News Update
Conservation groups urge Florida officials to set standards for harmful toxins algae blooms
Staff report
Enviro-Net
Conservation groups recently sent a letter to Florida officials urging them to set water-quality standards for the harmful toxins in algal blooms.
The groups called on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to establish legal limits for cyanotoxins that pose severe health risks to people and wildlife. Such standards would help trigger public notifications when blooms are dangerous and would contribute to long-term planning to curtail the pollution and alter the water management practices that contribute to the outbreaks.
In May, the Center for Biological Diversity, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation and Calusa Waterkeeper petitioned the state to adopt pollution limits for the algae cyanotoxins that are linked to liver disease and neurodegenerative risks in people.
The DEP responded that it will consider establishing criteria during its triennial review now underway. The state could be the first to establish water-quality criteria to protect swimmers, boaters and anglers from recreational exposure to cyanotoxins.
Florida’s lakes, rivers, springs and estuaries have some of the nation’s worst algae blooms. They cost local economies hundreds of millions of dollars.
The blooms stem from nutrient pollution from domestic, industrial and agricultural wastes, and are worsened by climate change and shortsighted water-management decisions.
The governor’s recently formed Florida Blue-Green Algae Task Force recommended that the state adopt water-quality criteria. People and organizations across Florida have voiced their support.
The state is accepting public comments on its triennial review of water-quality standards through Friday.