EPA implicated in Everglades pollution

Can it be that the top environment branch of government is to blame for poor Everglades water quality?

The federal Environmental Protection Agency is part of the pollution problem, a judge said.

The EPA violated the Clean Water Act when it let the state of Florida delay a deadline for reducing phosphorus in Everglades water, according to the Palm Beach Post and other sources. The article tells the back story better than I can sum up, so click on over to read more.

Algae fight

Algae is taking over Florida waterways, environmental groups say, so they are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make it set standards for fertilizer runoff. The groups claim the EPA is violating the Clean Water Act and filed the lawsuit yesterday, according to the Associated Press.

The Florida Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida and St. Johns Riverkeeper joined to sue the EPA. They say fertilizer runs off into the water -- feeding algae that eventually take over a body of water and reduce the oxygen level in the water -- killing sea life and threatening our water supply, among other concerns.

Florida to buy land from sugar corporation to restore Everglades

This is huge news. The state of Florida is planning to buy 185,000 acres from U.S. Sugar Corp. for Everglades restoration, according to the Sarasota Herald Tribune and many other sources.

I feel as though I've woken up in an alternate-reality world. Who would have thought? This is an even bigger land deal than the Babcock Ranch from a couple years ago.

Could this be the beginning of the end of the problem the Everglades has with phosphates? And water-flow problems? And ... so much more?

Longest underwater cave system in North America discovered in Florida

They say space is the final frontier, and it probably is. However, there is a frontier to explore underneath the earth as well, and cave divers recently discovered a link in Florida's underwater system of caves that turns out to be the longest underwater cave system in North America!

Right under our feet.

In the Tallahassee area, Leon Sinks and Wakulla Springs are connected, according to this article in the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Cave divers recently found a tunnel that connects the two, and at 28 miles long, that makes this system the longest in our continent. This is huge! (The longest was previously thought to be at Manatee Springs. Another long system is at Peacock Springs.) Next, the divers hope to find a connection from Wakulla Springs to the Gulf of Mexico, showing this system is even larger.

Because Leon Sinks and Wakulla Springs are connected, it shows the importance of protecting underground water sources from contamination at the surface, the article points out.

Many people have thought groundwater could be affected by what happens above ground, yet pollution continued. There had been an ongoing debate over a spray field near Wakulla Springs that was irrigated with treated wastewater. Many people were concerned the wastewater would contaminate the springs. In other parts of Florida, sewage is treated and pumped directly into the ground as a means of disposal, despite many residents' objections over concerns for water quality.

Now we have a proof of a connection between an above-ground area to an underwater cave leading to a spring.

Judge restricts mining until environmental assessment can be done

Senior U.S. District Court Judge William Hoeveler -- known for his tough anti-sugar industry, pro-environment stance in an Everglades cleanup case from which he was removed in 2003 -- ruled in favor of environmental concerns again over Miami-Dade County rock mining. The Miami Herald reports here that Hoeveler restricted mining in a part of the county that is near the Everglades as well as the largest source of drinking water for the county. He criticized agencies overseeing the mining (particularly the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) for not knowing how much limestone is being excavated, or where, and wants the Corps to complete an environmental assessment he ordered last year. He also pointed to benzene that could contaminate the drinking water.

As you can expect, environmentalists are pleased, but mining companies like Tarmac feel Hoeveler is being biased in favor of the Everglades again.

St. Lucie River aid not coming

We can all understand the need for tax cuts at some time, right? It's just too bad that our environment has to suffer from it. This article in the Palm Beach Post says the latest state tax cuts mean the planned cleanup of the St. Lucie River isn't going to happen. The South Florida Water Management District is putting off a reservoir that would "catch" runoff (polluted water -- possibly from Lake Okeechobee?). The article also says the river was supposed to be part of a $1.2 billion plan to restore the Indian River Lagoon that Congress has been neglecting since 2002.

Judge recommends permit for development that could harm Audubon sanctuary

The legal battle over whether to allow golf-course community Mirasol to destroy wetlands and move in took another turn. A judge recommended the South Florida Water Management District give Mirasol the permit to build, according to this article in the Naples Daily News. The fight has been going on since 2000, the article says. Environmentalists are concerned about wetland destruction and the effects of development on nearby Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and the Cocohatchee River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico. If you click over and read the article, read the comments too. One person asks why another golf course is being allowed when we already have water restrictions . . . besides, won't the fertilizer used to keep that course green run off and pollute Corkscrew, the river and eventually the Gulf?

Everglades, Lake O, rivers targeted for funding

Two years after billions of gallons of hurricane rainwater from Lake Okeechobee wreaked environmental havoc as it was flushed down the Caloosahatchee River, lawmakers last week passed more than $400 million worth of environmental aid -- along with a new title that designates as the Northern Everglades a triangular area around Lake Okeechobee, including the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers; more than $200 million goes to expanding Everglades restoration through 2020 and another $100 million is coming to the aid of the rivers - May 12, News-Press

Environmentalists ruled against on Fenholloway River issue

The state and the Buckeye Florida pulp mill say the proposed permit and pipeline will help restore the Fenholloway River, but environmentalists say the permit allows the continued pollution of the Gulf of Mexico - Feb. 28, Tallahassee Democrat

State hopes fertilizer rules keep lawns, not lakes, green

Experts have long pointed to the granules and sprays as a culprit in fouling waters, from pockets of wetlands to large coastal lagoons; what's new is a push by state authorities to protect those waters by limiting the amount of fertilizer homeowners and lawn services apply - Jan. 29, Orlando Sentinel

Judge faults water district for Lake Okeechobee muck

In a case with national implications, a federal judge found state water managers in violation of the Clean Water Act for pumping polluted runoff into Lake Okeechobee - Dec. 12, Miami Herald

Broward County opposes state move to lower water-quality standards in canals

The Broward County Commission voted Tuesday to oppose a state proposal that could lower water-quality standards for the county's 1,800 miles of canals - Dec. 6, Sun-Sentinel