MARTIN COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

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1 MARTIN COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 2401 S.E. MONTEREY ROAD STUART, FL DOUG SMITH Commissioner, District 1 June 7, 2016 Telephone: (772) Fax: (772) kfitzpat@martin.fl.us ED FIELDING Commissioner, District 2 ANNE SCOTT Commissioner, District 3 SARAH HEARD Commissioner, District 4 JOHN HADDOX Commissioner, District 5 Jonathan P. Steverson, Secretary Florida Department of Environmental Protection Office of the Secretary 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard M.S. 100 Tallahassee, FL Dear Secretary Steverson, TARYN KRYZDA, CPM County Administrator MICHAEL D. DURHAM County Attorney TELEPHONE WEB ADDRESS The citizens and leadership of Martin County place an extremely high priority on the health of our ecosystem with a strong focus on water quality. Over the years, close attention has been paid to the quality of water flowing from Lake Okeechobee and our local basin runoff as it enters the St. Lucie Estuary and Indian River Lagoon. Ecosystem health has been equated with live oysters, healthy sea grass beds, a thriving fishery and unrestricted water based recreation. Unfortunately, these conditions have become more the exception than the rule. Again this year, we face catastrophic conditions that will most certainly lead to the crash of estuarine resources. The Martin County Commission, along with our citizenry, continues to strongly advocate for improved management of our impaired ecosystem and to protect our precious resources. Sitting at the north end of the Florida Reef Tract (FRT), Martin County contains valuable marine resources just off our coast. The FRT is the world's third largest reef tract and lies in close proximity to our coastline. This location is highly susceptible to water moving throughout all of the inlets in SE Florida and onto the reef tract. Information provided by the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative, the Voss Lab at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and others have underscored the need to better document these effects. The summer of 2016 is positioned to produce major water quality challenges that will require science based decision making, underpinned by sound data collection. Extensive water sampling and system status assessments are in place in Martin County s estuaries, however these efforts end where the water approaches our Inlet. Recently, the Martin County Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to adopt the resolution recommended by the Coastal Ocean Task Force (attached) and also requested assistance from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in assessing the impact of frequently impaired water from our estuaries as it moves out and interacts with the coral reefs of Southeast Florida. This assessment would be comprised of extensive water quality sampling over the coral reefs off the SE Florida Coast, combined with coral health monitoring. eng2016l304.docx 1 of 6

2 Today, I am writing specifically to request your assistance in a NOAA sponsored water quality assessment effort that addresses these marine water quality issues. Martin County has been given the opportunity to participate in a Year 1 pilot program. In the future, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection should incorporate this work programmatically. In the near term, Martin County requests that the Department provide resources to collect the water samples required for this pilot project. Initial discussions on the logistics of such support have begun at a staff level between Martin County's Coastal Division and the St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park. Once again, we are in a reactive state. Black water already covers these reefs but no scientific documentation is in place. Data collection should begin as soon as possible to better understand the impacts on these reefs and then to factor this information into operational decision making and future management strategies. Please contact Kathy FitzPatrick at kfitzpat@martin.fl.us or (772) for any additional information. I look forward to your immediate attention to this matter. Sincerely, Anne Scott, Chairman Martin County Board of County Commissioners 2401 SE Monterey Rd. Stuart, FL AS/kf cc: Andrew Flannery, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Joanna Wolczak, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Drew Bartlett, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Kevin Claridge, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Devon West eng2016l304.docx 2 of 6

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