Rubio Calls on Lake Okeechobee Discharges to Cease

Discharges into the St. Lucie River are set to start tomorrow, and Senator Marco Rubio is calling on President Donald Trump to call it off. This comes as algal blooms are threatening coastal communities and resources.

In addition, Senator Rubio has also called on the Army Corps of Engineers to re-evaluate water flows that go from Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee River.

In a letter to the President, Rubio argued that he wants the President to use his ” authority to order the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to immediately include the impacts of harmful algal blooms and poor water quality on downstream communities and ecosystems as a major factor for consideration when planning and conducting Lake Okeechobee discharges. This should include an emergency re-evaluation of the flows currently entering the Caloosahatchee River and the reconsideration of the decision to once again begin discharging flows to the St. Lucie River tomorrow.”

Rubio also adds that “even as the small cities and towns in the Herbert Hoover Dike’s shadow now have reason for hope, coastal communities on the St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon, and the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary face another nightmarish summer of poor water quality and algae stoked by the Lake Okeechobee discharges.”