Yesterday in Apopka DEP reps called together a meeting named OUTSTANDING FLORIDA SPRING RULE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP and invited the public.
And the public came and they gave the reps a black eye.
Springs advocates minced no words when addressing the DEP in Apopka and their message was clear: obey the law and act.
NOW.
Some are still asking, but others now are demanding.
And rightfully so.
About eight years ago a law was enacted to protect our springs but the DEP has done nothing to comply except talk about it.
They did the same thing on Thursday in Apopka and were called out by multiple speakers.
The DEP and water district managers still hold to the belief that they can hoodwink the public by smooth-talking but there is a growing number of people who can look between the lines and see that the DEP is deliberately doing next to nothing to protect our springs, rivers and aquifers.
Proof of this is that spring and river flows are steadily declining and pollution, algae and nutrients are increasing. The solution has been known for years: less pumping and less fertilizer.
The leader of the meeting from DEP was James C. Albright, from the ironically-named Office of Water Policy and Ecosystems Restoration.
The word “restoration” brings in the irony, since no spring has yet been restored to historic conditions.
And none will be as long as our DEP and water districts follow current policies which are headed the other way.
Further irony was the frequent use by DEP reps of the words “Outstanding Florida Waterway” or “Outstanding Florida Spring.”
This is simply a sham title with intent of misleading the public into thinking this title might add some protection. In reality it adds no protection at all. There is no case on record where a spring or river gained some protection from Tallahassee because of this title.
“Sham” aptly describes the meeting yesterday, as stated by one speaker. Nothing will come of this meeting to help the springs, other than possibly easing guilt feelings on the part of DEP employees.
But, that is not likely.
OSFR thanks all those who attended this typical dog and pony show meeting from the DEP
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
