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Toxic algae blooms on Gov. Rick Scott's shoulders, Florida Democratic leaders say

Tyler Treadway
Treasure Coast Newspapers
Aerial images show swirls of algae blanketing Lake Okeechobee and the Pahokee Marina on Thursday, July 5, 2018 in Pahokee. Based on satellite images, researchers with NOAA estimate that 90 percent of the 730-square-mile freshwater lake is covered in algae, proven to be toxic with microcystin through tests conducted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Gov. Rick Scott's environmental policies over the past eight years have come home to roost in today's toxic algae blooms, Democratic party leaders said Friday.

"It's squarely on his shoulders," St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky said during a teleconference with reporters.

Gutting the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, especially its enforcement division, and the state's water management districts — "the people who keep contaminants out of our waterways," Dzadovsky said — has led to increased nutrient pollution feeding the algae blooms, party leaders said.

Lake O bloom

A massive algae bloom now covers about 90 percent of Lake Okeechobee, according to satellite images.

Algae-laden water released from the lake by the Army Corps of Engineers has spurred blooms in the St. Lucie River to the east and the Caloosahatchee River to the west.

Blooms in the St. Lucie are expected to grow after the Corps resumes discharges to the east Monday after a nine-day hiatus.

More:Lake O discharges to St. Lucie River returning Monday

"Rick Scott inherited an environmental restoration program that was moving forward," said Aliki Moncrief, executive director of Florida Conservation Voters. "But instead of pushing the ball forward, he squandered his opportunities."

Of course, pollution predates Scott, Moncrief said. "Did he cause the problem? No, but he has exacerbated it. ... There are a lot of factors in the problem, and he's a big one."

The two-term Republican governor is challenging Democrat Bill Nelson for the U.S. Senate seat he's held since 2001.

More:Brace for Toxic Tsunami when Lake Okeechobee discharges resume Monday | Ed Killer

Touting record

Scott touts his environmental record.

In a June 20 news release, his campaign office claimed the state "has made historic progress with restoration projects that will provide billions of gallons of water storage and clean water for the Everglades and local communities."

Scott's administration, the release stated, has secured more than $1.8 billion in state funding to restore the Everglades.

More:Scott criticizes Nelson after algae, discharges

The 2018 state budget Scott signed invests more than $293 million for Everglades restoration projects, including $187 million for water storage projects such as:

  • The reservoir being built along the C-43 Canal west of Lake O
  • The reservoir and stormwater treatment area being planned south of the lake to cut discharges and send clean water to the Everglades

More: Lake Okeechobee reservoir plan reviewed by Army Corps chief

Scott has noted he also secured $100 million in state funding, and President Donald Trump's commitment, to speed up the Army Corps' repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake O.

"Bill Nelson has had 40 years to address the algae blooms and secure the federal funding to fix the dike," Scott campaign spokeswoman Kerri Wyland said Friday. "He didn’t care about securing results for Lake Okeechobee until an election year."

Wyland said Scott "refused to wait on Washington and secured state funding to speed up repairs of the dike. He also secured a federal commitment last year to finally fix this."

The Democrats said such projects, while desperately needed, are an expensive way to react to environmental problems after the fact, rather the less expensive solution of stopping pollution at its sources.

"It's too little, too late," Moncrief said. "They don't scratch the surface of what's really needed."

Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill to build a water storage reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. Three members of a South Florida Water Management District advisory panel may have violated the state Sunshine Law by discussing the bill and the reservoir on Facebook.

Dzadovsky said Scott is "trying to take credit for the good things that are happening (in the environment) when he created the problems we have today."

Moncrief called the Scott administration "a long eight-year period of bad environmental policies."

Emergency declarations

State legislators and municipal governments in Southwest Florida sent a joint letter Thursday asking Scott to declare a state of emergency for Lee County because of toxic algae blooms in the Caloosahatchee River.

On Friday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Philip Levine asked Scott to declare Lake Okeechobee a disaster area.

In 2016, Scott declared a state of emergency for areas on both coasts affected by toxic algae blooms. A spokeswoman did not answer TCPalm's question asking whether he would do so this year.