Hopefully Ms. Forsyth is correct in calling on our federal agencies since it is beyond obvious that Florida’s lack of leadership is rapidly ruining our environment, especially the water.
Of course the problem is that our legislators are paid by the polluters and they want money more than clean water.
But don’t forget our hope for the constitutional amendment Right to Clean and Healthy Waters.
Read the original story with photos here in the Tallahassee Democrat.
Florida hasn’t done its job to protect water quality | Opinion
Florida’s manatees are in crisis, and that’s why we’re headed to court to enforce the law to protect them.
The groups going to court — the Save the Manatee Club, Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity — have spent years collecting crucial scientific data and repeatedly warning that manatees are in trouble. The nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice is representing the groups, and we’re suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because what’s killing the manatees is water pollution, and it’s preventable.
None of us wanted to end up in court, but we simply have no time to waste in getting protections in place. Why sue the Environmental Protection Agency? Because that’s the agency that enforces our federal Clean Water Act.
Hundreds of manatees starved to death in the Indian River Lagoon last winter. We all know that the emergency program to feed manatees lettuce is not a long-term solution. We need our leaders to adopt and enforce stronger measures to clean up the water.
We have laws that are supposed to prevent ecological disasters like this from happening. These algae outbreaks are fueled by phosphorus and nitrogen in feces and fertilizer that gets into the public’s waters from sources like septic tanks, sewage spills and agricultural practices that are poorly regulated.
We can now see that these heartbreaking manatee deaths are glaring proof that Florida hasn’t done its job to protect water quality….
It is obvious that circumstances in the Indian River Lagoon have changed dramatically for the worse. It’s time for the EPA to do its job —to come back to the table with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service and revisit its 2013 approval of Florida’s water quality standards, so that our manatees have a clean home and seagrass meadows to graze in.
Elizabeth Forsyth is a Senior Attorney with Earthjustice’s Biodiversity Defense Program. This piece was written for the Invading Sea collaborative of Florida editorial boards focused on the threats posed by the warming climate.
