Florida Lawmakers Proposing a Salve for Ailing Springs - NY Times

[Matt Beasley]

Florida Lawmakers Proposing a Salve for Ailing Springs
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ, APRIL 14, 2014

CHIEFLAND FL -- To the untrained eye, Manatee Springs is an
idyllic refuge in Central Florida: The cool water is so clear
in parts that the sand glistens like polished aluminum. A vast
series of underwater caves beckons thousands of divers. Deer
wander by as do manatees, turtles, owls. Eagles soar overhead.
But Annette and Mark Long, who live a stroll away from the
cypress-filled park, know differently. The natural springs here
are ailing, as are many of the 900 other springs in the state.
For decades, fertilizer and cow manure from nearby dairy farms
have seeped into the porous ground at Manatee Springs and by
extension the aquifer, which supplies most of the state's
drinking water, scientists said. The nitrates from the fertilizer
have bubbled up into the springs, killing off eelgrass and fish,
and raising toxicity levels. Today, Manatee Springs is one of
the most polluted springs in the state.

"The algae floats in clumps," said Mrs. Long, president of the
enviro group Save Our Suwannee, pointing to patches near where a
few swimmers braved the icy waters. "Those dark splotches are just
algae sitting there. The pollution grows so fast it kills most
everything else."

After years of discussion & inaction, 4 influential Repub State
Senate committee chairmen & 1 Demo chairman have signed off on
an ambitious bill that would lay the groundwork for a long-term,
comprehensive approach to restoring the state's 38 most important
& threatened springs. But the proposal, which has a price tag of
$380 million for next year, requires concessions from agriculture,
home builders, septic tank owners, property rights advocates & other
powerful interests. And the measure poses a difficult test of whether
divided Repub legislators have the will to address the problems in
a comprehensive way.

Considered an important feature of Florida's landscape, the fresh-
water springs are reeling from decades of population growth, the
spread of agriculture, lawn fertilizer, septic tanks, outmoded
wastewater treatment facilities & periods of drought, scientists &
lawmakers say. But the progress in the Senate, spearheaded by
legislators from areas affected by a downturn in water quality,
is the most significant recent campaign for a broad overhaul.
The legislation has unanimously passed two Senate committees but
must still pass one more before reaching the floor. Money for the
restoration would come from an existing real estate tax.

"Five of us senators said, 'What do we want to leave in our legacy
when we leave office?' and we all agreed that nothing would be as
important as water," said Sen. Charles S. Dean Sr., a Repub & the
chairman of the Senate Enviro Preservation/Conservation Committee,
whose district lies in a section of Florida speckled with springs.
"You're fooling nobody but yourself to say we don't have problems
with this."

The legislation would set a plan & timetable for restoring the
springs. It would also designate the most egregious problem for
each spring -- be it nitrates from fertilizer or manure, too much
water pumped out of the aquifer or leaky septic tanks -- and
address that first.

But the measure includes several contentious provisions. It would
add prohibitions on septic tanks, a volatile issue, & require more
thorough wastewater treatment. It would also tighten restrictions
on water-use permits, which have been doled out generously and
dictate how much water that businesses & muni utility companies
can use.

"I don't believe there are many instances where one piece of
legislation completely solves the problem, but this changes the
whole dynamics of how we look at the springs," said Bob Graham,
a former Demo governor & US senator who started the Florida
Conservation Coalition after Gov. Rick Scott, a Repub, and the
Legislature weakened longstanding water protection measures in
2011. "It will dramatically enhance the quality of our springs."

Despite the optimism, the bill, which the Repub senators say is
critically important, has hit a logjam in the House, whose leaders
say the $380 mil price is too high. Fixing the springs is compli-
cated, & for many House Repubs, the remedies have long been
politically unpalatable, particularly in an election year.

Rather than comprehensive changes, it's possible the House will
take up modest slices of the Senate legislation and pay for small
individual projects, Repub leaders said. One thing appears
certain: The springs have less money coming to them this year
than Mr. Dean would like.

House budget leaders have included $50 mil in their yearly appro-
priations bill, which is more generous than the Senate budget bill.
Mr. Scott proposed $55 mil to help springs. Mr. Dean's request
would come from a different pot of money altogether. "When they
get that language right, we'll become partners with them to make
sure we get everything done," said Rep. J.T. Brodeur, the Repub
sponsor of the House's springs bill. "I'm making sure we are keeping
it at the forefront as we go thru the end of session."

Last year was one of the worst years for Florida's waters, with
algae blooms & large fish die-offs affecting cities on both coasts
& the inland springs. Oysters disappeared in Apalachicola; dolphins
& manatees washed up dead in the algae-laden Indian River Lagoon;
Lake Okeechobee sent polluted floodwaters rushing into two major
estuaries; & more algae spread across the most popular springs.
As attention to the problem mounted, residents signed petitions &
joined rallies putting pressure on the governor & the Legislature
to act. In Nov, voters will choose whether to approve a proposed
constitutional amendment steering significantly more money from a
real estate tax into land/water protection. If the amendment passes,
more money will go to the springs cleanup, which is one reason that
some legislators are inclined to provide less money now.

The springs are refuges from the heat & bustle of Central/Northern
Florida. More than 2 mil people/year, including a sizable number of
tourists, plunge into their typically translucent waters or scuba
dive in their caves. Their deterioration is obvious, enviros say.
A few springs have dried up altogether; others have closed because
of contamination. At Manatee Springs, swimmers are warned of the
possibility of rashes. In Ginnie Springs, a popular recreation area
on private land, the owner is battling the state to do more to clean
up the increasingly sullied water. Up north in Wakulla Springs, glass-
bottom boats, once a favorite attraction, seldom run because the
water is so murky.

The decay is not new. A Florida Springs Task Force report in 2000
detailed the declining health & its causes. But the situation has
grown "much worse," said the report's author, Jim Stevenson, who
until 2003 was chief biologist for the Florida State Park System
under the state Dept of Enviro Protection. "It's become more dire --
there is less wildlife, more pollution, less water flowing," said
Mr. Stevenson, who is skeptical that a legislative remedy will be
reached this year. "Whatever the condition of the springs is the
condition of our drinking water. Once people realize that, they may
be more inclined to do what's needed."

[TomS]

"On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 23:27:08 -0700 (PDT), in article
<edd40bbd-f28a-4481...@googlegroups.com>, Matt Beasley stated..."
[...snip...]

>Despite the optimism, the bill, which the Repub senators say is
>critically important, has hit a logjam in the House, whose leaders
>say the $380 mil price is too high. Fixing the springs is compli-
>cated, & for many House Repubs, the remedies have long been
>politically unpalatable, particularly in an election year.

[...snip...]

According to the Wikipedia article "Marlins Park", the cost to
Miami-Dade County alone for the new park would come to 4.2 billion
dollars.


--
---Tom S.

[Bob Casanova]

On 17 Apr 2014 00:44:44 -0700, the following appeared in
talk.origins, posted by TomS <TomS_...@newsguy.com>:

So, about as much as the average weekly take from tourists?
--

Bob C.

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

- Isaac Asimov