Dear Editor: 

I am compelled to point out the fallacy of our Tallahassee leadership in their rush to destroy Florida’s groundwater and thus our future.

Bowing to the Agriculture and Phosphate industries, the state has embarked on a “let’s hide the contamination” ploy by deep injecting these wastes under our state.

Rather than do what other states do and make these special interests clean up their wastes prior to discharge, Florida ignores science and allows for deep injection wells. Some 180 such wells have been installed statewide and already 20 of these have failed allowing these wastes to migrate below ground and contaminate clean water aquifers.

Similar to their “don’t mention climate change” mentality, the Republican leadership ignores the fact that Florida was once covered by an ocean and most of its substrata geology is sandstone. Millions of gallons of contaminated wastewater being deep well injected under pressure, such as is being done currently by the city of Sarasota, will eventually leak into our drinking water aquifers.

Who will pay to fix this mess in the future? We the citizens! So, please thank our state leadership and their agriculture and phosphate lobbyists for so transparently shifting to us the future costs of their being allowed to avoid cleaning up their wastes today. While you’re at it, also thank them for ignoring the people’s passing of Amendment One and not allocating funds for Florida’s crucial environmental projects.

Jose N. Uranga

Bradenton

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