STUART, Fla. — The City of Stuart is taking a more aggressive approach to improve water quality in the St. Lucie River by hiring an environmental attorney tasked with identifying legal strategies to tackle pollution and discharge issues.
For many residents, including longtime boater Howard Mason and his wife Jackie, the river's condition has become a daily concern.
“This strainer shouldn’t need to be cleaned out as often as I do,” said Howard Mason, referring to his boat’s air filter, which he says he cleans every five days.
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The Masons say the polluted waters of the St. Lucie River have made it hard to embrace where they live.
“We sold our kayaks because I would not put them in this water,” said Jackie.
“I’ve been here 15 years and I haven’t seen a manatee,” added Howard. "We need to do something, and we need to do it sooner rather than later."
In response to growing concerns like these, the city hired Ruth Holmes, an environmental attorney, at a salary of $175,000 per year. Holmes is set to begin work in early August.
“Her goal is to stop the discharges. How that happens, we don’t have the answer, and that’s why we are willing to spend this money to hire this person,” said Stuart Mayor Campbell Rich.
At a city commission meeting last Tuesday, Holmes admitted the task at hand won’t be an easy one.
“I can’t do it alone. I’m just a lawyer. I’ve been doing this for a long time, but at the end of the day, I’m just one person,” she said.
Environmental organizations, like the Florida Oceanographic Society, say they're prepared to provide Holmes the scientific research and support she will need.
“The city of Stuart is so dependent on the quality of those waterways, and we’ve known for years that they’ve been polluted, there's discharges into the estuaries,” said Mark Perry, executive director of the group. “Not too many other municipalities or cities have a dedicated kind of attorney that focuses on those environmental issues, and now that the City of Stuart has one, it’s going to be a very effective means for the city to take standing in addressing these issues on a legal basis."
For residents like the Masons, the action serves as a glimmer of hope and a step in the right direction towards the fight for clean water.
“I hope it creates some movement in a positive direction.”
