Paul Reynolds reply:
I
read, with much disappointment, my friend Stuart Stauss's letter in this morning's News-Press.
I remember when Stuart was among the most passionate defenders of our river and estuary system. He now, for reasons unknown to me, attacks our elected leaders who oppose SFWMD and the group they best represent, the agriculture industry.
He, without offering example, accuses new Commissioner Bigelow of being uninformed on our water issue. I disagree. I know Mr. Bigelow and I will promise you he is very well informed on this topic.
Stuart utilizes my least favorite ploy in a disagreement and that is diversion. He says "before we throw stones we should look at our own house". Do we have pollution issues right here in Lee County? Yes we do, but the factor that has brought our local water system to the edge of destruction is, without doubt, the polluted water discharges from Lake Okeechobee. To attempt to diffuse or distract from that simple fact is to do a shameful disservice to our community.
Stuart gets one thing painfully correct when he says, "mission was to drain the Everglades so that the land south of the lake could be used productively for agriculture and settlement. They succeeded. But there are a lot of unintended consequences." I believe, because of obscene taxpayer subsidies, the agriculture industry(primarily sugar) has permeated and influenced our political system, and in using that system they have penetrated and controlled the agency charged with fairly protecting our water system, South Florida Water Management District.
Let me suggest to Stuart what I think is evolving, without impact by Brian Bigelow and others, in South Florida:
(1)Lee County will have the only polluted water reservoir in South Florida without a filter system (11,000 acres) because we are so poorly represented on SFWMD Board.
(2)Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent to create thousands of acres of STA's so that the ag industry can pump rain water they don't need, temporarily.
(3)Natural flow of water to the south will be a trickle, if at all, because it is not in the specific interest of the ag industry.
(4)Caloosahatchee and St Lucie Rivers and estuaries will be decimated 7 of every 35 years (SFWMD Wade's data) because of excess rain and the lack of a plan to deal with it.
I believe it not only appropriate, but it is necessary to point fingers at components in a system that are supposed to be making fair solutions for our entire community but reward specific elements to the detriment of all others.
You're wrong, Stuart, and I wish you would wake up and smell the algae. Not to mention the phosphorus, nutrients, dead sea grasses, dead fish, and other disasters your "working together" philosophy has brought us.
"Commissioner wants to sue over fouled Beaches," Stuart Stauss.......Nov. 22, 2006..News-Press
I would hope this newly elected County Commissioner, Brian Bigelow, will do some homework before he addresses this issue again.
Recent forums on the subject of our water quality have been hosted by Public Television WGCU-TV: This series on "Water Woes" has presented some important facts pertinent to our current situation. Perhaps Mr. Bigelow could view the first two documentaries and speak with the people involved.
The situation that we face with discharges from Lake Okeechobee is the result of a lot of hard work by state and federal agencies and private interests that began over a century ago. Their mission was to drain the Everglades so that the land south of the lake could be used productively for agriculture and settlement. They succeeded. But there are a lot of unintended consequences.
Progress will not be made by taking "us vs. them" positions. We will need to have a solid united front in making any kind of case for change. The "we" here includes all factions: federal and state officials, US. Army Corps of Engineers, South Florida Water Management District, county and city officials from all affected counties and cities, private business and corporate interests, and citizens.
It is true that the hurricanes of the past couple of years have stirred up some awful sediment from the bottom of Lake Okeechobee. That sediment had been deposited over decades, and the nutrient and pesticide load in discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers has increased recently.
But, before we throw stones, we should look at our own house. Tons of nutrients and pesticides are sold to Lee County residents every year. We have seeh San Carlos Bay turn the tea color of run off from the watershed from this past summer's rainy season. None of that water was released from Lake Okeechobee. That water was run off from the land bordering the Caloosahatchee, Matlacha Pass and San Carlos Bay.
Mr. Bigelow would do well to sponsor native plants and responsible use of fertilizers and pesticides for Lee County homeowners. Such non-point source pollution is a major factor in the future health of our estuary.