U.S. Rep. Brian Mast to file bill seeking federal money in toxic blue-green algae fight

Tyler Treadway | Treasure Coast Newspapers

Show Caption Hide Caption Central Marine employees starting to feel slight effects of algae Central Marine manager Mary Radabaugh talks about the algae flow through the marina and the problems it's beginning to cause employees.

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast plans to introduce legislation to make federal funding available to communities impacted by harmful algal blooms and to increase the federal focus on combating the water crisis plaguing the Treasure Coast.

The Palm City Republican will announce his plans to introduce the bill at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the St. Lucie Lock and Dam, where blue-green algae in water discharged from Lake Okeechobee enters the St. Lucie River. Some of it is toxic.

Last Thursday, algae at the dam contained low levels of the toxin microcystin, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

A sample taken there July 5 was 15 times more toxic than the level the World Health Organization considers hazardous in recreational contact.

“The federal government, through the Army Corps of Engineers, has played a huge role in perpetuating the human health crisis caused by Lake Okeechobee discharges," Mast said in a prepared statement, "and they need to take responsibility for the damage by helping to pay for the cleanup.”

The government, Mast said, also needs to "stop prioritizing special interests over human health and put an end to the crisis once and for all.”

'Special interests'

Mast recently has been arguing the Corps holds too much water in Lake O during the dry season, specifically for farmers to irrigate their crops.

Less water in the lake during the dry season would mean the lake could take more water during the summer rainy season, and that would reduce the need to discharge excess water east to the St. Lucie River and west to the Caloosahatchee River, he says.

More: Mast to Corps officials: Come swim in algae-laden St. Lucie River

'Human health'

Blooms of blue-green algae, which scientists refer to as cyanobacteria, started popping up in the St. Lucie River days after the Corps started discharging Lake O water June 1.

Other than the bloom reported July 5 at the dam, most have had low levels of toxins.

Still, in two days, Martin Health System's emergency rooms, clinics and primary care doctors treated 15 people for symptoms consistent with algae toxins.

The toxin microcystin can cause nausea and vomiting if ingested and rash or hay fever symptoms if touched or inhaled. Drinking water with the toxin can cause long-term liver disease.

The legislation Mast plans to announce Wednesday will build on bills he's already introduced, including:

Federal Do No Harm Act: Calls for harmful algae blooms caused by "a water transfer carried out by the (Army) Corps of Engineers" to be eligible for disaster relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

More: Treat toxic algae blooms as disasters, Mast says

When he introduced the bill in April 2017, Mast said algae blooms are not listed in the legislation — the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act — that tells FEMA which disasters to respond to.

South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act: Would require a task force set up under a 1998 law to assess "the causes, consequences and potential approaches to reduce harmful algal blooms" and report the findings to Congress and the president within two years.

More: Mast calls for study, action on harmful algae blooms

The task force has prepared reports on algae blooms throughout the country, Mast said when he introduced the bill in August 2017; but there never has been a South Florida-specific report.

Both bills are awaiting committee hearings.

"We believe the bipartisan bill being introduced tomorrow will merge these ideas into a package that has a strong outlook for becoming law," said Mast spokesman Brad Stewart.

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