Rubio Bill to Address Harmful Algal Blooms in South Florida Passes Senate

Statement

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released a statement after the Senate unanimously passed his bipartisan South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act (S.66), legislation he reintroduced in January 2021 along with Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and U.S. Representatives Brian Mast (R-FL) and Darren Soto (D-FL). The bill was unanimously approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in June 2021. The bill now heads to the U.S House of Representatives for consideration.

"Harmful algal blooms can sicken Floridians, damage local economies, and destroy our ecosystems," Rubio said. "My bill will help Florida's coastal communities prepare for and mitigate against the devastating impacts of harmful algal blooms. I urge the House to swiftly send this bill to President Biden's desk so the federal government can meaningfully address these challenges."

Background:

The legislation, which Rubio first introduced in 2018, would direct the Interagency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) to assess the causes and consequences of HABs in Lake Okeechobee and around Florida's southern coastlines to identify needed resources, and develop a plan of action to address these challenges that harm the ecosystems in Biscayne Bay, the Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida Bay, Indian River Lagoon, the St. Lucie Estuary, and the Florida Reef Tract.

After completing the required assessment, the Task Force would be required to develop an Action Plan in coordination with the state and local stakeholders to reduce, mitigate, and control harmful algal blooms and hypoxia. This plan would include steps to:
Address monitoring needs identified in the assessment;
Develop a timeline and budgetary requirements for deployment of future monitoring assets;
Identify requirements for development and verification of HAB predictive models; and
Propose the development of an early warning system for alerting local communities to HAB risks to human health.

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