Copyright 1998 Stuart News Company
The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News (Stuart,FL)
March 26, 1998, Thursday
SECTION: A Section; Pg. A1
LENGTH: 1288 words
HEADLINE: COOPERATION URGED FOR ST. LUCIE RIVER CLEANUP
BYLINE: Kevin Osborne of the News staff
BODY:
A County Commission majority agreed to talk with the St. Lucie
River Initiative about a plan.
TALLAHASSEE - Martin County commissioners pounded the pavement
and pressed some flesh Wednesday in the state capital, meeting
with lawmakers and regulators to get help dealing with an outbreak
of sick fish.
But the most significant event happened closer to home.
Members of a County Commission majority long at odds with a
private group about a reservoir plan to clean the St. Lucie River
agreed to discuss a compromise. And the commission's chairwoman
said she would support the plan.
State lawmakers have urged the commission to coordinate its
efforts with the St. Lucie River Initiative and reconsider what
role the sprawling Allapattah Ranch will play in the cleanup.
"If the Martin County Commission truly cares about the
river, you need to embrace the Initiative and what they're doing,"
state Rep. Ken Pruitt, a Port St. Lucie Republican, told commissioners
in his office.
"We've got to start communicating a little better,"
he said. "We all need to chill out a little here.'
Commissioner Janet Gettig said local officials aren't ready
to endorse the River Initiative's plan but are willing to take
another look.
"We've got to sit down and come to some resolution, so
we can take a unified approach to some of these problems,"
Gettig said. "I think we'll be working in that direction."
Since early this month, dozens of sick fish have been spotted
in area waters. The fish have lesions, open sores, rotting tissue
and other deformities.
Diseased mullet began appearing first, but the problem has
spread to at least 21 species of fish, in an area ranging from
New Smyrna Beach to North Palm Beach, state environmental regulators
said.
Gettig and Commissioners Dennis Armstrong, Elmira Gainey and
Marshal "Bud" Wilcox flew to Tallahassee on Wednesday
to see what assistance was available. They were accompanied by
members of the Bryant Miller and Olive law firm, which the commission
recently hired for about $ 50,000 to lobby for the county in Tallahassee.
Commission Chairwoman Donna Melzer didn't make the trip, but
announced Wednesday that she will support a plan to build shallow
lakes on the Allapattah Ranch in western Martin County to cleanse
and store water before it flows into the river.
Martin County commissioners presented state officials with
a stack of petitions from residents demanding action on the outbreak,
and they showed lawmakers photographs of the sick fish.
"People who come down to fish come down and go right back
home," Wilcox told state Sen. Charlie Crist, a Republican
gubernatorial hopeful from St. Petersburg. "Bait shops have
a hard time staying alive."
The cause of the fish sickness is unknown, but the St. Lucie
River's murky waters have persistent problems with sediment. Large
releases from Lake Okeechobee cause imbalances between fresh water
and salt water. Many people say the problem is compounded by agricultural
runoff and contamination from golf courses and septic tanks.
The St. Lucie River Initiative's plan to build the reservoirs
on the Allapattah would destroy some wetlands, which the county
prohibits.
Also, a commission majority has questioned the River Initiative's
motives, saying the group wants to create a water supply to spark
more residential development. Also, some commissioners think allowing
sediment to seep into the land could pose other environmental
hazards.
Still, Gettig said initiative members and county staff will
compare data and review options.
A mediator might be used, said Bud Jordan, the Initiative's
president. Jordan hoped a plan could be decided by summer.
"Her scientists and our scientists are all going to try
to sit down and agree on a course we should all take," Jordan
said by telephone. "We want to see how each of us got to
our individual positions. If we can reach a middle ground, great."
The South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers is devising a strategy to restore natural flows
to Florida's waterways and reduce flooding. Reservoirs are one
component being considered.
The 20-year, multibillion-dollar project - authorized by Congress
- is scheduled to begin by summer 2000. All sides in the river
issue said a coordinated effort is essential to ensure Martin's
improvements are funded early in the program.
Meanwhile, Martin County will get some short-term help.
The county will be added to the Algal Bloom Task Force, a group
organized by the state's Department of Environmental Protection.
The task force is made up of representatives of communities on
the state's Gulf Coast, where toxic algae are common.
A toxic microalgae, Cryptoperidiniopsis, has been found in
water and sediment samples taken from the river.
The toxic microalgae hasn't been positively identified as the
outbreak's cause, DEP officials said. More likely, the microalgae
probably weakens the fish, making them susceptible to other organisms
or contaminants.
"At this point, we can't help you with what the causes are, but we can help
you with what the effects are," Kirby Green, the DEP's deputy
director, told commissioners.
Also, the DEP is planning a town meeting in Martin County to
discuss the outbreak.
Pruitt, chairman of the general government appropriations conference
committee, has added $ 400,000 and funding for three additional
scientists to study the problem in the state's budget.
Additionally, lawmakers are considering dedicating a funding
source - dock stamps - to stabilize and expand the state's Surface
Water Improvement Management program.
"SWIM is the most innovative water quality cleanup tool
in the country, said Brian Ballard, a lobbyist with Bryant Miller
and Olive. "If the river is going to be cleaned, this is
the program that's going to do it."
State officials included Allapattah high on a list of properties
Florida would buy for preservation, but county commissioners have
been hesitant to ante up local matching funds.
State Sen. William "Doc" Myers, a Hobe Sound Republican,
and other legislators said Martin County must devise a plan to
help buy the ranch.
"We have made no resolution what to contribute, but that
is probably something we need to do," Gettig replied.
On Tuesday, commissioners tentatively approved placing a referendum
on the fall ballot seeking voter approval for $ 27 million in
bonds to buy environmentally sensitive land.
Some commissioners have been reluctant to include Allapattah
in lands targeted for purchase, fearing the state might sell part
of the property later. Pruitt said that won't occur.
"We couldn't turn around and sell that land unless the
county also signs off on it," Pruitt said. "It just
can't happen that way. That is unfounded."
State Rep. Tom Warner, a Stuart Republican, said Allapattah
should be bought, but said the River Initiative's plans should
be scaled back.
"There will never be 10 feet of water out there. It's
expensive and dangerous," Warner said. "But there's
a need for some water storage out there and we need to all get
together and decide how to do it. We need to decide what's acceptable.
Doing nothing is not acceptable."
All sides were cautiously optimistic after Wednesday's round
of meetings.
"We're going to work together and develop a plan we can
all live with," Gettig said.
"Our goal is to clean up the river," Jordan said.
"We will do whatever it takes."
Pruitt said it is ultimately up to county residents.
"This is something that can't be driven from the top down.
It has to come from the local level," Pruitt said. "We
will be here ready to assist and provide the resources, but it
has to be community-driven."
LOAD-DATE: March 26, 1998