DEP, City of Jax, JEA, Duval DOH and FDOT Partnership Receives National Coastal Spirit Award info provided by ASAP irrigation and pump repairs. 904-346-1266
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JACKSONVILLE – A representative of the Coastal America Partnership presented the Coastal Spirit Award today to a highly successful Tributary Assessment Team (TAT) in Jacksonville. The team, which consists of members from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), City of Jacksonville, JEA, Duval County Department of Health and the Florida Department of Transportation, was created to investigate elevated levels of fecal coliforms in the Lower St. Johns River (LSJR) tributaries.
The Coastal America Awards Program was established in 1997 to recognize outstanding efforts and excellence in leadership for protecting, preserving and restoring the nation’s coastal resources and ecosystems. The awards are presented annually by the Coastal America Partnership, a unique partnership of federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations.
The TAT’s intensive water quality sampling and analysis resulted in action items coordinated amongst local and state agencies with authority to investigate and eliminate bacteria sources. In December 2009, the LSJR Tributaries Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) was adopted. The action plan identifies actions to decrease fecal coliform bacteria in 10 water bodies within the LSJR Basin. These water bodies are Newcastle Creek, Hogan Creek, Butcher Pen Creek, Miller Creek, Miramar Creek, Big Fishweir Creek, Deer Creek, Terrapin Creek, Goodbys Creek, and Open Creek.
Water quality restoration targets, called Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), were adopted by DEP for the 10 water bodies. The TMDLs establish the amount of reduction of fecal coliform bacteria that is needed to restore the beneficial uses of these water bodies. The TMDLs require reductions in fecal coliform bacteria ranging from 60 to 92 percent in order to meet water quality standards. The BMAP lists the steps that must be taken to reduce bacteria, a schedule for their implementation, and potential resources to accomplish the reductions.
“This award recognizes the hard work and commitment of several local governments and numerous stakeholders to restore ten of the most at-risk water bodies in the basin,” said DEP Northeast District Director Greg Strong. “Our team has helped to establish a series of clearly defined actions that are targeted to reduce bacteria pollution in these important water bodies.”
The LSJR Tributaries BMAP was developed under DEP’s comprehensive approach to identify polluted waterways and build partnerships with local, regional, and state interests to return the water bodies to a healthy condition. Through its science-based program, DEP determined that these LSJR tributaries did not meet Florida’s water quality standards and, therefore, established restoration targets and worked in collaboration with local stakeholders to create the BMAP. The local stakeholders identified more than 480 projects to achieve restoration in these water bodies and have committed to monitoring to ensure restoration occurs and to identify additional fecal coliform sources.
Examples of significant project commitments include:
* City of Jacksonville – Prioritization of septic tank phase-out in these 10 tributaries, inspections of private wastewater infrastructure, capital improvement projects to reduce flooding issues, and identification and removal of illicit connections to the stormwater system.
* Duval County Health Department – Site-specific septic tank inspections in four tributaries that have areas identified as high risk for failure, septic tank failure area ranking, and permit reviews.
* Florida Department of Transportation – Maintenance of stormwater conveyances and identification and removal of illicit connections to the stormwater system.
* JEA – Upgrades, inspections, and maintenance of sewer infrastructure and implementation of proactive programs to prevent issues with the wastewater collection system.
Proposed actions include improvements in stormwater management, implementation of corrective actions for sewer system failures, removal of failing septic tanks, field investigations to better identify and mitigate pollutant sources, and ongoing public education programs. The stakeholders have already implemented many of these actions and the remaining projects will be in place within the next five years.
For more information on the Coastal Awards visit www.coastalamerica.gov.
For more information about DEP’s water quality protection and restoration programs, visit: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/tmdl/index.htm.
Coral Reef Protection Act to Go Into Effect July 1, 2009
TALLAHASSEE � The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is alerting boaters, divers and anglers that the Coral Reef Protection Act goes into effect on July 1, 2009. The law, the result of House Bill 1423 passed during the recent legislative session, will increase the protection of Florida�s endangered coral reefs by helping raise awareness of the damages associated with vessel groundings and anchoring on coral reefs off the coasts of Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties. The law also authorizes penalties for the destruction of reef resources and provides for efficient repair and mitigation of reef injuries.
�The Coral Reef Protection Act will allow us to work with local and state governments to increase public awareness about coral reef protection and the likelihood that responsible parties who damage reefs are held accountable for their actions,� said Lee Edmiston, Director of the Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas (CAMA) for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). �The new law will also allow us to bring together experts to address reef damage in the most appropriate way.�
Fishing, diving and other boating-related activities on Florida�s coral reefs generate approximately $6 billion dollars in sales and income for Florida�s citizens and sustain more than 60,000 jobs annually according to report conducted by Hazen and Sawyer in association with Florida State University and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. In the new law, the Florida Legislature identifies coral reefs as an extraordinary biological, geological and economic resource, and states that protecting coral reefs and enacting monetary damage restitution to the state are in Florida�s best interest.
The new law will allow DEP to restore coral reefs by ensuring that those responsible for damaging coral reefs can face fines and penalties to help restore the damage. The law also allows the state to issue �first time� warnings in lieu of a fine to recreational boaters in certain instances, and specifies higher penalties for repeat offenders and for injuries which occur within a state park or aquatic preserve.
In keeping with the multi-disciplinary, multi-agency efforts necessary to protect this public resource, the law allows DEP to delegate authority through agreements with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, coastal counties and other local governments to investigate reef damages, recover costs, provide restoration and seek compensatory mitigation.
The law clarifies and streamlines current DEP authorities and processes, while implementing many of the recommendations taken from a two-day public workshop held by DEP in Ft. Lauderdale in 2006. The workshop, part of a Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative local action strategy, compiled information on existing emergency response processes, identified deficiencies and developed consensus-based solutions among government marine industry representatives and other stakeholders to improve response to, and restoration of, coral reef injuries in southeast Florida.
CAMA manages three National Estuarine Research Reserves in the state, 41 aquatic preserves, the Coral Reef Conservation Program and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. CAMA�s programs and activities are designed to help Floridians better understand and conserve the state�s resources through research, education and preservation. For more information on DEP�s Coral Reef Conservation Program, visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/programs/coral/. For more information on DEP�s Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas, visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal.
