Stop pumping pollution
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Saturday, December 16, 2006
A federal judge's ruling that could stop the state from
pumping polluted water into Lake Okeechobee is sensible, straightforward and a
good start on limiting public agencies from polluting public waters.
Not surprisingly, the South Florida Water Management
District's first reaction was a false claim that the ruling would hinder
Everglades restoration and offer no additional benefit to the environment.
Rather than whine, district officials should begin planning how to cope with a
new reality: Water managers no longer can pump pollution upstream from canals
into the lake without a federal permit. That permit could require strict
deadlines for reducing the amount of phosphorus, nitrogen and other pollutants
that pumps near Clewiston, Belle Glade and South Bay push into the lake.
For Friends of the Everglades, the Florida Wildlife
Federation and Fishermen Against Destruction of the Environment, the victory
was a long time coming. Wayne Nelson of the fishermen's group recalls the
incident that led to the lawsuit.
Wade-fishing in the lake 21 years ago, he tripped on a big,
underwater mat of what appeared to be green steel wool. It was algae, fed by
pollutants in water being pumped into the lake. He stuffed the mass into a
plastic bag and showed it to a fellow environmentalist. The groups filed the
lawsuit, which the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida eventually joined.
The plaintiffs long had complained about pumping polluted
water into the lake. The pumping is necessary, water managers maintain, to get
rid of flood water or to raise lake levels during droughts. The permits likely
would include exceptions for emergencies during times of heavy rainfall, to
avoid catastrophic floods. But backpumping during droughts should be
prohibited. The polluted water kills the lake's grasses, which support marine
life, and endangers Glades residents. While pumping from canals into the south
end of the lake is only a part of the pollution problem, studies have linked
the procedure to dangerous cancer-causing substances in the drinking water of
Pahokee and South Bay.
U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga has not announced any
penalties for the water district or ordered the district to seek federal
permits. Those decisions are expected after further hearings next year.
Ideally, the judge will set enforceable cleanup standards, with stiff fines or
even jail time for violations, and start a program to continue monitoring the
district's progress.
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