March 20, 2007
Water quality tops Aronberg's agenda in Tallahassee
By Mel Toadvine
mtoadvine@breezenewspapers.com
http://www.southleemessenger.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=3300
State Sen. Dave Aronberg says he has three to four important goals with legislation planned at this year's session of the Florida Legislature which began business Tuesday. The session runs to May 4 when, according to Aronberg, the state constitution mandates that the 90-day session ends.
First and foremost on Aronberg's mind today is working to improve the quality of water in Southwest Florida .
On March 15, Aronberg said he will be going to Washington, D.C. and testify probably with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist before a congressional committee on the need for the federal government to keep its promise to help pay for the Everglades restoration. He said Florida has already spent $3 billion in the restoration efforts while the federal government has only spent $200 million.
“It was to be a 50/50 restoration project,” Aronberg said. “The federal government has not keep up with its agreements.”
Aronberg is chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Everglades Oversight in Tallahassee this year and his panel is charged with overseeing the restoration effort.
“We have problems with Lake Okechobee and its outflows of water into the Caloosahatchee River ,” Aronberg said.
“We must clean the water ... we're having problems because of the flows down the river and that is causing the red tide problems we're having,” he said. The red algae found on area beaches are also of concern, he said.
Aronberg says the problems comes from above the lake because of cattle ranchers and the increase in development. He said the phosphorous in the water coming to the lake from the ranches and development is not being filtered. Without being “cleaned” he said the water from Lake Okechobee is released down the St. Lucie River to the east and to the Caloohatchie to the Gulf, to the Fort Myers and beach areas.
In addition, Aronberg blames the seepage from septic tanks and because of the rapid growth in Lee County, many permits were given for septic tank installation. He explained that the septic tank issue must be addressed.
He said he talked about the problems of water being released down the two estuaries at the Joint legislative Committee on Everglades Oversight as discussions were held relating to the Everglades Forever Act, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and Leke Okeechobee water releases on Feb. 23 at Florida Gulf Coast University .
A presentation was made by Dennis Duke from the Army Corps of Engineers on the Lake Okeechobee water release schedules and the effects it has had on the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie River estuaries. There was also a presentation by Jonathan Ullman from the Sierra Club of Florida on the Everglades Skyway, which is a proposal to raise an 11-mile stretch of Tamiami Trail in the southern reaches of the Everglades to help restore more natural flow south of the highway.
The committee also took extensive public testimony. Councilman Steve Brown from the City of Sanibel gave comments on behalf of the city, highlighting the issue of red algae on the city's beaches, and the effect it has had on the city's tourist economy.
County Commissioner Ray Judah also gave comments, expressing his concern over the effect water releases from Lake Okeechobee are having on the coastal waters and beaches.
Rep. Richard Machek ( D-Delray Beach ) countered Commissioner Judah's comments, citing the 17,000 septic tank permits that have been granted in Lee County between 2000-2004, the highest approval rate in the state, as a likely source of the polluted water. Aronberg told The Citizen he agreed with Machek's assessment.
Aronberg said that if the governor goes to Washington to testify about the Everglades restoration, he will more than likely be the main speaker.
“Gov. Crist is a great guy. He is doing a good job. They're saying in Tallahassee that Crist is one of the best ‘Democratic' governors that state has had,” Aronberg laughed. Crist, a Republican, was elected to be Florida 's governor last November. Aronberg is a Democrat. He was in Lehigh Acres last week to help the Lehigh Democratic Club celebrate its third anniversary.
When Jeb Bush was governor, Aronberg said, the state was under a one-party rule, but with Crist, he says there is a good chance that both Democrats and Republicans can work with the new governor.
Aronberg says he disagrees with Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah who he says blames the sugarlands for the water problems, however.
“I think we need to develop water storage areas north of the lake. These are issues we are going to tackle this year,” he said. Number two on Aronberg's list, he says, is the criminal justice system as it relates to gang activity. “We're going to develop anti-gang legislation. We have a gang problem throughout this district, which reaches from Lehigh, Fort Myers to West Palm Beach . In fact, the gang problem is more severe on the east coast,” Aronberg said.
He says Florida needs to replicate some of the things that are going on in Los Angles to give local government more authority to fight gang activity. It's working there and I think it can here,” he said. Of special importance, he said, he will be working to come up with legislation to punish gang members who commit crimes with firearms.
“We're going to come up with a whole anti-gang package this year,” he said.
Aronberg says he will again fight to close the loophole in voter registration in the state.
“People should not have to change their party affiliation just to be able to vote in a primary when someone signs up as a write-in candidate. Last year, we were not able to get legislation through, but I think we have a better chance this year,” he said.,
Aronberg noted that if one party decides to try to keep everyone from voting in a primary, someone is chosen to become a write-in candidate and that eliminates everyone from voting in an open primary.
“What we need to do is require that person to come up with required signatures and pay the fees and be a residents for six months before he or she can go on the ballot,” he said. As it is now, Aronberg said, the write-in candidate's name doesn't even show up on the ballot.
Because of party manipulations, voters have had to change their party affiliation in order to get to vote. It not only has happened to disenfranchise voters here in Southwest Florida , where the Democrats have been hurt, it is happening on the east coast to the Republicans, Aronberg said.
“It's a sham, it is undemocratic for the party bosses to be deceitful and causes these things to occur,” Aronberg said.
Republican Rep. Marcello Lorente of Miami will sponsor the bill in the House, he said.
“I belive millions of voters in Florida have been disenfranchised,” he said.
In the past, Aronberg said nothing could be done because it required a constitutional amendment to bring about a change. “What we plan to do this year is come up with a bill to raise the question for write-in candidates.”