As toxic algae blooms continue to wreak havoc along Florida's Atlantic coast, state leaders are stopping short of doing the one thing environmentalists say is critical to solving the crisis: purchasing hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of land owned by the sugar industry.
- Officials meet as toxic algae crisis intensifies
- Purchasing land owned by the sugar industry could be key to solving crisis
The land, which sits south of Lake Okeechobee, could be used to store discharges of polluted water from the lake that scientists believe are causing the blooms. Gov. Rick Scott and the independently-elected Florida Cabinet have the authority to purchase land on behalf of the state but at their August meeting on Tuesday lacked both the political will and the money to do so.
While supportive of a land-buy, Florida Chief Financial Jeff Atwater, a Republican, said the legislature would have to appropriate funds before the cabinet could exercise its purchasing authority through the Florida Forever program.
"I think that's where this process should continue to pursue. That's was what it was made available for, it's been contracted, it's been optioned. I think you're going to have to ask some people 'why aren't we appropriating these dollars to get this done,'" Atwater suggested.
The legislature, however, won't begin the appropriations process until its regular session early next year. When it adjourned this year's session in March, the algae bloom issue had yet to reach crisis status.
Gov. Scott, whose political committee accepted a $100,000 contribution from the U.S. Sugar Corporation on June 10, has been largely dismissive of acquiring land to address the problem. Earlier this year, Scott's South Florida Water Management District appointees nixed a deal negotiated by former Gov. Charlie Crist that would have transferred millions of acres of U.S. Sugar land to the state for a cost of roughly $350 million.
Instead, the governor has increased pressure on the federal government to repair a dike he believes isn't adequately containing the size of the discharges. Scott also plans to ask lawmakers for funding to replace damaged septic tanks and has asked environmental regulators for long-term strategies that can be used to prevent polluted water from entering canals and estuaries.
"When you look at reclamation and what you can do now, it's really amazing. If we can get more people, especially in those highly concentrated areas, onto that advanced wastewater treatment, certainly our water quality will benefit from that," said Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jon Steverson.