GUEST COMMENTARY

LYNNE LARKIN

Much is being said about the now-mothballed Big Blue power plant on the river and its future removal, perhaps replacement, along Indian River Boulevard.  Jumping the gun in large measure, since the City itself can’t afford the coasts of tearing down, removing, and remediating the land for any use, city council is holding meetings and proposing options from green parkland to high rise commercial buildings.  Whoa there, big fella!  Time to recap our facts.

There’s been a power plant on that property. For decades.

The much smaller Old Diesel plant downtown, for which we taxpayers have already paid millions to clean up an (EPA-defined brownfield)site around and under that building, is not yet done with its face lift.  After several attempts to get a clean bill of health, there’s still more to do cleaning the grounds.  We don’t know how much, but it’s more than a simple rhinoplasty. Surely along the lines of full-body liposuction and reconstructive surgery, and this after 30 years of trying.

You’ll see the issues may be similar, if not multiplied, with Big Blue.  

If memory, and a review of campaign materials, serves us well, most candidates for office have pledged their support efforts to the area’s number one priority, cleaning up our Lagoon.  Lots of talking,  time for some walking.  The greatest perpetrators of pollution for the Indian Rive waterways are not “point-source” single definable pipes. That would be so much easier to find and fix. No, it’s run-off from pavement, from lawn treatments, from agricultural fertilizers and pesticides. 

The suggestions coming from Harry Howle and Pilar Turner, who both make their living from land development, are all about private investors building hotels, condos, and retail.  All such suggestions ignore the direct damage to the Lagoon of creating another waterslide of petroleum products right into the dolphin and manatee habitats. Regrowing sea grasses? Supplementing oyster beds? You may hazard a guess (pun intended) as to the results of such callous disregard for our environment.

The private sector developer is closer than ever to being the only one to profit from this multi-million dollar debacle. While holding their feet to the fire on water-protection may be difficult, especially if you’re also asking them to walk their promises to voters (some stumbling may occur), it needs to be done.