Judgement Day

Tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 9) is an important day. We will be in Tallahassee defending ourselves, along with the City of Jacksonville, against bogus charges filed by Seminole County claiming that our challenge of the Yankee Lake water withdrawal project was frivolous. In many ways, this is also a defense of our right as citizens and communities to challenge permit decisions when we have valid and justifiable concerns.

St. Johns Riverkeeper and the City of Jacksonville have consistently presented legitimate concerns and evidence regarding the potential impacts to our river from the Yankee Lake water withdrawal project. We continue to believe that this project is not in the "public interest" and is not even necessary. We are convinced that we demonstrated this to be true during the administrative hearing challenging the permit for this facility. In fact, a special condition was placed on the Yankee Lake permit during the hearing by the water management district to address our valid concerns that withdrawals will lead to an increased likelihood of algal blooms in the river.

While we are confident that Judge Johnston will rule in our favor, there is a lot at stake. Seminole County is seeking reimbursement for legal fees that exceed $1 million dollars.

Seminole and their attorney, Ed de la Parte, are clearly attempting to intimidate and discourage citizens and communities from challenging future water withdrawal permits. Their underhanded legal tactics could unfortunately have a chilling effect on public participation in these important decisions that impact the future of our water resources.

The de la Parte law firm also represents the Niagara water bottling company and has indicated that they plan to seek legal fees from Lake County and Groveland, as well. In case you haven't heard, the St. Johns River Water Management District recently authorized Niagara to withdraw nearly 500,000 gallons of water a day from the aquifer, after Lake County and Groveland lost their challenge of the permit. Despite widespread opposition and looming water shortages in Lake County, the District determined that the permit is in the "public interest."

While the actions of Seminole County have been discouraging, we certainly won't back down. I hope that Lake County and Groveland will stand up to these bully tactics, as well. After all, the the future of our water resources is on the line.

Here is a story from yesterday's news on Channel 9 (WFTV) in Central Florida about this issue:

County spends $1M defending plan to pump water

What's water worth these days? Seminole County spent nearly $1 million defending plans to pump drinking water from the St. Johns River, but leaders also raised millage rates and opened reserves to fill a $17 million shortfall.... Eyewitness News checked the legal bills. At an hourly rate of as much as $225, the law firm de la Parte & Gilbert cost the county $1,047,764 in 14 months. Read more and watch the video at http://www.wftv.com/news/21230491/detail.html