New bill will help communities with algae blooms
A bill that would help communities affected by algae blooms has been sent to the president for his signature. The bill would authorize NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency to declare what is called a ‘harmful algae bloom of significance’ when algae has a major impact on the environment, economy or public health.
The declaration would make federal funding available to communities impacted by algae. Congressman Mast in a statement said the federal government has played a huge role in quote “perpetuating the human health crisis caused by Lake Okeechobee discharges”, and the government needs to take responsibility for the damage by helping to pay for the cleanup.
This is just in time. The USGS just released this study.
Salty water causes some freshwater harmful algae to release toxins
The answer may be amazingly simple: salt. According to the study, Microcystis aeruginosa–a freshwater organism and the most common cyanobacteria in our toxic blooms–starts to die when it reaches saltwater. And when it dies, it releases microcystins. This is what poisoned the dogs on the St Lucie. It was also detected in !00% of the residents that were tested this past summer.