*NOTE: Along with other stakeholders of the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, Flint River System (ACF), I received the following correspondence via electronic mail this past Wednesday, June 3, 2009, from Michael Sole, Secretary of Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
ACF Stakeholders,
I am writing to update you on our continued objections to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ management of Jim Woodruff Dam. I also want to provide you with information about discussions that Governor Crist and I had last week with Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior Ken Salazar.
On May 8, I wrote Colonel Byron Jorns, the Corps District Commander, asking him to review and correct an erroneous Corps staff reinterpretation of the Revised Interim Operations Plan (RIOP) for Jim Woodruff Dam, which extended the drought operations in the ACF Basin resulting in undue favor to upstream interests. Through this new interpretation, the Corps decided to limit composite storage in determining if drought operations should be discontinued, thereby avoiding suspension of drought operations which would require the Corps to release more water from Lake Lanier. The ongoing drought operations reduce flows faster than called for under the RIOP and deprive the Apalachicola River and Bay of modest protections which are particularly important to Florida because we are well into the riverine spawning season of listed and other species.
I again wrote Colonel Jorns on May 18 with the same request. On May 13 the Corps had acknowledged that the ACF composite conservation storage had entered Zone 2, which is the unconditional trigger for suspending drought operations. However, the Corps advised that they would not consider suspension of drought operations at that time and would reevaluate the issue on June 1.
On May 22, Colonel Jorns responded to my letters stating that the Corps’ operations are consistent with the RIOP and that it is likely that when they make their next assessment on June 1, drought operations will no longer be warranted under the conditions in the RIOP.
I called Colonel Jorns yesterday morning to confirm that the Corps had suspended drought operations after Monday’s assessment. He said that they had done so and have resumed non-drought operations under the RIOP.
On May 28, Governor Crist and I toured the Everglades with Senator Nelson and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to discuss Florida’s natural resources, including the long-term needs of the ACF river basin. In a letter to Secretary Salazar after the tour, Governor Crist requested Secretary Salazar’s assistance and attention to the important environmental issues of the ACF river basin, emphasizing the need for a long-term solution. Governor Crist urged the Department of Interior to “engage in meaningful and independent participation as the three states look to an equitable sharing of this precious resource.” The Governor also requested that the Department of Interior “conduct a comprehensive review of the cumulative downstream effects that have occurred to threatened and endangered species, as well as the environment on which they depend.”
Mike Sole, Secretary
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
ACF Stakeholders,
I am writing to update you on our continued objections to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ management of Jim Woodruff Dam. I also want to provide you with information about discussions that Governor Crist and I had last week with Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior Ken Salazar.
On May 8, I wrote Colonel Byron Jorns, the Corps District Commander, asking him to review and correct an erroneous Corps staff reinterpretation of the Revised Interim Operations Plan (RIOP) for Jim Woodruff Dam, which extended the drought operations in the ACF Basin resulting in undue favor to upstream interests. Through this new interpretation, the Corps decided to limit composite storage in determining if drought operations should be discontinued, thereby avoiding suspension of drought operations which would require the Corps to release more water from Lake Lanier. The ongoing drought operations reduce flows faster than called for under the RIOP and deprive the Apalachicola River and Bay of modest protections which are particularly important to Florida because we are well into the riverine spawning season of listed and other species.
I again wrote Colonel Jorns on May 18 with the same request. On May 13 the Corps had acknowledged that the ACF composite conservation storage had entered Zone 2, which is the unconditional trigger for suspending drought operations. However, the Corps advised that they would not consider suspension of drought operations at that time and would reevaluate the issue on June 1.
On May 22, Colonel Jorns responded to my letters stating that the Corps’ operations are consistent with the RIOP and that it is likely that when they make their next assessment on June 1, drought operations will no longer be warranted under the conditions in the RIOP.
I called Colonel Jorns yesterday morning to confirm that the Corps had suspended drought operations after Monday’s assessment. He said that they had done so and have resumed non-drought operations under the RIOP.
On May 28, Governor Crist and I toured the Everglades with Senator Nelson and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to discuss Florida’s natural resources, including the long-term needs of the ACF river basin. In a letter to Secretary Salazar after the tour, Governor Crist requested Secretary Salazar’s assistance and attention to the important environmental issues of the ACF river basin, emphasizing the need for a long-term solution. Governor Crist urged the Department of Interior to “engage in meaningful and independent participation as the three states look to an equitable sharing of this precious resource.” The Governor also requested that the Department of Interior “conduct a comprehensive review of the cumulative downstream effects that have occurred to threatened and endangered species, as well as the environment on which they depend.”
Mike Sole, Secretary
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
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