Bill Nelson: “I rise to day in support of the Graham-Nelson bill to de-authorize the dredging of the Apalachicola River. The time has…”

“I rise to day in support of the Graham-Nelson bill to de-authorize the dredging of the Apalachicola River. The time has come to end the dredging of the Apalachicola river in north Florida. The detriments far outweigh the benefits of this expensive Army Corps of Engineers river project. The barge traffic is negligible; and the environmental and economic impact to the area surrounding this river are harmful. Since 1998, fewer than 140 barges have used the Florida portion of the Apalachicola River. And of the barge traffic that does navigate this waterway, most is confined to a 6 mile long stretch of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint ACF River System for the transport of sand and gravel, the principal commodity shipped on the system. The dredging to keep this small amount of barge traffic going has resulted in sand mountains that have destroyed one-quarter of the banks of the Apalachicola River and choked sloughs cutting off water supply to surrounding habitat. In addition, the releases of large quantities of water to allow barge traffic to navigate the river disrupts the spawning behavior of three endangered species: the Gulf Sturgeon, the Fat Three-Ridge and the Purple Bank Climber. Another concern is the effect of pulses of this fresh water on the balance of salt and fresh water in Apalachicola Bay. The Apalachicola Bay is the largest oyster harvesting area in the Gulf of Mexico and one of the principal nurseries for Gulf Shrimp and blue crabs.…”