I recently noticed the Fort Pierce News Tribune added a new
meter to its editorial page. The Tribune, as well as other Treasure Coast Scripps
newspapers, is counting down the days that the State Legislature has to
purchase 46,800 acres of U.S. Sugar property at a price that was set in 2008.
This is not the first time the News Tribune displayed a meter at the top of
that page. For more than a year, it had
the Pruitt meter, which counted down the number of days St. Lucie Property
Appraiser Ken Pruitt refused to discuss whether he would keep his lucrative lobbying business or give
it up and be a full time county property appraiser.
The new meter has a much shorter deadline. The state Legislature must decide this session
whether to purchase the U.S. Sugar land that would be part of a plan to divert
polluted Lake Okeechobee water from flowing into the Indian River Lagoon. After that, the agreed upon price for the
land, negotiated by former Gov. Charlie Crist, is off the table.
A yes vote
from the legislature should be a no-brainer. Thanks to Amendment 1, which was
overwhelmingly approved by voters
in November, the state has more than
enough money to buy the land for $346.3 million. And one would think that our local state
representatives and State Sen. Joe Negron would be leading the charge to get
the deal done. Not so. Except for State Rep. Larry Lee, who is the
lone Democrat to represent us on the
Treasure Coast, none have really pushed their
colleagues in Tallahassee to approve the purchase.
Negron deferred
talking up the plan until he saw the results of a University of Florida study
about the proposal. The study was
completed this month, and to the surprise
of no one, the report said buying the land is a viable way to help resolve the
pollution problem. After all, the UF
report comes after decades of studies and discussions involving the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, the South Florida Water Management District, the Sierra
Club, Everglades Foundation and anyone else who has a stake in the Indian
River. More than a year ago, U.S.
Senator Bill Nelson was railing about the pollution on the Senate floor,
holding up a jar of the dingy brackish water he scooped up from the Indian
River.
So now we
taxpayers are finally seeing a plan that could help save our lagoon and what do
we hear from our local politicians? Not
a whole lot.
After
the UF report was released Negron told the News Tribune he is “seriously
considering” the state purchase of U.S. Sugar property. And, he said he will use his “legislative
energies” to get the deal done. Not
quite the enthusiasm one would expect from a state senator who should know that
saving the Indian River lagoon is probably his constituents’ number one
priority. And he should have known that this will be an uphill battle that must
be won by May 1. With a Republican
controlled Legislature, many of whom have accepted tens of thousands of sugar
money for their campaigns, there will be a lot of push back approving a deal
that U.S. Sugar no longer wants.
Indeed, House Speaker Steve Crisafulli (R-Merritt Island) opposes the deal because he
said the state doesn't need any more land. The fact that he received
thousands in campaign donations from Big Sugar probably won’t help him
change his mind any time soon.
Gayle Harrell
told Scripps newspapers she would support the purchase only if the land is
deemed “appropriate.” And Rep. Mary Lynn
Magar, (R-Tequesta) said she is “looking into it.” So much for the rallies, the fundraising,
the editorials, extensive publicity and years of meetings to find ways to save
the lagoon. Unless we see some major arm twisting and
wheeling and dealing from our representatives,
U.S. Sugar will be able to back out of the deal that would have saved
taxpayers millions.
Our
best hope is that Negron will use his clout---after all, he is a strong
contender to be Senate President in 2016—to get his fellow Republicans in the
Senate and House to vote for the purchase.
Although he negotiated millions for the lagoon in the past, his
constituents will remember what happens this legislative session for a long
time. Gayle Harrell should also be
wary. The long-time representative has
already drawn opposition for the 2016 race for District 83.Her Democratic
opponent is Crystal M. Lucas, a biology teacher at Indian River Community
College. Lucas’s passion---the
environment and saving the Indian River lagoon.
The Tribune’s
Pruitt meter didn't have much impact.
Pruitt still is our property appraiser and a lobbyist---ironically one
of his clients is Big Sugar. Hopefully,
the Tribune’s countdown on the purchase of U.S.
Sugar land will raise enough awareness to get the deal done. But I am not counting on it.
What I do hope
is that if this deal fails, voters along the Treasure Coast will know who to
hold accountable and do something about it.
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