i invite thoughts and comments on this reply, Thanks Becki Dear Ms. Stearns, Governor Scott asked the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to respond to your recent email. I appreciate the seriousness with which you take the issues and I share your concern for water quality and your commitment to protecting it. Let me see if I can provide at least a little food for thought. First, Judge Hinkle’s decision doesn’t really return management of Florida’s water quality to Florida. Florida, like other states, is required by the federal Clean Water Act to “manage” its water quality. The judge’s decision allows an agreement between the federal government (EPA) and the State of Florida (DEP) specifically about “numeric nutrient criteria” to be fulfilled. Through that agreement, EPA has approved DEP’s approach to setting numeric nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) water quality criteria, which already are the most comprehensive in the United States. Florida, like every other state, must secure EPA approval of all of its water quality criteria and standards. The new numeric nutrient criteria will 1) protect waters, whether pristine or already polluted, from further nutrient pollution and 2) allow DEP to better determine the nature and degree of nutrient pollution that is already causing serious problems and put in place, with local governments and other stakeholders, the actions necessary to restore those nutrient-impaired waterbodies to health. I don’t know who was quoted as saying “we make decisions in Tallahassee” and don’t “know” local waterbodies. That’s simply not true. We have staff in offices all across the state who become intimately familiar with local rivers, lakes, springs, and estuaries. Many decision are made locally, whether by DEP or by local governments acting on DEP’s behalf. Decisions made in Tallahassee are informed by data and recommendations from our local offices, local governments, water management districts, and local citizens. We have a water quality monitoring network all across Florida and implement it in cooperation with our local staff and other local entities, like cities, counties and Florida’s five water management districts. Solving water quality problems caused by more than 100 years of expansive growth and development is an enormous task, one which requires commitment and involvement from all levels of government, private business and industry, and every resident and visitor who owns property, uses water, flushes toilets, fertilizes lawns, walks dogs, and otherwise participates in everyday life. The collective human footprint cannot be undone solely from Tallahassee or by the state and federal governments. For that reason, we invest tremendous amounts of time and resources to engage local stakeholders in solving water quality problems. Where we have identified polluted waterways, we set restoration goals, called Total Maximum Daily Loads (dep.state.fl.us/water/tmdl/index.htm), and adopt “Basin Management Action Plans.” These plans are enforceable “blueprints” identifying the projects and other activities necessary to restore polluted waterbodies (basins, watersheds) to health. The plans also identify the resources necessary to accomplish the tasks, the timeframe for completing actions, water quality monitoring strategies to measure success over time, and milestones for evaluating progress and making changes where things aren’t working well enough. You can find more information about these plans at dep.state.fl.us/water/watersheds/bmap.htm. As you can see by looking at that website, and the attached map, we have restoration actions going on over a huge swath of the state. And we continue to assess waterbodies all across Florida to determine where restoration programs are necessary. We anticipate another 8-10 Basin Management Action Plans to be adopted in the coming year, including plans that will address problems in hundreds of Florida’s springs. We also work with other state agencies to get them involved, or to coordinate their work and ours. For example, we work with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (myfwc/) in those areas where manatee (or other wildlife) die-offs may relate to water quality problems. Unfortunately, wildlife, even aquatic wildlife, may suffer from health problems having nothing to do with pollution, even where pollution is present and seems like a convenient (but scientifically questionable) “cause.” You’ve raised other issues over which DEP has no jurisdiction. You and every other resident, me included, have a variety of avenues by which to address those problems. I hope you’ll continue to invest your energy among your neighbors in Citrus County as well as expressing yourself with all of those who represent you in Tallahassee. If I can provide further information, just let me know. Thanks again for caring about what happens in Florida and to Florida. Sincerely, Geof Mansfield Florida Department of Environmental Protection Division of Environmental Assessment & Restoration [email protected] From: Rebecca M.Stearns County: Citrus Zip Code: 34452 Phone Number: 352-726-1620 Message Body: Dear Elected Official: I am writing this letter to convey my disappointment with U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle’s Jan. 7 ruling that puts the management of Florida’s water quality back into the hands of the state. The fact that The Fertilizer Institute applauds this decision is a disturbing. Currently, the manatees are having difficulty getting into the springs at Three Sisters Springs in the Crystal River National Wildlife refuge due to low water levels, this coming on the heels of 829 cases of manatee death, 276 of which due to red tide poisoning. Bottling plants, nitrogen poisoning, over watering of useless turf grass; all of these thing have been going on for a long time and the damage is apparent. However, the agency in charge of preventing and protecting our waters. at best, are unfamiliar with the bodies of water they are charged with protecting... The DEP [Florida Department of Environmental Protection] called and said, ‘We are making decisions up in Tallahassee, but we do not really know the river. Could you show us around?” And at their worst seem to be more in favor of the polluters profits, then the residents and wildlife that call Florida home and depend on the water... Byrd and colleague Kelly Russell believe they were terminated because they frequently clashed with Littlejohn over how — and whether — to enforce state laws protecting the environment. I understand that the Federal Government does not have the best track record either, especially regarding the Army Corp of Engineers handling Lake Okeechobee nitrogen levels from Big Sugar, other agriculture and faulty septic tanks, and the over flows and releases causing problems... The water had been deemed toxic by the health department for five months. What brings us to the areas, it was toxic. Do not come in contact with this water. However, we need not turn away any additional help in dealing with our water crisis. We need to put the environment and residents ahead of corporate profits. Eliminate the Good Ole Boy system that exists within the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, take all of the properties off of the chopping block that are protecting our springs and move out of the stone age and into the 21st century. All four members of my family are Florida registered voters in Citrus County, and I watch these issues and the politics regarding them like a hawk and we will vote accordingly to how our elected officials handle these issues. Respectfully, Rebecca M. Stearns 3830 E. Needham Ct. Inverness FL 34452 (352) 726-1620 Works Cited AG Professional. TFI Statement of Support for Florida Judges NNC Ruling. - Newsroom. AG Professional, n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. Associated Press. Record 829 Manatee Deaths Documented in 2013. StAugustine. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. Cunningham, Ron. Editorial: Voters Should Have Chance to Invest in States Natural Legacy | Gainesvllle Sun. Floridas Water and Land Legacy. Gainesville Sun, 01 Dec. 2013. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. Hatter, Lynn. Central Floridas Toxic Algae Blooms Have Some Calling 2013 The Lost Summer WFSU. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. Pittman, Craig. DEP Lawyer Says Clashes over Enforcement Led to His Firing. Tampa Bay Times. N.p., 14 June 2013. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. https://facebook/photo.php?fbid=1429462730619004&set=a.1429462767285667.1073741829.1425090757722868&type=1&theater WFSUNews. Capital Report: 01-07-2014. WFSU. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. Dep Customer Survey
Posted on: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 11:31:55 +0000
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