American Rivers ● Clean Water Action ● Earthjustice ● Environment America ● Friends of the
Earth ● Izaak Walton League of America ● League
of Conservation Voters ● National Parks Conservation
Association ● National Wildlife Federation ● Natural Resources Defense
Council ●
Physicians for Social Responsibility ● Sierra Club
July 19, 2012
The Honorable Lisa
Jackson, Administrator The Honorable Nancy Sutley, Chair
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency White House Council on Environmental Quality
Ariel Rios, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., N.W. 722 Jackson Place N.W. Washington, DC 20004 Washington, DC 20506
Dear Administrator Jackson and Chair Sutley,
As
leaders of the nation’s
largest environmental organizations concerned with
public health and clean water, we write you on behalf of our millions of members and supporters to urge you to protect Florida’s
waters from toxic algae outbreaks and
disapprove Florida’s proposed standards that fail to
achieve that goal. This is both a regional and national imperative, as nitrogen and phosphorous
pollution from sewage treatment plants, fertilizer and manure runoff,
and
other sources foul
not only Florida’s
waters but also rivers, streams, lakes, and beaches across the country.
Passage of the Clean Water Act forty years
ago
was one of the most important and popular environmental achievements in our history, creating a legacy of
cleaner water in the United
States. The growing numbers of toxic algae outbreaks in Florida
and beyond demonstrates that the job of
ending the pollution of the nation’s waters is still far
from complete. In Florida, 70 percent of freshwater springs have
nutrient concentrations
at least 500 percent higher than historic background
concentrations. Just last month, Northern
Florida’s Santa Fe
River experienced it’s
first ever massive
algae bloom along the most popular canoeing section of the river. Last month,
Glades, Hendy, and Lee
counties all issued public health
advisories warning the public to stay out of
the algae infested waters of the Caloosahatchee River in the southwest part of the state.
Reducing nutrient
pollution is a critically important issue for the environmental community in
Florida and
it has been a long fought battle
with polluting industries
and their friends in state government to address it. EPA must act to protect Florida’s waters
from toxic algae outbreaks to avoid economic
impacts in addition to
the environmental ones.
Tourism at Florida’s famous
beaches is vulnerable if
swimming means risking respiratory distress
from red tide toxins. Waterfront property
owners are faced
with “Algae Alert” signs
warning people not to swim in,
drink, or eat fish
from those waters, or even let their pets near the water. People who
swam,
fished, and went
boating in
these lakes, rivers, and streams as children
are
shocked by their current condition.
At
issue today is whether EPA
will approve Florida’s
state standards. Governor Scott’s administration is
asking EPA to approve state rules written for the polluting industries. While the state claims to have adopted EPA-approvable rules, it has not.
We understand that a great deal of
lobbying pressure is
being applied to get EPA to approve Florida’s standards.
We urge that you do not. At a minimum,
EPA
must look carefully at whether the state’s
rules will meet acceptable pollution limits and
protect Florida’s waters.
As
the 40th anniversary of
the Clean Water Act approaches,
EPA
is asking the public “Water, Is
It Worth It?” We believe the answer in Florida and
across the country is
a resounding “Yes.” EPA can
demonstrate its commitment to clean water by ending toxic algae pollution in Florida.
We urge you to
protect America’s
legacy of clean water so
that future generations may benefit
from these important resources.
Thank you
for
your continued
commitment to protecting our
nation’s waters.
Respectfully,
Trip Van Noppen
President
Earthjustice
Wm. Robert Irvin
President and
CEO
American Rivers
Margie
Alt
Executive Director
Environment America
Michael
Brune
Executive Director
Sierra
Club
Robert Wendelgass
President and CEO
Clean Water Action
Erich Pica
President
Friends
of
the Earth
Frances Beinecke
President
Natural
Resources Defense Council
Catherine Thomasson, MD
Executive Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Thomas C. Kiernan
President
National Parks Conservation Association
Larry J.
Schweiger
President and CEO
National Wildlife Federation
David W. Hoskins
Executive Director
Izaak Walton League of America
Gene
Karpinski
President
League of
Conservation Voters
