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Septic Regulation is Only a Start in the War against Cyanobacteria

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A task force put in place by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in January, following the destructive onslaught of toxic algal blooms last year, issued a draft report this week with recommendations that included expanding oversight of the state’s millions of septic tanks with only broad mention of other important factors, a point of contention for some of the task force’s members.
Florida accounts for about 12 percent of all septic systems currently in use throughout the United States and while we have limited inspection requirements for some septic systems in close proximity to springs, the vast majority of Florida's estimated 2.6 million septic systems are not required to be inspected, regardless of their age.

In this year’s legislative session, Manatee County state representative Will Robinson proposed a bill that would require septic tanks to be inspected every five years while requiring the Department of Health to establish requirements for the pump-out or repair of a failing system, and detailing enforcement procedures for property owners who do not have an inspection performed. The bill died in committee, while a similar bill passed in 2010 but was repealed two years later, before the program had been implemented.

Currently, the Florida Department of Health regulates septic tank issues. The task force recommends that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection be brought in to help develop more rigorous oversight, noting that "underperformance of septic systems and general system failure is commonplace, and that poorly functioning and/or failing septic systems contribute disproportionately to nutrient pollution and pose increased health concerns."

There is no question that Florida can and should do more to ensure that septic systems are not contributing to algal blooms and other water quality issues throughout the state, but it is also important that this piece of the puzzle isn’t scapegoated to some degree, in allowing disproportionate focus to be placed on those systems, so that other areas that fall under the umbrella of more powerful special interests are spared.

At the meetings, which took place in Naples this week and were broadcast by the Florida Channel, some members went out of their way to note that they were concerned that other areas like commercial agricultural practices, along with residential herbicides and fertilizers, wastewater reuse and recycled water were not more specifically addressed in the draft proposal.

Valerie Paul, Director of the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, worried that by leaving such issues out, the task force would be sending the message that it wasn't looking at those issues. Pierce advocated for "some kind of placeholder," to be put in the report, "so absence isn’t an indication that we don’t intend to consider them or they aren’t important." Wendy Graham, director of the Water Institute at the University of Florida, said she would have preferred an emphasis be placed on infrastructure improvements, noting that repeated attempts to address many of the issues have been made over decades without being fully carried out.

Florida waterways are currently riddled with cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), some of which produce cyanotoxins. Cyanotoxins have different toxicities and some are more potent than others. Some can even be deadly. As John Scott, Vice Chair of the Sierra Club, Calusa Group recently noted in a guest op/ed, independent testing by the Calusa Waterkeeper showed toxicity almost 800 times greater than needed to make humans sick, a level more potent than most industrial chemicals.

Scott noted that cyanobacteria that contain the neurotoxin BMAA has a cumulative effect like mercury or lead and has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's disease, with long-term health effects that may not become present for 20 years. Scott warned that as dead-end canals and other waterways continued to clog with mats of blue-green algae like the ones Manatee County recently experienced, the risk of airborne cyanobacteria increases.

A recent report by the Environmental Working Group on the rapid increase that has been observed nationwide in the last decade, with federal and state testing showing cyanobacteria toxins in hundreds of bodies of water across the U.S., warned that the effects of global warming is already causing algal bloom season to begin earlier and last longer because of warmer water temperatures.

The report suggested that as global temps continue to rise, the season will only continue to grow longer with more intense peaks, while intense rainfall associated with climate change will also cause more agricultural runoff, pushing phosphorus and nitrogen from fertilizers into the water where they can supercharge the blooms.

As with most things related to our climate crisis, the time for action on this less-known issue was decades ago. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be doing everything we can today to mitigate the effects of the crisis to the greatest degree possible, even when that runs up against the interests of powerful political forces like Big Agra and Big Phosphate.

If we are to prevent our state from seeing its freshwater supplies continue to dwindle, while groundwater modeling continues to show a more bleak future for supply vs. demand, bold action is required now. If we are to prevent Florida’s waterways from becoming a toxic soup of potentially fatal cyanotoxins in which swimming, boating, and other activities could be a life or death endeavor, bold action is required now. If we are to preserve our pristine beaches and the tourism economy that provides a living for so many Floridians, bold action is required now.

Task forces and recommendations are fine, but another decade of plans and studies that are never meaningfully acted on, all while the associated industries conspicuously continue doing business as usual, will ultimately see Florida turn into a toxic toilet that is not only unlikely to draw tourists but will also see residents leaving in droves.

Dennis Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County governmentsince 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University, where he earned a degree in Government. He later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Clickherefor his bio. Dennis's latest novel, Sacred Hearts, is availablehere.


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