In a press conference from South Florida, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called on the President Joe Biden administration to accelerate funding for the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir project. The announcement came after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers earmarked $1.1 billion in funding for the project. The money came from the infrastructure package Congress agreed upon last year.
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A report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Task Force has found that Florida’s algal blooms and red tide could get worse in the coming years. The report recommends more research into determining the causes of such water quality issues.
The task force was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and found more Floridians could suffer from respiratory illnesses and sea life could die. Algal blooms are increasing amounts of nutrient rich water build-ups found in algae and lead to harmful effects to humans’ breathing and the life of sea animals. Florida’s coastlines and freshwater ecosystems have been enduring intermittent flare ups for years.
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At a press conference in Oldsmar, Fla., Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced a statewide flooding resiliency plan and is asking lawmakers for millions of dollars of environmental spending. In total, DeSantis is seeking $276 million in proposed funding for 76 state projects within the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as part of the 2022 Florida budget.
DeSantis said that Florida is a state with flooding issues, and he’s just addressing the need for environmental infrastructure without “a bunch of left-wing things.”
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Red tide is continuing to linger along the western coastline of Florida, leading to hundreds of tons of dead marine life. The Florida Capital Star previously reported on the red tide surge in the Tampa Bay area around the time of Tropical Storm Elsa, but the tide has not yet abated.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) has been collected over 100 samples of water around the Tampa Bay area last week and found high concentrations of Karenia brevis, a bacteria known to be prevalent during red tide surges.
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Red Tide is hitting the Tampa Bay area and this flare up predated Tropical Storm Elsa, although the storm might have increased its severity.
According to Tampa area officials, 15,000 dead fish were collected on Jul. 9 alone, and over a total of 25,000 dead fish have been collected in the 10 days leading up to the ninth. St. Petersburg officials have over 120 employees working to remove dead fish, while the numbers are increasing daily.
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