The problems plaguing the Indian River Lagoon are not unique to our estuary. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has been fighting nitrogen pollution, sewage contamination and runoff from farms and urban areas for more than 30 years, seeking to save a national treasure and gaining a reputation as one most important environmental organizations in the country.
With hundreds of thousands of members and more than 20 offices and education centers in three states and the District of Columbia, the organization has clout, employing a sophisticated strategy to inform the public, shape opinion and push politicians to do what’s needed to restore the Chesapeake Bay.
A lawsuit filed by the foundation led in 2010 to a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency and other parties that established a framework of measurable, enforceable clean water requirements for states, counties and cities around the bay that are helping restore the estuarine ecology.
“We estimate we have reduced pollution by about half,” says Beth McGee, a senior water quality scientist with Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “We are not seeing all the benefits yet, because there is a lag time as polluted groundwater moves into the bay, but some of the living resources are coming back and studies show the low-oxygen dead zone is shrinking.”
“Measurable metrics and accountability are essential, whether you are trying to turn a corporation around or restore an estuary,” says Wayne Mills, who led CBF from 1998 to 2005 and now lives on North Hutchinson Island.
Mills and McGee spoke at the Indian River Lagoon Counties Collaborative meeting at the county administration center at the end of July, sharing ideas and strategies from the Chesapeake that could help restoration efforts in our lagoon.
The two estuaries have significant differences. Chesapeake Bay’s watershed includes five states and the District of Columbia, while the IRL is all Florida. There is less urban development around the Chesapeake than along the lagoon and agricultural pollution is a bigger issue up there than here.
But similarities outweigh distinctions, making CBF’s experience and insights relevant to us.
McGee says we need a clearer picture of what the sources of pollution are in what proportion, but that lack of complete understanding should not be an excuse to delay action.
“It is important to do the studies and monitoring and understand the problems clearly, but you can’t wait for perfect science to start implementing solutions you know will work.”
Mills is adamant about effective education and messaging.
“I can’t over-emphasize how important it is for the public to really grasp the factors causing the lagoon’s demise along with a visceral sense of the consequences if it is allowed to die,” he says. “We have found, generally speaking, once people get a handle on the problem they are ready to respond positively [and support strong political action].
“People need to ask themselves if they want their children and grandchildren to inherit a lagoon devoid of life. We have found when they think of it in those terms, they react very strongly and are willing to do what it takes.”
McGee says dedicated funding is essential. In Maryland, a $2.50 sewer bill surcharge funded revamping sewage treatment systems in Baltimore and other cites that were flooding the bay with nitrogen during heavy rains, getting rid of a major pollution source.
Mills is concerned about the fragmentation of lagoon cleanup efforts and organizations along the IRL. “The Chesapeake Bay Foundation goes back to 1967 and grew to be the overriding voice for saving the bay, which gives us a big hammer when we are dealing with politicians, telling them ‘this is what your constituents want.’”
He suggests some type of association of lagoon science and education organizations might be able to wield the same kind of clout in Tallahassee that CBF has in state capitals and Washington, DC.
Mills and McGee both come back to the need for enforceable metrics.
“The first federal agency agreements for the Chesapeake were written back in the 1980s,” says McGee. “There were big photo ops and document signings and 10-year plans, but then 10 years went by and, guess what, they didn’t do what they said they were going to do. So they would sign more documents and take more photos [but effective action was not taken].
“Now [with the EPA settlement] we have long-term goals, which are essential, but also short-term accountability.”