Why the county commission needs a true environmentalist | Max Epstein
While many of the county commission candidates at the Big Bend Environmental Forum seemed concerned about our environment, the incumbents could not name any significant actions or victories taken while in office to protect our natural resources, and few challengers had any concrete proposals on what they would do differently.
As a District 2 candidate, it was infuriating to be excluded and stuck in the audience. I understand time constraints and an unexpectedly open seat, but we have serious environmental problems – including a septic tank crisis and blue-green algae blooms that are sending people to the hospital.
Both current commissioners took credit for applying for $3 million in grant funding to restore Lake Munson, but the reality is it took a citizen – me – to research and present the information to the board. That’s on top of three years of speaking at meetings and organizing dozens of individual conferences.
I bit my lip when Tom Flanagan asked what specific changes to our development code candidates propose to protect our water quality. I have a laundry list – where to begin?
The county is proud of the incentives offered to enact low-intensity-development (LID) techniques. These must be requirements in addition to larger buffers around our wetlands, waterbodies, and karst features that drain into the aquifer. The city allows these active features to be turned into stormwater facilities, at odds with state law.
Testing must be regularly conducted upstream, especially after a Leon County/Florida Geological Survey study concluded there may be active sources of PCBs, heavy metals, and other toxins entering Lake Munson. Stormwater facilities need active filtration and to be tested for performance as recommended by the Blue-Green Algae Taskforce.
We successfully lobbied to get a stronger fertilizer ordinance – but despite the science and a multitude of state and local endorsements and other trailblazing counties – no wet-season application ban was enacted. This is the easiest and cheapest (free!) way to reduce nutrient pollution.
A real tree ordinance and requirements to save a large percentage of the natural vegetation that naturally filter our air and water in large developments – about 35% – are badly needed. Santa Rosa County’s commission ignored similar provisions recommended by their own zoning board. At least they protect heritage trees – 60” in diameter or wider, with new rules bringing it down to 48” in some areas, 24” in others. There are absolutely no preservation requirements anywhere in Leon County, other than canopy roads.
It’s important to frame this in economic terms. Addressing water quality “downstream” instead of at the source costs the public tens of millions of dollars in cleanup down the road. Phosphorus costs $150 per pound or more to remove from waterways.
Making these changes will welcome new development without neighbors worrying about how it will affect them, instead of sparking battles. I chose to live in Leon County because of the live oaks and natural beauty, but it is deteriorating quickly. It’s time to act.
Max Epstein is an artist, entrepreneur, environmentalist, and researcher at the DeVoe Moore Center and candidate for Leon County Commission District 2. Candidates seeking office get the opportunity to publish one Opinion column before the primary and one column before the general election. The Tallahassee Democrat will no longer publish opinion columns from candidates related to the primary after Friday.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Why the Leon County Commission needs a true environmentalist | Max Epstein
