Bipartisan Bill Would Help Florida Tackle Harmful Algal Blooms

Photo Credit: Ed Semon

In today’s hyper-partisan climate, it is hard to get Republicans and Democrats on the same page, especially when it comes to climate related issues. However, Florida Congressman Byron Donalds has wrangled Representatives from both sides of the aisle to sponsor H.R. 1008, the Combat Harmful Algal Blooms Act.

Congressman Donalds’s home district, like many other parts of Florida, is plagued with harmful algal blooms. Florida’s warm weather provides the perfect climate for HABs to grow in the water and when they grow too big, these blooms can harm the environment, make people and animals sick, and have harmful effects on tourism and the economy. During 2017–2019, Florida experienced a prolonged red tide event beginning with an algal bloom on Lake Okeechobee and as a result the Sunshine State lost an estimated nearly $1 billion in revenue including an additional loss of $178 million in tax revenue in 23 Gulf coast counties.

The economic impact of HABs extends beyond Florida. According to the Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms Program, algal blooms cost the U.S. an estimated $4.6 billion annually.

H.R. 1008 would add algal blooms to the list of environmental crises such as tornadoes and hurricanes covered by disaster declarations under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster…