WIDER AUDIENCE : The problems besetting the Indian River Lagoon — for too long a local and regional issue — have gained state and national attention in recent months thanks to the efforts of a Florida senator and a U.S. representative. In August, state Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, convened a Florida Senate hearing in Stuart on the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers. Among other things, the hearing resulted in a $2.8 million legislative appropriation for short-term water pumping and storage options to limit Lake Okeechobee discharges into the St. Lucie Estuary. Then, on Oct. 3, U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, conducted a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C.,onthelagoonthatwasattendedbyseveralinfluential lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md. On Monday, Hoyer joined Murphy for an aerial tour of the lagoon. Slowly but surely, those who control the pursestrings in Tallahassee and D.C. are becoming aware of the desperate plight of our waterways.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 13:04:03 +0000
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