PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott is apparently feeling the political heat over lack of a concerted state and federal plan to attack algae blooms in Florida's waterways.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Florida's congressional delegation, Scott blames President Barack Obama and his administration for neglecting upkeep on the aging Herbert Hoover Dike at the south end of Lake Okeechobee.
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The Republican governor said his calls for Washington to repair the dike "have been ignored."
"Time and time again, the state of Florida has stepped up to invest in important restoration projects, while the federal government has continued to fall short and not fund the maintenance and repair of the dike they are solely responsible for," Scott wrote.
File: Rick Scott letter on algae blooms
Water being discharged from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers is being blamed as the cause of the algae blooms.
Scott declared a state of emergency in Martin, St. Lucie, Lee and Palm Beach counties, prompting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reduce the flow of water from the lake.
The South Florida Water Management District is also holding additional water north of the lake, while Florida Power & Light agreed to temporarily store about 2.2 billion gallons of water in a cooling pond at one of its facilities in Martin County.
"As you return to Washington, D.C., this week, I hope that you will do all you can to ask President Obama to accept our request for a federal emergency declaration and provide crucial funding to maintain and repair the dike to protect Florida's waterways," Scott asked the delegation.
The dike was built in 1937 to prevent flooding after a major hurricane in 1928 killed thousands of people living near the lake.
Scott's critics claim he bears responsibility for failing to take stronger state environmental action against the algae outbreak.