A Frank Discussion about Perdido Bay

Cato the Elder  234–149 BC

Late last week I had the opportunity to have a very frank discussion about Perdido Bay with a long-term resident of the area. This individual called my office and arranged an afternoon teleconference. We talked about the health of the bay, we talked about the issues that are impacting the bay.  And we talked philosophy as well.  This person has some strong feelings about what is causing all the trouble in Perdido Bay. She was also honest in what she hoped the outcome would be.  As I discussed these issues with her, I kept thinking about the famous quote commonly attributed to famous Roman Orator, statesman and soldier--Cato the Elder-- about the nature of politics and local issues and concerns.  The famous quotation from Cato the Elder is  “the average Roman doesn't care about what the legions are doing in foreign lands. He cares only about the pebble in his shoe.”.

My questions in bold and her responses italicized.

Have you noticed the bay has improved over the last decade or so--since IP started sending their effluent through a polishing wetland facility they created?

"No I really haven't.  I think it has become worse.  I've lived on the bay since the 1970's and I can tell you it's not better.  Now, we all thought that diverting the effluent through wetlands would be the solution-we really did but the plant increased the production and so the bay is getting more and more of the water from that process--and so no, I don't see it getting better"

What about the studies that show the bay is improving, and the Nutter and associates reports that show the bay's water is within allowable tolerances?

"We paid for our own studies and we compared them to a baseline of biological surveys that DEP used to do in the 1970's and  early 1980s--and looking at the changes over time it is clear that the bay has not improved but has become worse. Florida DEP used to conduct these surveys but then they stopped in the late 1980s."

I was told there were no crabs in the bay, so I went out and caught some.  I also saw seagrass and some crustaceans on driftwood in the upper bay--is this not a sign of improvement?

"I understand the grass beds are making a comeback, but I don't see the animals and the fish coming back in large numbers-so I don't see the grass alone as a sign of health"

The water itself has always been murky, kind of brown not unlike Pensacola Bay is in the upper portion near the Pensacola Bay bridge--do you believe this is because of IP alone?

"I think IP is a large contributor.  A few years back when they had the explosion at the plant and had to suspend operations for a few weeks, I could tell the difference in the bay immediately!  Within just the two weeks they were closed down and stopped the pumping of their water--the clarity of the bay water came back--I could see a noticeable improvement in just that short period of time.  So I believe if we stopped pumping the effluent through the wetlands and into Perdio Bay, we would see improvement very rapidly"

What is your goal, do you want to see International Paper get shut down?

"A lot of people think I am anti-International Paper-but I am not.  I actually have worked with them through the years, all of them as one company came through and then another.  I think the people that work there are good and that they are trying but I just think it is too much to be dumped in our little bay--the bay is just too small to take it.  I tell people if they could reduce production or somehow not dump the water into the bay-I would be fine with International Paper."

Isn't it a bit hypocritical?  I mean, we all use the products IP makes, and if we force them to close this mill here-don't you realize they would just take their production elsewhere-potentially to a country that has more laxed environmental regulations than we do here in America--which would ultimately lead to more pollution for the planet?

"I agree, I do realize that, but I live here so I care about this because this is where I live.  That's what is so tough about this issue,  and I don't know what the answer is.  If this was happening in Pensacola Bay or somewhere else or in some other state or some other country-- it would not affect me as directly as it does now and so therefore I would not be as actively opposed.   And if and when the mill does close--I know that will be a very large economic impact, I know that. So I'm not sure h"ow this gets resolved.

I have heard that International Paper is working through the process and is working on a Site Specific Alternative Criteria--what do you think about that?

"I don't believe they will possibly get one, how could they?  I just don't see that as a possibility and I don't think it will happen.

If you could wave a magic wand and get any outcome you wanted, what would that be?

"I don't have any anger towards IP, but I do wish they could be shut down, so I suppose that is what I would want as an outcome, yes."