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Senator Bill Nelson has called upon Senate leadership to bring WRDA to the floor as soon as possible in response to the toxic environmental and economic crisis affecting Florida waters and local businesses. The current state of South Florida’s marine ecosystem is being compared to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Neon green slime is choking the Caloosahatchee River to the west and the St. Lucie River to the east, the stench of toxic algae is so overwhelming that business have closed, beaches, hotels and restaurants are less-crowded than usual, and the white sand beaches are now lined with red-tide corpses of thousands of fish, even after 267 tons of dead fish and sea life have been removed along 150 miles of coastline. Parents fear for their children as residents are urged to avoid exposure to the toxic algae. Senator Nelson has written a letter to the CDC asking for healthcare guidance. Marco Rubio stands alongside Senator Nelson, urging that WRDA be voted on, hoping that a provision - the Everglades Restoration Initiative - will be included in the bill, which authorizes a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee for holding and potential treatment before releasing it downstream. Click here to watch Senator Nelson’s testimony.
Repeated flooding in Ellicott City, MD will be the subject of a hearing today at 1:00pm held by Senate EPW. The focus will be reviewing the Federal role in preventing future events.
Medical Waste has washed up onshore in Long Island, NY. Rumor has it the coastal storm damage risk reduction project for Long Beach has uncovered disposed medical waste, which has now washed ashore. The Corps delayed the project dredging by 48 hours to attempt to determine if it was involved in uncovering the waste. No announcement has been made. Beaches were closed as dozens of syringes and hypodermic needles were identified. Many of the syringes still appeared to reveal the names of the associated doctor(s). Officials are currently working to track down the source of every specimen found. This USACE project is designed for the 100-year storm…
…If you’re an avid Waterlog reader, you may remember the references made to the Dutch’s storm and flood infrastructure designed to withstand a 10,000 year storm, and how intelligent their decisions are regarding sea level rise and climate change. In America, we’ve decided to continue designing for a 100-year storm, despite THREE 500-year storms occurring in Houston in the past THREE years, and 100-year storms occurring nationwide on a 20 year basis. Does this make sense to you?
The Atlantic storm season remains quiet, view the outlook here. Surfers, if you need waves – go here for Surfline’s monthly best bet. Or head down to Waco, Texas to check out their new wave pool built by American Wave Machines.
