U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio on Friday surveyed areas damaged by blue-green algae and red tide and held a roundtable discussion with local officials in Captiva to discuss water quality issues and the local economic impacts of these algal outbreaks.
“Today, I saw firsthand the impacts that toxic algae and red tide are having on communities in Southwest Florida,” Rubio said. “We are making progress, but we must continue to ensure the right resources are available for the communities affected by these blooms and work to solve our underlying water quality and infrastructure challenges.”
Watch a video following Rubio’s visit here.
He has introduced the South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act, legislation that would direct the Interagency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) to assess the causes and consequences of HABs in Lake Okeechobee and around Florida’s south and southwestern coast to determine the federal resources available to solve these challenges. He also recently secured $1 million of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds for areas affected by harmful algal blooms.
