The following letter was provided by Gary Kuhl and is posted with his
permission. It’s an important
message. You’ve heard similar sentiments
from me but now you hear it from someone else who brings it with authority and
conviction. -Sandspur
I hope I'm wrong !!!
I find
myself at that age where my dear wife has to repeat things occasionally to make
sure I heard the key words, like “empty” and “the garbage”. I also sometimes
need to read news articles a couple of times to make sure I got the entire
scope and meaning of the article. So I hope someone can correct any
misunderstanding of what I believe I am reading and hearing about our 2013 Florida
Legislative session.
There are
two proposed bills that are sliding through this session with minimal
discussion or opposition. They are HB 999 and SB 1684 which have been deemed
“trains” because they are loaded to the hilt with various lobbyists “needs” for
their clients. Such as further weakening of water management districts,
eliminating or weakening some water use permitting requirements and air quality
standards, preventing local governments from questioning developers as to
potential impacts of proposed development projects, relaxation of septic tank inspections
and on and on and on.
These types
of bills are not new to this group of legislators and our current State
leadership. They have found the need to introduce all kinds of legislation the
past two years and now this year to reverse fifty years of progress in
protecting Florida’s fragile and life giving environment. And the “life giving”
here is not just for frogs, birds and alligators---it is our economic life
blood, it is our drinking water, it is the source of many of our livelihoods.
People come to Citrus County by the thousands to swim in our springs, swim with
the manatees and catch the tarpon on our gin clear saltwater flats.
As one
long-time observer said recently, “People don’t come to Florida to see another
strip mall with asphalt parking spaces. They come to enjoy Florida’s unmatched
beauty including her springs, rivers, lakes, beaches and wild areas.” What
happened to the extra ordinary foresight of our past Governors and Legislators
of BOTH political parties over the last fifty years who TOGETHER implemented
strong protection for our most important natural assets? I hate to tell you but
those days seem to be gone.
It appears
now that many of our State leaders are of the mind that anything that might
bring short term economic gain is worth reversing 50 years of thoughtful
progress in protecting the State’s natural resources including our drinking
water. There seems to be total disregard for the fact
that our major springs are seeing significant declines in flows and water
quality. Silver Springs experienced its lowest flow in its 80 year record this
past year. Its level of pollutants (nitrates) is 20 times the historic natural
background. Its natural stock of game-fish is almost gone. The spring is clouded
by growth of noxious algae and undesirable vegetation.
Sound
familiar? Our own Crystal River and her springs are experiencing similar water
quality problems and growth of undesirable elements like lyngbya. Ask the folks
that live on our local spring fed rivers if they have seen negative change in
their rivers in recent years. Talk to folks who live in Cedar Key----their
freshwater drinking water source has become salty----they are now drinking very
expensive reverse osmosis water due apparently to salt water intrusion. Our
springs are but a reflection of what is going on in our aquifers---the drinking
water source for most of our citizens in Florida.
Even more
disturbing is that it appears our local legislators are voting in favor of
these bills to continue to dismantle the dwindling protections our State still
has in place. I hope I am wrong here----but check on this for your-self as to
the voting record of our State Senator Charlie Dean and State Representative
Jimmy Smith on these particular bills. It is very hard to understand how Citrus
County with three spring-fed rivers, several Outstanding Florida Waters, some
of the most beautiful lakes in the State, and a well-documented healthy aquifer
system could have local elected legislators who would vote for less protection
of these important resources. Say it ain’t true!!!
___________________________________________
Gary Kuhl,
April 20, 2013
Gary is now
retired but during his 40 “plus” year career, he was Executive Director at the
Southwest Florida Water Management District, Citrus County Administrator,
Hillsborough County Water Resources Team Administrator, Sumter County Public
Works Director and a Florida registered professional engineer. He is a native
Floridian and a resident of Citrus County.
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