The politics of pollution in an election year

By Dave Trecker 

It’s election season, and the cause celebre this year — at least in South Florida — is out-of-control algae, algae forming blooms that choke our waterways and the worst red tide in 12 years.

Neither of these related problems is new. What’s new is that politicians running for office are being forced to pay attention. Voters have leverage, at least for the moment, and they’re demanding answers.

The problems are so severe they’re hard to overlook. Waterways on both coasts are clogged with blue-green algal blooms, fish-killing sludge that fouls everything in its path. And red tide, caused by a different and naturally occurring algae, is stagnating along our coast, slaughtering marine life, closing beaches, emptying hotels and making life miserable for everyone who breathes its toxic fumes.

What do the two types of algae have in common? Both are fed by nutrients in fertilizer runoff. Soluble nitrogen and phosphorus applied to crops and lawns run off into storm sewers and canals, stoking algae growth and promoting spread. The problem is abetted by ranch waste and sewage from uncontained septic tanks.

Nature plays a role. Periods of high rainfall, e.g. from Irma, heighten runoff.

High temperatures and direct sunlight promote algae growth, and winds and tidal currents affect the location of red tide.

But the problem is largely man-made and pits inland interests — farming, mining, ranching — against those of coastal communities — tourism, boating, fishing. The big loser is the environment, with the polluted runoff threatening coastal estuaries, Big Cypress Swamp and the Everglades.

From where does the problem emanate? Lake Okeechobee gets much of the blame. Fouled runoff from adjoining sugarcane fields is back-pumped into the lake, mixing with pollution from the Kissimmee River basin to the north. When lake levels become higher than the surrounding dike can support, polluted water is discharged into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers, delivering algal sludge to both coasts. Environmentalist Jim Beever was quoted as saying, “The Caloosahatchee is like a nutrient delivery conveyor belt.”

Tallahassee has done little to deal with this, offering half-hearted funding for a reservoir and money to strengthen the dike so the lake can hold more pollution. It’s a sad situation. Politicians, even in an election year, don’t seem to have a clue.

What’s needed? Tough, specific measures that approach the problem from two directions.

• Minimize the pollution: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection should tighten surface and groundwater standards.

This is a no-brainer. Sharply limit soluble nitrogen and phosphorus levels in all waterways, and enforce rules rigorously where pollution is worst — the megafarms, the ranches, the mines. (This will be tough duty for sugarcane farmers, with the industry reeling from depressed sugar prices.)

• Contain and clean up the water once polluted: Get real with the size and number of reservoirs and cleanup marshes needed to deal with the discharges, both south and north of Lake Okeechobee and elsewhere in the state. (Naples-area lakes are laden with phosphorus.)

Accomplishing this will take sustained funding, money off the top, year after year. It will take political will, a readiness to prioritize — recognizing this as a tourism death spiral if not corrected. A wink and a promise, Tallahassee’s past default, won’t get it done.

As voters, we have a chance to apply pressure. Demand that all local and state candidates make a real commitment to cut pollution at its source and clean up the water once polluted.

Don’t vote for any candidate who doesn’t make those commitments. And hold them accountable. If they don’t deliver, vote them out of office. There is always a next election.

Feuer is chairman of the Collier County Presidents Council and Trecker is president of the Collier Citizens Council.