs so one of our concerns is that they might be predating wildlife such as birds, turtles, alligators, crocodiles," said Jennifer Eckles, of FWC.
This means that endangered and protected animals could be wiped out, while the Tegu saddles up to a smorgasbord of helpless animals.
Tegus may look cute when they're small, but they could grow up to four feet long, and that's part of the problem.  At that point, people may dump them in the Everglades when they don't want to deal with them anymore, and that adds to the overpopulation.
Similar to the pythons in the Everglades and lionfish in the ocean, tegus are the newest powerful predator in Florida's wetlands.
Florida Fish and Wildlife officers first spotted the elusive lizards in 2009 and began trapping them a year later. But they have only found 400 in four years.
But in the swamps of Miami-Dade County, there could be thousands of these hungry reptiles enjoying a food free-for-all. And it's all because unwanted pets made this their new home and began breeding and eating.
Dumping exotic pets is against the law.
"We do have a lot of regulations and we do have programs in place now so that we can try to take care of these situations before they become a problem," said Eckles.
But they are past that point with the tegus.
Dumping exotic pets like the tegus is a second-degree misdemeanor violation which carries a $500 fine and up to six months in jail. Florida Fish and Wildlife officers accept all exotic animals and often host pet amnesty days. To find out where to take your unwanted pet, click here to visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website.

140304-a
Authorities issue South Florida Environmental Report
DredgingToday.com
March 4, 2014
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) have released the 2014 South Florida Environmental Report detailing a year of science, engineering and environmental restoration progress to improve the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, the Kissimmee Basin and South Florida coastal areas.
The 2014 report marks the 16th year of unified, streamlined environmental reporting by the two agencies.
“With the support of Governor Rick Scott and his landmark $880 million Everglades water quality plan, we have accelerated projects designed to improve water quality and flow to the River of Grass,” said DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr.
“That commitment continues in 2014, with Governor Scott’s $130 million recommendation to further Everglades restoration.”
Spanning three volumes, the 2014 South Florida Environmental Report unifies more than 75 individual documents.
The volumes, plus a 27-page executive summary, provide extensive peer-reviewed research summaries, data analyses, financial updates and a searchable database of environmental projects.
“We continued to make progress during the last year to construct projects that improve Everglades water quality and increase water storage while also managing record rainfall,” said SFWMD Executive Director Blake Guillory. “The 2014 South Florida Environmental Report documents these efforts and our plans to move forward with the state’s Restoration Strategies initiative to benefit the entire South Florida environment.”

140204-b
Bill aimed at limiting water rules passes first hurdle
WFSU.org - by Nick Evans
March 4, 2014
Representative Jimmy Patronis (R-Panama City) says his bill will cut red tape for Florida’s farmers by removing excess regulations.  Currently, county governments in Florida can set standards for wetlands and springs protection and drilling wells. Patronis’s bill would take some of that ability away from local governments and leave it to the state. But Lee County lobbyist Sarah Bleakly says her county’s diverse environment requires local regulation.
“It has at least four separate districts so that the water resource is protected. And that the construction standards that are more strict in one area and therefore more expensive in one area don’t apply throughout the county,” Bleakly said.
Representatives from Audubon Florida and the Sierra Club also expressed concerns about the bill.  A controversial section allowing greenhouse gas polluters some protection from future federal regulation was removed prior to the committee meeting. 

140304-c
Corps urged to finalize decisions on Kissimmee restoration (USA)
DredgingToday.com
March 4, 2014
U.S. Representatives Patrick E. Murphy (FL-18) and Tom Rooney (FL-17) recently sent the following letter to United States Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo-Ellen Darcy in support of the Army Corps making the final policy decisions necessary for the Kissimmee River Restoration Project to be completed.
This project is vital to helping restore flows and addressing water quality issues in the northern Everglades.
Once completed, the project has the potential to alleviate water flows into Lake Okeechobee by raising the levels of Lakes Kissimmee, Cypress and Hatchinehaw.

140304-d
Environmental permitting bill passes despite groups' opposition
Florida Current – by Bruce Ritchie
March 4, 2014
A bill filed by Rep. Jimmy Patronis dealing with an array of environmental regulatory issues passed its first committee Tuesday despite opposition from environmentalists, cities and counties. 
The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee passed a committee substitute for HB 703 that dropped controversial restrictions on the state in implementing federal greenhouse gas reduction rules. 
But the bill added language restricting permitting of local flood control districts. Language dealing with the issue generated so much criticism in 2013 that it was stripped in the Senate from another Patronis permitting bill before it passed.
The bill still would extend "right to farm" provisions in state law to prohibit enforcement of local springs and wetlands regulations that also have been modified or readopted since 2003.
Patronis, R-Panama City, told the committee that the purpose of his legislation was to start a dialogue among interest groups and local governments to resolve their differences.
"I hate to say that we hold their feet to the fire but that is exactly what we are doing," Patronis said.
An attorney who had represented the Ranger Drainage District in the past in a dispute with Orange County said during a meeting with Patronis and other lobbyists on Monday that the language addressing permitting of flood control districts now deals with only one. He did not say which it is.
Environmental groups opposing the bill, which was filed in the Senate as SB 1464 on Feb. 28, include Sierra Club Florida, Audubon Florida, 1000 Friends of Florida and Clean Water Action along with representatives of Lee, Martin and Alachua counties, the Florida Association of Counties and the Florida League of Cities.
Groups supporting the bill included the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Farm Bureau Federation and the National Waste and Recycling Association.  The bill passed the committee by a 10-2 vote and it has three more committee stops.
Also Tuesday, the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee passed a committee substitute for HB 575 that would preserve agricultural greenbelt tax classifications for farm land used in government water storage programs.
The committee also passed a substitute for HB 601 requiring a study of the possible expanded use of treated wastewater, called reclaimed water. 
The revised bill addressed concerns among environmentalists that the bill language would expand the definition of reclaimed water to include use of stormwater needed for the environment. 
Representatives of Audubon Florida and the Sierra Club Florida said they support using reclaimed water but they continued to raise concerns about aspects of the study and said more than one meeting is needed for public comment on the study.
Related Current:
Bills extending renewable energy tax exemption to commercial properties clears first Senate stop (03/04/14)
Patronis is back with another environmental permitting bill (03/03/14)
DEP ends stormy land-selling review, shifts focus to nonconservation lands (03/03/14)
Environment Appropriations (03/03/14)
Brownfields bills moving through Legislature as one-time boost in tax credits is sought

140304-e
Everglades restoration must be completed
SunshineStateNews.com - by Reps. Katie Edwards (D) and Holly Raschein (R)
March 4, 2014
With all the recent stories about new projects and bridges to move more water into Everglades National Park, we should all feel good about the fruits of our collective resolve to protect and restore the environment.
What we haven’t read about are the shortcomings of these same projects to deliver on the other promise that goes along with restoring the Everglades, which is to protect the private property, local economy and the way of life in the areas affected by these projects in South Miami-Dade County.
This winter, farmers across South Miami-Dade have lost crops, or been unable to plant, due to an unusually high water table. A significant contributing factor is that Everglades restoration projects have languished for years in a partially completed state. The “interim operations” for those projects have not only achieved little of the restoration benefit that justified them, but have also failed to protect local farmers.
For almost a century, the hallmark of South Miami-Dade has been its agricultural economy and landscape. The community of small farmers has been an important producer of winter vegetables, tropical fruit, and other crops. Many of Miami’s best restaurants serve locally-grown organic fruit and vegetables as part of the “farm to table” movement. Farmers need reliable flood protection every year because when the water table nears the ground surface, roots rot and plants die. We have lost thousands of avocado trees just in the last few years to diseases brought on by high water.
Everglades restoration projects were designed to avoid this problem. Everglades National Park needs water, and when water leaks out of the park into South Miami-Dade, as it now does every day, it makes the Everglades too dry and the agricultural area too wet. Two projects were designed to address both of these problems. The C-111 Project has been mostly built, and is capable of raising the water level in the park and improving conditions in the agricultural areas east of Everglades National Park.
Similarly, the Modified Water Deliveries Project features are fully functional, yet there is no approved operating plan that would let the water flow. However, water managers have failed to implement the Modified Water Deliveries Project as designed, and have used its features to send water from the Water Conservation Areas into the South Miami-Dade canals, rather than let that water flow into Everglades National Park as intended.
Everglades restoration can be, and must be, a win-win for both the environment and South Miami-Dade farmers, but so far it feels more like a lose-lose. It is time for federal and state water management agencies to start harvesting the environmental benefits of the billion dollars spent on these two projects and at the same time delivering on the promise of better water control for the agricultural economy of South Miami-Dade.

140304-g
Florida's water is topic of local roundtable
StAugustine.com - Contributed
March 4, 2014
What is more precious, water or gold ?  Gold, so long as there is enough water.
Neil Armingeon, newly appointed Matanzas Riverkeeper, was a guest speaker at the St. Johns County Civic Association Roundtable. Armingeon served for nine years as the St. Johns Riverkeeper. He said demands on the St. Johns County water supply will increase 92 percent by 2035 because of added population and development.
To meet the demand, the St. Johns River Water Management District is developing a plan that identifies water supply needs for the next 20 years; including possible use of reclaimed water, brackish groundwater and seawater. Plans are reviewed at least every five years.
The plan envisions drawing water from the St. Johns River in Central Florida, and the Wakulla and Oklawaha Rivers. If this is done, the Riverkeepers fear that the rivers will be adversely affected. Florida faces many challenges in the future to its water supply. Desalinization plants are already in operation, a process that consumes prodigious amounts of energy. The end result is that water is becoming more precious and expensive to produce, requiring changes to our current standards of usage.
Geoffrey Sample, intergovernmental coordinator for the Water Management District, contributed to the discussion following Armingeon’s presentation. Information about the plan is at floridaswater.com.
For information about the Civic Roundtable, call 315-3288 or go to sjcroundtable.org.
The Civic Roundtable is comprised of neighborhood and community associations, and meets generally on the second Monday of each month at the St. Augustine Regional Airport Conference Center from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Meetings are open to the public, who are encouraged to bring matters of concern to the attention of the association.

140304-i
President’s 2015 Budget Proposes $1.1 Billion for the USGS
USGS.gov – Release
March 4, 2014
Targeted investments advance research on climate change and earth sciences to support community safety, health, and economic growth
The President's fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget request for the U.S. Geological Survey is $1.1 billion, an increase of $41.3 million above the FY 2014 enacted level. The FY 2015 Budget reflects the President's ongoing commitment to scientific discovery and innovation to support decision making in addressing critical societal needs and to support a robust economy, while protecting the health and environment of the Nation. 
The Budget includes increases totaling $76.4 million to advance key research and development priorities in the sustainable stewardship of natural resources, as identified in the USGS Science Strategy and Department of the Interior and Administration initiatives.  This includes robust funding for science to support the sustainable development of energy and mineral resources, water resources management; ecosystem restoration and management; wildlife and environmental health; and climate resilience. 
"The USGS has a strong 135-year legacy of providing reliable and relevant scientific information to decision-makers," said Suzette Kimball, Acting USGS Director. "The President's proposed budget recognizes the USGS is uniquely positioned to support our Nation's needs through multi-disciplinary earth science research. This is key for understanding our land, its resources, and our changing climate." 
Key increases in the FY 2015 Budget are summarized below. For more detailed information on the President’s 2015 budget, visit the USGS Budget, Planning, and Integration website.
Science Research, Monitoring, and Tools to Support Climate Preparedness and Resilience
The FY 2015 Budget includes $67.6 million for Climate Change Science for a Changing world, a program increase of $18.2 million above the FY 2014 enacted level. The budget provides funding to the USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center/DOI Climate Science Centers Program, the Climate Research and Development Program, and the Biologic Carbon Sequestration Project for research and the development of information and tools to help communities, States, Tribes, and the Federal government understand, plan for, and respond to the impacts of global change.  Resilience in the face of a changing climate requires that the Nation prepare for an increasingly wide range in temperature and precipitation patterns, which could impact all sectors of society, infrastructure, and natural systems.  Natural resource managers and infrastructure planners face complex challenges under changing conditions such as drought, wildfire, flooding, and sea level rise. The USGS provides science necessary to inform planning and resource management strategies to help mitigate and adapt to changing conditions.
 Restoring, Protecting, and Sustainably Managing Ecosystems
The FY 2015 Budget request includes a total of $52.9 million for Ecosystem Priorities, an increase of $12.4 million above the FY 2014 enacted level. Increases in FY 2015 provide support for research and development to advance ecosystem restoration in key landscapes, such as the California Bay-Delta and the Chesapeake Bay ($1.5 million each), the Puget Sound ($1.1 million), the Columbia River ($850,000) and the Upper Mississippi River ($200,000).  These multi-disciplinary projects are designed to serve local ecosystem management needs and develop knowledge and approaches that are transferable to similar ecosystems across the nation.
Invasive plants and animals cause significant costs to society and impacts to the health of human and natural systems, including transmitting diseases, threatening fisheries, clogging waterways, increasing fire vulnerability, and adversely effecting ranchers and farmers.  Increases of $4.5 million for invasive species research focus on brown tree snakes in Guam, invasive species in the Everglades, Asian carp in the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi, and new and emerging invasive species of national concern. 
The Budget provides a number of other increases to understand and manage ecological resources in priority areas, including $500,000 for managing and restoring landscapes after wildfires and $300,000 for research on pollinators critical to ecosystem health.  The Budget provides $2.8 million for the development of critical ecosystem services tools to enable agencies to manage multiple sources of information into assessment products for land and resource management.  Efforts to engage the next generation are illustrated with a requested increase of $2.7 million for the USGS’ Earth Scientists for Tomorrow initiative, which will be carried out in partnership with the Cooperative Research Units. 
Sustainable Development of Energy Resources
The 2015 Budget provides $40.7 million for USGS research on conventional and renewable energy.  The Budget supports the responsible development of renewable and conventional energy resources, with increases of $1.3 million for geothermal energy resource assessments on Federal lands, $8.3 million for studies on hydraulic fracturing, and $500,000 on research on energy development in the Outer Continental Shelf.  The Budget supports the safe and responsible production of natural gas and cleaner energy from fossil fuels, including research and development to enable safe and responsible natural gas production.  A total of $18.6 million is provided for the USGS as part of a $48 million interagency R&D initiative aimed at understanding and minimizing potential environmental, health, and safety impacts of unconventional gas resource development and production through hydraulic fracturing.  This research is being coordinated between the USGS, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency and focuses on timely, policy-relevant science to enable prudent development while protecting human health and the environment. The development of unconventional oil and gas resources through hydraulic fracturing plays an important and rapidly growing role in the domestic energy portfolio of the Nation, and the USGS has unique capability to provide critically needed science to inform decisions. 
Water Challenges
The FY 2015 Budget provides $210.4 million for the USGS Water Mission Area, $3.1million above 2014 enacted.  The request includes $14.5 million for the WaterSMART program, which is an increase of $6.4 million above the 2014 enacted level.  As competition for water resources grows for activities like farming and energy production, so does the need for information and tools to aid water and natural resource managers.  The 2015 Budget includes an increase of $2.4 million for the groundwater-monitoring network and $2.0 million for grants to State water resource agencies to improve the availability and quality of water-use data they collect and to integrate those data with the USGS Water Census.  The Budget also proposes increases of $1.2 million to fund more than 50 streamgages in the National Streamflow Information Program, $1.0 million to expand work related to water availability issues on tribal lands, $750,000 for national hydrologic modeling for groundwater sustainability, and $700,000 to develop and improve the next generation of streamflow measurement techniques. 
Earth Observations and Data to Support Global and Landscape Scale Understanding
The 2015 Budget invests in Earth observation systems, data, and tools to support understanding and management of lands and resources on a global and landscape scale.  This includes continued funding for the operation of the Landsat satellite program, which is celebrating the anniversary of the successful launch of Landsat 8, continuing the program’s 41 year history of imaging the Earth’s surface.  In 2015, the USGS will continue to work with NASA to analyze user requirements and implement a 20-year sustained land imaging program to provide for Landsat data continuity.  Funding for the land imaging program is provided in the 2015 budget for NASA, which will be responsible for development of a sustained, space-based, global land imaging capability.  Increases in FY 2015 for the USGS will support improving the accessibility and usability of Landsat data and products, particularly in resource decision making.  
The Budget invests in numerous landscape scale earth observation and data efforts including the Federal Geospatial Platform, which provides the Nation with access to science, information, and geospatial frameworks for use in planning, natural resource management, and a myriad of other societal uses.  Reflecting the multitude of societal benefits derived from Lidar elevation data, the Budget requests a $5.2 million increase for the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) initiative as well as increased funding for collecting data and updating elevation maps in Alaska.  A $2.0 million increase will support the Big Earth Data Initiative, which is working to make scientific data collected by the Federal government easier to find and use. 
Environmental Health
The 2015 budget request proposes funding for research on the impacts of human activities that introduce chemical and pathogenic contaminants into the environment and threaten human, animal, and ecological health.  Increases proposed include $3.2 million to study the environmental impacts of uranium mining on public lands in the area of the Grand Canyon and $1.5 million to support a national assessment of 800 common and emerging contaminants in stream systems
Contact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communications and Publishing,   12201 Sunrise Valley Dr, MS 119, RESTON, VA 20192

140304-j
Water, Water, Everywhere: To green our deserts
IPSnews.net - by Hazel Henderson
March 4, 2014
Hazel Henderson, president of Ethical Markets Media (U.S. and Brazil), who created their Green Transition Scoreboard, is author of many books and co-developed the Principles of Ethical Biomimicry Finance. She points to a greater need to tap saline agriculture for food and energy.
ST.AUGUSTINE, Florida, Mar 4 2014 (IPS) - Providing water for our still growing human population is reaching crisis levels. Water is vital for agriculture, energy production and industrial processes worldwide. Floods and droughts in Asia, Latin America, Europe and the United States accompanied unprecedented typhoons and winter storms. While none could be linked directly to climate change, the debate surfaced. Mainstream media started covering these issues more broadly.
The Earth’s surface is largely covered with water. So, why has the world’s attention focused on the three percent of fresh water on our planet, on water management, pollution, waste and recycling? Yet 97 percent of the water on Earth is saline: oceans, salty lakes and brackish wetlands ignored in most policy, finance, business and public debates!
At last, unnoticed research on the 10,000 salt-loving halophyte plants which grow in deserts and thrive on seawater is coming to light. I have long reported on saline agriculture, noting that halophyte plants can provide humans with food, fibre, edible oils and biofuels. Indeed, the only biofuels that meet ethical criteria are those based on algae grown on seawater.
Today, as water-related risks reach crisis levels, they are changing traditional risk analysts’ focus on financial risk. In the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk in 2014, water rose to third place behind fiscal crises in key economies and structurally high unemployment/underemployment. The United Nations General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cited water and drought issues high on its agenda while many countries’ delegates voted to make oceans a stand-alone focus of the SDGs.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) provides a welcome global focus on the needed transition to renewable energy, many forms of which will conserve water and provide better methods of desalination and treatment.
Fossil-fueled and nuclear power plants are prodigious gulpers of water, another reason for the shift to renewables. Additional risk factors focus on the rising ocean levels and acidification as CO2 emissions are absorbed by oceans which are heating faster than previous models predicted. This led to renewed interest in ocean thermal differentials as a source of electricity along with ocean currents and wave energy technologies.
Embracing this broader view, the 14th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit connected the dots in February 2014 as Attaining Energy, Water and Food Security for All. The International Conference on Sustainability in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus, May 19-20, 2014 in Bonn, Germany, takes the same systems approach.
The Earth Systems Science programme at NASA is the most comprehensive approach to understanding how our planet processes the daily free photons from the Sun, through the atmosphere and ocean currents, which combined with geothermal energy from its core, create the conditions for life on Earth.  This daily information on how our planet functions and our human effects on it must now be cranked into all financial and business risk-analysis models, as I outline in Mapping the Global Transition to the Solar Age: from Economism to Earth Systems Science, with foreword by NASA Chief Scientist Dennis Bushnell, who is also an expert on halophyte plants and saline agriculture.
Bringing desert areas into food, fibre and fuel production by employing saline agriculture and these thousands of salt-loving plants is now the lowest hanging fruit for humanity to address its myriad crises of tunnel vision: inequality, poverty, pollution, food, water, energy and political conflicts.
Desert-greening science has been quietly maturing for decades with experiments in many countries in the Middle East, China, Australia, Mexico and the U.S. Today, business plans are emerging, such as DESERTCorp, by the Planck Foundation in Amsterdam, as well as the work of Carl Hodges in Egypt and the U.S.; Allan Savorys Savory Institute in Zimbabwe and Australia and the Grasslands Project in South Dakota, U.S., with the Capital Institute; the research of Mae-Wan Ho of ISIS in Britain; Wes Jacksons Land Institute in Kansas, U.S; Janine Benyus at Biomimicry 3.8; Gunter Pauli at ZERI; and many other projects.
A biofuels breakthrough was announced, January 22, in Abu Dhabi that Boeing, in partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are producing biofuel for jet aircraft made from algae grown on desert land, irrigated with seawater. This Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC) is affiliated with the MASDAR Institute.
Director Alejandro Rio states, the UAE has become a leader in researching desert land and seawater to grow sustainable biofuel feedstocks with potential applications in other parts of the world. Other airlines are also researching biofuels, but all seem to find that oils from tar sands and shale are too dirty for jet fuel and that oil companies seem unwilling to refine these dirty oils to the standards needed for aviation since they see this market as too small. Meanwhile, worries about shale fuels include their huge water requirements, methane emissions, pipeline leaks, earthquakes and other environmental problems.
None of these hazardous forms of energy are needed!  Humanity can now stop digging up the Earth and look up harvesting the free photons from our Sun as green plants do, providing our food. Let’s now green our desert areas, growing salt-loving crops using abundant land, salt waters and sunlight. Lets accelerate the global transition, to the more equitable, knowledge-rich, cleaner, greener economies now within our grasp

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Expert says public/private water storage projects could ease Florida's water woes
WGCU.com - by Ashley Lopez
March 3, 2014
Water quality is among the many issues state legislators are expected to tackle during the legislative session starting Tuesday—and a former state water official said the state should take a look at funding innovative projects aimed at dealing with the state’s water woes this year.
One of the big problems water managers have been trying to solve is how to store excess water from Lake Okeechobee during the wet season.
Last year, water was released into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers—degrading water quality down the two estuaries.
Ernie Barnett used to be the interim director of the South Florida Water Management district and now works at an environmental consulting firm. He said the state should spend more on private/public water storage projects.
“You know it’s kind of an innovative way to store more water more quickly,” Barnett said. “It’s not the only solution to the problem, but I believe it is an integral tool the water managers need to have.”
Barnett said these projects are partnerships between the state and local land owners who live around Lake Okeechobee. The projects allow the state to store water on private lands.
Barnett said it’s faster and more versatile than relying strictly on reservoir projects like the planned C-43 reservoir, which he said could ultimately take 15 years to develop and could end up costing about 500 million dollars.
A spokesman for the South Florida Water Management district said his agency is hopeful the state Legislature will fund extra projects like this during this session.

140303-b
Frustration follows budget cuts
Herald-Tribune - by Zac Anderson
March 3, 2014
Years of low funding and budget cuts have left Claudia Drimmer increasingly frustrated with Florida's state-subsidized preschool voucher program.
"It's definitely positive it's on the upswing but I just don't think the people who make these decisions have a grasp of what it really takes to fund a quality VPK," Drimmer said, noting the $100-per-child proposed increase will not even make up for recent cuts
Funding for the preschool voucher program has dropped by $294 per child in recent years to $2,383, one of the lowest rates in the nation.
The largest cut — $179 per child — came in 2011, during Gov. Rick Scott's first year in office.
Heading into the two-month legislative session that begins Tuesday, Florida's tax revenues are stronger than at any time since the Great Recession. The state is projecting a $1.2 billion surplus and lawmakers are proposing increases for programs ranging from education to environmental programs and economic development.
The extra money is expected to ease tensions in the Capitol, but a long period of austerity has created a backlog of needs that will not be easy to meet in one budget cycle.
That is not stopping Scott from trying to please a wide range of groups through his proposed budget, but some wonder if he is covering too many political bases and spreading the state's surplus thin for the sake of electoral gains as he campaigns for a second term this year.
The political positioning around the budget will be a central drama of the 2014 legislative session, which is expected to be light on controversial issues as state leaders look to glide smoothly into election season.
Scott and top lawmakers are hoping to mollify some of the anger over big budget reductions during the recession while delivering tax cuts and other politically popular proposals. Scott has repeatedly described his budget as "historic" in a variety of areas, but not everyone is impressed.
"It's not even close to enough," Drimmer said.
Facing a $3.6 billion deficit in 2011, Scott and the Republican-controlled Legislature pushed through dramatic budget reductions, including slashing public education by $1.3 billion.
While the budget reductions may have been unavoidable, some faulted Scott's approach as too ideological. The governor announced his first budget - which included major corporate tax cuts - at a Tea Party rally held in a church in rural Eustis, saying state government had run "wild with taxes, regulations and excessive spending."
The reductions in education funding were particularly unpopular.
"Some of the cuts at the outset really hurt him," said New College political science professor Frank Alcock.
Scott has been trying to make up for it ever since. His last two budgets have boosted funding for schools, and he touts his proposed education budget as historic. It's a word Scott uses repeatedly to describe his budget proposals, although the accuracy of such statements is a matter of perspective.
Scott's proposed $18.8 billion K-12 education budget is the largest gross amount in Florida history, but the state is still spending less per student than in 2007.
And the so-called historic funding for Everglades restoration is less money than Scott cut from the state's regional water management districts two years ago.
Kathryn Shea is grateful for the governor's proposed $7 million increase to the state's Healthy Families child abuse prevention program, but noted the funding is still below pre-recession levels.
"We're a long way from where we need to be to," said Shea, who runs the Florida Center for Early Childhood in Sarasota.
Shea is critical of the governor's proposal to cut $500 million from corporate taxes and driver's fees at a time when many state-funded programs continue to struggle.
"I think it's way too premature to say because we have all of this excess revenue we're going to give tax cuts," she said, adding that "it's just another way to get votes, in my opinion."
Regardless of such criticism, the budget surplus should make for a relatively smooth legislative session this year that could help Scott on the campaign trail.
Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, compares the state's budget picture to a family with extra money in the bank.
"It's always a little bit easier when you have more in your checking account," he said.
Boyd said lawmakers generally support Scott's funding proposals. Some parts of the budget were "neglected" when money was tight, he said. Boyd expects education to be a big winner this year and believes the governor's plan to cut taxes and fees will make life easier for Florida families while boosting the economy.
"At the end of the day, hopefully we'll be able to lower taxes and fund things appropriately and do some good," he said.
Legislative leaders have their own budget priorities, which don't always align with the governor's.
House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, wants more money for the state's tax credit voucher program, which helps children of all ages attend private schools. Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, is pushing to increase money for career and technical education.
Other top Republicans are championing more funding for projects ranging from expanded homeless services to cleaning up the state's freshwater springs.
Some budget wrangling is inevitable, but Alcock said the sizeable surplus should help Scott avoid major confrontations with lawmakers and strengthen his coalition heading into the summer election season.
"If you've got a little love to spread around prior to an election it is helpful," he said, adding that the "jockeying and positioning for the general election is a key overriding" focus of the session.
Scott's budget seems designed to blunt critics and offer campaign talking points, Alcock said.
While the governor will not win over many environmentalists or much of the public education community, the increases in funding "will reduce the level of intensity of opponents" he said. How much that benefits Scott's campaign is unclear, though.
Drimmer, the preschool director, said the additional $1,600 she would receive if the governor's budget is approved — $100 for each of her 16 state-subsidized students in the 53-student school — "is better than nothing," but she questions the state's spending priorities.
Even with the increase, the state's per-student allocation for Voluntary Prekindergarten is roughly half what it costs to run a quality program, Drimmer said. It can be difficult to attract highly trained VPK teachers and offer a top notch learning environment on such low funding. Full-paying students end up subsidizing the state-funded ones.
"They're moving in the right direction, just way too slow," she said. "Does it make the VPK providers feel appreciated or valued ?  Hell no."

140303-c
Water issue looming as legislative session starts Tuesday
Gainesville.com - by Fred Hiers, Staff Writer
March 3, 2014
Environmentalists and Florida lawmakers who want tougher policies to protect the state's springs, rivers and groundwater remain hopeful for progress this legislative session, despite some warnings that this may not be their year.
Some Florida state senators are crafting a comprehensive package expected to address water quality problems with many Florida lakes, springs and the aquifer. The legislation will include tougher regulation of wastewater treatment plants and farm fertilizer application, provide for the replacement of thousands of leaking septic tanks, and devote as much as $400 million per year in real estate taxes to clean up water.
The holdup, if there is one, might come from the House. Speaker Will Weatherford recently told The News Service of Florida that while he is "sensitive" to water legislation being formulated, the issue is too widespread for handling during one legislative session; instead, he will focus on issues "we can control."
"I think we'll tackle a lot of the funding issues this year," said Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel. "I think there is an opportunity for us to address some of the policy issues, but water is so broad, you have water quality, you have water quantity, water infrastructure and how we move water resources."
Weatherford has deferred water policy issues to Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, who is slated to be speaker in 2015.
Senate President Don Gaetz told the Tampa Tribune that his scheduled successor, Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, as well as Crisafulli, have already "staked out" environmental issues, and he doesn't want to infringe on that arrangement.
Despite those rumblings, Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, who is among a handful of lawmakers crafting the springs protection legislation, predicts some measure of new water policy legislation will succeed this year.
"It just wouldn't make sense to keep ignoring what we brought to the forefront and everyone has been asking for," Dean said.
He added: "I have been in the Legislature a long time, and one thing you have is compromise available to you. I think we can come together (on springs protection). I would be the most disappointed person if we walk away from this with nothing. I just know there's a way to get this done."
Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, one of the architects of the Senate's springs protection proposal, said he wasn't troubled by Weatherford's stance, according to the News Service of Florida.
"I think we've got an ambitious agenda in the Senate, but I think we are on the right track," Simpson said. "It will take a few years to fully ramp up and be able to spend a $150, $200, $300 million a year. But at least with the path known, our agencies — DEP, the water basin boards — can start planning for these projects."
Ryan Smart, with the Florida Conservation Coalition, said there is still time for the House to craft something. To do nothing in the House, he said, would be wrong.
"We're in a crisis mode right now. I don't think the springs can wait until next year," Smart said.
The alternative is for the Legislature to keep funding individual projects, he said, but that would not be as beneficial without a larger policy change.
"You're just cleaning up the damage that you've already done," he said.
But that approach appears to be what Crisafulli has in mind. He told the Associated Press that "most of what we're looking at right now is project-related, not policy-related."
One example: determining ways to reduce the amount of water released from Lake Okeechobee into sensitive ecosystems west and east of the lake.
Another: a cleanup of the Indian River Lagoon, which suffers from high nutrient levels, failing area septic tanks and invasive vegetation.
He also wants to focus on finding ways to store more water north of Lake Okeechobee, which would alleviate pressure on the lake's aging dike and reduce the amount of water released into sensitive ecosystems.
Last year, water levels in the 730-acre lake rose to dangerous levels during a series of heavy rains. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released large amounts of water, and its contaminants, into the Indian River Lagoon, which some environmentalists say detrimentally affected the area's delicate ecosystems.
Smart said the proposals are good, but a piecemeal approach could end up distracting from the need for broader water policy.
Other than the springs protection legislation and plans for Indian River and Lake Okeechobee, Smart does not see much other significant environmental legislation on the near political horizon.
Eustis Whitfield is a senior environmental adviser with the Dawson & Associates law firm in Washington and was environmental adviser to four Florida governors. Whitfield also thinks the Indian River and Lake Okeechobee proposals are good but need to be part of a larger environmental policy.
"Florida is a very big state. To concentrate only on one part of it is not broad-minded enough," Whitfield said.
Whitfield said he hopes public pressure will be enough to force the House to move toward more sweeping legislation.
"When the people speak loud enough … and often enough the political system listens. That's the hope we have," Whitfield said.
Whitfield said Weatherford's announcement to push off any springs protection legislation until next year is bad news.
"That was one of the last things we wanted to hear," Whitfield said. "But we can't go home and say, ‘Oh well, we'll see you next year.'?"
Meanwhile, there are a few subplots that could influence how lawmakers shape water legislation this year. Some examples:
Voters will decide in a November referendum whether to invest some existing taxes paid on real estate transactions into water and springs programs.
Some suggest the money could be used to fund the proposed springs protection legislation. Others think the two issues should be separate.
Lawmakers backing springs protection legislation are trying to broaden their support base by limiting the financial burden on municipalities. The changes would mean local governments would not be required to implement the legislation unless there is state money to pay for it.
Gov. Rick Scott has proposed $55 million for the springs in the coming year, a $45 million increase from last year. It is likely that Silver Springs would benefit from that money.
But, again, Whitfield and others fear that such piece-by-piece funding encourages the selection of individual water projects rather than a comprehensive and broad approach to fixing Florida's water problems.
Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, whose district includes part of Marion County, is among a handful of lawmakers crafting the springs protection legislation.
The holdup, if there is one, might come from the House. Speaker Will Weatherford recently told The News Service of Florida that while he is “sensitive” to water legislation being formulated, the issue is too widespread for handling during one legislative session; instead, he will focus on issues “we can control.”
“I think we'll tackle a lot of the funding issues this year,” said Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel. “I think there is an opportunity for us to address some of the policy issues, but water is so broad, you have water quality, you have water quantity, water infrastructure, and how we move water resources.”
Weatherford has deferred water policy issues to Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, who is slated to be speaker in 2015.
Senate President Don Gaetz told the Tampa Tribune that his scheduled successor, Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, as well as Crisafulli, have already “staked out” environmental issues, and he doesn't want to infringe on that arrangement.
Despite those rumblings, Dean predicts some measure of new water policy legislation will succeed this year.
“It just wouldn't make sense to keep ignoring what we brought to the forefront and everyone has been asking for,” Dean said.
He added: “I have been in the Legislature a long time, and one thing you have is compromise available to you. I think we can come together (on springs protection). I would be the most disappointed person if we walk away from this with nothing. I just know there's a way to get this done.”
Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, one of the architects of the Senate's springs protection proposal, said he wasn't troubled by Weatherford's stance, according to the News Service of Florida.
“I think we've got an ambitious agenda in the Senate, but I think we are on the right track,” Simpson said. “It will take a few years to fully ramp up and be able to spend a $150, $200, $300 million a year. But at least with the path known, our agencies — DEP, the water basin boards — can start planning for these projects.”
Ryan Smart, with the Florida Conservation Coalition, said there is still time for the House to craft something. To do nothing in the House, he said, would be wrong.
“We're in a crisis mode right now. I don't think the springs can wait until next year,” Smart said.
The alternative is for the Legislature to keep funding individual projects, he said, but that would not be as beneficial without a larger policy change.
“You're just cleaning up the damage that you've already done,” he said.
But that approach appears to be what Crisafulli has in mind. He told the Associated Press that “most of what we're looking at right now is project-related, not policy-related.”
One example: determining ways to reduce the amount of water released from Lake Okeechobee into sensitive ecosystems west and east of the lake.
Another: a cleanup of the Indian River Lagoon, which suffers from high nutrient levels, failing area septic tanks, and invasive vegetation.
He also wants to focus on finding ways to store more water north of Lake Okeechobee, which would alleviate pressure on the lake's aging dike and reduce the amount of water released into sensitive ecosystems.
Last year, water levels in the 730-acre lake rose to dangerous levels during a series of heavy rains. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released large amounts of water, and its contaminants, into the Indian River Lagoon, which some environmentalists say detrimentally affected the area's delicate ecosystems.
Smart said the proposals are good, but a piecemeal approach could end up distracting from the need for broader water policy.
Other than the springs protection legislation and plans for Indian River and Lake Okeechobee, Smart does not see much other significant environmental legislation on the near political horizon.
Eustis Whitfield is a senior environmental adviser with the Dawson & Associates Washington law firm and was environmental adviser to four Florida governors. Whitfield also thinks the Indian River and Lake Okeechobee proposals are good but need to be part of a larger environmental policy.
“Florida is a very big state. To concentrate only on one part of it is not broad-minded enough,” Whitfield said.
Whitfield said he hopes public pressure will be enough to force the House to move toward more sweeping legislation.
“When the people speak loud enough …and often enough the political system listens. That's the hope we have,” Whitfield said.
Whitfield said Weatherford's announcement to push off any springs protection legislation until next year is bad news.
“That was one of the last things we wanted to hear,” Whitfield said. “But we can't go home and say, 'Oh well, we'll see you next year.' ”
Meanwhile, there are a few subplots that could influence how lawmakers shape water legislation this year. Some examples:
• Voters will decide in a November referendum whether to invest some existing taxes paid on real estate transactions into water and springs programs.
Some suggest the money could be used to fund the proposed springs protection legislation. Others think the two issues should be separate.
• Lawmakers backing springs protection legislation are trying to broaden their support base by limiting the financial burden on municipalities. The changes would mean local governments would not be required to implement the legislation unless there is state money to pay for it.
• Gov. Rick Scott has proposed $55 million for the springs in the coming year, a $45 million increase from last year. It is likely that Silver Springs would benefit from that money.
But, again, Whitfield and others fear that such piece-by-piece funding encourages the selection of individual water projects rather than a comprehensive and broad approach to fixing Florida's water problems.

140302-a
Oil drilling on land in Florida is controversial, too
TheLedger.com – blog by Tom Palmer
March 2, 2014
Most of the talk about oil drilling in Florida has involved concerns about spills from offshore rigs despoiling our beaches and chasing away tourists.
The recent news that marine life as far south of the southwest coast of Florida was affected by the Deep Horizon spill certainly shows the concerns weren’t overstated.
But there’s another, less-publicized oil drilling dispute under way in southwest Florida at the edge of the Everglades.
This one involves a proposal to drill wells in Collier County near rural residential areas and in the middle of some the remaining Florida panther habitat.
The main concerns are over the potential for groundwater pollution, increased water consumption in an are where water supplies are already stressed and new road construction that could disrupt wildlife corridors.
This issue is all being sorted out in administrative hearings that are under way to secure state and federal permits required before the project can proceed.
Oil drilling is not a new enterprise in this part of Florida.
There has been some drilling in southwest Florida since 1943 in the Sunniland area, but production has never been at the levels you hear about in Texas and other big oil-producing areas.
What’s different now and what’s causing activists to organize is new drilling and extraction techniques such as fracking and the fact that people are living in the area and worry how the work will affect their private wells.
These local concerns reflect concerns that have been raised nationally about the environmental impacts of newer oil and gas extraction methods.
The concern over road construction is tied to the fact that one of the key causes of panther deaths is collisions with vehicles.
Punching more roads into panther habitat can’t help, critics contend.
The controversy reminded me of a local case in 1976 when an oil driller obtained a lease to drill an exploratory oil well under Lake Pierce near Lake Wales.
That plan involved drilling at an angle from lakefront property in an area occupied at the time by an attraction called Masterpiece Gardens on the lake’s southern shore. It involved a process described at the time as slant drilling.
Florida’s proposal to grant a mineral lease under the lake drew protests from environmentalists, but the permit was issued and drilling occurred.
However, apparently the exploration produced nothing promising and that was the last anyone heard of the effort.
At the time I learned there had been earlier prospecting efforts involving using equipment to gather seismic data along the U.S. 27 corridor, but nothing came of that, either.
In all of these cases the counterargument is that a successful venture will aid the local economy in some way, but  critics wonder whether it’s worth it.
If  you want to know more about the oil well controversy, go to http://stonecraballiance.com/aboutus.html or http://www.evergladesfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Report-Oil-Gas-Impacts.pdf
or http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/planet-earth-news-zmaz88sozgoe.aspx
Related:           The Nature of Things: Oil Drilling Dispute Returns to Southwest Florida    The Ledger

140302-b
Plan for springs protection uncertain, but big first step
Tallahassee.com - by Jennifer Portman, Democrat senior writer
March 2, 2014
It’s still only in draft form, but a bipartisan effort by five state senators to craft Florida’s first comprehensive springs protection bill already has emerged as one of the most closely watched measures for the upcoming session.
Hailed by environmentalists as long overdue and condemned by industry and local government groups for adding needless and burdensome regulations, the draft plan would establish firm timelines for action and provide nearly $380 million a year for projects to restore and protect Florida’s biggest springs.
“The time has come for us to say that our springs must be protected, not only for ourselves, but for our children and our children’s children,” primary drafter Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, said at a recent two-hour workshop on the bill. “Something has to be done and done now.”
The proposal calls for state regulators to establish protection and management zones around Florida’s 33 first-magnitude springs and five others, develop basin management action plans for those watersheds and set minimum-flow levels for protected springs. All waste water systems in the zones would be required to adhere to strict limits on the amount of spring-polluting nitrates that could be discharged into the basin. In addition to residential fertilizer ordinances and the adoption of agricultural best management practices, homes on lots within those zones with more than one bedroom per acre also would be required to hook up to central sewer systems if available, or install advanced septic systems — all at no cost to the homeowner.
Funding for wastewater and other needed improvements would come by tapping 20 percent of documentary stamp tax fees collected by the state. The Acquisition and Restoration Council, which currently ranks projects eligible for funding under the Florida Forever land buying program, would evaluate and recommend which springs-related projects should be funded. Money would be allotted to “the worst first,” sponsors said.
“We know we don’t have enough funding to do everything,” Simmons said. “This is a major step, but it is only the first step.”
The effort comes as an improved state financial picture and accompanying real estate rebound has made available more money for such programs. At the same time, environmental calamities statewide fueled the success of a constitutional ballot initiative that if approved by voters in November would earmark up to $10 billion in state doc stamp revenue over 20 years for conservation land purchases.
Simmons and the other members of what Senate President Don Gaetz calls the “Gang of Five” — including Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, and Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, and two other Republican committee chairmen — have repeatedly said the springs draft legislation is not perfect, calling it “a work in progress.” The lawmakers have solicited input from environmental and industry groups in an effort to fashion a palatable bill, but have stressed inaction is not an option.
“We want to identify what is doable,” Dean said at the workshop. “I’d rather be guilty of doing something than doing nothing.”
In an apparent effort to appease local government interests, Simmons last week said he’s penned a new draft of the bill he called “Plan B,” which has not yet been made public, that eliminates a controversial provision requiring municipalities to meet the new wastewater standards even if state funding was not available. Simmons said in the new version, local governments denied funding for projects needed to meet the new requirements would not be held to the tougher standards. Cost-sharing plans would be emphasized, he said.
“I believe you are going to find every local government wholeheartedly supporting this legislation,” he said. “Rather than using the stick and the carrot, we are going to use the carrot alone.”
News of the new draft was greeted by some opponents last week with cautious optimism.
“It sounds very much that Plan B is something we are looking forward to working with you on,” said Ryan Matthews with the Florida League of Cities.
Concerns about the proposal, however, go beyond unfunded mandates. A letter sent last month to the senators and signed by 22 industry and government groups, including the Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Farm Bureau, outlined a host of problems with the draft. They contend Florida’s existing regulatory rules and tools — if fully funded and properly implemented — are adequate to address the springs’ water quality and quantity problems.
But Simmons and other supporters of the plan disagree. They point out that laws authorizing the state’s regulatory agencies to act have been on the books for decades and things haven’t been done. The proposal, they say, provides two missing ingredients: a measurable time frame for meeting standards and goals and a dedicated funding source.
“There are things that have been sitting around for 30 years that people just keep talking about,” Simmons said. “What’s the problem with setting forward definable time frames to get the job done? Nothing.”
Bob Knight, director of Florida Springs Institute, said the condition of Florida’s springs already is dire. His recent research shows 20 percent of the state’s groundwater has a nitrate level above what is considered tolerable for springs. Spring flow has decreased by 30 percent. Signature springs around the state are in sharp decline.
“We’ve gone way past the point of harm on these springs,” he told the senators at last week’s workshop. “They have been getting bad for 30 years. Fifteen years ago the Florida Springs Initiative and DEP wrote a report that told exactly how to fix those problems and that report was never finalized or followed through on because these are difficult issues.”
Knight called the proposal now being considered a “bold effort,” and called on lawmakers to not water it down.
“Drastic measures need to be taken,” Knight told the Democrat. “This (draft proposal) is amazing in terms of its current scope, but as it gets watered down it’s one more sign of retreat. I hope it won’t be.”
Presuming an actual bill is filed — the deadline is by noon on Tuesday — the likelihood of its final passage is in doubt. While the support of the Senate quintet improves its chance of proceeding in that chamber, there currently is no companion bill in the House and legislative leaders have indicated the measure won’t get final approval this year.
“I think we’ll tee up some policy, but I think the really big, meaty, holistic policy initiatives when it comes to water and reform and water quality issues and the long-term, 20-year plans and initiatives will probably come in the next session,” House Speaker Will Weatherford told reporters.
Speaker-designate Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, and incoming Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, have both said water issues will be among their top priorities when they assume the top leadership positions next year.
“Those two guys are going to spend a lot of time and effort on this. And it’s such a complex issue that it really is deserving of time and serious thought before you try to change policy,” Weatherford added. “What you don’t want to do is throw a bunch of money at a water program or a plan that hasn’t been proven to make a difference.”
Gaetz said he couldn’t comment on a bill still being drafted, but that the senators and their House counterparts should have the opportunity to make a reasoned proposal.
“It isn’t just about the money, it’s about the competing interests,” he said. “This may take two or three or four or five sessions to do well and do right.”
Proponents of the measure, however, say the time to act is now.
“There is going to be a lot of activity this session. I hope that we make it clear, we can’t wait another year,” said Rob Williams, counsel for the Center for Earth Jurisprudence. “The springs are like the Everglades for North Florida. If the Senate comes back with a good bill, maybe the Speaker will change his mind.”
Charles Pattison, president of 1000 Friends of Florida, said he expects to see money to be allocated for individual springs projects. Gov. Rick Scott has recommended $55 million be spent this year for springs restoration — but is not getting his hopes up for big water policy changes this year.
Still, he’s encouraged by the senators’ effort for springs.
“That’s the first I’ve ever seen anything like that happen,” Pattison said. “Maybe it’s too much to expect a major bill like Simmons’ bill, but you have to start somewhere.”
Related:           Water debate to flow at Sun forum    Gainesville Sun

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State lawmakers have a full plate for this session
Ocala.com – by Halifax Media Services
March 2, 2014
TALLAHASSEE — The annual state legislative session that starts this week could result in changes that affect Floridians’ everyday lives, from buying school backpacks to stopping at red lights.
Of course, 2014 is also an election year, for Gov. Rick Scott and many members of the Legislature. Many of the proposals state lawmakers will consider over the next two months, such as tax breaks for back-to-school purchases, seemed to be aimed at rank-and-file voters. But others represent continuing challenges for the state, including property insurance and water quality.
Among the key statewide issues:
School spending
One of the most closely watched education issues each year is school funding. The chances look good for increases in everything from preschool to university spending in 2014.
Scott is proposing an additional $542.1 million for K-12 schools and $165.2 million for state colleges and universities. The state’s preschool voucher program would be boosted by $30 million, or $100 per student. There is additional funding for school construction and other education programs.
Scott and top lawmakers also want to hold down college tuition costs. Senate Bill 7036 would limit the ability of universities to raise tuition on their own without legislative approval.
Tax breaks
With the $74 billion state budget flush with growing revenue, Scott and lawmakers are proposing several tax breaks to help consumers.
Scott, who has called for $500 million in tax cuts, wants a 10-day sales tax holiday before the 2014 school year begins. Lawmakers are likely to go along with a version of the tax break, which would include clothing purchases up to $100 and computers up to $750. Last year, lawmakers approved a three-day tax holiday.
Lawmakers are also likely to approve another tax holiday for Floridians to avoid the sales tax on hurricane-preparation supplies, including such items as batteries, flashlights and power generators.
There is also the possibility of a briefer tax holiday allowing consumers to purchase more energy-efficient appliances.
At the same time, Scott and lawmakers are also considering tax cuts that would apply to businesses, including reducing the sales tax paid on commercial leases. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam wants to cut the sales tax that businesses pay on their energy use, while also earmarking money for school construction and maintenance.
Springs
The decline of Florida’s iconic springs represents a critical issue for all Floridians — the quality and quantity of water in the state. While springs are the issue in North Florida, it’s the Everglades in South Florida, with the recent pollution in the Caloosahatchee River, Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie River Estuary from Lake Okeechobee discharges.
Environmental groups are pushing legislation to limit discharges into the springs systems, including septic tanks and farm runoff. But lawmakers don’t appear ready to back a sweeping regulatory plan. Instead they appear inclined to use the state budget to offer programs aimed at improving both the springs and the Everglades system.
Insurance
Although it looks like Congress may act on legislation to offset skyrocketing premiums for many Floridians who have federal flood insurance, expect the Legislature to pursue its own version of a plan to try to draw more private insurers into the flood insurance market.
The upside is that consumers may find cheaper insurance with private companies. But the risk is that the private insurers are likely to be allowed more freedom to set rates and face fewer regulatory hurdles than standard insurance companies.
Although the policy count for Citizens Property Insurance has dropped below 1 million customers, lawmakers are poised to back new provisions that would further shrink the size of the state-run insurer.
Lawmakers have discussed putting condominium and apartment complex policies into a new clearinghouse, forcing customers to take private coverage if the rates were within 15 percent of those offered by Citizens. But the Senate has dropped a plan that would have eliminated Citizens coverage for condominiums valued at more than $10 million. Lawmakers are also debating legislation that would impact Citizens customers faced with sinkhole repairs.
Lawmakers have discussed revamping the state’s no-fault auto insurance law, but it seems unlikely that the Legislature will confront that in an election-year.
Pensions
Last year, House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, found support for all the major issues on his agenda, except one: reforming the state’s $140 billion pension program.
With support from Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, Weatherford wants to change the pension plan for future workers who rely on the state pension fund, including state workers, school employees and county workers. Lawmakers want new employees to opt for either a 401(k)-type plan or a “cash balance” plan that combines an investment plan with some characteristics of a traditional pension fund.
Lawmakers have tried to smooth the passage this year by allowing new law enforcement officers to remain in the traditional pension plan. But the key remains the Senate where leaders say even with the changes, the vote will be close on major revisions.
In separate legislation, the Legislature is also expected to press ahead with a measure that would allow cities to financially strengthen their retirement plans for police officers and firefighters. Lawmakers say the changes are needed because a majority of the municipal pension funds are below a level deemed adequate to fund future retirement benefits.
Drivers
Both the House and Senate are moving legislation that could impact the use of red-light cameras by local governments. Don’t expect lawmakers to ban the cameras, which have been a major revenue source for many communities. But the legislation could limit their expansion and add rules on their use.
Drivers may be able to increase their speed on Florida’s interstate highways — up to 75 mph in certain stretches — under another bill, although it is opposed by law enforcement and safety advocates.
Scott and lawmakers have also agreed to cut back on a number of motor vehicle fees that were raised in 2009 by lawmakers as they struggled to balance a state budget during the Great Recession. Scott’s fee cut would represent a $25-a-year reduction for a mid-sized car, while the Senate is advancing a bill with a $12 cut for motorists.
Health care
About 1 million low-income Floridians could benefit from the expansion of Medicaid under the federal health care law. Scott last year announced his support for the expansion, although he did little to advance the measure.
With strong opposition from the House leadership, the Medicaid expansion remains a longshot in the 2014 session

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Anti-Government Bill: Move Florida forward
TheLedger.com – Editorial
March 1, 2014
Back in 2011, when Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders set Florida on a reckless course of gutting growth planning and permitting across the state in the name of streamlining, one of their core arguments was that city and county governments had matured enough to handle the tedious-and-technical work involved.
When the Community Development Act killed a quarter-century of state-driven growth-management process and progress, it not only affirmed but elevated the importance of home rule on growth matters.
Now comes state Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, with a bill heaped with harmful requirements that would move and render Florida backward.
Patronis' bill, HB 703, would effectively strip local governments of much of the growth-management powers bequeathed to them in 2011 with the dismantling of the Department of Community Affairs, which once held sway over most big growth-related decisions in the state.
HB 703 is not only an affront to home rule and community-based growth management, but is an assault on water-supply protection and local growth decision making, but would allow some large landholders to privatize big chunks of Florida's water supply.
ARCHAISM
The list of offensive parts of HB 703 is long and inexplicable, but here are some of the key components that should rile every Floridian. The bill would:
Retroactively prohibit the enforcement of any local ordinances regarding springs, wetlands and stormwater approved after July 2003.
Ban local-government boards from requiring a supermajority vote, rather than a simple majority, to amend comprehensive plans and land-use actions.

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Council opts for stronger stance against inlet expansion
P.B. Daily News - by Aleese Kopf, Staff Writer
March 1, 2014
But PB Civic Association is spearheading opposition.
The Town Council directed the mayor on Friday to take a more aggressive stance against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plans to expand Lake Worth Inlet.
The town won’t submit letters directly opposing the project, which would deepen and widen the inlet channels. But council members did decide to use stronger language, specifying that the expansion will have an “adverse impact” on residents and the Lake Worth Lagoon.
“I think this does pose a serious threat to the town,” said Councilman Michael Pucillo. “I’m a little concerned that we have not taken a position, which is sufficiently adverse, that would give us standing down the road to take a more aggressive line. I think we have to go on record as saying we have very serious concerns about this.”
The public has until March 9 to submit comments on the corps’ final report, which was released Feb. 10.
Mayor Gail Coniglio sent a letter to Col. Alan Dodd a couple of weeks ago saying that she and much of the community “remain concerned” about the project. But most of the letter focuses on convincing the corps to agree, officially, to placing beach-quality sand from the project on the town’s dry beaches.
Council President Robert Wildrick wanted to be upfront about why the town won’t take a firm position on the project.
“Let’s just be honest,” he said. “What we’re doing is not taking a strong stand so that we don’t inhibit that relationship that we have with the Corps of Engineers so that we can get the sand that we crave for our island. There’s a certain reluctance to get aggressive toward the corps at this time because, maybe, we might be shooting ourselves in the foot and not get the sand.”
The council voted last year to dismiss a town lawsuit against the corps relating to inlet issues, in recognition of the agency’s renewed partnership and commitment to place beach-compatible sand from Palm Beach Harbor on town beaches.
Wildrick said the expansion would be “devastating” and “the worst thing this island and area has seen.” But he asked whether the council was willing to risk its relationship by being the “head of the spear” for the opposition.
SUBHEAD — Leading the opposition
Instead, the Palm Beach Civic Association has taken the reins. The association has so far spent about $20,000 hiring environmental, marine-wildlife and engineering experts to collect data proving that the expansion project is flawed and a detriment to the community.
Lisa Interlandi, senior attorney with the Everglades Law Center, is representing the association and several other organizations that oppose the project.
She said lawyers have, so far, gathered 56 pages of comments highlighting numerous and “significant” ways that the expansion violates federal laws. They also will incorporate lengthy expert reports.
“We believe that this project is seriously flawed,” Interlandi said. “It’s flawed in terms of its need analysis … we feel like the economic analysis is critically flawed. … We see that the project has absolute, huge environmental impacts; very low economic impacts; and we believe that it shouldn’t go forward.”
The purpose of spending so much money and time on detailed analysis is to create a record that could be used, later on, during an appeal process if the government approves the project. If a group were to file an appeal, it would be able to use only evidence submitted during the review process, which ends in about a week.
The Everglades Law Center, Palm Beach Civic Association, Garden Club, Palm Beach Shores Commissioner Myra Koutzen, manatee expert James Powell and several residents presented evidence Friday about why the expansion is a bad idea. They cited, specifically, its negative effect on manatees, sea grasses, hard-bottom habitats, storm surge, recreational use, safety and sand disposal.
Some of the speakers asked the town to support the Civic Association’s reports, officially as well as financially.
“I want to see the town take a stand with us and support this effort to stop this,” said Bobbie Lindsay. “I’d like you to write another letter saying you’re still not happy. I’d like you to consider helping us fund this. It’s something that will affect the entire town.”
The council did not agree to pay for the studies but did ask the association to submit all of its reports to staff for review and for possible endorsement and submission to to the corps with the town’s official comments.

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Education and environment among issues on the agenda
Gainesville.com - by Keith Perry
March 1, 2014
I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the people of House District 21. As I enter my fourth legislative session, I will use my experience and seniority to protect vital funding for our district that will assist in promoting growth through technology, education, medical advances and scientific research.
I will also focus my attention on issues related to education, public health and safety, the environment and affordable living. Here are some key issues we will be addressing in this upcoming legislative session.
Education: We are fortunate to have two great academic institutions — Santa Fe College and the University of Florida — serving our state, as well as our community. I am committed to fighting for the required funding that will allow both to press forward toward their goals, especially as UF strives to become the nation's preeminent university.
Over recent years, state and federal initiatives have heavily promoted STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) as it relates to education and our future workforce. This year, I have discussed in length with my colleagues the benefits of incorporating arts into the acronym, promoting STEAM instead of STEM.
There is strong evidence supporting the idea that the addition of music to early childhood education can drastically improve a child's educational success long-term. It is not enough to teach children practical skills; they also need to possess the ability to think critically, be creative and develop new ideas for themselves.
Environment: Addressing our state's most precious resource, water, this year the Florida Legislature is taking a multi-faceted approach toward spring restoration, including funding and the development of educational best practices pertaining to water use, which will help us start to reverse a trend of degradation.
In North Florida we are choosing to take a proactive approach before the problem is without repair. I plan to work closely with the city of Archer to assist them in establishing a wastewater collection and treatment facility, a project that is long overdue.
My office is also working with Gilchrist County on their Otter Springs water project to provide new water and sewer piping for this greatly utilized community facility. Lastly, we are working with the city of Gainesville to ensure funding for the Tumblin Creek restoration project that will help improve sheet flow and provide a more natural buffer into Paynes Prairie and ultimately into the Floridan Aquifer.
As many of you know, Gilchrist County is the spring's capital of the world, and I am committed to encouraging the implementation of procedures that will assist in preserving the quality of the springs for years to come. I strongly support the commissioner of agriculture's best management practices program, an educational and training initiative that will partner with farmers to address water and fertilizer usage, encouraging them to implement these best management practices on their land.
If we begin by educating our entire community, not just the agricultural community, on ways to use water responsibly, we will have a positive impact on the preservation of these important ecological resources for years to come.
Human trafficking: This year, I will also be focusing my efforts on the atrocities of human trafficking, specifically domestic minor sex trafficking in Florida.
Already, the Healthy Families subcommittee has had several meetings to discuss this issue and possible solutions. From those discussions, the committee has begun developing a committee bill aimed at strengthening laws as they relate to domestic minor sex trafficking, to be presented to the Legislature this year.
In addition, I am an active participant in the Florida Stands Against Human Trafficking Working Group, a group of legislators who discuss and develop legislative strategies to eradicate trafficking in Florida. Through this group multiple bills have been introduced which aimed to strengthen the laws against perpetrators of human trafficking and those who purchase sex from a minor.
Trafficking is a serious problem in our state and nation that demands immediate action to ensure that our children will not continue to be victimized by traffickers.
I look forward to working hard for you this legislative session, to design comprehensive, responsible strategies that will improve the lives of the everyday Floridians, both in my district and throughout the state.
As always, my door is always open, so if you have any questions regarding this upcoming legislative session or would like to discuss other relevant topics, please do not hesitate to contact my office. Together, we can make this the most productive session yet.
Keith Perry is a Republican from Gainesville representing House District 21, which includes parts of Alachua, Dixie and Gilchrist counties.

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