FDEP has forcefully addressed the long standing problem of collection and discharge of animal waste into the Silver Springs Attraction waters.  Environmentalist Don Browning felt the people of Marion County were unfairly being blamed for algae growth in Silver and other springs.

The Sewer Plant serving Gainesville to the north of Silver Springs is the next on the list to have to clean up its act.  Processed Sewage Effluent is growing to be a big threat to the Florida Drinking Water Aquifer.  Vast and easy to hide pollutants in, the Aquifer is becoming polluted by Utility discharge on a daily basis.

The Federal EDP is asking Florida to adopt a standard for pollutants before discharging into water bodies.

Currently under a maximum daily load system a body of water can be big enough to take all the pollutants utilities need to discharge.  The new standards will look at what is being discharged.

Big improvement to have standards.  imagine a highway where the speed is determined by what the road can take, or a driver who can drink as much as he or she seems to be able to take.  Not hardly.

We will keep you informed of progress.

Don Browning

Editor 

Tax Watch Florida askes if we should be spending millions of tax payer's dollars to cover up the discharge of Processed Sewer Waste into the Aquifer.  Kanapaha, University of Florida, Orlando Utilities near the Wekiva Springs are just a few examples.  Rapid Drainage Basins and many other dump techniques are sending 200 million gallons of processed Sewer Waste into our drinking water daily.

FDEP, Florida Department of Environmental Protection has grown to over 2 Billion in size annually.  They spend millions promoting a fiction that the source of nitrate contamination is not known.  Web sites paid for by taxpayers consistently ask for education of the public to save the springs from nitrates.

A network of DCA, Water Districts, Acorn type Community Action groups of hired workers work to spread a message that it is the public who is causing problems in our springs.  Homeowners are blamed for fertilizer use in their yards.  Warnings that nutrients might somehow get into the water supply are on billboards, Web sites, Radio Adds, and never does the FDEP divulge that they routinely authorize Millions of Gallons of sewer waste to be discharged at all levels of the aquifer.

Google Springs Protection, number 2 on the page is the Multi million dollar publication by Division of Community Affairs that blames the people of Florida for the sewage and storm sewer nitrates that are dumped by DEP approved public utilities.

There is even a spin put on supporting utilities as the best way to protect the over 700 springs of Florida.  Never is it listed in the message that to save money, utilities use underground streams to drain Processed Sewer waste, or Storm Sewer waste.  Alachua County is a great example at the sink hole used by Gainesville and other Alachua cities to drain away Storm Sewer Waste.  

A list of water bodies goes on and on.  BMP's are used to justify the practice of dumping.  Bad Management Practices have been around for years, and now are used to justify utility dumping.  BMP's name was cleverly changed to BEST Management Practices, in an attempt to discuise the dumping.  

Tax Payers are beginning to wonder if Government can be trusted.  This Editor of the TAX WATCH FLORIDA is asking the Legislature to look at the entire deception effort to protect utility dumping practices.

If we have to dump to save money, then lets just admit what we are doing as a society.  There is no reason to spend millions to put a happy face spin on the biggest pollution source in Florida.

Google "Aquifer Recharge" and you will find very coded messages about dumping by authorized utilities.

In Senator Constantine's district the Senator who is attempting to address Springs Protection you will find the map blotted out by drains of contamination very near the Weikive.  The largest is 50 million gallons daily at Orlando listed as beneficial recharge.

 Your Editor Don Browning

Tax Watch Florida . Com

Protecting your tax dollar

FDEP has been operating for years with out standards for dumping sewage and storm sewer runoff into clean aquifer water.

It makes no sense, but it is true.  Annually some senator attempts to set regulation on the parties who are causing algae in Florida's Springs.

Never have they pointed the finger of blame at Florida's Environmental Protection Department.  Now the word is out.  EPA is requiring standards on the utilities that FDEP has been allowing to skate by with 1000% times the nitrogen level in sewer discharge than springs could stand.

 Millions in tax dollars are lost each year covering up the scam to dump Million of Gallons of Sewer Effluent daily into the aquifer just above Silver Springs.

Sink hole use, Drainage Wells, with names like, "Beneficial Recharge" cause the damage to our springs while FDEP collects millions to divert attention away from the really big polluters. 

Storm Sewer officials admitted this week to polluting Silver and Rainbow Springs.  Storm Drains are going straight into rivers and springs.  Sink Holes are used to drain Hundreds of Acres of Ocala and Alachua County.

Marion County Engineer took considerable heat this week when she went back to the old "We must educate the Public" chant.  The public knows better than dumping into our water supply.  No person in the general public has drilled a pipe into the ground water to dump unwanted polluted runoff.

DEP is being asked to look into the years of pollution that did not show up on scientific studies to deternine why the Springs were in such bad shape.

The same scientist get the study contracts year after year, and the same cover up occurs.  No Site Point Pollution is occurring the scientist report states. 

Now we know that at 30 points the City of Ocala must stop dumping the collected storm sewer water into the Aquifer.  We now may be able to clear up Silver and Rainbow Springs.

Don Browning, Environmental Reporter.

Most Citizens are aware that dumping pollutants into a Sink Hole is a good way to contaminate the Aquifer we all use for our drinking water source.  Most environmentalist are stunned to learn that a new practice has developed to allow dumping into the aquifer. 

Ocala Florida is a prime example.  Fix Storm-water . Com was first to break the news about the Sink Holes used at the 17th street Storm Sewer Project.  A Water Retention Pond was dug around a sink hole.  In order to disguise the sink hole, tons of broken concrete slab hunks were dumped over the Sink Hole to hide it from public view.

Environmentalist Don Browning asked authorities to build a fence around the sink hole to keep children from being swept into the aquifer during a rain storm.

St Johns Water Management spokesman Dave Fisk explained that if a sink hole is involved in new construction it is allowed to feed storm sewer pollution into the drinking water Aquifer.  When asked why a long standing Sink Hole on Highway 475 was the target for receiving Storm Sewer Runoff, Dave Fisk explained that the use of the Sink hole as a drain for the storm sewer was long standing and therefor "Grandfathered" as allowable.

 Recent Environmental Studies of Silver Springs funded by St Johns fail to mention the Sink Hole dumping as a primary source for pollution.  Also missing from the much critized study are the 28 drainage wells at dump billions of gallons of polluted high nutrient storm sewer runoff directly into the ground water feeding Silver Springs less than 5 to 10 miles away.

When a Tax Payer funded organization investigates itself, it is very likely to cover up serious problems.

St Johns Water Management District agents recently targeted the Lake Eustis Sailing Club for adding gravel to their gravel drive way.  The Drive Way still soaks up rain as it has always done, however St Johns officials have targeted the club for costly storm water engineering work.  This approach is all to common.  St Johns investigates it self and consistently finds that it has a double standard but that is alright because they said so.  Sailors at Lake Eustis have asked for help at all levels of Florida Government.  What science and engineering allows as lawful for one group should be applied to all groups.  Stay tuned for the latest as Environmentalist Artist brings you the Rest of the Story, as Paul Harvey would say!

By adopting bipartisan Energy and Economic development legislation, House and Senate leaders are ready to tackle revenue issues with more effecient spending and a stronger tax base.  Juice up the economy to help spread the load is the cry from leadership.  With out a viberent economy little can be done to fund effective government services.

Plugging holes in the boat is a great analogy.  DEP is looking at a Springs Protection Inititative that had grown out of control with run away spending.   In 1999 the legislature asked for study of Florida's Springs.  Initially, this was a good idea, however companies have grown use to annual contracts for what is known as "Working Groups". 

DEP has always been able to coodinate meetings and produce spokesmen for environmental issues. With a over developed Springs Inititive Program that had grown to a $16,000,000 annual request, spokesmen are being hired to travel to spring venues and hold meetings with other government employees.  They all are knowledgeable about springs and the value of keeping them clean, however the State of Florida found it self spending millions of Dollars holding meetings to discuss how to reduce development in Florida.

In Marion County, Silver Springs has a working group, Rainbow Springs has a Working Group that now cost the State Millions in meeting costs.  Centered on the idea that development is not good for the Springs, Pandion Systems of Alachua County Florida has grown dramatically over the years coordinating stratagies to slow or halt Development in Marion and surrounding counties. 

Effective at stopping development.

With national and world housing markets tanking, now is not the time to hire anti-development coodinators to speak for the Department of Environmental Protection.   The contracted housing market is doing a wonderful job of stoping the economy in Florida.  We don't need to add fuel to the fire.

Tell your legislator that they are on the right track in canceling all spending to stop development in Florida.

 Springs Protection Reform is needed.  DEP has the man power to speak directly to the people.  As for meetings with fellow workers, meetings with themselves is little more than a day off for State, District and county/city workers.  A recent meeting in Dunnellon Florida included upwards of 20 government staffers and only civilians on the program.

In Marion County Commissioners are beginning to ask workers to actually stop pollution and stop wasteful meetings.   Stoping pollution in Marion County is important because the City of Ocala alone has 2 sink holes and 28 drainage pipes dumping directly into the groundwater near Silver Springs.

Many Government types are not happy to hear the call to actually clean up pollution sources rather than continue talking about problems in the springs.  One 5 year study actually voiced concerns about pollution but would not mention major dumping sites that actually emptied pollution a few feet from the famous 1200 meter testing station on the Silver River.

Legislative leaders are learning that more laws don't clean up the pollution.  DOT and DEP leadership is doing a great deal to kill these old ineffective programs.

Write to Ray Melenson at: Director@Marion Springs Protection . Com