Our community is all too familiar with toxic discharges and their impact on public health and the economy. For decades, the Army Corps of Engineers has poisoned our community with water laden with algal blooms far more toxic than the EPA considers safe for human contact.

That is why I am working with Senator Gayle Harrell and Representative Toby Overdorf to convince the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to eliminate regulatory discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie as part of the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM). 

This isn’t just a pipe dream. The Army Corps’ own modeling proves that they can eliminate discharges to the St. Lucie while also improving water supply performance and benefiting the other Congressionally-mandated project purposes.  Plus, as a result of legislation I passed last year, the Army Corps undertook an analysis that concluded discharges to the St. Lucie are unnecessary for flood control.  

In other words, there is no excuse for the continued abuse.  The only thing standing in the way of this monumental change is the Corps’ own bureaucracy. We have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to solve a debilitating public health crisis, and the Army Corps must not settle for incremental progress. It’s time to take the bold action needed to protect Floridians and stop government-sanctioned poisoning!

I’ll let you know what I hear back and will continue working to get the job done!