Environmental Regulation Commission approves numeric nutrient criteria for Florida’s six major Panhandle estuaries, including the Apalachicola Bay

The Environmental Regulation Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved numeric nutrient criteria for Florida’s six major Panhandle estuaries, including the Apalachicola Bay.

The numeric nutrient criteria give the state a standard way to measure water quality and protect state waters from the effects of nutrient over-enrichment.

Excess nutrients, including phosphorus, nitrogen and chlorophyll are often caused by human impacts on watersheds.

Excess nutrients can have negative impacts on waterbody health by causing noxious tastes and odors in drinking water, producing algal blooms and excessive aquatic weeds in swimming and boating waters, and altering the natural community of plants and animals.

The Apalachicola bay actually has the opposite problem of many of Florida’s water bodies in that it’s not getting enough nutrients because of the restricted flow of the Apalachicola River.

And a certain level of nutrients is needed to keep the bay ecosystem thriving.

There is a 115 page report specifically about nutrients and the Apalachicola Bay, which we have posted on the news page at oysterradio.com.

Other panhandle estuaries for which numeric nutrient criteria were approved this week include Perdido Bay, Pensacola Bay (including Escambia Bay), Choctawhatchee Bay, St. Andrew Bay, and St. Joseph Bay.

The numeric nutrient standards come nearly seven months before the Department's of environmental Protection’s own deadline and 10 months before The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's schedule for setting standards.

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