Rodman Reservoir / Kirkpatrick Dam
Comment Form
The St. Johns River Water Management District is collecting feedback from local community members and stakeholders regarding the Kirkpatrick Dam and Rodman Reservoir, with a focus on interests surrounding the dam’s environmental and economic impact. Fill in your responses below to be a part of this process.
Please consider responding to the SJRWMD Comment Form at this link: https://floridaswater.formstack.com/forms/rodman?
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OCKLAWAHA RIVER HISTORY: Former Governor Lawton Chiles on 16 June 1995 announced the following, "After a careful review of the Ocklawaha River/Rodman Reservoir issue, I am hereby directing the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, in cooperation with the St Johns River Water Management District, to proceed immediately in applying for permits to restore the Ocklawaha River and in moving forward with a plan to begin an orderly and phased drawdown of the Rodman Reservoir."
Quite often "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" has been asked this same general question by sincere people:
WHY HASN'T THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER ALREADY BEEN RESTORED SINCE GOVERNOR CHILES AND THE FLORIDA CABINET ORDERED IT TO BE DONE BACK IN THE 1990's?
The official answer to that question is as documented in these following three quoted paragraphs from Technical Publication SJ2016-1 by the SJRWMD's John Hendrickson:
(1) "In 1991, federal de-authorization of the Cross Florida Barge Canal Project resulted in the transfer of canal lands to the state of Florida. An ad hoc Canal Lands Advisory Committee (CLAC) was formed to provide recommendations to the Governor and Cabinet on the disposition of the barge canal lands and structures. After deliberating on the recommendations of the CLAC, the 1993 Legislature passed Chapter 92-213, Laws of Florida, which directed the Department of Natural Resources (now the Florida Department of Environmental Protection [FDEP]) to ' . . . study the efficacy, both environmental and economic, of complete restoration of the Ocklawaha River, partial restoration of the river, total retention of Rodman Reservoir, and partial retention of the reservoir . . ..' Funds were provided for the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) to undertake the study of these four alternatives. As part of the comprehensive assessment performed by SJRWMD, Volume 11 of the Environmental Studies Concerning Four Alternatives for Rodman Reservoir and the Lower Ocklawaha River, Surface Water Quality and Alternatives Analysis for Rodman Reservoir (ECT, 1994) predicted a post-restoration increase in nitrogen (in the form of nitrate+nitrite-N) and phosphorus (as orthophosphate) loads of 878 and 30 metric tons/yr to the LSJR.
(2) "Despite the predicted increase in downstream nutrient load, the positive aspects related to the restoration of floodplain functions, increased unique habitat and migratory fish passage appeared to provide overall net environmental gain. At the directive of then-Gov. Lawton Chiles and the Florida Cabinet, FDEP in 1997 submitted a permit application to SJRWMD for the removal of Rodman Reservoir to restore a free-flowing lower Ocklawaha River.
(3) "But in 1999, once the permit application package was complete, the case for the restoration was deemed insufficient to meet the environmental resource permit (ERP) and consumptive use permit (CUP) public interest tests, and SJRWMD staff informed FDEP that they could not recommend approval to their Governing Board. The most prominent concern contributing to the recommendation of denial centered on the potential adverse impacts of increased nutrient load to the lower St. Johns River. Adding to this concern was the fact that the lower St. Johns at the time was one of the most prominent water bodies included on the 1999 consent decree between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Earthjustice to establish Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for impaired Florida waters. FDEP requested that SJRWMD not take agency action and to hold the permit in abeyance indefinitely, a status which has continued until this day."
Presumably the "not-for-profit" environmental groups have known the OFFICIAL REASON WHY OCKLAWAHA RIVER RESTORATION HAS BEEN IN ABEYANCE since late 1999. Earthjustice and these groups' NAMES (or their leadership's names) are listed on the legal papers from the 1999 United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division-ordered Florida TMDL CONSENT DECREE. Evidently their leadership seemingly decided that it made no "cents" for them to inform the general public of the actual official reasons why the permitting process for Ocklawaha River restoration has been in a stagnant state since late 1999.
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Most sincerely, "Ocklawahaman" Paul Nosca, the original creator of the "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" online petition back on 24 June 2016.
ACCURATE DOCUMENTED DATA, ECOLOGY, FACTS, FIREARMS, FISHING, HISTORY, HUMOR, HYDROLOGY, NEWS, OPINION, PADDLING, PHOTOS, SPRINGS, VIEWS, & WILDLIFE of the Ocklawaha River, Florida & SO MUCH MORE -- the "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" Facebook group page -- IT'S EASY TO JOIN & POST & IT'S FOR FREE $$$! And "Ocklawahaman" Paul Nosca NEVER solicits for YOUR $$$ MONEY! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1937718656450177/