This season's red tide bloom started one year ago this month, and on Wednesday you could still feel the effects of the toxic algae on Redington Beach.
A few miles away, Democratic members of Congress from Florida met with scientists to talk solutions.
“The answer is right in front of us in the state of Florida and nobody is talking about it,” Dr. William Mitsch, a professor from the Everglades Wetland Research Park, told political leaders.
Most in the room agreed that the solution has to include stopping the pollution going into Lake Okeechobee, and in turn keeping that contaminated water from reaching the east and west coasts and feeding the toxic algae.
The disagreement is on how to do that.
Mitsch believes the state has to buy 100,000 acres of land back from the sugar farms south of Lake Okeechobee and turn it into wetlands to clean the water.
“If you send the water south and it's polluted, it's worse than sending no water at all,” he said.
The question is whether there is the political will to ask the sugar industry to give up some of their land.
When asked whether he would support buying land back, Sen. Bill Nelson, who has taken campaign donations from the sugar industry, directed attention to the 10,000 acres the state already owns.
But some like Mitsch say more land is needed. Rep. Charlie Crist thought so when he was governor of Florida because in 2009 he struck a deal to buy more than 70,000 acres of land from the sugar industry, but the plan had to be put on hold when the economic recession hit.
Then, Gov. Rick Scott took office. He, too, has taken donations from the sugar industry throughout his political career.
“Just to show you how powerful these special interests and polluters are, they blocked, they convinced our GOP-controlled legislature and Governor Rick Scott not to move forward on that,” Rep. Kathy Castor said.
But now, there is a new election coming up and another chance to fix the problem. For Mitsch, the solution is clear.
“We need 100,000 more acres of their land and I'm sorry, we can pay for it and they can get a good payment, but I'm sorry they're the last one's standing that have that land,” he said. “So are they going to be benevolent and the hero of the day? That would be a choice that they can make, and I hope they do.”
10News reached out to U.S. Sugar, one of the leading sugar companies in Florida. They responded with a written statement that said, in part: “This issue was addressed last year in the Florida legislature. … There is no need to purchase additional farmland and to put farming communities out of business.”
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