It’s a fact: Lake Okeechobee is polluted. Decades worth of runoff has led to a buildup of nitrogen and phosphorus, or so-called legacy nutrients, which are major contributors to the growth of toxic algal blooms.

It’s gotten so bad that even if we stopped ALL new pollution today, the legacy nutrients would continue to feed algal blooms in our community for decades.

The solution is two-fold: polluters must be held accountable to stop new damage, and we need to dredge the muck already there to help remove the buildup. That’s why I authored a provision in the latest Water Resources Development Act to begin environmentally-focused dredging in Lake Okeechobee.

To learn more, check out the latest episode of The Tortured Coast: