Florida legislators are urging Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency over Lake Okeechobee's toxic algae problem

By Colin Wolf on Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 12:57 pm

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Florida legislators are urging Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency over Lake Okeechobee's toxic algae problem

Photo courtesy of NASA

Gov. Rick Scott is currently being urged by Florida legislators to declare a state of emergency over Lake Okeechobee's toxic algae problem.

Lee County legislators sent a letter to Scott, a man who over his career has accepted hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars from Big Sugar, demanding he take action by allocating emergency funds to fight this year's current algae bloom, which has essentially turned Okeechobee into a toxic green toilet bowl.

"A state of emergency would effectuate a swift and efficient state response to the imminent dangers of the bluegreen algae threat to Lee County by identifying available funds state agencies could use to respond to this threat. Additionally, we ask that you continue to request the water management districts explore and pursue all options that will reduce discharges, including storage north, east, west, and south of Lake Okeechobee," reads the letter.

The letter was signed by state representatives Dane Eagle, R-Cape Coral, Matt Caldwell, R- North Fort Myers, Heather Fitzenhagen, R-Fort Myers, Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, and state senators Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, Kahtleen Passidomo, R-Naples and Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid.

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