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Indian River Lagoon to get cleaned up soon?
By Jerry Hume, Brevard County Reporter
Last Updated: Saturday, May 03, 2014, 2:40 PM
The ailing Indian River Lagoon may get some help thanks to the budget that was approved Friday night by state lawmakers.
In the approved state budget is $20 million that has been appropriated to help remove muck from the lagoon.
About 600 manatees, dolphins and pelicans have been killed in and near the Indian River Lagoon. Those deaths are now a wakeup call for state lawmakers.
More than 40,000 acres of seagrass — the main food source for many marine animals — has been lost in the lagoon. When storms or boat motors stir up the muck, it covers the seagrass, blocking sunlight and killing it.
The budget includes $10 million to remove muck from the Eau Gallie River, which feeds into the Indian River Lagoon. The budget also calls for $10 million to go to Brevard County as a whole for muck removal and to study problem areas in the lagoon.
Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera, hopes this is just the beginning of state funding for this problem.
“My goal is that within five years … we have a continual conference of muck removal program when we start seeing significant dividends in the five-year window,” Altman said.
The legislature also appropriated $410,000 for a large-scale oyster restoration project in Brevard County. Oysters filter the water in the lagoon, which reduces nitrogen causing algae blooms. Overharvesting has resulted in a declining oyster population in the Indian River Lagoon.
Also appropriated by the legislature was $2.5 million to Space Florida to help them transfer NASA’s Shuttle Landing Facility into a commercial-use runway at the Kennedy Space Center.
But, the money is not a done deal yet. Gov. Rick Scott still has to sign off on the funding in the budget.
