Letter to Jason Kirk, District Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District - Mast Presses Army Corps For Answers

Letter

Dear Colonel Kirk:

Thank you for your reply correspondence dated July 5, 2018; however, important questions were not answered. On June 20, 2018, I asked: "At what point, if any, is water flowing from Lake Okeechobee via the S-308 too polluted, dirty, or toxic to send into the St. Lucie River?" With the ongoing toxic algae crisis destroying the Treasure Coast of Florida, this is important information.

Your answer states that "addressing water quality is not a federally authorized project purpose," but this is not the whole truth. Section 7-13 of the Water Control Plan For Water Conservation Areas, Everglades National Park, and ENP-South Dade Conveyance System states that, under emergency conditions when there are "pollution problems," water control actions "necessary to abate the problem are taken immediately." Our toxic algae crisis undoubtedly should qualify as an emergency "pollution problem."

Yet, in your answer to my question, you refused to identify even one scenario in which you would consider the water "too polluted, dirty or toxic to send into the St. Lucie River." So, I ask again: can you identify, using specific examples, scenarios where the water would be too polluted, dirty or toxic to send into the St. Lucie River? If there are none, please state for the record that there is no level of harm to human health on the Treasure Coast resulting from Lake Okeechobee discharges that you would find to be impermissible.

Your immediate reply is expected and appreciated.

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