Environmental Intersection by George Lindemann

An administrative law judge on Thursday upheld the state's proposed new water quality rules that are intended to replace federal rules that agriculture and industry groups oppose. 

Environmental groups had challenged the rules, called numeric nutrient criteria, saying they are weak and unenforceable and would lead to continued toxic algae blooms in Florida waters. However,  Administrative Law Judge Bram D. E. Canter said in his 58-page order the groups failed to make their case with the evidence presented.

Scientists say increasing nitrogen from a variety of sources including fertilizer, wastewater and industrial plants is causing waterways to become choked with algae. The rules would set limits for nitrogen and phosphorus or require studies to show that waterways are not impaired.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has forwarded its rules the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for review and approval. EPA's rules were thrown out by a federal judge earlier this year.

The rules were approved in December by the state Environmental Regulation Commission. In February, Gov. Rick Scott signed HB 7051 waiving legislative ratification of the proposed rules.

In a written statement Thursday, DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. said the department looks forward to getting the rules on the books as soon as possible. 

"It’s time to turn our focus on improving water quality, put our plan into action and end needless litigation that delays Florida’s rules,” Vinyard said.

David Guest, an attorney for the nonprofit Earthjustice law firm representing environmental groups, said his clients could challenge federal approval of the state rules, but he said that federal approval may not happen.

"With evidence around the state this is a grave and growing problem there is a reason to think (the federal) EPA would consider public health as a reason to look at this pretty carefully," he told The Florida Current. Earthjustice represents the Florida Wildlife Federation, St. Johns River Keeper, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the Sierra Club and the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida.

During a two-week hearing in late February and early March, Earthjustice presented testimony from aquatic scientists who said the rules would not protect waterways from algae blooms caused by excessive nitrogen and phosphorous.

Canter said deference must be given to an agency when it makes a scientific determination on proposed rules. He said it was regrettable that the experts on both sides were so far apart.

But he also said the environmental groups failed to show that DEP lacked authority to propose the rules or that they met the "arbitrary and capricious" standard.

The department's experts "were supported by expert testimony, reports, graphs and data summaries generated by investigations that involved many scientists focused on the specific objective of developing nutrient criteria," Canter wrote. 

"In contrast, petitioners' position was usually supported only by expert opinions that were based on data collected for different purposes and not presented or made a part of the record," he wrote.

DEP officials hope this week to notify the federal EPA of the judge's decision, said Drew Bartlett, director of DEP's Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration. Then the federal agency will have 60 days to approve the state rules and then would have to withdraw the federal rule for the state rules to take effect.

"We are still working through the final points of the actual language," Meeker told her district's governing board on Monday.

The plan provides $880 million in new projects through 2025, Meeker said, in addition to some projects already under way. The district, she said, now has $220 million in the bank toward such projects.

In 2010, the federal EPA said that clean water standards for phosphorus were not being achieved in all parts of the Everglades and that further reductions of phosphorus pollution are needed south of Lake Okeechobee. High levels of phosphorus can convert sawgrass savannahs into a swamp full of cattails with less wildlife habitat.

Since Scott met with federal officials in October, state and federal agencies have been working on a revised plan, Meeker said. They have developed a technical plan that includes water quality-based pollution limits, new filter marshes and holding ponds to improve water treatment, and an implementation schedule through 2025.

DEP spokeswoman Jennifer Diaz said the state is submitting a revised permit to the Environmental Protection Agency by Wednesday and that it would be posted soon after on the state agency's website.

Meeker said the $880 million in new projects include new "flow equalization basins" that capture and store water and release it later into stormwater treatment areas during dry periods. 

She also said the plan assumes a contribution from taxpayers statewide and that the governor's representatives have met with legislative leaders to discuss it.

Meeker agreed with a board member's suggestion that the cost estimate was conservative with about one-third of the money now in the bank.

"In terms of the appropriations I think it is well within the means with what we have gotten in the past," she said. "There are no guarantees. It is the state Legislature."

But based on conversations the governor's office has had with legislative leaders, Meeker said, "they (legislators) felt the amount of money we were asking for was very reasonable and very doable."

Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Larry Lincoln commended the state for its hard work and said the federal agency will quickly review the submittal to determine whether it meets federal Clean Water Act requirements.

"The most important thing is for on-the-ground work to begin as soon as possible so we can begin work on these projects, which are vital to restoring water quality in the Everglades," Lincoln said.

Representatives of Audubon Florida and the Everglades Foundation spoke in support whileU.S. Sugar Corp. issued a statement in support. But Friends of the Everglades, which filed the lawsuit pending in Gold's court, said it was suspicious.

"Our fear is that the state once again has declined to impose enforceable remedies, adequate financing and best farming practices to sharply curtail phosphorous pollution of the Everglades as required by law," Friends of the Everglades President Alan Farago said.

Audubon Florida Executive Director Eric Draper said his group was glad to hear that the state and federal agencies are working together.

"The plan is clearly a major step forward with helping us get fresh water into the Everglades, which is what we need to do," Draper said.

"The amount of fish in the water is almost nonexistent," said Dale Miller, who lives in the 2700 block of Scott Street. "We're seeing some minnows coming back, which is good, but we would see snook and mullet and oscars, and they're not there anymore."

The city has spent $938,000 on clean-up and repairs since the Nov. 16 catastrophe contaminated the canal and inundated the residential neighborhood south of Taft Street with rancid spillage and mucky sludge.

Monthly water tests and the return of wildlife indicate a healthy ecosystem, city officials say.

But residents whose backyards overlook the canal say wildlife has been drastically depleted. Manatee sightings, which used to be common, are few and far between. Yet to return are the snook, tarpon, bass and mullet. And swimming is no longer a carefree option.

"[State environmental officials] told us that really within a relatively short amount of time the canal would bounce back, and that is certainly what we've seen," city spokeswoman Raelin Storey said. "Literally, within weeks we saw manatees in the canal, we saw wildlife returning to the canal, we saw birds in the canal, we saw fish in the canal, and so we know that the water quality in the canal has rebounded."

Monthly water-quality test results "indicate no impact in the overall water quality as a result of the spill," Storey said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is still determining how much it will fine the city for re-routing the sewage into the canal, spokeswoman Cristina Llorens said.

"We had a great little oasis of nature here and it just hasn't been the same," said Michael Medlin, of the 1300 block of North 30th Court. "Hundreds and hundreds of fish were living under my dock, they all died off and have only been replaced by minnows, and I've seen a fraction of the number of manatees that we used to see on a regular basis."

For nearly three days raw sewage spilled into the middle of Taft Street after a 48-inch sewer main ruptured in the middle of the busy east-west thoroughfare.

The pipe ruptured after construction workers held back flows overnight while connecting a new sewer line into the Taft Street pipe, which normally transfers 10 million to 15 million gallons of untreated sewage a day to the Southern Regional Wastewater Treatment plant at the east end of Taft Street.

"The work was not able to be completed in the overnight hours as they anticipated and they were late in opening the line, so when all the morning flows started there was a tremendous amount of pressure in the line and then we had the rupture," Storey said.

City officials say the city had no choice but to divert the sewage into the canal to prevent flooding in the homes on North 31st Road.

In a Feb. 14 memo to city commissioners, Assistant City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark suggested holding the contractor, GlobeTec Construction LLC, responsible.

"The city took the stance of remediating as quickly as possible with the intentions of filing claims against the contractor's insurance," she wrote. "The City Attorney's Office is fully prepared to file suit should that course of action become necessary."

The city now is awaiting the results of a claim GlobeTec has submitted to its insurance company, Storey said. GlobeTec did not respond to two telephone message left at its Deerfield Beach office.

The city now is about midway through an estimated two-month project to strengthen the ruptured pipe. By inserting 1,300 feet of lining into the pipe, the city hopes to safeguard against any future breaks in other sections of the pipe that may have been weakened when pressure built up before the rupture.

While the work is under way, drivers should expect intermittent lane closures and narrowed lanes when traveling on Taft Street from the railroad tracks west of Interstate 95 to North 31st Road. The project should be completed in July, Storey said.

In the aftermath of the spill, the city hired a contractor to clean the canal and the yards of two dozen flooded homes. The contractor pressure-washed lawns, fences, driveways and sidewalks with disinfectant. They scrubbed and tested the water as required by the state DEP and took soil samples. They installed nine aerating pumps along the canal to pump oxygen to the bottom of the water and speed up the breakdown of fecal matter.

So far, the costs tally up to $938,000, including hotel rooms for displaced residents, clean up of the pool at the YMCA, canal remediation and aeration, and pipeline and street repairs.

"It's a terrible environmental disaster that never should have happened, but once it did, the city's response was quick … I give them credit," said Medlin, of North 30th Court. "Nevertheless, when the canal was like the most important factor in choosing to purchase this home, and feeling like something really important and special had been taken from you, it's a bit disconcerting."

Steve Shepard, of the 2600 block of Scott Street, continues to view the canal with suspicion. He wishes the city would have done more to cleanse the sediment on the bottom of the canal.

Although he's noticed blue crab and shrimp life emerging, he's troubled by the absence of snook and tarpon and he no longer allows his three children and golden retriever to swim in the water, he said.

"We're not going to touch the canal at all," Shepard said. "Pissed off, that's the best word I can use to express my emotion. I feel slighted. I couldn't believe a word that came out of anyone's mouth and the proof is in the water."

tealanez@tribune.com or 954-356-4542

Cost breakdown

Hollywood so far has spent $938,000 related to the sewer-main rupture. Here's the break down of approximate costs:

Impacted homeowners along North 31^st Road (includes hotels, per diem, sod removal and replacement of sheds and contents):$24,000

Greater Hollywood YMCA Center:$115,000

Federation Plaza:$600

Rotary Park:$43,000

Land and Canal Remediation:$422,000

Canal Aeration:$100,000

Consultant:$17,000

Police and PRCA Overtime:$25,000

Force Main and Street Repair:$193,000

sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-hollywood-canal-recovery-20120527,0,3629945.story

Environmentalists said Thursday they will ask the Florida Supreme Court to require the governor and Cabinet to decide on a plan for a pollution pipeline into the St. Johns River approved by the state.

Also Thursday, the Earthjustice law firm and the Florida Wildlife Federation, which are fighting proposed state pollution rules, said an algae bloom on the Santa Fe River demonstrates the need for tougher federal rules instead of the state rules.

The actions represent separate fights between environmental groups and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection along with industry groups over water quality.

The Clean Water Network of Florida and its allies continue to fight DEP and the pulp and paper industry over its proposals to build pollution pipelines. DEP in 1994 issued an order toGeorgia-Pacific to make water quality improvements and to construct a four-mile pipeline to move the discharge at its Palatka plant from Rice Creek to the St. Johns River. 

A draft petition states that by allowing "mixing zones" for pollution from the pipeline, DEP is allowing for the "private use" of submerged state lands without approval by the Cabinet, which has responsibility in the state Constitution to approve those uses and require compensation.