NEWS PRESS
May 24, 2007

Urge EPA to protect river and estuaries

Guest Opinion: David Guest

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070524/OPINION/705240344

Enough is enough!

That's what citizens told U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials at a public hearing in Fort Myers earlier this month.

Enough polluted water flowing out of Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River, poisoning our estuary. Enough dead manatees and dolphins floating belly-up on our shores. Enough red tide causing nasty fish kills and chasing people off our beaches.

Thankfully, the Florida Legislature passed The Northern Everglades restoration bill, which designates $200 million in the first year and at least $100 million for the next 12 years to improve water quality in Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries. Five million dollars a year will go to projects within the Caloosahatchee watershed. It will take political will, not just money, to help stop this pollution.

Thirty-five years ago, you could see a white, sandy bottom in large parts of Lake Okeechobee. People used to swim in the lake. Now, the bottom looks like mud and people don't want to swim there. The pollution has gotten so bad that Lake Okeechobee recently had the worst toxic algae outbreak ever recorded last year. Lake Okeechobee's dirty discharge is killing the Caloosahatchee estuary, one of the most beautiful and biologically rich parts of the Florida coast.

Why is the pollution so out of control? Because state and federal standards haven't been enforced. The Florida Department of Agriculture has coddled the industrial farms around the lake, allowing them to voluntarily comply with pollution standards, instead of requiring real, measurable enforcement. The politically powerful agriculture industry has been able to essentially exempt itself from real regulation.

The Florida Department of Agriculture seems to care more about the profits of industrial agricultural corporations than it does about the people who live, work, and play along the Caloosahatchee and the coast.

Enough!

Citizens need to keep the pressure on to stop this pollution. The EPA is accepting comments about the proposed water quality standards for Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee through May 31. Let's protect the investment of money, brain power and political will being directed at Southwest Florida's pollution problems by telling the EPA that we, the citizens, want ironclad insurance that they will stick to their guns, use good science, and enforce meaningful water quality standards for Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee.

The EPA's technical name for pollution standards is TMDLs, which stands for "Total Maximum Daily Load." It boils down to figuring out how much more pollution a particular waterway can stand before it collapses. The EPA's comment period ends May 31. Written comments should be sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Water Management Division, 61 Forsyth St., S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960, ATTENTION: Ms. Sibyl Cole, Standards, Mo nitoring and TMDL Branch. A copy of each of the proposed TMDLs can be obtained through the Internet or by contacting Ms. Cole at (404) 562-9437 or via electronic mail at cole.sibyl@epa.gov. Or go to: http://www.epa.gov/region4/water/tmdl/florida/index.htm/.