On May 7th, Congressman Rooney will host a roundtable with federal and state agencies and local officials to discuss issues related to Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) and the Federal response.
Congressman Rooney stated, “Harmful Algal Boom outbreaks trigger significant health concerns, cripple our local economy, generate property damage, and inflict severe environmental destruction.
The mission of the roundtable is for federal, state, and local agencies and entities to share best practices and procedures to address the damaging impacts from algae blooms.
The environmental destruction created by last year’s outbreak was overwhelming and required local municipalities to remove 2,000 tons of sea life from our beaches and shorelines. Grouper,
manatees, dolphins and sea turtles are some of many marine creatures that washed onto our beaches and led to massive loss of income to our real estate, fishing, and tourism industries.
We are still suffering from the long-term sea life dead zones.
Current participants to join the roundtable:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Senior Scientist and Environmental Epidemiologist at the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), Dr. Lorraine Backer
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Region 4 Acting Regional Administrator, Mary Walker
- NOAA - Program Manager of the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) Program and the Prevention, Control, and Mitigation of Harmful Algal Blooms (PCM HAB) Program, Dr. Quay Dortch
- Florida Department of Emergency Management
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection - Secretary Noah Valenstein
- Florida Department of Economic Opportunity - Director Ken Lawson
- Collier County Government
- Lee County Government
- City of Cape Coral
- City of Fort Myers
- City of Fort Myers Beach
- City of Sanibel
- City of Bonita Springs
- Village of Estero
- Lee Memorial Health
- FGCU
