Guest blog: open letter from Clean Water Network, Linda Young

"The Pensacola News Journal reported yesterday that the local government has been waiting for 6 weeks for a response from BP about getting the money to prepare for better beach protection. Santa Rosa County’s protection plan was first rejected by Florida DEP as being too expensive. The current scaled-back plan was prepared by WRSCompass, a consulting firm whose CEO was formerly chief-of-staff to Jeb Bush and Dick Cheney (among other oil-connected politicians)..."

The following is the complete letter, from Linda Young:

Dear Friends of Florida Waters:

I’m sure all of your eyes are on the reality that oil is now in Florida waters and will likely be on our beaches today. Most of you know that I live in the Florida panhandle, where I grew up and have lived for most of my life. The fact that the dolphins, turtles, baby pompano and other sea life that I love and know so well are right now being inundated with the oil, is more painful than I’m capable of expressing in writing. I know that you understand and share my sorrow.
The fact that our state and federal governments are doing nothing to stop that oil from entering state waters is beyond my understanding. We are being told that it’s easier to clean it up on the beaches than to prevent it from hitting them. That defies my senses which tell me that they should have every ship in the world (or at least a bunch of them) out on the 9-mile line where Florida waters begin, skimming and sucking that oil up off of the water, to the greatest extent possible. None of that is happening. They have a few booms out around the passes where they will attempt to intercept the oil before it enters the inland waters.

The Pensacola News Journal reported yesterday that the local government has been waiting for 6 weeks for a response from BP about getting the money to prepare for better beach protection. Santa Rosa County’s protection plan was first rejected by Florida DEP as being too expensive. The current scaled-back plan was prepared by WRSCompass, a consulting firm whose CEO was formerly chief-of-staff to Jeb Bush and Dick Cheney (among other oil-connected politicians). I hope that you had a chance to read over the materials that I sent you last week called “Fortress Florida” and which included a citizen’s tool kit for taking action to protect our waters and coasts. As the oil nears your backyards, you may consider the option offered in the tool kit in a serious way. I have already given FL DEP my 30-day notice letter.

I was pleased to see that the federal government announced yesterday that legal action will be initiated against BP. Finally. The State of Florida is obligated under Florida law, to do the same now that the oil is in state waters. They could have already filed enforcement action weeks ago as the air pollution from the oil has been here for several weeks. Why our federal and state governments are treading so timidly, I’m not sure, but it is troubling to say the least.

I would like to ask you again to share the tool-kit with everyone you know. Let people at least have the opportunity to read it and make their own decision. I’m attaching for your information, a public records request that I sent by fax and mail yesterday. As I get more information, I will share it with you. Watch our website at the address below, and if you are on Facebook, you can find us under Clean Water Network of Florida and Florida Clean Water Network. I update those pages daily with news articles and documents that I am generating or sharing.

No one knows exactly where this will all take us, but it is already an unprecedented disaster. The oil could be on the reefs in the Keys at any time; it will be on the Panhandle beaches any hour; it is already invading the habitat of the marine life in the Gulf. It would be nice to think that the Florida DEP is committed to protecting our waters to the greatest extent possible, but I can’t think of one thing that DEP has done in the past 10 or more years to protect our waters. We must work together to hold their feet to the fire and make sure that Florida’s waters get the protection they deserve. Please take a few minutes to inform the Governor’s office, Secretary Mike Sole at DEP, and your local and state representatives of your expectations. I will post some easy contact links on our website today, so watch for them as a quick and easy way to communicate with the Governor and Mike Sole.

As always, thank you for your commitment to Florida’s waters and all that you do to protect them,

Linda Young
Director