Alage crisis task force proposed — again
Chad Gillis
Gov. Rick Scott is spending millions of dollars on algal blooms that have raged across much of the state this summer, but critics say the answer to solving or preventing Florida's algae crisis is already known.
Scott said last week he wants the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and others to develop a red tide research center, and that he wants the state to again fund a task force aimed at studying causes and impacts of harmful algal blooms like red tide and blue-green algae.
FWC should also ask for more money, Scott said in a press release.
But some local environmental groups say these problems could have been averted years ago by cutting off pollution at its source.
"Nutrients are a major contributing factor to the blue algae bloom and certainly there is some indication that once red tide moves inshore it can utilize any nutrients in the water," said Marisa Carrozzo with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. "If we’re putting a drastic amount of nutrients from runoff from coastal areas, that’s something the state and all of us can work on to mitigate."
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Funding a research center will have to wait until at least the next Legislative session in 2019, a cycle that won't include Scott.
Scott is expected to address the FWC this week when the commission meets in the Tallahassee area.
"I think the science community is still in agreement that nutrients, not just from Lake Okeechobee but everywhere, are exasperating the situation right now, and our approach to that is we need to look at comprehensive ways to look at water pollution in Florida," said Daniel Andrews with Captains for Clean Water.
FWC and the Florida Wildlife Research Institute would be part of the algae bloom task force.
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"Our commissioners look forward to addressing his concerns at our meeting," said FWC spokeswoman Susan Neel.
Some groups in Southwest Florida say they're also concerned that Scott is more focused on winning an election against Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, than keeping Florida's waters clean. The two face off for a Senate seat this fall.
"I had a little bit of mixed feelings about it because it appears to be more of a political stunt," said Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani. "I don't think with the existing budget they can do anything meaningful; so whatever governor assumes office after the election, that's where the direction will have to come from."
Cassani said Scott had eight years to re-establish the harmful algal bloom task force, which started in 1999 but was defunded in 2001.
There's also not enough specificity in Scott's plan, Cassani said.
More:Red tide causing dead zone conditions in Gulf of Mexico
More:Toxic algae still heavy along Southwest Florida coast
"A red tide research center, I'm not certain what that means and what the scope of that would be," he said. "There's a narrative now about how to remediate the blooms once they happen. I think that's counter intuitive because we need to get ahead of the blooms."
Other groups say the thoughts behind Scott's proposals are good, but at the same time there's no guarantee that the next administration will follow through.
Rae Ann Wessel with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation said there are plenty of laboratories and that the state doesn't need new facilities.
New leadership, she said, is what's needed to address the algal blooms.
"I think the task force could be a very valuable brain trust if it's populated properly," Wessel said. "The right people could come together and bring science and vet and make recommendations. (But) we don't need to spend millions of dollars on new labs. We need the state to seriously commit to taking the necessary action."
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