May 2012
Surfers and fishermen both love the water, but can they share it? The Jacksonville Beach Pier has been a known hot-spot for surfers and fishermen alike for years now. But the peace and harmony that is the goal of surfing and fishing has often been interrupted by temporary scuffles between the two groups after "accidents" by both sides, including surfers cutting the lines of fishermen, and fishermen casting their hooks at surfers. People have gotten hurt and property has been damaged, and some law makers have begun discussing a legislative solution to the conflict.
This issue was raised in the December 7-13 issue of Folio Magazine, and our local Surfider Foundation chapter took the initiative to look for ways to create a positive dialog and help resolve the issue without outside interference. The Executive Committee of the First Coast Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation invited a group of fisherman headed by Joe Dionne as well as a representative of the Jacksonville Beach City Council to a sit down meeting. One goal of the meeting was to educate both sides on the issues, and the tone of the meeting was very friendly and open. Another goal was to avoid further conflict that would lead to outside legislative restrictions that both sides would find unreasonable.
During the meeting one of the fishermen introduced the idea of resurrecting the 300' buffer zone that existed at the old pier. After some debate the fishermen agreed to compromise and proposed a 200' buffer. Surfrider Foundation was not crazy about the idea of any buffer, but in an effort to resolve the issues amicably, agreed to support up to a 200' buffer ordinance if one were to be enacted, given the following provisions:
1) The ordinance will be enforced equally for surfers and fisherman who are in violation, ie. - Against a surfer who persistently remains within the buffer zone, cuts lines intentionally, or otherwise harasses or confronts a fisherman. And against a fisherman who casts beyond the buffer zone, intentionally casts at a surfer to cause harm, or otherwise harasses or confronts a surfer.
2) A surfer will not be penalized if a wave they are riding carries them inside the buffer zone, provided they subsequently paddle back outside of the buffer zone. And a fisherman will not be penalized who inadvertently casts in the direction of a surfer with no intent to harm.
3) The rules would be relaxed seasonally during periods of low usage on the pier (i.e. - the winter season between the months of November and March).
We will sacrifice and do some on-scene research and be sure to keep you surfers and fishermen updated on how we can all get along at the Jacksonville Beach Pier.
PS: Surfing at Hanna Park is also now threatened by park closures! Check out the Surfrider Foundation Alert for more information.
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April 2012
Legal Update: St. Johns River Ferry
 An aerial photo of the ferry. |
Reports are in that as the temperature is rising, so is the ridership of the St. Johns River Ferry. And as more and more people rely on the ferry for their commute or for recreation, the Jacksonville Port Authority continues to stand by its resolution to terminate service on September 30th, 2012. So who, if anyone, will run the ferry come October 1st, 2012? It appears the answer may be a new ferry commission proposed by City of Jacksonville City Councilmember Bill Gulliford. |
As for the land the ferry sits on and the eight other parcels that were transferred to the Jacksonville Port Authority in 2007 when the Port Authority agreed to operate the ferry, the fate of those parcels is also still up in the air. The Port Authority's top executive has stated that he would consider returning to the city "a valuable piece of waterfront land that has been part of a possible cruise site terminal in Mayport." (1/16/12 FTU Article, JaxPort Might Offer Mayport Land Back to City, David Bauerlein). The parcel in question is 4610 Ocean Street and is currently valued by the Duval County Property Appraiser at $799,000. When the Port Authority voted to terminate the ferry operation in February of this year they cited operating costs of about $680,000 a year.
Thus the people of Jacksonville and the Beaches still do not know how they will be able to cross the St. Johns River come October. Will it be a scenic and yet direct route through historic Mayport Village that kids and adults alike have enjoyed since 1948, or a route which avoids the one-of-a-kind sights, sounds, and smells of one of the few working waterfronts in all of Florida? The City Council has the power to decide.
March 2012
| The countdown has begun. On February 27th, 2012 the Jacksonville Port Authority's (JPA) Board of Directors passed a resolution directing Paul Anderson, their Executive Director, to notify Hornblower Marine Services that they would discontinue the St. Johns River Ferry service on September 30th, 2012. The reason given was money. The JPA has claimed that they cannot afford to fix unforeseen damage to the ferry facilities and that continued operation of the ferry would negatively affect their ability to run their core businesses. The basis for the claim of unforeseen damages to the facilities is an engineering report that the Public Trust has requested but not yet received. |
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The countdown has begun. On February 27th, 2012 the Jacksonville Port Authority's (JPA) Board of Directors passed a resolution directing Paul Anderson, their Executive Director, to notify Hornblower Marine Services that they would discontinue the St. Johns River Ferry service on September 30th, 2012. The reason given was money. The JPA has claimed that they cannot afford to fix unforeseen damage to the ferry facilities and that continued operation of the ferry would negatively affect their ability to run their core businesses. The basis for the claim of unforeseen damages to the facilities is an engineering report that the Public Trust has requested but not yet received.
Warren Anderson, Jr. and Andrew Miller of the Public Trust, along with many community leaders, packed the JPA's boardroom and used their 3 minutes of public comments to explain the need for the ferry; its economic, cultural, and even sentimental value to the community; and the history of the JPA's acquisition and management of the ferry that led to its now apparent inevitable shut-down. Approximately 20 community members spoke to the Board of Directors, including current Mayor Alvin Brown and three other current or former Mayors of Jacksonville and the Beaches. Petitions were presented along with letters of support from neighboring towns and counties. And yet, when the public's turn to speak had ended and the JPA had a chance to enter the discussion, not one question was asked by a single member of the Board of Directors.
No discussion among the board members ensued. Only Paul Anderson, the Executive Director who suggested to the Board that the ferry be shut-down, spoke. And yet the resolution passed unanimously. The impassioned pleas of the community, of Mayors past and present, of affected towns and counties were apparently so underwhelming to the Board of Directors that they needn't ask a single question nor make a single comment, the ferry will be shut-down.And thus as of now the much-loved ferry's days appear to be numbered. The Public Trust has made several public records requests of the JPA regarding the engineering reports cited by the JPA and past grants obtained to help run and fix the ferry. When received we will analyze them to determine what, if anything, can be done to prevent this loss to our community.
Recent Legal Decisions
EPA Finalizes Standards to Reduce Mercury!
On December 16, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the first ever national standards to reduce mercury and other toxic air pollution from coal and oil-fired power plants. These standards, known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS, are long overdue as more than 20 years after the 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments some power plants still do not control emissions of toxic pollutants, even though pollution control technology is widely available. These standards, which fall under Sections 111 (new source performance standards) and 112 (toxics program) of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, are not only overdue, they are also behind the curve as since 1990, two of the three industry sectors which make up approximately two-thirds of total U.S. mercury emissions: medical waste incinerators, municipal waste combustors, have been subject to emissions standards for years and as a result have reduced their mercury emissions by more than 95%. The third sector which hasn’t been subject to emissions standards is power plants, but not anymore. Thus the MATS, which set standards for all Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) emitted by coal- and oil-fired EGUs with a capacity of 25 megawatts or greater, finally place standards on the dominant emitters of mercury (50%) acid gases (over 75%) and many toxic metals (20-60%) in the United States.
The MATS requires plants to use maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards which for new sources must be at least as stringent as the emission reduction achieved by the best performing similar source. The MACT standards for existing sources must be at least as stringent as the emission reductions achieved by the average of the top 12 percent best controlled sources. In setting the MACT standard for each source costs may not be considered, and the EPA may regulate beyond this standard where justified, in which case costs and other issues must be considered. Existing sources generally will have up to 4 years to retrofit their facilities if they need it to comply with MATS.
The regulations issued on December 16th, 2011 were done so under a Consent Decree of the D.C. Court of Appeals requiring EPA to issue a proposal by March 16, 2011, and a final rule by December 16, 2011.
It has been projected by the EPA that the new standards will avert up to 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks and 130,000 asthma attacks every year. If one were to put a monetary value on these improvements for people's health alone it would total $37 billion to $90 billion each year. That means that for every dollar spent to reduce this pollution, Americans will receive $3-9 in health benefits.
The Public Trust will remain on the lookout for local violators of these new rules, as The Northside Generating Station on Hecksher and the St. Johns River Power Park on New Burlin are two of the local plants affected by the rules.
-Andrew Miller, Executive Director
