HEALTH

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast to file bill encouraging new technology to fight blue-green algae

Tyler Treadway
Treasure Coast Newspapers

STUART — If you've come up with a way to get rid of blue-green algae, U.S. Rep. Brian Mast wants you to win a prize.

Mast, a Palm City Republican, announced Wednesday he will introduce legislation to establish a competition — with prize money — for developing innovative, environmentally safe ways to combat harmful algal blooms.

U.S. Rep Brian Mast introduces a new piece of legislation called the Harmful Algal Blooms Solutions Act on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017, during a news conference at American Custom Yachts in Stuart. The bill will reward those who develop technology that could clean up algae in large bodies of water. "There's not much good about harmful algal blooms," Mast said, but believes this bill will positively influence not only Martin County, but other areas in the country that suffers from algae blooms. To see more photos, go to TCPalm.com.

A common roadblock to cleaning up blooms, Mast said in a prepared statement, is "scaling technology to the size needed to clean huge bodies of water. This new program would go a long way toward improving the type of technology that cleans algae out of fish tanks to be able to keep our rivers clean.”

Called the Harmful Algal Blooms Solutions Act, the bill calls for the Secretary of Commerce to create a program to recognize and give money to people who come up with ways to:

  • remove large masses of algae
  • remove algae toxins
  • reduce nutrients that fuel algal blooms
  • provide real-time bloom-monitoring and early-warning systems

Prize money would come from private donations, according to the bill. A goal for donations to the Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Fund hasn't been set.

The award amounts will depend "on how much money is put into the pot," Mast said Wednesday afternoon.

Noting the high number of water-related businesses along the Treasure Coast, Mast said lots of private businesses and corporations throughout the country will be willing to contribute because they have a similar financial interest in getting rid of algae blooms.

To solicit prize money and determine prizewinners, the Commerce Department also would establish a 30-member board with:

  • representatives of federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, NASA and the Army Corps of Engineers
  • officials from 29 states, including Florida, impacted by blooms
  • environmental scientists
  • representatives from environmental nonprofits

The board would decide the criteria for winning prizes, Stewart said, and could give money to businesses or individuals to help develop a promising product or award a product that's already been produced.

The prize wouldn't pay to actually remove algae; that's something a government agency, such as a county or state, would contract to have done.

Mast will file the bill when he returns to Washington, D.C., in early September.

Already in the mix

A similar committee set up by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection evaluated algae removal proposals from 41 businesses and came up with a list of 15 viable possibilities.

One is Stuart-based Ecosphere Technologies, which cleaned thick mats of algae out of a boat basin at Outboards Only in the Rio community. Shortly after the cleanup, DEP said the firm's methods were "not viewed favorably" by the panel.

Inclusion on the list is not "an endorsement of the proposal by the DEP," said agency spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller. Being left off the list doesn't mean the bloom-blasting idea wouldn't work, the panel just couldn't make a determination with the information it had.

In mid-July, Michigan-based Greenfield Resources set up a demonstration along the Main Relief Canal in Vero Beach to show how its process of shocking water with electricity can remove nitrogen and phosphorus — contaminants that cause algae blooms — before the water reaches the Indian River Lagoon.

Greenfield plans to give results of its testing to Indian River County officials "in the near future," County Commissioner Peter O'Bryan said Wednesday.

"I'm anxious to see if they can do what they say they can do," O'Bryan said.