TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Amid a growing outcry - and national headlines - about a massive algae bloom fouling Florida's southern beaches and rivers, Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday promised to dedicate millions more to battle the problem.
Scott announced that he would ask the Florida Legislature to set aside money that would be used for a grant program to aid homeowners who voluntarily want to switch from septic tanks to central sewer systems. He also pledged to set aside money in 2017 to help communities around the Indian River Lagoon and Caloosahatchee River build new wastewater systems.
Scott's promise won't do anything in the near future to remedy the algae bloom that put a smelly "guacamole-thick" muck on a stretch of beaches promoted as Florida's "Treasure Coast." But it marks a small change of direction for the governor, who has directed most of the blame for the algae bloom on the federal government.
"While the state has continued to step up and invest in important restoration projects to help South Florida waterways, it is clear that more work has to be done," Scott said in a statement distributed by his office. "It is up to all of us - the state, Florida's local communities and the federal government - to work together on long term solutions to improve the quality of our water. That is why I am going to commit state funding and match it with local contributions so we can work together on efforts to clean up our waters. Septic tank runoff is a major contributor to the pollution in these water bodies and I look forward to working with the Legislature to fund efforts to curb it."
Hours after Scott announced his budget proposal he also formally asked authorities to declare a federal emergency due to the effects of the algae blooms that he said were due primarily to the federal government neglecting needed repairs for the dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases polluted water from the lake to lower the pressure on a dike to avoid a repeat of a 1928 hurricane breach that killed 2,500 people.