Suncoast Waterkeeper: A look back and what's ahead

 A newsletter from the group that sued Sarasota County leading to major wastewater plant upgrades:

We want to wish a happy new year to the entire Suncoast Waterkeeper family.  Our waterways and natural areas support the local economy and quality of life.  Together, we fought to protect our water in 2021 and, with your help, will continue to work to preserve what makes the Suncoast special.   Here’s a look back at our work in 2021 and a preview of what we’re working on for 2022: Piney Point Piney Point has been a ticking time bomb.  Due to neglect and inaction, the State of Florida was forced to dump over 200 million gallons of contaminated water into Tampa Bay.  Over the course of 2021, we experienced some of the worst red tides, other harmful algae blooms and fish kills that we have ever seen.  The threat doesn’t end there.  Now the State of Florida and DEP are working to inject the wastewater into our aquifer without adequate testing or filtration.   That is why we launched and are continuing to pursue a federal lawsuit to safely close Piney Point with other partners and organizations in the region.   In addition to the lawsuit, we hosted educational forums and conducted advocacy campaigns to demand better from our local and state elected officials on Piney Point.   Stopping Sewage Spills    Our region has suffered from numerous sewage spills due to poor management of aging environmental infrastructure.  According to the City of Bradenton’s own reports, 160 million gallons of raw and partially treated sewage was dumped into the Manatee River over the last four years.  This contributed to declining conditions in our estuaries.  In 2021, we filed a notice of intent to sue the City of Bradenton over repeated sewage spills into our waterways.  We hope to resolve our case against Bradenton in 2022. Our previous sewage lawsuits have resulted in major investments in wastewater infrastructure and fewer sewage spills.  Together, we’re going to continue our work to reduce sewage spills on the Suncoast.  Water Quality Monitoring  To enjoy our waterways, we need to ensure that they are clean.  We sample water quality weekly to keep our community informed about the water they rely on for recreation, work and more.  In 2022, because of your support, we’ll continue to monitor water quality in our waterways.   Monitoring Public Information & Demanding Accountability In many ways, regulation and oversight in Florida is broken.  Our regulators have repeatedly ignored or failed to address threats to our water quality, quality of life and local economy.  That’s why we regularly monitor public records for information on water quality, pollution, harmful algae blooms and new and existing projects.  Monitoring this information allows us to let you know what is happening in our community and lets us know when we need to take action.   Your support means that we’ll be able to continue to work to protect our water.  We can’t afford to let pollution, contamination and inaction from our government officials threaten our water, quality of life and local economy.  Together, we’ll continue to make a difference in 2022.  Thank you,  Suncoast Waterkeeper http://www.suncoastwaterkeeper.org/

RAM Returns Oct. 12-13 - Great Volunteer Opportunity

To help make the October 12-13, 2019 RAM weekend at MTC a success, register at ramusa.org or, for more information, 
call 941-526-4766.

Letters voice concern about Beruff - UPDATE

Update: Beruff's plan, with some changes, was approved unanimously by the Manatee County Commission. 

This link takes you to the Petition seeking to halt the development of Aqua by the Bay. 

Op-Ed:

"At 75-95 feet, over sixty buildings will create a solid wall of structures that will make anything on Longboat Key look like a pastoral landscape by comparison. Make no mistake, this will be a city looming over Sarasota Bay, and if the commissioners think they will fix it with a stipulation or two, they are deeply mistaken." ~ Andy Mele, Suncoast Waterkeeper, Bradenton Times

...     ....     ...

Developer Carlos Beruff's "Aqua by the Bay" development comes up Tuesday, Oct. 3, at the Manatee County Commission. The proposal would transform the last natural coastline in the area to thousands of homes and condos on 529 acres.

Below are some Letters about the project. Along with many other environmental issues, citizens see the vision of their Comp Plan being ignored in the planning of the project.

Beruff and Vogler Courtesy of Bradenton Herald

Hurricanes scream need to stop dense coastal development

SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 11:28 AM

Recent deadly hurricanes have proven the vulnerability of over developed coastal areas to destruction by wind and storm surge and illustrate the inadequate evacuation plans in place throughout Florida.

Manatee County’s Comprehensive Plan was developed with great foresight in the late 1980s to prevent disasters that can occur when development is allowed in low-lying areas and too near the coast.

In recent years, political pressures have threatened enforcement of the comp plan and land development code. Experienced and knowledgeable county staff members have been dismissed. Members of the public are actively discouraged from meeting with staff members to inquire about applications submitted to the county. And the public only sees vague general development plans that could be approved before crucial details are known.

The coastal and conservation elements of the Comprehensive Plan still are the law. The plan prohibits alteration of coastal wetlands (including mangroves); restricts dredge and fill operations in the coastal planning area; limits the construction of artificial waterways; limits development type, density and intensity within the coastal planning area; and directs population concentrations away from the coastal evacuation area.

The Manatee County Commission has the responsibility to uphold the Comprehensive Plan and deny applications that violate the comp plan and land development code by dredging a channel, destroying wetlands and increasing density in the coastal planning area.

On Tuesday, Oct. 3, the commission can stop dense coastal development and preserve the last extensive mangrove forest on Sarasota Bay by simply following the law and denying the General Development Plan for Aqua by the Bay.

Preserving this rich and diverse habitat would be a testament of respect for this high functioning environment that will support fisheries and wildlife, and the income they bring to the county, for generations to come.

SANDRA RIPBERGER

BRADENTON

Beruff deserves no special privileges 

At the May 4 hearing before the Board of County Commissioners about the Aqua by the Bay project, Carlos Beruff pleaded with the commission to not single him out, but rather to treat him like any other developer wishing to develop his land. Commissioner Betsy Benac agreed that the commission should be fair in all its decisions.

The problem with this argument is that, in Mr. Beruff’s own words, this is “a unique world-class development.” A unique development requires a unique analysis.

No other development is developing the last portion of unspoiled bay in Manatee County. No other developer is changing the plans for development and the corporate structure so fast and so often that even the commissioners have to ask numerous questions to ascertain the substance of their vote. No one else submits one design to an agency for permit approval and submits different plans to a different agency for a different permit. No other development simply submits artist’s renderings of other developments or of an “Infinity Beach” without concrete details of the exact location of the structures on the development. (What is the source of the water in the saltwater body? How big will it be? What is the source of the sand?)

By your own admission, the design of your lagoon is unique. Therefore, its environmental impact should be evaluated more thoroughly than a routine drainage swale. No one else is “removing land from the high hazard zone” by adding 13 feet of fill behind a wall that is of such unique construction that neither your planners nor the Manatee County planners can even agree what to call it. I have not even touched on the issue of building heights, which has been covered in other letters.

Yes, Mr. Beruff, what we want to do is treat you like everybody else and not give you special privilege at the expense of the other residents of Manatee County.

JUDY P DRAKE

BRADENTON

At one recent hearing, activists opposing Aqua by the Bay brought in a model of the plan because, they said, the proposal submitted by the developer lacked specific details necessary for the plan to even be properly visualized:

More Letters to the Editor about Beruff's "Aqua by the Bay"

Big Meeting May 4 for Long Bar Pointe: 1:30 PM

13-story high rises here?

Long Bar Pointe

By a vote of 3-2 the Manatee County Planning Commission barely recommended approval for Aqua by the Bay on Thursday, but commissioners had many doubts.
The best thing you can do now is write a letter to the editor. The Bradenton Herald and Sarasota Herald-Tribune reach thousands of people in Manatee County.
The easiest way is to go to their websites.
Bradenton Herald: Go to Full Menu/Opinion/Submit a Letter. Herald-Tribune: Go to the bottom of the Home page and click Letter to the Editor under Submissions.
Almost 200 people have emailed commissioners objecting to the project.

If you haven't written yet, you have until May 4, when the County Commission meets.  Please write to Commission Chair Betsy Benac at betsy.benac@mymanatee.org

Our petition has more than 1,200 signatures.  Thanks to all who signed.  You can add your name at: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Save-Longbar-Pointe-on-Sarasota-Bay.

Here is a summary of the issues involved.

The big meeting is May 4 at the County Commission, which will have final say.  If you can attend the meeting, please do. A big turnout matters, especially if you speak.

Carlos Beruff

If you want to speak, sign up for a speaker card outside the commission chambers.  If you speak as an individual, you get three minutes.

If you speak for an organization with five or more members, you get 10 minutes.  You need to bring a letter signed by an officer of the organization.

The meeting will be held at 1:30 pm in the County Commission building, 1112 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton, FL 34205.

Thank you for helping save Manatee County's last great place.

Stuart Smith - for Manatee/Sarasota Sierra Club & Suncoast Waterkeeper 

PS - If you are an officer in a conservation or civic organization, please pass this email along to your membership.

The Herald-Tribune weighs in on Long Bar Pointe.