MELBOURNE – One hundred delegates gathered at Florida Instiute of Technology this weekend came up with 10 main ideas to cure the Indian River Lagoon, centering on septic tanks, muck and public awareness.
While they haggled over wording, the scientists, government and business leaders chosen by a nonprofit group agreed on the main gist of proposed lagoon fixes.
After breaking into smaller groups and voting, they whittled more than 100 ideas down to just 10 as the Lagoon Action Assembly wrapped up Saturday.
The Marine Resources Council, the nonprofit that ran the three-day event, plans to present the final wording of the proposed 10 actions during a public forum at 5:30 p.m. May 29 at Front Street Civic Center in Melbourne.
The delegates’ draft action items centered on creating a muck management program; identifying leaking septic tanks; supporting stricter state stormwater rules for new development; and educating the public about lagoon-friendly landscaping.
Other ideas included increasing street sweeping; promoting compliance and enforcement of new fertilizer ordinances; encouraging water reuse in urban areas and on farmland; and developing better ways to measure progress on pollution, habitat and species in the lagoon.
“I believe strongly, we as delegates have to be willing to be brave,” said Martin County Commissioner Ed Fielding, a delegate who also sits on the five-county Indian River Lagoon Counties Collaborative.
“We’re aiming for restoring the quality of life of our lagoon,” Fielding said, stressing that the delegates need to stand strong and take action. “Be brave,” he said to the applause of the 100 delegates gathered at FIT’s Evans Library Pavilion.
Dwight D. Eisenhower founded the American Assembly process in 1950 as a way to build consensus on vital public policy issues.
The nonpartisan public forums bring together community, business and government leaders to speak freely and prioritize solutions.
This weekend’s event marked the 14th time such an assembly has been held on the lagoon’s behalf. Between 1984 and 1997, MRC conducted 13 American Assemblies for the lagoon. Themost notable outcomes included the creation of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program and a 1990 state law that stopped sewer plants from directly discharging into the lagoon.
Now, the estuary’s advocates aim again to inspire hope, innovation and action to heal the lagoon, plagued for years by algae blooms and wildlife die-offs.
“There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done,” Richard Baker, a delegate from Vero Beach, said after the final group discussion. “I think we really need to galvanize the public around this.”
Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter
Results of the Lagoon Action Assembly
The public can learn about the lagoon actions the 100 delegates came up with at a forum at 5:30 p.m. May 29 at the Front Street Civic Center, 2205 S. Front Street.
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