Judge Approves Historic Nutrient Settlement

As we mentioned in previous posts, St. Johns Riverkeeper is one of the parties involved in a recent settlement with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will require the state of Florida to establish meaningful limits for the nutrient pollution that is triggering algae blooms and poisoning our waterways. Unfortunately, many of the state's biggest polluters and some politicians tried to get a federal judge to overturn this decision. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle rejected arguements made by those seeking to further delay cleanup and avoid compliance with the Clean Water Act.

In today's Florida Times-Union, columnist Ron Littlepage sets the record straight.

Nutrient limits for St. Johns River are essential to its health

In case you haven't noticed, the sky is falling.

Or at least the hysteria coming out of folks like the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Associated Industries of Florida and the state's biggest polluters would make you think so.

They are bent out of shape to the point of breaking because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is getting ready to do what it should have done years ago - limit the amount of nutrients going into the St. Johns River.

Those nutrients, in large part, are what's making the river sick, as evidenced by the massive algal blooms that frequently turn the river into a slimy, green mess.

The EPA action comes to settle a lawsuit filed by five environmental organizations, including the St. Johns Riverkeeper.

The EPA will set nutrient standards that will improve the river's health.

To continue reading Ron's column, click here:
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/columnists/ron_littlepage/2009-11-17/story/nutrient_limits_for_st_johns_river_are_essential__

We want to thank David Guest and Monica Reimer with Earthjustice for representing us in this settlement and for all of their outstanding work on this issue.

For information, click on the title of this blog post to see a press release from Earthjustice.