by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Another step to assure the August 2006 River Accord comes to fruition was taken Monday when a host of local, state and federal officials gathered to mark the endorsement of the Lower St. Johns River Basin Management Action Plan.
Mayor John Peyton, Gov. Charlie Crist, U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, St. Johns River Water Management District Executive Director Kirby Green and several others all talked about how the plan will help restore and protect an area of the lower St. Johns River that covers 101 miles in length and 115 square miles.
The approval, which was formally announced by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, was technically the work of the FDEP’s Total Maximum Daily Load Executive Committee. Overall, the action plan covers the area between the mouth of the St. Johns River at Mayport and the Ocklawaha River (the largest tributary of the St. Johns), an area of 2,750 square miles of drainage area.
“This is a great occasion for the St. Johns River, Northeast Florida and all of Florida really,” said Crist, adding right after he was elected he was in Jacksonville and asked Peyton what he could for the area. “He said. ‘You cannot underestimate the importance of the river.’ This is truly a partnership being announced today.”
Crist said the plan is just one facet of the $700 million River Accord, of which the City of Jacksonville is responsible for $150 million. He called the St. Johns an “amazing river” and “an amazing estuary” and the BMAP part of the overall effort to clean up and restore the health of the river.
“It’s been the center of the ecology for this region for a long time and the economy and I understand that,” said Crist. “The environment and the economy in Florida are linked. Eighty-five million people visited Florida last year. Doing what’s right is good for the economy.”
Green said the approval marked the end of seven years of work.
“This sets a roadmap for the way we clean up the river,” he said, adding ultimately the plan will reduce the effluent into the river by 32 million gallons a day and offset the need for potable water. “We all have that to be proud of. I look forward to working with our partners.”
The BMAP will help enforce water quality restoration targets the DEP set forth earlier this year. Those standards regulate the amount of nutrient loadings (phosphorous and nitrogen) that are dumped into the river on a daily basis.
Some of the programs and facilities the BMAP calls for include upgrades to wastewater treatment plants, redirecting wastewater discharges for uses such as irrigation, stormwater retrofits and others. Locally, JEA is a major player in helping restore the health of the St. Johns.
“JEA is actually ahead of its BMAP goals,” said JEA executive Director Jim Dickenson, adding a few years ago JEA set goals for the reduction of stormwater it pours into the river. “Today, we are almost at that goal of 50 percent reduction in stormwater. The last two years we have spent nearly $64 million. JEA continues to reduce its nitrogen discharge. This year, we are doing a $40 million project at our Arlington east (facility).”
Dickenson said that upgrade will help reduce the nitrogen JEA dumps into the river by 800 tons annually.
Peyton pointed out the restoration project was a team effort and wouldn’t be possible without help from the state and federal levels. He also pointed to the ordinance that City Council passed over the summer that regulates irrigation and fertilizer distribution in Jacksonville.
“All of these point to the fact that we are doing a better job,” said Peyton.
Crenshaw said he used to water-ski — barefoot, in fact — in the St. Johns. While he enjoys the river from above these days, Crenshaw said he understands the importance of restoring its health today so the generations of tomorrow can as well.
“It’s important to remember the St. Johns River is the livelihood of Northeast Florida,” said Crenshaw, adding that federal dollars have gone directly to Jacksonville to help eradicate one of the most damaging elements to the river. Crenshaw said he helped secure “$25 million to get rid of the 175,000 septic tanks (in Jacksonville) that are leaking into the river. I’m obviously concerned about restoration and preservation.”
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