Stormwater in the Marsh

RMA and Ms. Couch are not the bad guys here; DEP has relented to pressures to "get 'er done" despite abject failure of the "green" plan. I took my boat up there Friday, and in fairness I agree the needle marsh is not endangered at this point. Morell Branch, however, will never be the same - it is now a drainage ditch. DEP has relaxed their permit limits so much that water which is distinctly turbid (15 NTU) is now allowed as "natural background" and water at the limits (44 NTU) would be outright muddy. There is also a layer of tan silt coating the bottom and the roots of the marsh. I shot some not-great video clips, available here (they take some time to stream, but they are just a few seconds except "873" which is 2 minutes):

if you know these blackwater creeks, you must agree this discharge is bad. Unfortunately, the standard now is "legal", not doing the right thing.


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3098609/MB_031910/P1010870.MOV

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3098609/MB_031910/P1010871.MOV

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3098609/MB_031910/P1010872.MOV

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3098609/MB_031910/P1010873.MOV

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3098609/MB_031910/P1010874.MOV

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3098609/MB_031910/P1010875.MOV

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3098609/MB_031910/P1010876.MOV

in reference to:

"DEP: Airport Stormwater Not Hurting Marshes"
- DEP: Airport Stormwater Not Hurting Marshes — The New ECP (view on Google Sidewiki)