Good news – At my urging, and alongside the advocacy of our entire community, the Army Corps is stopping the toxic discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie.
The Corps has already dumped more than 50 billion gallons of polluted Lake Okeechobee water into the St. Lucie Estuary. According to test results, these discharges have produced poisonous blue-green algae that is more than twice as toxic as is safe for human contact.
So, while this is good news, I won’t be rushing to say thank you for stopping. These discharges never should have been happening in the first place.
Of course, there’s still bad news also – The Army Corps is now being purposely ambiguous and hiding behind government speak about what would cause them to resume discharges.
Make no mistake: should they try to pull another fast one, I will be waiting. After all, the Army Corps has done little to foster trust and good will within our community. Even now, they’re ignoring a federal law requiring them to develop a plan to permanently end harmful discharges to the northern estuaries.
So, while we’ve won a battle with this announcement, the war for clean water continues. I will continue to fight with every ounce of energy so that we do not have another lost summer.
Onward!
