TESTIMONY OF
THOMAS GIBSON
ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR
POLICY, ECONOMICS, AND INNOVATION
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
U.S. SENATE
September 13, 2002
Introduction
Good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the
Committee. I am Tom Gibson, Associate
Administrator for Policy, Economics, and Innovation at the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. As EPA's
representative on the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, I am pleased to be here on Administrator
Whitman's behalf to discuss progress in restoring one of the nation's greatest
and most unique natural resources - the Florida Everglades.
Two years ago, Congress approved a $7.8
billion Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) and, in doing so,
launched what many are calling the largest restoration effort ever undertaken
in the world. This ambitious and
forward-looking agenda will enable progress toward a more sustainable South
Florida and preserve an ecological treasure for generations to come.
EPA is a strong supporter and active
participant in making CERP work. Our
goal is to maximize the environmental benefits of all 68 strategic
components. To that end, we are working
with our sister agencies in the federal government, along with State and local
governments, Indian Tribes, agriculture, and other stakeholders to address
water quality, water quantity, and a host of other issues that affect
ecological conditions. We offer technical,
financial, legal and regulatory assistance to tackle the many challenges that
must be overcome if the Everglades are to survive and flourish. We have set up a small office in South
Florida that enables us to engage more fully and consistently on issues than
could ever be expected from our national and regional locales.
We also contribute to restoration efforts
through ongoing responsibilities under the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking
Water Act and other Federal laws. These
ongoing tasks are not specifically referenced in CERP, but are vital to
achieving progress in the Everglades and the larger South Florida region.
I’d like to discuss the progress we are
making in the Everglades through our work on CERP and our national
environmental responsibilities. But
first I’d like to provide some background on the ecological conditions that are
driving our work and that of so many others.
Conditions in the Everglades
It has been less than two years since CERP
was approved. During that time we have
laid the groundwork for restoration to proceed as envisioned. We are working well together and, no doubt,
each agency could point out signs of progress.
But the fact is we are still in the very early stages of what will be
not just a multi-year, but a multi-decade effort. Indeed, it took more than 50 years to get to where we are today,
and it is reasonable to expect that it will take at least a similar time frame
to achieve our restoration goals.
The conditions we observe in the Everglades
today can be traced back to the middle of the last century. In 1948, the United States launched the
Central and Southern Florida Project to provide water control for an 18,000
square mile area covering 16 counties.
The goal was a laudable one - providing flood protection and urban and
agricultural water supplies. That
project fundamentally transformed South Florida, and created significant
economic opportunities. But the
environmental impacts have been significant.
Today there are 6 million people living in
the region, and the combined effects of population growth, water diversions and
other stressors are severe. Only about
half of the original Everglades remain.
Water flow has dropped by 70 percent, and approximately 1.7 billion
gallons of water are lost to the ocean and gulf daily during the rainy season,
degrading the estuaries as it passes through.
There are 69 threatened or endangered species and a 90 percent reduction
in wading bird populations. Water
quality often violates state water quality standards, and one million acres of
the ecosystem are under health advisories for mercury. High levels of nutrients are causing changes
in the natural vegetation, and 1.5 million acres are infested with invasive
exotic plants.
EPA
Activities in Support of CERP
EPA had a major role in the development of CERP, and we will continue to play an important role in its implementation. One of our first responsibilities is to provide input on the federal regulations that will enable implementation to begin. These programmatic regulations, as they are known, will ensure that the CERP goals are achieved. Developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps of Engineers”), in concurrence with the Department of the Interior and the State of Florida, and in consultation with EPA and other Federal agencies, they are to be completed by the end of the year and are currently undergoing public comment.
EPA is also a major partner in the
development of performance targets for two-thirds of the 68 individual CERP
components. We are assisting in the
development of reclaimed water reuse criteria for several large wastewater
treatment plants in Dade and Palm Beach Counties and in the review of
individual projects under the National Environmental Policy Act.
In addition, EPA is working with the State on
the evaluation and permitting of Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASRs)
wells. These wells provide underground
capacity for water storage, and can help replace the natural capacity that has
been lost in the Everglades through years of draining and ditching. Restoring at least a portion of this storage
capacity is essential to accommodating the region's water needs. To this end, CERP calls for use of more than
300 ASR wells.
However, there are some issues we have to
work through first. One relates to
Federal requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The waters being considered for storage are
either surface waters or shallow ground waters, and they may not meet all of
the required drinking water standards.
This is problematic because state regulations, consistent with Federal
regulations for Underground Injection Control, require standards to be met
prior to injection. Given the volumes of water proposed for storage - 1.7
billion gallons a day - the treatment potentially required to meet those
standards would be fairly expensive.
In light of the potential environmental
benefits associated with ASR well storage and the high costs of treating the
water prior to injection, EPA agreed to utilize a “risk based” approach to
permitting ASR wells in South Florida .
Consideration is provided if the contamination in the waters is limited
to coliform and similar microorganisms that could be expected to “die off”
underground and not pose a risk to human health. EPA will work with the State to demonstrate how this approach meets
the “no endangerment” language of the Safe Drinking Water Act and achieves the
goal of the ASR storage effort. The
Underground Injection Control program in the State, which has been approved by
EPA, may have to modify its regulations before this new permitting approach
could be used.
The Corps of Engineers and the South Florida
Water Management District are co-sponsoring pilot tests of ASR wells with EPA
support. These wells are in various
stages of development, with some having already been constructed. Our co-sponsors have also launched a
regional study to evaluate the potential widespread impacts that a network of
ASR wells could have on the region's surface waters, groundwater, and aquifers.
Other
Contributions to Everglades Restoration
As a member of the South Florida Ecosystem
Restoration Task Force and through the normal course of running its national
programs, EPA is working with its sister agencies and other stakeholders on
additional issues that will enhance and accelerate restoration.
Phosphorous Reductions
One priority is reducing phosphorous loads
which can overload and overwhelm aquatic ecosystems. In compliance with the Florida Everglades Forever Act ( the “EFA”)
and a 1992 Consent Decree between the Federal Government, the South Florida
Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection (the “Federal Consent Decree”), the State must propose a numeric
phosphorus criterion by the end of 2003.
The proposed criterion must be submitted to EPA for review and
approval. In order for EPA to grant
approval, we must find that the proposed criterion will provide adequate
protection for Everglades waters.
The Florida Department of Environmental
Protection has initiated their rule-making process, proposing a new criterion
of 10 parts per billion (ppb) to their Environmental Regulation Commission (as
required by State law) prior to submitting it to EPA. We anticipate this process will extend into 2003. EPA’s Region IV office in Atlanta is
actively working with the State to provide support and input regarding Federal
Clean Water Act requirements for water quality standards adoption and approval.
In addition, EPA is working with the South
Florida Water Management District and the Corps of Engineers as they build and
operate approximately 46,000 acres of wetlands, required by the EFA and the
Federal Consent Decree, that can be used to reduce phosphorus and other
contaminants from urban and agricultural runoff. The phosphorous concentrations from the already completed, but
not yet optimized, Stormwater Treatment Areas (“STAs”), are in the 20 to 25 ppb
range. EPA is funding research to find
ways to lower those concentrations further and to investigate chemical-based
treatment technologies.
Under the Clean Water Act, EPA must review
all NPDES permits issued by the State of Florida for STAs. While earlier permitting actions have been
challenged, EPA, the State and many stakeholders have reached agreement on
language that authorizes the discharges through 2006, and since then,
challenges have been limited.
Wetlands Protection
Loss of wetlands remains one of the biggest
threats to the Everglades. The South
Florida region is one of the fastest growing in the country, with numerous
large residential and commercial developments in various phases of planning,
permitting and construction. Because
major portions of the region are composed of wetlands and critical habitats for
endangered species, wetlands permitting has been receiving a great deal of
attention by the regulatory agencies and other stakeholders.
Under Clean Water Act Section 404, EPA will
be reviewing all wetlands permits for Everglades restoration projects as well
as for development in the South Florida area.
EPA has been working with the Corps of Engineers on the development of
special permitting review criteria to be used specifically in the Southwest
Florida areas. We have also stationed
two members of our South Florida office staff in Ft. Myers to work exclusively
on wetlands issues.
Having this presence enables us to actively
engage with local organizations that are working on wetlands protection. For example, the Watershed Enhancement and
Restoration Coalition is focusing on permitting issues, and was formed as a
result of community interest in addressing cumulative impacts of multiple and
large wetlands impacts in the region.
Our participation is already producing benefits. Lee County has expressed a strong desire to
work with EPA to add water quality treatment and compliance monitoring to their
current projects and long term master
plan.
EPA is also working closely with the newly
formed Southwest Florida Watershed Council, a partnership of public
organizations and developers united to improve local and regional water quality
conditions. The Council is currently
focused on developing community support for a storm water utility to reduce the
damaging effects of storm water discharges to coastal waters.
Mercury
Another issue that we are working on is
mercury contamination. We are finding
that the highest mercury concentrations occur in remote portions of the
Everglades, and that the major sources of contamination are rainfall and
atmospheric dry deposition. The
estimated contributions from local versus regional and global atmospheric
mercury sources vary widely.
To more accurately quantify these
contributions and to better understand the ecological implications of mercury
contamination, EPA is participating in a multi-year, Federal-State-private
monitoring and research study. From
1989 to 1999, our partners contributed about $30 million. Additional research is still underway. Not only are the results providing insight
for addressing mercury contamination in South Florida, the research is
providing valuable information that can help with Clean Water Act and Clean Air
Act responsibilities nationally.
Florida Bay
EPA is also actively involved in research
that aims to restore Florida Bay. About
eighty percent of this body of water lies within the Everglades National Park,
and so restoration decisions made on the mainland will affect its
condition. Up until the late 1980’s,
those conditions were very good.
Characterized by clear waters and lush seagrass meadows, Florida Bay
served as the principal inshore nursery area for Tortugas pink shrimp and
provided critical habitat for juvenile spiny lobsters and stone crabs. The Bay also supported an extensive sport
fishery and was home to a vast population of wildlife, marine animals, and
wading bird populations. But over the
past decade, numerous biological, chemical and physical changes have occurred
that threaten the resource and its uses.
EPA has been one of many Federal agencies
supporting scientific research to advance our understanding of the ecosystem
through the Florida Bay Program Management Committee. In 1994, this group developed an Interagency Science Plan that
focused research efforts around a set of key issues. In 2001, a Florida Bay and Florida Keys Feasibility Study Team
was organized in support of CERP. Its
purpose is to determine the modifications that are needed to restore water
quality and ecological conditions of the Bay, while maintaining or improving
these conditions in the Florida Keys.
Our interest is in coordinating scientific efforts in Florida Bay with
research and monitoring in the Florida Keys, and in assuring that restoration
efforts maintain or improve the Florida Keys ecosystem.
The Florida Keys
EPA's responsibilities in the Florida Keys
stem largely from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act
of 1990. The law requires EPA and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to collaborate on a Water
Quality Protection Program for the area, which includes the United States= only living barrier reef. As required, EPA and the State are now
working to implement that plan, and most of the monitoring, research, data
management, and educational initiatives are being funded by EPA.
Through 2002, EPA has contributed more than
$10 million to this initiative. Many
problems that hinder the Florida Keys are linked to significant wastewater
treatment problems, and the price of addressing them may be quite high. Recognizing the severity of this need, we
are working with our Federal, State, and local government partners to identify
funds and other support that can be used to help Monroe County address its
wastewater and stormwater management needs.
Closing
In closing, EPA continues to fill a variety of roles to advance the cause of the Everglades restoration and protection. Believing that we are poised for significant progress, we are committed to working with our many partners that share the common vision of a healthy, thriving ecosystem. It is our hope that by working together we will see visible results in the near term and that our progress will lead other regions and governments to undertake ecologically significant restorations of their own.