APRIL 2006 NEWSLETTER

GAMING SHIPS: GAMBLING WITH

THE FLORIDA COASTLINE AND OUR LIVES

(March 22, 2006), Sebastian Inlet, FL: We swim in it. Fish in it. Surf, ski, and dive right into it. And, it’s dumped only 3 miles from the Florida coastline … partially treated sewage.

Gambling boats or “day boats”, dump about 1,352,000 gallons annually of blackwater (what you flush) and 2,766,400 per year of graywater (from showers and sinks) (per NOAA report estimated weekly average). Partially treated means the solids are removed, then the liquid is doused with enough chlorine to kill off the bacteria, still leaving other toxins unchecked. There are no inspections or tests of the sewage being dumped. There are no laws regulating sewage being dumped past 3 miles from the coast and at anytime there are 10 to 12 boats dumping their waste all around the state of Florida.

Presently, gambling boats use our ports, pickup our citizens and tourists, make their money, and discharge their waste in the ocean off our shoreline. Their profits are not taxed. Currently daily-gambling boats have the capacity to hold their waste water but lack the incentive to hold and pump out at shore facilities. This increases the pollution of our oceans and the risk of algae blooms.

The Florida Legislature will be in session soon to discuss many important bills and the Clean Ocean Act can only be at the top of their list if you contact your state leaders. Surfrider Foundation Sebastian Inlet Chapter, part of a national organization that fights against ocean pollution, is urging everyone to contact their state leaders to help pass a bill into law that will require day boats to hold and release their black and grey water at port facilities and set standard fines for releasing waste. The bill, HB 313 and SB 732, provides for emergency situations to be able to release matter with a requirement to notify authorities for documentation purposes. It allows Port Authorities the flexibility to implement collection of said waste and dispose at port for a fee equal to the cost of waste removal. The gambling boats have hired a popular lobbyist to represent their interests, but the public will win if we voice our concerns.

How can you help get this bill made into law?  2 Steps:

1. Write a letter or call Mitch Needleman, of the Environmental Regulation Committee in the Florida House, and Paula Dockery of the Environmental Preservation Committee in the Senate to keep the bill on their agendas. These two are holding up the bill by keeping it off their agendas. Ask them to co-sponsor the bill. The more sponsors, the easier it is for the bill to pass through the legislature.

Contact information:

Representative Mitch Needleman (he represents you if you live from Satellite Beach to Sebastian Inlet)

District Office
1565 Sarno Road , Suite A
Melbourne , FL  32935-3851
Phone: (321) 984-4848 or (850) 488-2528

Senator Paula Dockery
Room 326
Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
1-866-248-6487

2. Pass this information on. Get others to write their respective leaders and letters to the editor of their paper. Also, post it on online forums that are concerned about water quality.

For more information and background on the problem of gambling boat and cruise ship dumping, and for sample letters, visit: www.surfrider.org/sebastianinlet

For more information on the bill, contact Rep. Bob Allen's Office - Bob.Allen@myfloridahouse.gov or call (321) 449-5111 or go to the www.myfloridahouse.gov website.

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Other events on the Surfrider calendar – Anyone is welcome to join us !!

Check the www.surfrider.org/sebastianinlet website for updates.

4/13/06 Monthly Chapter meeting, Satellite Beach Rec Center, 7:30 p.m.

4/13 - 4/16/06 Easter Surfing Festival, Shepard Park & Cocoa Beach Pier *need volunteers for each day – beach cleanup every afternoon with prizes for most trash collected

4/26 – Youth educational activity with the Satellite Beach Marine Adventure Club – 7 p.m. at the Satellite Beach Rec Center – need volunteers to help with kids

5/11/06 Monthly Chapter meeting, Sebastian Inlet Fishermen's Museum, 7:30 p.m.

5/20/06 Party for the Planet at Brevard Zoo, 9 to 4 p.m. * need volunteers to made the table, free admission

6/8/06 Monthly Chapter meeting and social, Cocoa Beach Surf Museum, 6:30 p.m.

6/10/06 Brevard County Summer "Save It" Celebration, Lori Wilson Park

6/17/06 RedSand’s Groms Gone Environ-Mental Surf Clinic, 16th Street, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Call 779-0279 to reserve a space or to help

6/21/06 International Surfing Day (site TBA) – people paddling out around the world to celebrate surfing in clean oceans and beaches!

6/24/06 RedSand Groms Gone Environ-Mental, Sebastian Inlet Surfrider members are the Keepers of the Coast. We speak up for those that want to keep the ocean, waves, and beaches clean and accessible. To volunteer, call our chairman Rick Hayes 779-0279 or email surfridersi@yahoo.com. Or to join - go to www.surfrider.org/join .

Respectfully submitted by Greg Gordon