Title
2007 Orange Creek Basin Management Action Plan - Letter of Commitment (B)
This item involves a request for the City Commission to authorize the City Manager to execute a letter of commitment on behalf of the City of Gainesville to participate in the planning and implementation of the 2007 Orange Creek Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP).
Explanation
On November 1, 2007, the Recreation, Cultural Affairs and Public Works Committee (Committee) heard a summary of the BMAP from a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) representative and staff.
Since 2004 the Orange Creek Basin Working Group (BWG), a broad coalition of local stakeholders, has been devising means and plans to remove excess pollutants from impaired water bodies in the Orange Creek Basin. The September 24, 2007, draft of the 2007 Orange Creek BMAP presents the details of the process and the BWG activities for reducing the targeted nutrients or bacteria in the community's water bodies. There are important factors associated with the BMAP and they are the following:
-The BMAP was prepared as part of a statewide watershed management approach to restore and protect Florida's water quality;
-The BMAP represents a collaborative effort by affected local, regional, and state governmental interests; elected officials and citizens; and private interests to identify management actions for phased implementation of Total Maximum Daily Load reductions;
-The BMAP includes a strong plan of management actions to address targeted pollutants;
-The BMAP includes monitoring and research activities to improve the understanding of the basin and additional measures needed to meet water quality standards; and
-The BMAP applies adaptive management strategy and will be revised every five years until the Total Maximum Daily Loads are achieved.
The attached map summarizes the impairments to local water bodies.
There have been numerous public meetings held during the develop...
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