Nelson & Graham Lead Florida Delegation Apalachicola Letter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWednesday, October 7, 2015

Nelson Contact: Ryan Brown ryan_brown@billnelson.senate.gov | 202-224-1679 Graham Contact: Matt Harringer matt.harringer@mail.house.gov | 202-225-5235

Sen. Bill Nelson & Rep. Gwen Graham Lead Florida Delegation Apalachicola Letter

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Senator Bill Nelson and Representative Gwen Graham were joined by Senator Marco Rubio, Representative Vern Buchanan and 18 members of Florida’s House delegation in sending a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expressing their concern for the Apalachicola Bay.

The letter urges the Army Corps of Engineers to address the lack of freshwater flow to the Apalachicola Bay in its draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Master Water Control Manual for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin.

“We are very disappointed that this latest plan falls short of fixing the long-running failure of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to properly operate the dams and reservoirs along the ACF river basin. The Corps’ recommended changes will do nothing to protect the health of the full ACF system,” they wrote in the letter. “As representatives of Floridians across the state, we are deeply troubled by the Corps’ consistent mismanagement of this shared resource. We strongly urge you to reconsider the proposals in the draft EIS and to remedy them in the final version.”

Historically, the Apalachicola Bay has been one of the most productive estuaries in the Northern Hemisphere, supporting numerous species of oysters, shrimp, crab, grouper, snapper, redfish, and baitfish. The sustainability of these species is at risk due to the persistent salinity levels and nutrients flowing from Apalachicola Bay into the Gulf of Mexico.

Announcing the letter, Sen. Nelson said, "Apparently, the Army Corps’ draft plan isn’t going to change one thing to help Apalachicola Bay.  This is very disappointing.”

“I’m thankful to all the members of Florida’s delegation who are rallying together to save the Apalachicola Bay,” Rep. Graham added.“The Apalachicola Bay represents the heart of North Florida – we cannot overstate its importance to our heritage, environment and economy. The Corps’ Environmental Impact Study clearly does not address the devastating harm being done to the bay by withholding freshwater, and we’re working together to fix that.”

Attached to this email is a full copy of the letter sent to  Jo-Ellen Darcy, assistant secretary of the Army (Civil Works) and Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick, commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The letter was signed by Senators Nelson and Rubio, and Representatives Gwen Graham (FL-02), Vern Buchanan (FL-16), Jeff Miller  (FL-01) ,Ted Yoho (FL-03), Ander Crenshaw (FL-04) Corrine Brown (FL-05), Ron DeSantis (FL-06) , Alan Grayson (FL-09), David Jolly (FL-13), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Dennis Ross (FL-15), Patrick Murphy (FL-18), Alcee Hastings (FL-20), Ted Deutch (FL-21), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Debbie Wasserman Schultz ( FL-23), Frederica Wilson (FL-24), Mario Diaz Balart (FL-25), Carlos Curbelo (FL-26), and  Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27).

  Nelson Graham Apalach Letter (1)

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