Environmentalists Push EPA for Florida Algae Toxin Standards 

Florida's lakes, rivers, springs, and estuaries face some of the worst toxic algae blooms in the country. These blooms, fueled by nutrient pollution, decisions surrounding water management, and climate change, can be a health threat to people and wildlife, additionally costing local economies millions. Amidst peak algae season in the state of Florida, when polluted waters and unbearably hot temperatures foster the ideal conditions for toxic blue-green algae blooms, the fight against these blooms is shifting from state to federal levels as environmental advocacy groups push the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set water-quality standards for the toxins that cause them.

Arguing that Florida has not adequately addressed the issue and ignored water-quality laws, the coalition of environmental organizations united on the issue filed a petition on May 23rd urging the EPA to set water-quality standards and numeric criteria for toxins that help lead to algae blooms. The Center for Biological Diversity, joined by the Calusa Waterkeeper, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Everglades, the Florida Wildlife Federation, and the city of Stuart, which has seen an impact on their water quality from these toxins, took to the agency in nurturing a call-to-action. 

Aiming to boost human health protections for drinking water, recreation, boating, fishing, swimming, and wildlife, the petition provides that by setting numeric limits and standards for harmful toxins known as “cyanotoxins,” which are powerful toxins produced by the blue-green algae, Florida can pinpoint waters affected by cyanotoxins and create better plans to prevent harmful algal blooms. The petition urges the state to issue more thorough health advisories efficiently and states, “Federal standards are necessary because existing state standards and protocols are inadequate to protect public health from these pollutants.” The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) only tests waters when blooms are visible, but cyanotoxins can be present even when blooms aren't seen. Regular testing, like what many other states do, would provide the DEP with accurate real-time data.

In 2019, the EPA officially recommended criteria for two of the most common cyanotoxins: microcystins and cylindrospermopsin, which are both produced by blue-green algae and pose potential harm to the nervous system. According to the petition, the DEP doesn't have to adopt the EPA's 2019 cyanotoxin standards but is required to explain why it hasn't, which it has neglected to do. Given that the state isn’t required to adopt the EPA recommendations, little action was taken to alleviate the issue of the significant levels of cyanotoxins contaminating Florida's waters. The petition provides that putting such standards in place would not only be generally beneficial to Florida’s waters and wildlife, but also necessary to meet the federal requirements of the Clean Water Act.

The petition identifies various faults and flaws in Florida’s systems for water quality management, providing that the state has no water quality standards for cyanotoxins in surface waters, drinking water, and recreational waters. They also explain in the petition that “the state does not intend to establish water quality criteria for these cyanotoxins, despite EPA’s issuance of Final Recommended Human Health Recreational Ambient Water Quality Criteria and the Florida Blue Green Algae Task Force’s recommendations to adopt such criteria.” The nonprofits and environmental organizations involved in the petition create a sense of urgency by highlighting areas of improvement within the state’s responsibilities and exemplifying the state’s failure to maintain safe water standards that will inevitably harm surrounding life.

To read the petition visit: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/Floridas-toxic-algae/pdfs/05-29-2024-Final-EPA-Petition.pdf