Dark Money, / Alex Coe / Red Tide

SCAN is about planning methodology as practiced in Sarasota County. Part of that "practice" involves the enormous sums of money that flow into our campaigns - especially during County Commission races, as that Board has the final say over land use and rezone decisions.

Cathy Antunes

Listening to Cathy Antunes' exploration of PACs the other evening at Fruitville Library was like following trails of money into a labyrinth of PAC managers, campaign coordinators and creators of nasty mailers. 

The mystery PACs - which are supposed to be totally separate from the candidates - show funds coming in from other PACs, which got them from yet others. At some point, though we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars, the trail can simply vanish. Cathy's pertinacity in tracing the funds, the managers and the connections inside Florida and across state boundaries has yielded some astonishing results. One result I was unprepared for: certain candidates in our local elections are managing their own PACs, in direct contradiction to the lawful purpose of this funding method!

There are at least two recordings of her talk - one is on Facebook, done by Mark Warriner of WSLR - if you have a FB account, it's here, and starts around the 9-minute mark:

Dark Money at Fruitville - Cathy Antunes for SCAN

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Alex Coe

Meanwhile, there are two other items I wanted to share with you: The first, again, is Cathy - this time interviewing District 1 Candidate for the County Commission Alex Coe. Alex has a varied background and has served on the Charter Review Board, and has insights into what is going on with a fake voter guide, a closed District 1 primary, and local flooding among other things. Coe has experience with the planning process and is worth listening to on that as well, which you can do here:

Alex Coe talks with Cathy Antunes

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And last for now, a paper about Red Tide in our waters has been published that we should all be aware of. The research was done by local investigators including Dave Tomasko and Steve Suau, and it offers strong evidence that Red Tide at Siesta Key correlates with the flushing of highly nitrogenated water from Okeechobee, which the Army Corps releases periodically into the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Not only do these releases provide the nutrients to feed Red Tide -- they affect the duration if and when the Red Tide makes to the shoreline. In brief, the duration of our Red Tide events appears to correlate closely with deliberate releases from the lake. 

Recentl the Army Corps of Engineers, which organized the releases, reportedly stopped sending Okeechobee waters to the Atlantic Ocean. Releases to the Gulf are ongoing.

An evaluation of the relationships between the duration of red tide (Karenia brevis) blooms and watershed nitrogen loads in southwest Florida (USA)

As Steve Suau said to me, this biological link between Lake Okeechobee and Siesta key shows how interconnected are the ecosystems in which we live - far more than we imagined them to be. 

This is Nature, complex and co-involved - the plans of our developers never dream of thinking in this way. They do not seek knowledge or resilience in scraping and building on our land - the end game is to prosper.

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A community blueprint for water quality

a blueprint for

water quality improvement

to stop feeding

harmful algae blooms

As many know, Jon Thaxton and Steve Suau were two of the key people behind the creation of the Celery Fields Water Management facility quite a few years ago.

They're still concerned with water, and will be giving several talks on the results of a year's research on nutrients in our soil, and how they affect our bays and waterways. It's a wake-up call for us all. 

Jon and Steve will be at the Robert L. Anderson Administration Center in Venice this Tuesday (March 10) shortly after 1:30 pm presenting to the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners.

Also on Tuesday, they'll do a broader version of their work at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Venice at 7 pm. It's at 1971 Pinebrook Rd, Venice, Florida 34292.

UPDATE: The March 10 Venice presentation is now online, introduced by Brian Kelly of Hands Along the Water:

Update: CONA has postponed this meeting: And they'll be presenting at CONA Sarasota on Friday March 20, at 7, at the Waldemere Fire Station.

Slides they'll show can be found here -- but come to hear the interpretive commentary -- water quality affects us all.

Can Florida Turn the Tide?

On Nov 27, 2018, stormwater engineer Steve Suau spoke to the North Port City Commission about strategies to combat Red Tide -- algae blooms responsible for the death of countless marine creatures, including many mammals, as well as airborne effects on people, and substantial economic damage to the tourist industry on the Gulf Coast.

Members of Hands Along the Water, a Florida advocacy group, spoke at the same meeting about what is now known about the causes and impacts of Red Tide. See the group's presentations here. Suau's talk is below.

RED TIDE TIMELINE

1977 to present: (past 50 years): Red tide abundance and duration increases

1997 to present: Nitrogen concentrations in Sarasota and Lemon Bays increase

1995 to 2010: Current regulations presume 80% effectiveness of pond reduction, but
studies revealed that stormwater ponds reduce nitrogen runoff by only 40-45% effective

2000 to 2010: Florida conducts 10-year research and monitoring,
drafts Stormwater Rule and Advanced Stormwater Treatment Design Manual.  

2011: Incoming administration cancels Stormwater Rule and Manual

2018: Proven Stormwater Harvesting and Recycling Technology exists now

• Quantifiable
• Can be used within existing pond footprint
• Can produce revenue 

2019 and Beyond: Hit the Restart Button: Resolve to ask the new DeSantis administration to reinitiate the Advanced Stormwater Treatment Rule public hearing and adoption process.

Red Tide on Siesta Beach, Sarasota, 2018 

Human Activity and Red Tide

Example of a stormwater harvesting program already operating in Venice, FL

For more on public concern, with presentations by members of Hands Along the Water, and how to write to Governor Elect Ron DeSantis, click here.

Hands Along the Water to North Port: We can combat Red Tide

On Nov 27, 2018 at the North Port City Commission, members of Hands Along the Water, an environmental advocacy group, urged the Board to take a look at existing state research on the impact of nitrogen nutrients on Red Tide.

Despite many measures undertaken by local communities (e.g. closing septic tanks), nitrogen levels in coastal waters such as Sarasota and Lemon Bays have steadily been increasing:

What's more, clear evidence shows that stormwater ponds as currently managed do not achieve the 80% rate of nutrient reduction presumed by state regulations. The actual performance is closer to 40%-45%.

Beginning in 2000, the Dept. of Environmental Protection spent 10 years researching the issue and, after consulting experts statewide, had prepared in 2010 to put in place an Advanced Stormwater Harvesting and Recyling Plan. Then the new Rick Scott administration came into office, and swept all these plans aside.

With Hands Along the Water was Steve Suau, a stormwater engineer who has been working on the problem and how to best address it. Suau presented the facts and potential benefits of reviving the Advanced Stormwater Treatment option.

The group asked North Port Commissioners to consider adopting a Resolution that would ask Governor Elect Ron DeSantis to restart this effort to reduce nitrogen runoff. The effort would be neither costly nor difficult - in fact it could produce revenue, the group said. Here is a summary timeline:

RED TIDE TIMELINE

1977 to present: (past 50 years): Red tide abundance and duration increases

1997 to present: Nitrogen concentrations in Sarasota and Lemon Bays increase

1995 to 2010: Current regulations presume 80% effectiveness of pond reduction, but
studies revealed that stormwater ponds reduce nitrogen runoff by only 40-45% effective

2000 to 2010: Florida conducts 10-year research and monitoring,
drafts Stormwater Rule and Advanced Stormwater Treatment Design Manual.  

2011: Incoming administration cancels Stormwater Rule and Manual

2018: Proven Stormwater Harvesting and Recycling Technology exists now

• Quantifiable
• Can be used within existing pond footprint
• Can produce revenue 

2019 and Beyond: Hit the Restart Button: Resolve to ask the new DeSantis administration to reinitiate the Advanced Stormwater Treatment Rule public hearing and adoption process.

See Steve Suau's full presentation here.

Letter to Governor Elect Ron DeSantis.

Hands Along the Water speakers:

Samantha Gentrup


Nadine Baker


Brian Kelly


Joan San Lwin


Tim Ritchie


Edie Driest



More on this significant opportunity for to do someting about Red Tide here.

More about Red Tide

Members of Hands Along the Water at North Port City Hall Nov. 27, 2018

Letter to Governor-Elect Ron DeSantis - Add your name