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Heres some more positive, optimistic reasons to buy, buy, buy. No mention of this stuff. Potentially toxic algae confirmed in St. Lucie River; residents urged to avoid contact | Photos, Map
MARTIN COUNTY — The bad news in the St. Lucie Estuary just got worse.
Tests by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission lab detected concentrations of Microcystis aeruginosa, a type of cyanobacteria that can produce toxins in the blue-green algae blooms that began covering the estuary this week.
Because of the test results, the Florida Department of Health in Martin County is urging residents to avoid contact with algae in the entire estuary, from the St. Lucie Canal to the St. Lucie Inlet.
a.inline_topic:hover { background-color: #EAEAEA;}Kevin Baxter, a spokesman at the lab, said Microcystis aeruginosa was found in all seven samples collected by the health department.
Baxter said the tests do not confirm the presence of toxins, which would require further analysis.
Dee Ann Miller, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, said algae samples taken from the estuary Tuesday are being sent to the department’s lab in Tallahassee to determine if toxins are present.
“We should have results within a week or so,” Miller said.
The toxins in Microcystis aeruginosa can be harmful to people and pets. Exposure to water containing toxins may cause nausea and vomiting if ingested and rash or hay fever symptoms if touched or inhaled.
Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart, compared the current blooms to the catastrophic explosion of blue-green algae that blanketed area waters in 2005.
“It sure looks like the Microcystis aeruginosa we had back in 2005,” Perry said. “It’s got that same radiator-fluid color.”
Perry said the blooms probably aren’t going anywhere for a while, and they’re likely to cause some serious problems while they’re here and even after they’re gone.
“This bloom could last for several months,” Perry said, “and it could be as bad as we’ve ever seen it.”
The algae bloom in 2005 appeared during the summer and lasted until November, which Perry said might also be duplicated this year.
“With the influx of fresh water from local runoff and Lake Okeechobee dropping salinity levels, the nutrients all that water is bringing and the sunlight from long summer days, we’ve got the perfect combination of conditions for algae blooms,” Perry said.
The algae blooms affect life in the estuary in several ways.
“First, seagrass is being shaded and can’t grow,” he said. “Toxins in the algae can kill lots of little animals like shrimp and crabs. And animals that hunt for food in water that should be clear are being messed up because they can’t see their prey through the algae.”
Even when the algae dies, Perry said, it’s a killer: The dying plant cells fall to the bottom and are eaten by bacteria that use up all the oxygen in the water.
“When the oxygen in the water goes below 5 milligrams per liter,” Perry said, “that’s when the fish kills start.”
Perry called it “the devastation of an ecosystem that, besides being a thing of beauty, is the basis of our economy. To see it like this just makes you sick. In fact, it could literally make you sick.”
If you spot blue-green algae, contact the Department of Environmental Protection at 772-467-5572.
To report fish kills or abnormal fish behavior call:
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 1-800-636-0511
For more information, visit the Martin County Health Department's website. WHAT TO KNOW
Here’s what you need to know about blue-green algae, also called cyanobacteria, that has been reported in the St. Lucie Estuary and the Indian River Lagoon:
Some species produce toxins that can make humans and animals sick, causing stomach and intestinal illness, respiratory distress, allergic reactions, skin irritations, liver damage and neurotoxic reactions.
Swallowing even small amounts of toxin can result in flu-like symptoms including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. In large amounts, toxins can damage the liver, kidneys and the nervous system.
Swimming or wading in a bloom can result in skin irritation, hives, blisters and rashes.
Inhaling toxins can result in hay fever-like symptoms such as itchy eyes, sore throat and congestion.
Because of their size, children and pets are at greater risk for poisoning.
If you or your pet is exposed to toxins, rinse immediately and thoroughly with fresh water and soap.
To report illness from exposure, call the Florida Poison Information Center at 800-222-1222.
Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
What this state has done to our estuary is sickening. I can't understand at all how our government is allowing this to continue!
We should be up in arms over this. Most of us love the water and is the reason we bought in this area. I don't remember this happening around here 30-40 years ago unless it was unreported or I was to young and the media didn't report it. Imagine you or your pet going into the water and ingesting this toxic water. Unbelievable. This state cators to the big industry(sugar, citrus) and the results are pesticides draining into Lake O and than the Army Corps opens up the flood gates and let us have the poison. It is criminal.
And the alternative is to let the lake burst the levees and flood everything. I'll agree the infastructure is lacking, but the solution is taxes. Quite the quandry.
And the alternative is to let the lake burst the levees and flood everything. I'll agree the infastructure is lacking, but the solution is taxes. Quite the quandry.
Yes, let it flood like it's suppose to and allow the flow to resume south into the everglades. Levees, dams, jetties, beach re-nourishment. It's just temporary measures and a significant waste of resources that benefits a very limited group of individuals.
Yes, let it flood like it's suppose to and allow the flow to resume south into the everglades. Levees, dams, jetties, beach re-nourishment. It's just temporary measures and a significant waste of resources that benefits a very limited group of individuals.
A very limited group of individuals? You do realize Florida is a swamp and the drainage system is why there is any significant population right? I will agree with you about beach replenishment though...
Last edited by HarryWho?; 08-02-2013 at 11:22 AM..
one of my clients said the governor was in Palm City Saturday to address this, and she was going ... I have no idea and haven't had time to look it up yet
this was just passed on to me-it comes from TCPalm newspaper - I just am posting this - I have nothing to do with what it says or what you do or not do about it. Quit shooting the messenger.
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
EVENT # 1
8/8, Thursday at 9:00 am – 10:00 am
South Florida Water Management District ( SFWMD ) Water Resources Advisory Commission Meeting
Indian Riversdside Park at Frances Langford Dockside Pavilion
1707 NE Indian River Drive, Jensen Beach
[SIZE=3]Water advisory panel to discuss St. Lucie Estuary, Indian River Lagoon[/SIZE]
JENSEN BEACH — A panel that advises the South Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board on water quality issues will discuss conditions in the St. Lucie Estuary and Indian River Lagoon at a meeting this week on the banks of the lagoon.
The district’s Water Resource Advisory Commission will meet at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Frances Langford Dockside Pavilion at Indian RiverSide Park, 1707 N.E. Indian River Drive in Jensen Beach.
The advisory body to the governing board and the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force is tasked with “improving public participation and decision-making about water resource issues in South and Central Florida,” according to the water district’s website.
The panel’s agenda includes an update on water conditions in Lake Okeechobee, the estuary and the lagoon by Ernie Barnett, the water district’s interim executive director, other members of the district’s staff and Lt. Col. Tom Greco, the Army Corps of Engineers deputy district commander for South Florida.
Kevin Powers of Stuart, a member of the water district’s governing board, is vice chairman of the commission.
Treasure Coast commission members include Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart; Doug Bournique of Vero Beach, executive vice president of the Indian River Citrus League and a member of the St. Johns River Water Management District; Patrick Hayes, a former Martin County commissioner representing the Loxahatchee Coalition; Tom Kenny of Seabranch Management in Hobe Sound; Joe Capra of Stuart-based Captec Engineering; and George Jones, former Indian Riverkeeper now Everglades Holiday Park manager in Broward County.
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, a Sewall’s Point commissioner, is an alternate.
South Hutchinson Island ( Stuart's Public Beach to Jensen Beach's Public Beach )
Lake O discharge protesters plan 2nd rally, human chain from Stuart to Jensen beaches
MARTIN COUNTY — Organizers who gathered more than 5,000 people Aug. 3 at Phipps Park to protest Lake Okeechobee discharges into the St. Lucie Estuary hope to double that number Sunday for a human chain stretching from Stuart to Jensen Beach.
“To have nearly 6,000 people come to protest the discharges shows power,” said Clint Starling of Jensen Beach, who is organizing the protests with Evan Miller of Stuart. “But to line up 10,000 people on the beach the next week shows we’re organized. That’s an important message to send politically. If we just do it once, (the powers that be) can write us off. Mobs can only effect change if they show they’re organized, that they won’t go away.”
Although the protest will be based at Stuart Beach, Miller and Starling are asking protesters to go to beach public access sites between Stuart Beach and the public beach at Jensen Beach.
Standing 3 feet apart, it would take nearly 5,500 people to cover the more than 3 miles between the Stuart public beach and the Jensen Beach public beach. “I don’t think it’s logistically possible to assign people various beaches, so we’re just asking people: ‘Go to your favorite beach. Don’t everyone go to Stuart or Jensen Beach. Go to Bob Graham Beach; go to Tiger Shores. Spread it out’.”
If people get bunched up, he added, “What’s the worst that can happen? You walk down the beach a little bit with your sign and find a gap.” Starling said the chain will be formed about 11 a.m. Sunday.
“I hope we get 10,000 people on Sunday,” Miller said, “and I think we can, too. Look at how many people showed up (at Phipps Park) on short notice.” Miller said he chose a shoreline protest where area beaches are being affected by the discharges.
“The water that comes out of the (C-44) Canal and goes through the estuary comes out the (St. Lucie) Inlet,” he said. “It destroys life along the beaches and on the reefs. A lot of people live on the beach and depend on the beaches for the livelihoods, so (the discharges) affect them, as well.”
The freshwater flowing into the estuary contains high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous. The freshwater also lowers salinity in the naturally brackish estuary, killing marine life such as oysters and sea grass.
The Florida Department of Health at Martin County has warned people not to come in contact with water in the estuary. On Tuesday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection confirmed the blue-green algae bloom in the estuary contained toxins that may cause nausea and vomiting if ingested and rash or hay fever symptoms if touched or inhaled. High levels of enterococci bacteria — an indication of fecal pollution, which may come from stormwater runoff, pets, wildlife and human sewage — can cause upset stomach, diarrhea, eye irritation and skin rashes.
The Jensen Beach and Stuart beaches have been given an all clear, with ratings in the “good” range in tests for bacteria Monday. The Army Corps of Engineers maintains it must drain water from the lake to prevent a breach in the Herbert Hoover **** that surrounds it and flooding of the surrounding communities.
Miller said he also chose the beaches “because it’s a great place to put that many people. I couldn’t think of any other place around here where 10,000 people could gather.”
“Kevin Abbate, director of the Martin County Parks and Recreation Department, said Tuesday his office was working with Miller and Starling to issue a permit allowing them to extend the protest between Stuart and Jensen Beach.
“As long as people stay on public property and off private property, that is, east of the mean high-water line on the dune, there shouldn’t be any problems,” Abbate said.
Martin County Sheriff Will Snyder said Tuesday he expects traffic to be the only “logistical challenge to work out for the event. Because this is on a Sunday, there will be a lot of people going to the beach anyway; and this will just add to that.”
Snyder said Miller and Starling will pay for two off-duty deputies, at a rate of $35 per hour each, to provide traffic control, as they did at the Phipps Park rally. “We’ll have other deputies performing their normal duties available to come help, if needed,” Snyder said. “I don’t anticipate any issues other than traffic. The crowd last week, and I was there, was very well-behaved, very orderly. I expect the same this time.”
Starling said organizers raised about $1,800 at the Phipps Park rally. “It cost about $700 to put on the rally,” he said, “to pay for the permit, the deputies from the (Martin County) Sheriff’s Office and insurance.” The remaining $1,126, Starling said, will be given to the Rivers Coalition, a Treasure Coast organization fighting the discharges.
Next, Miller said, he and Starling are calling on protesters to attend a hearing by a state Senate committee, headed by Stuart Republican Sen. Joe Negron, from 1 to 9 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Charles and Rae Kane Center on Salerno Road in Stuart. The eight-member oversight panel is scheduled to hear from a variety of stakeholders, from the Corps to environmental and agricultural interests. More protests could be coming.
“I promised myself,” Miller said, “that if I was going to do something, I’d be committed to doing it over the long-term.”
Stuart Republican Sen. Joe Negron's special Committee
Charles and Rae Kane Center ( Council on Aging of Martin County )
900 SE Salerno Road ( between Kanner Highway and U.S. 1 ), Stuart
[SIZE=3]All lagoon committee members have taken Big Sugar money[/SIZE]
By Jonathan Mattise
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Each Florida senator tasked with addressing the policies that pollute the Indian River Lagoon has benefitted from Big Sugar donations.All eight members of a new state Senate panel on the harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges into the lagoon have accepted campaign cash from sugar’s biggest players within their last two elections. Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican who convened and will chair the panel, is the committee’s biggest beneficiary of sugar donations.
Three of the committee members didn’t take sugar money in the 2012 election cycle, but received checks from Big Sugar in their second-most recent elections — either 2008 or 2010, since senators serve four-year terms on a staggered schedule.Even with three senators abstaining last election, committee members took in at least $69,250 combined from sugar. That doesn’t include what they accepted through seven no-limit political committees, which totals $828,500 since 2008.
POTENTIAL CONFLICT
The Select Committee on Indian River Lagoon and Lake Okeechobee Basin is tasked with writing a report on potential policy and budget changes to aid the ailing lagoon. Those suggestions could end up in a bill or the budget next legislative session, which starts in March.Environmental advocates argue Lake Okeechobee discharges should flow naturally south toward the Everglades, right through sugar lands. Instead, the water is released east into the St. Lucie Estuary and west to the Caloosahatchee River via canals. The nutrient-laden freshwater can be harmful for marine wildlife and vegetation, and can produce algae blooms toxic to humans.
Sugar critics also contend the companies don’t pay their fair share to clean up the River of Grass, and taxpayers foot the bill.
“It really should shock the conscience of the community to have such a big lobbying industry going on all the time,” said Karl Wickstrom, coordinator of Stuart-based Rivers Coalition Defense Fund.
NO SURPRISE
Nathaniel Reed, a Jupiter Island resident and Everglades Foundation vice president, said the sugar love shouldn’t come as a surprise. The industry hasn’t sprinkled cash solely to those on the new. Its influence spans the entire statehouse and beyond.“They own the Legislature to the extent that they donate to every single leading member,” Reed said.U.S. Sugar Corp. and Florida Crystals Corp., the two biggest sugar players, gave candidates, committees and parties millions of dollars in 2012 through various related companies, subsidiaries and executives. Republicans received more, but they also hold majorities in both legislative chambers and occupy the Governor’s Mansion.Each campaign account check is limited to $500 for a primary election, $500 for the general. Some lawmakers received 30 or more $500 donations from a bevy of differently named companies and individuals, each ultimately under the sugar umbrella. The checks featured names of railroad companies, citrus producers, international exporters and homemakers, but the money stems back to powerful sugar conglomerates and executives.
NEGRON: NO INFLUENCE
The biggest sugar cash poured into lawmaker-operated political committees that don’t face contribution limits. Negron and Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, share two fundraising groups that brought in $405,000 combined from sugar since 2010. A Negron committee accepted the biggest single check, $150,000 from U.S. Sugar. Benacquisto, who represents a Gulf Coast region similarly bombarded by lake releases, received at least $23,750 in sugar money last election. The Senate majority leader’s campaign account total is the highest on the lagoon committee.Negron said campaign checks don’t determine how he votes.
For instance, Negron was the lone senator to vote against HB 999, which blocked lawsuits on 30-year, no-bid leases for sugar farmers in the northern Everglades. Gov. Rick Scott has signed the bill into law.“I think my voting record shows that whether it’s the insurance industry, agricultural community, whatever group it is, I will weigh each issue on its pros and cons and make the best judgment that I believe is possible,” Negron said during a June forum on the lagoon at the Stuart News.
FINDING SUGAR DONORS
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers sifted through state campaign finance records and found dozens of sugar-related donors, almost all of which trace back to U.S. Sugar Corp. or Florida Crystals Corp. Here is a look at how some donations are in the industry’s interest, but don’t indicate ties to sugar at first glance.
South Central Florida Express Subsidiary of U.S. Sugar; short line railroad with 156 miles of track, 14 locomotives, 950 railcars and 54 employees; hauls sugar cane, fertilizer, lumber, paper and citrus products Donated to Negron, Benacquisto, Montford, Grimsley, Dean (2008), Hays (2010)Donated about $55,250 in 2012 state elections St. Lucie River Co. Ltd.Limited partnership listed in state incorporation and campaign finance records at two West Palm Beach addresses used by Florida Crystals; listed as partner of Closter Farms Inc., which includes a Fanjul sugar family member as chairman/director; described as “sugar” in certain contribution records
Donated to Negron, Benacquisto, Hays (2010), Dean (2008) Donated about $10,500 in 2012 state elections Florida Pioneer Investments
Listed in campaign finance records at the same West Palm Beach address as Florida Crystals; includes a Fanjul sugar family member as director Donated to Benacquisto; Dean (2008); Alliance for a Strong Economy, a Negron committee; Floridians for Better Leadership, a Montford committee Donated about $91,500 in 2012 state elections.
A SUGARY LAGOON COMMITTEE
Here is a look at how much sugar money state senators on the Indian River Lagoon and Lake Okeechobee committee have received:
Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart (chairman)
Raised for 2012 election: $692,731
At least $15,500 from sugar interests
$690,000 to unlimited contribution committees from sugar interests:
Alliance for a Strong Economy (shared with Benacquisto)
$345,000 from sugar interests since 2008
Freedom First Committee
$235,000 from sugar interests since 2009
Protect Our Liberty (shared with Benacquisto)
$60,000 from sugar interests since 2011
Florida Conservative Majority
$30,000 from sugar interests since 2010
Florida Conservative Action Committee
$20,000 from sugar interests since 2012
Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee (vice chair)
Raised for 2012 election: $344,967
$7,500 from sugar interests
$100,000 to unlimited contribution committee, Floridians for Effective Leadership, since 2010
Sen. Charles Dean, R-Inverness (vice chair)
Raised for 2012 election: $113,225
$0 directly from sugar interests (two donations from committees with large sugar contributions)
Raised for 2008 election: $460,644
$10,500 from sugar interests
$10,000 to unlimited contribution committee Nature Coast Conservative Coalition from Alliance for a Strong Economy (large recipient of sugar money; see Negron)
Sen. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring
Raised for 2012 election: $914,449
At least $19,500 from sugar interests
$38,500 to unlimited contribution committee, Saving Florida’s Heartland, from sugar interests since 2008
Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers
Raised for 2012 election: $729,846
At least $23,750 from sugar interests
$405,000 to unlimited contribution committees from sugar interests:
Protect Our Liberty (shared with Negron)
$60,000 from sugar interests since 2011
Alliance for a Strong Economy
$345,000 from sugar interests since 2008
Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach
Raised for 2012 election: $343,566
$3,000 from sugar interests
Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa
Raised for 2012 election: $66,913
$0 directly from sugar interests
Raised for 2010 election: $56,838
$1,000 from sugar interests
Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla
Raised for 2012 election: $220,335
$0 directly from sugar interests
Raised for 2010 election: $396,142
$15,500 from sugar interests
Source: Florida Division of Elections
I don't when both sides of stories and statistics are shared, not just one side. Thanks for the new update on this toxic pollution. We the people should and must be up in arms over the release of these toxins that affect OUR health.
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Quit shooting the messenger.
Thanks for the new update on this toxic pollution. We the people should and must be up in arms over the release of these toxins that affect OUR health.
