But upon closer inspection, DEP isn’t so cheerful.
“If implemented, the (plan) would starve the Apalachicola River and Bay of freshwater flows needed to keep the ecosystems, species, and economy alive,” DEP Secretary Michael Sole wrote to the Corps and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Friday.
Further, Sole writes the tight, two-week deadline the feds have imposed for input isn’t adequate and the proposal to cap river flow through Florida at 4,150-5,000 cubic feet per second “would not only precipitate a catastrophic collapse of the oyster industry in Apalachicola Bay but also displace the entire economy of the Bay region.”
The root of the problem appears to be overdevelopment in northern Georgia. The fishermen and women of Apalachicola should not suffer because of bad growth management in Georgia.
