Jacksonville Waterways Commission
Reggie Brown, Chair
JACKSONVILLE WATERWAYS COMMISSION
Thursday, June 10, 2010
City Council Chamber
9:00 a.m.
The monthly meeting of the Jacksonville Waterways Commission was called to order on
Thursday, June 10, 2010, at 9:05 a.m. in the City Council Chamber by the Chair, Council
Member Reggie Brown.
In Attendance: Council Members Brown, John Crescimbeni, Warren Jones; Commissioners
Lane T. Burnett, Caryn E. Carreiro, Edward J. Fleming, Edward R. Grey, Jr., Scott Shine,
Penny Thompson. Commissioners Stephen Busey and Richard Hartley were excused;
Kristina Nelson, Assistant General Counsel, Dylan Reingold, Assistant General Counsel; Dr.
Quinton White, Dr. Gerard Pinto, Jacksonville University; Captain Jim Suber, Waterways
Coordinator; Eric Hjort, Florida Sod Growers Coop; Derek Busby, Geoffrey Sample, Christi
Valeta, Environmental Protection Board; Ron Littlepage, Florida Times-Union; Paige
Johnston, Rogers, Towers; Derek Busbee, St. Johns River Water Management District;
David Kaufman, JaxPort; Lisa Rinaman, Mayor’s Office; Jody McDaniel, Planning &
Development Department; Nate Rezeau, Recreation & Community Services/Waterfront
Management; Dr. Dan McCarthy, Jacksonville University; Captain Mike Getchell, Jax Marine
Transportation Exchange; Ralph Hodges, Sierra Club; Captain John E. O’Neil, Jr., Jacksonville
Historic Naval Ship Association; Officer W. T. Mauldin, JSO Marine Unit; Marilyn Allen,
Legislative Services; John J. Jackson, Council Research Division.
The minutes for the May 13, 2010 meeting of the Jacksonville Waterways Commission were
approved.
Lieutenant Brett Major, United States Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville, Planning & Force
Readiness, made a PowerPoint presentation entitled 2010 Port Heavy Weather Plan for
Northeast and Eastern Central Florida. Lt. Major discussed the contents of the Port
Heavy Weather Plan, hurricane readiness conditions, port preparedness, the reopening of
ports, post-storm surveys and operational priorities. Hurricane readiness conditions
ranged from points when there are sustained gale force winds from 32-63 mph from a
hurricane force storm predicted within 72 hours with the port remaining open; to
sustained gale force winds from a hurricane force storm predicted within 48 hours with the
port remaining open; to the condition where a hurricane force storm is predicted within 24
hours that makes the port status restricted; and Hurricane Status designated Zulu when a
hurricane force storm is predicted within 12 hours and the port is closed.
Lt. Major noted that the Ports of Jacksonville, Canaveral and Fernandina are not considered
safe hurricane havens since surrounding low topography does not provide adequate
windbreak. All commercial, ocean-going vessels and ocean-going tug/barge combinations
over 500 tons will generally be required to depart the port when hurricanes approach. No
vessels are allowed to remain at facilities which are within one half mile of any bridge.
About 8 hours prior to the predicted arrival of sustained gale force winds, most bridges will
be locked down and not reopened until severe weather has passed. He noted that it is
critical that vessels intending to evacuate the Port of Jacksonville via the St. Johns River or
the IntraCoastal Waterway depart early to avoid being blocked by bridges.
Lt. Major listed the priorities of the Coast Guard in the immediate aftermath of a severe
storm that included, in rank of importance: reopening access to King’s Bay Naval Sub Base;
reopening access to Naval Station Mayport, USMC Blount Island, and Jacksonville northside
generating plant docks; restoring ocean access to Jacksonville oil terminal and dry cargo
docks.
Commissioner Grey noted that the Coast Guard’s hurricane preparedness plans seemed to
focus on large commercial vessels; he asked if the Coast Guard was concerned about
unregulated commercial vessels anchored or moored in our waterways. Lt. Major replied
that the Coast Guard’s preparedness plans applied solely to commercial vessels.
Commissioner Grey suggested that the Commission have someone from Florida Fish &
Wildlife Commission come to the next meeting and apprise the Commission of that agency’s
preparedness plans for recreational vessels in hurricane situations. The Chair concurred.
Captain Suber added that the City of Jacksonville’s Emergency Preparedness Department
had a complete evacuation plan in place and that the department coordinates its planning
with federal and state authorities and the Coast Guard. The Chair suggested that we should
have someone from the Emergency Preparedness Department come before the
Commission to share their planning information with the Commissioners.
Next on the agenda was a presentation by the St. Johns Riverkeeper, Neil Armingeon, who
had previously requested permission to appear before the Commission to comment on the
observations made and information submitted by JEA officials at the May meeting
regarding EPA’ proposed numeric nutrient criteria. Mr. Armingeon entitled his
PowerPoint presentation, Polluters Opposition to EPA’s Criteria: Myths and Untruths.
Mr. Armingeon indicated that over the past ten days, he had been going about documenting
fresh algae bloom and dead fish in the river. He began by stating that he should have added
the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to the PowerPoint’s title because
many of the myths and untruths about the nutrient criteria are developed with the
assistance of the Florida DEP. DEP has been a part of those opposing meaningful nutrient
reduction.
Myth #1 was something that he said was often heard at public hearings and that was why
do we need any additional regulations in Florida? Why was there a need for nutrient
standards? What we’re doing in Florida is working. Extensive algae bloom in the river and
its tributaries were depicted in slides. The recent rash of fish kill from Lake George to
Jacksonville was cited and illustrated. Myth #2 was that TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily
Loads) was all we needed to do. The only reason Florida has TMDLs is because of public
pressure and a lawsuit. TMDLs do not have numeric standards. He defined TMDL as the
amount of pollution you are allowed to put into a body of water without literally killing that
body of water. It is not the be all or the end all, but a step in the right direction toward
healthier bodies of water.
Myth #3 was that the federal government was getting into Florida’s business, that the EPA
is singling Florida out. In 1998, the federal Environmental Protection Agency told all states
that they must have numeric nutrient standards if there was going to be any chance of
addressing what the pollution problems were. Myth #4 was that EPA sits up there in
Washington using a one size fits all approach to cleaning up our waterways. Myth #5 is
that EPA is using bad science. Myth #6 is that the public opposes nutrient standards. Mr.
Armingeon says that there is a state-wide, ad hoc, coalition of 107 environmental, fishing,
and hunting organizations and foundations; homeowner and community associations;
consumer networks and businesses in support of the EPA’s proposal to establish numeric
nutrient standards in Florida. Recently, we see that those opposed to establishing numeric
nutrient standards include Florida Attorney-General McCollum, the Agriculture
Commissioner, Georgia-Pacific and all of the major utilities, the sugar cane league, the
citrus league, associated businesses and those whose financial interests entail polluting
Florida’s waterways.
Myth #7 says that establishing numeric nutrient standards would cost too much; that it
would cost upwards of $50 billion to upgrade Florida‘s sewage treatment plants. EPA
statistics show that the cost of upgrading all the sewage treatment plants in the entire
United States from 1988 to 2007 was only $58 billion.
Mr. Armingeon indicated that we cannot honestly think that spending money to clean up
the waterways of Florida is too costly. He said that this summer, Florida will fully
understand the value of clean water. He felt that we had a clear choice: numeric nutrient
standards or the status quo.
Commissioner Shine cautioned that we should be careful in our definition of polluters. The
reality is that we are all polluters; we all buy power from JEA and use water. We cannot put
it all on JEA and Georgia-Pacific. We need to re-frame the conversation to engage citizens
and make citizens realize that we all need to start owning this problem.
Paul Steinbrecher, Director of Environmental Services, Permitting & Assessment for JEA,
followed with a presentation, NNC (numeric nutrient criteria/TMDL (total maximum daily
load) Follow-Up, that provided an update on developments and JEA’s position on the EPA’s
proposed numeric nutrient standards. At the outset, he indicated that divisive
observations and comments were not helpful or best for the community when everyone is
concerned with the health of the river. There have been tremendous efforts on the Lower
St. Johns River and we are moving in the right direction. Mr. Steinbrecher vowed to always
come before the Commission with numbers, graphs and facts.
In his update, Mr. Steinbrecher indicated that EPA & Earth Justice agreed to extend consent
decree deadlines on June 7th to provide two months of additional time for standards
development for canals, marine, and downstream criteria. The extension time-line will
have a significant impact on the Lower St. Johns River in Duval County. Extension of the
time line recognizes the need to do significant additional science. It was also agreed to
submit the next technical package of marine standards to EPA’s Science Advisory Board
(SAB) for review. The Science Advisory Board was highly critical of EPA’s reference stream
methodology for deriving numeric nutrient criteria that will ultimately be adopted for
standards.
Mr. Steinbrecher then proceeded to update the Commission on regulated point sources for
loadings. When we talk about or refer to the Lower St. Johns River, we are talking about a
100 mile stretch of the river, a third of the river, from Jacksonville to Deland. In illustrating
how much nitrogen is deposited into the river, he indicated that 2/3rd or 62% of the
biogradable nitrogen, the nitrogen that can turn into algae, comes from the upper 200 miles
of the river. About 1/3 of the nitrogen comes from our section. Today, JEA’s portion of the
biogradable nitrogen is half the amount that it was a decade ago.
Mr. Steinbrecher concluded that the state of the river is significantly better today than it
was previously. Nutrient loads have gone down dramatically, especially since we, as a
community, began focusing on the problem in 2000. JEA used to remove 80% of the
nitrogen from waste water; it now removes 90%.
The Commission considered and took action on the following legislation:
Ordinance 2009-864, Amend Chpt 656 (Zoning Code) (Landscape & Tree Protection
Regs), Ordinance Code. Mark Shelton of the Planning & Development Department made a
presentation explaining the provisions of the proposed legislation. Enactment of the bill
would include Florida-Friendly landscape practices and irrigation design standards into the
City’s landscape code. After Mr. Shelton’s PowerPoint presentation and remarks from Lisa
Rinaman and Paul Davis, Council Member Crescimbeni suggested that in light of
comprehensive nature of the legislation, he felt that the Commissioners needed more time
to digest the proposed legislation. He encouraged the Administration to reach out and
explain the proposed legislation to the Commissioners, and, satisfied that deferring the
measuring would not have a negative impact, moved that action on the bill be deferred. A
recommendation on the bill was deferred.
Ordinance 2010-375, Adopt Semi-Annual Amen to FLUM Series, 1900 Wambolt St &
1901 Hill St. The Commission voted 9-0 to recommend approval.
Ordinance 2010-395, Adopt Semi-Annual Amend to FLUM Series Yellow Bluff Rd, N of
Starratt Rd, the Commission voted 9-0 to recommend approval.
Ordinance 2010-441, Approp $90,088 to use in Joint Proj by UNF & JU to Produce a
Report on Health & State of St. Johns River, the Commission voted 9-0 to recommend
approval.
In his monthly update on the status of the St. Johns River, Dr. Quinton White followed up on
the remarks of Mssrs. Armingeon and Steinbrecher by adding that when we talk about
water quality, there are numerous variables in a very dynamic system. As an example, he
cited the wave of bitter cold weather that we had that resulted in vegetation die-off; the
decaying vegetation releases nutrients into the system that, in turn, becomes a non-point
source of pollution.
Dr. White noted that we have a blue-green algae bloom in the river. He said that there are
two different species involved and that these two species will produce a toxin. With regard
to the dead fish, Dr. White said that this is a multi-species kill running from Astor to
Mayport with a heavy concentration from Beauclerc south to Doctors Inlet.
On Memorial Day, Dr. White noticed the blue-green algae north of Palatka and said that it
was somewhat alarming because it is so early. He said that the fish kill was related to the
algae, though we cannot completely make the link. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission
has taken dying fish from the river, frozen them and have taken the fish to St. Petersburg to
laboratories for analysis.
Dr. Gerard Pinto reported that on a June 2nd aerial survey, 84 manatees were sighted in the
river, most of them south of the Buckman Bridge. A large number of them were around
Mandarin Point. 6 manatee deaths were reported in May, 2 of the deaths designated as
water craft related; the water craft related fatalities occurred near the mouth of the river in
Mayport. There was 1 human-related fatality in the IntraCoastal Waterway near the
Queens Harbor Yacht and Country Club area.
In New Business, Captain Suber reported on the previous weekend’s poker run. We hosted
the Jacksonville River Rally Power Boat Poker Run. 80 boats came into town to participate.
We worked closely with all the regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard, Florida
Fish & Wildlife, United States Fish & Wildlife and Jacksonville University. We were able to
successfully keep the boaters away from areas where there was a large influx of manatees.
In Public Comments, Derek Busbee of the St. Johns River Water Management District,
Palatka, recapped some of the observations of the Riverkeeper and Paul Steinbrecher of
JEA. On the numeric nutrient criteria discussion, he felt that we need to be looking at data
across the board. He indicated that we did not have all the point source information that
we need yet and that SJRWMD is trying to determine how best to approach the non point
source information. Mr. Busbee announced that there is currently $150 million allocated
for numerous capital improvement projects underway in a number of locations along the
stretch of the river that he oversees, projects such as upgrades for waste water treatment
facilities that will reduce discharge into the river. As for the TMDLs, he suggested that no
one expected that the TMDL levels were going to be static; things may have to be adjusted
but we are moving in the right direction.
Captain Mike Getchell, Jacksonville Marine Transportation Exchange (Harbor Safety
Committee, Chair) commented on Coast Guard Lt. Major’s presentation on preparation for
port and marine facilities during hurricane season and the kind of preparation plans that
all parties are expected to have in place. He also provided the Commission with an update
on dredging projects underway in the river and some of the problems that some of the
projects have encountered.
Mr. Rendell Garvin addressed the Commission on a proposed amendment to the
management plan for Huguenot Memorial Park that would restrict automotive vehicles on
a portion of the park. Mr. Randall reviewed the history of the park. He felt that the history
and commerce of the area were threatened by those who would turn the area into a critical
wildlife management area through misinformation. Mr. Garvin felt that the property was
deeded to the community by the state for recreational purposes and not for a critical
wildlife management area. He said that the City had invested upwards of $6 million for the
protection of wildlife. He proposed that the City keep motorized traffic at Huguenot Park to
enhance economic stability for the area.
Commissioner Shine explained the Huguenot Park issue and the implications for City
action. He suggested that the Commission put the Huguenot Park issue on the agenda for
the next Jacksonville Waterways Commission agenda.
Mr. Eric Hjort, a sod grower from Hastings, representing the Florida Sod Growers
Cooperative, next spoke on Ordinance 2009-864 to amend the Landscape and Tree
Protection Regulations for commercial properties. Mr. Hjort said that his organization was
generally supportive of the legislation and efforts to promote the wise use of water and on
practices to maintain turf areas as part of Florida-Friendly landscapes. He said that his
members were committed to educating the public on better ways to water and manage
their yards to conserve water. Water conservation is an important goal to achieve. There
was some language in the actual ordinance that he felt could use some tweaking. He
referred the Commissioners to a detailed letter that his organization had sent to them.
Mr. John Nooney reiterated his hope that the Commission would be supportive of a
resolution recommending that the City develop the LandMark (shipyards) property as a
public access pier if and when that property reverts back to the City. He cited numerous
newspaper stories, including reference to civic leaders’ impending visit to Indianapolis.
Captain Suber introduced Office Bill Mauldin, JSO, who was recently named to the
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit. In addition to his marine work, Office Mauldin, a
U.S. Coast Guard Master Captain, has been designated as the JSO Marine Unit’s manatee
protection coordinator.
There being no further items on the agenda or business before the Commission, the
meeting was adjourned at 11:36 a.m.
John J. Jackson, Council Research Division (904) 630-1729
06.22.10
Posted: 4:00 p.m.