Middle St. Johns - Florida Department of Environmental Protection

58 Water Quality Assessment Report: Middle St. Johns
Clean Marina Program
Developed by the Department, Marine Industries Association of
Florida, and Florida SeaGrant, the Clean Marina Program (CMP) has the
goal of prevention. Marinas and boaters may not be aware of the environmental
laws, rules, and jurisdictions with which they must comply. Participating
facilities voluntarily agree to implement Marina Environmental
Measures (MEMs), which are simple, innovative solutions to day-to-day
marina operations that protect the environment. These MEMs have been
developed through an examination of BMPs around the country and the
partnership of Florida’s marinas, boatyards, boaters, and government.
The CMP’s Clean Marina Designation lets boaters who use marinas
know that these businesses adhere to—or exceed—current regulatory
requirements and want their activities to be environmentally conscious.
The Department’s Central District supports the CMP with a coordinator
who provides participating facilities with technical support, compliance
assistance, and training. Currently, there are no marinas designated as
clean marinas in the Middle St. Johns Basin.
St. Johns River Alliance (formerly American Heritage River Program)
The St. Johns River along with its watershed, except for the portion of
the basin in Representative Cliff Stearns’ district, was designated an American
Heritage River on July 30, 1998. The American Heritage Program is
not a separately funded federal initiative, but rather a focusing of federal
resources to identified priority areas. A major project focus has been the
establishment of a St. Johns River Ecoheritage Corridor and the encouragement
of ecotourism in the basin.
The management structure comprised local advisory and steering committees.
The Steering Committee’s membership included the SJRWMD’s
executive director, the directors of the Department’s Northeast and Central
District Offices, the mayor of the city of Jacksonville, a representative from
each Advisory Committee, and local community members. An employee
of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the River Navigator,
serves as a liaison between federal agencies and the Steering Committee.
Three advisory committees supported the Steering Committee: one
each for the Lower, Middle, and Upper St. Johns River. Membership on
the Advisory Committee is determined through locally led processes and
includes local government officials, the business community, the recreational
community, historical/cultural interests, environmental organizations,
and citizen representatives.
The St. Johns River Alliance was launched in 2003. The River
Alliance is a nonprofit organization headed by a Board of Directors that
replaces the American Heritage Steering Committee
Minimum Flows and Levels
Minimum Flows and Levels (MFL) have been established for the
Wekiva River, its headwater springs, and Black Creek. Headwater springs
include Messant, Seminole, Rock, Wekiva, Miami, Sanlando, Starbuck,
and Palm Springs (Vergara, 2000b). MFLs for a waterbody are defined as
“the limit at which further withdrawals would be significantly harmful to