August 9, 2007
By TRAVIS REED
ORLANDO, Fla. - Despite pleas from farmers, South Florida officials will not pump polluted water into Lake Okeechobee to raise its drastically low levels.
The South Florida Water Management District decided Thursday not to allow the decades-old practice of back-pumping, which has been used to ease droughts despite criticism from environmentalists. At 730 square miles, Lake Okeechobee is the second-largest freshwater lake in the contiguous 48 states.
South Florida is home to U.S. Sugar Corp., the nation's largest producer of cane sugar, and much of the state's $15 billion landscaping and nursery industries. It also is a huge producer of winter vegetables like tomatoes, corn and squash.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson said through a spokesman he was disappointed in the decision. Bronson on Tuesday sounded an alarm, saying the drought has caused $100 million in losses and could top $1 billion over two years.
The worry is twofold - for damaged crops in the ground waiting to be harvested and those not yet planted. The greatest fear is farmers won't even try to put down crops in the fall, choosing not to spend the money on a bum year.
Growers in the region already have their water use restricted by 50 percent, the most severe in history. The impact will be greater when the rains stop as hurricane season ends.
Environmental groups hailed the decision as a victory against big sugar. The Florida Wildlife Federation said back-pumping caused "a large discolored slug of pollutants" extending for miles in the lake.
But U.S. Sugar Corp. spokeswoman Judy Sanchez said the water to be pumped from canals in adjacent sugar lands wasn't as bad as what's already in the lake.
"The cleanest water in the system is south of the lake," Sanchez said. "For individuals to vote to take that option off the table when you're ... looking at (drought) of epic proportions this spring, it's absolutely unthinkable."
A federal judge ruled in June the state's practice of back-pumping without a permit violated the U.S. Clean Water Act. Several groups had sued, claiming it put Everglades restoration in jeopardy.
The board's nine members are chosen by the governor, and all four votes against pumping were made by Gov. Charlie Crist's appointees. The three who voted in favor of pumping were seated by former Gov. Jeb Bush.
Water Management District Board member Malcolm "Bubba" Wade, a sugar company executive, did not vote to avoid a potential conflict of interest. Another board member was absent and did not vote.
Board member Shannon Estenoz, a Crist appointee, said pumping even less than previous years would add 300 tons of nitrogen and 15 to 20 tons of phosphorus to the lake, the heart of the Everglades and a backup drinking water source for millions. The pumped-in water is farm runoff from drainage canals south of the lake.
"I can't vote for knowingly putting that much pollution into a water body like the lake," she said.