Local Water Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today also in support of H.R. 1331, the Local Water Protection Act. I thank both my colleagues for their support and their comments on this legislation.

Let's talk about what this really does, how this bill is so important, and how it makes a difference with nonpoint source pollution.

Point source pollution is easy to identify, for most people. They have an image of it in their head. It is that pipe coming out of some sort of seawall, coming out of the ground somewhere, dripping something that doesn't look so fresh into their waterways that they want to look pristine and beautiful.

That is easy to identify. The nonpoint stuff is not quite as easy for everybody to go out there and see.

What this does is it helps us prevent toxic agricultural runoff that can have an impact from things like fertilizer spraying, those things that go out there and are put onto our crops at different times.

It can help implement best management practices. It can install pump stations where they might be needed. It can assist with septic to sewer conversions for those issues that arise in our more suburban and residential areas where we have runoff coming off yards, leaky septic tanks, things that we also don't want in our waterways coming from those areas.

It can help address legacy pollutants already in our waterways. It can help prevent other forms of pollutants from coming in. This is why it is so important.

For us, Mr. Speaker, in Florida, this is a huge issue because our Florida waterways, we know how irreplaceable a treasure they are. They are ecologically unique. They are central to our economy. They are central to our health because our family members are in and out of the water so often, whether they are fishing, whether they are swimming, whether they are boating, whether they are recreating, whatever it is, whether it is a part of their livelihood, it is what they are in, so it is a big deal for our health.

The community that I represent, like many others, is plagued with toxic algal blooms that result from algae-laden discharges, an unnatural infusion of freshwater into our salt water that causes this. It creates a real mess for us.

When this nutrient-loaded freshwater hits our saltwater estuaries, it wreaks havoc on our coasts. It kills everything in the sea life in its path.

This past summer, we had freshwater that was released into our coastal estuaries that was labeled nearly 50 times too toxic for human contact. Now that water has tested positive for a number of toxins in areas that are very heavily populated. It is a very bad situation for what we experience each and every year.

This bill helps to stop this pollution by increasing the EPA's successful section 319 grant program. It addresses nonpoint source pollution through State-run nonpoint source pollution management, not Washington, D.C., one-size-fits-all approaches, but State-run. The bill reauthorizes this program and increases funding levels up to $200 million annually through 2024. This is an amazing bill. I am very proud to work with everybody else on it.

In short, Mr. Speaker, this is a bill that can make a real difference for communities across our country, but specifically for communities in and around Florida and our beautiful peninsula, as well.

Mr. Speaker, I fully support its passage. I thank Congresswoman Craig for leading this effort with me.

By the way, congratulations to Congresswoman Craig on passing her first piece of legislation, as well. Let's get this bill passed.

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