http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/palm-beach-fends-off-coral-protections-favoring-beach-191244.html

By Paul Quinlan  Palm Beach Post Staff Writer   Special thanks to Reef Rescue of Palm Beach

Updated: 10:01 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 Posted: 3:10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, 2010

PALM BEACH — Endangered coral flourishing in rare abundance off the coast of Palm Beach will not receive the added federal protections that a reef conservation group sought, the National Marine Fisheries Service said today.

The thicket of staghorn coral — the striking species recognizable for its bronze, white-tipped branches — is believed to be the northernmost known colony, covering 2,400 square feet of reef just offshore from Palm Beach’s exclusive Bath & Tennis Club.

The decision is a victory for the Town of Palm Beach, which fought the request filed by the nonprofit group Palm Beach County Reef Rescue. Reef Rescue wanted a vast underwater area along Palm Beach County declared “critical habitat” for the coral — a change that would add hurdles to the town’s future efforts to pump new sand onto its eroding beaches.

“We’re disappointed,” said Reef Rescue Director Ed Tichenor, adding that the only explanation was that the “the Town of Palm Beach has influence.”

Town of Palm Beach Manager Peter Elwell applauded the decision as scientifically sound. “We’re pleased with the decision and continue to believe that it is based on the best science available,” Elwell said.

The National Marine Fisheries Service said protections established in November 2008 that run from the Florida Keys to the Boynton Beach Inlet are enough to meet conservation goals.

A further extension north could take years to study, the agency said, given its current workload.

“The current designation took us two years to complete, and right now we just think there are higher priority conservation measures that can be undertaken,” said resource specialist Jennifer Moore.

Tichenor rejected that argument, saying that previous study had already found large staghorn coral colonies north of Boynton Beach.

He cited a February 2009 letter from Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mike Sole recommending the protection be extended north to the Lake Worth Inlet.

“The purpose of our petition was to get them to correct their mistake,” said Tichenor. “These colonies on Bath and Tennis Reef are exactly where the Department of Environmental Protection told them they were.”

Tichenor said his group is considering a lawsuit.

Staghorn coral won protection under the Endangered Species Act after it virtually disappeared, declining 97 percent since the 1970s.

But the coral has rebounded along South Florida’s coastline, thanks largely to a string of quiet hurricane seasons.

A critical habitat designation adds an extra layer of federal protection to the endangered coral species. For example, it would require the Town of Palm Beach to take extra measures to protect areas where the coal could grow when pumping sand onto its beaches.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/epa-plans-pollution-limits-for-florida/106563

By John Frank, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau in Print: Saturday, January 16, 2010

---

TALLAHASSEE — In a move cheered by environmental groups, the federal government Friday proposed stringent limits on “nutrient” pollution allowed to foul Florida’s waterways.

The ruling — which will cost industries and governments more than a billion dollars to comply — marks the first time the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has intervened to set a state’s water quality standards.

“I’m thrilled,” said Linda Young, director of the Clean Water Network, an advocacy group. “It is something that will ultimately start restoring Florida’s waters.”

The agency issued the proposed regulations after reaching a settlement in August with five environmental groups that sued the federal government in 2008 for not enforcing the Clean Water Act in Florida.

The caps on phosphorus and nitrogen levels in Florida’s lakes, rivers, streams, springs and canals would replace the state’s vague “narrative” approach to monitoring the effects of waste and fertilizer runoff, which the EPA deemed insufficient. The proposed rule includes provisions giving the EPA oversight authority to enforce the standards.

In Florida, 16 percent of rivers, 36 percent of lakes and 25 percent of estuaries are considered impaired, a 2008 report concluded. Nutrient pollution is the most prevalent water pollution problem in the state, contributing to algae blooms that kill fish and cause respiratory problems and infections among boaters and beachgoers. It also causes economic damage to property values, tourism and commercial fishing.

“New water quality standards … will help protect and restore inland waters that are a critical part of Florida’s history, culture and economic prosperity,” said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator in the EPA’s Office of Water, in a statement.

More than 10 years ago, the EPA told states to set limits on nutrient pollution.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection spent eight years collecting data and planned to present a draft proposal to a group of scientists and industry representatives last August. But the department abandoned the effort when the federal government interceded.

The EPA proposed standards are based on geography and the type of water body using the state’s data and its own methodology, which was reviewed by an independent authority, said the 197-page report.

The agency’s numbers don’t deviate too greatly from what state regulators intended, though the federal standards are tougher when it comes to pollution in rivers and streams.

Take, for example, the Suwannee River basin: the state wanted to allow 1.730 parts per million of total nitrogen but the EPA set the number lower at 1.479 parts per million.

The EPA also went further than state regulators by proposing water quality standards for South Florida canals and creating more rigid standards on upstream nutrient levels to protect downstream lakes and estuaries.

In other areas, the rules would give Florida flexibility by establishing a procedure for gradual compliance and allowing the state to set limits in certain areas.

Federal analysts estimated it would cost polluters $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion to comply — but emphasized the state’s draft proposal would have cost nearly the same. The cost estimates don’t include the price for upgrading municipal stormwater systems.

A spokesman for Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole said the department was still reviewing the report late Friday and didn’t have a response.

But a coalition of agriculture and industry groups, which formed two months ago to oppose the EPA rules, responded quickly by calling the proposed limits a “water tax.”

“This terrible regulation is not needed because Florida nutrient standards are perfectly adequate,” said Jim Alves, a lobbyist who represents power companies and wastewater utilities. “The science isn’t there to do this regulation.”

Barney Bishop, the president of Associated Industries of Florida, said the cost — which his group estimates at more than $50 billion — would hurt business recruitment and job creation.

“It’s onerous, stupid, ridiculous and idiotic,” he said.

Ever since the lawsuit settlement, political officials and special interests have waded into the debate. Gov. Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson previously voiced strong objections and suggested the state might sue the EPA.

The issue is expected to generate intense political debate ahead of three public hearings throughout the state in February. A final rule takes effect in October.

http://handsacrossthesand.com/index.php

Join us in creating what could become the largest public gathering in the history of our state: February 13, 2010.

In the near future the Citizens of Florida will have an opportunity to show their opposition to oil drilling as close as 3 to 10 miles off our coast. This movement will be made of people of all walks of life and will cross political affiliations. This movement is not about politics; it is about protection of our shoreline, our tourism, our valuable properties and our way of life. Let us share our knowledge, energies and passion for protecting our waterways and beaches from the devastating effects of oil drilling.

From the Coral-list January 12, 2009

Dear Coral-List subscribers,

The 23rd bi-annual meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF)
will be held on Wednesday, February 24, 8:00am – 5:00pm in the U.S.
Department of the Interior Auditorium in Washington, DC. To register for
the meeting, please visit www.coralreef.gov.

This meeting has time allotted for public comment. To sign-up for public
comment, please email Sarah_Bobbe@ios.doi.gov. Advance public comments
can be submitted from Friday, January 15 – Friday, January 29, 2010.

Following the meeting, please attend the USCRTF reception from 6:30 –
8:30pm at the Cannon House Office Building, Caucus Room. Registration
for the meeting is required to attend the reception.

If you have any questions regarding the meeting, registration, etc,
please contact Sarah Bobbe (202-208-1378; sarah_bobbe@ios.doi.gov).

—
Liza Johnson
Coral Reef Conservation Program
Office of Ocean & Coastal Resource Management
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
N/OCM, SSMC4, Rm. 10405
1305 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910

email: liza.johnson@noaa.gov
phone: 301-713-3155 x161

http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/acidification/

Click link to see the film Acid Test by Natural Resources Defense Council

Corrosive Impacts on Sealife

The new chemical composition of our oceans is expected to harm a wide range of ocean life — particularly creatures with shells. The resulting disruption to the ocean ecosystem could have a widespread ripple effect and further deplete already struggling fisheries worldwide.

Increased acidity reduces carbonate — the mineral used to form the shells and skeletons of many shellfish and corals. The effect is similar to osteoporosis, slowing growth and making shells weaker. If pH levels drop enough, the shells will literally dissolve.

This process will not only harm some of our favorite seafood, such as lobster and mussels, but will also injure some species of smaller marine organisms — things such as pteropods and coccolithophores.

You’ve probably never heard of them, but they form a vital part of the food web. If those smaller organisms are wiped out, the larger animals that feed on them could suffer, as well.

Disappearing Coral Reefs

Delicate corals may face an even greater risk than shellfish because they require very high levels of carbonate to build their skeletons.

Acidity slows reef-building, which could lower the resiliency of corals and lead to their erosion and eventual extinction. The “tipping point” for coral reefs could happen as soon as 2050.

Coral reefs serve as the home for many other forms of ocean life. Their disappearance would be akin to rainforests being wiped out worldwide. Such losses would reverberate throughout the marine environment and have profound social impacts, as well — especially on the fishing and tourism industries.

The loss of coral reefs would also reduce the protection that they offer coastal communities against storms surges and hurricanes — which might become more severe with warmer air and sea surface temperatures due to global warming.

What Can We Do About It?

Combating acidification requires reducing CO2 emissions and improving the health of the oceans. Creating marine protected areas (essentially national parks for the sea) and stopping destructive fishing practices would increase the resiliency of marine ecosystems and help them withstand acidification.

Evidence suggests that coral reefs in protected ocean reserves are less affected by global threats such as global warming and ocean acidification, demonstrating the power of ecosystem protection.

Ultimately, though, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed into the oceans may be the only way to halt acidification. The same strategies needed to fight global warming on land can also help in the seas.

The acidification of our oceans is the hidden side of the world’s carbon crisis, says Lisa Suatoni, an NRDC ocean scientist, and only reinforces that we need to make changes in how we fuel our world — and we need to do it quickly.