[ 1 CLASS II- CLEA 



1 ' WATERS 



■■> 



Figure 45. — The distribution of Class II waters- 

 suitable for shellfish harvesting. 



-those 



of Florida's Gulf coast pelicans have thinned less 

 as a result of metabolic effects of DDT than the 

 shells of Atlantic coast pelicans, yet nearly all 

 of the Gulf coast eggshells are thinner than pre- 

 1947 shells, especially those from Pinellas County 

 (Blus, 1970). A PCB has been detected in the 

 biota, water, and sediment of Escambia Bay 

 (Duke, Lowe, and Wilson, 1970), and there is 

 reason to believe that such compounds are wide- 

 spread in the marine environment (Risebrough, 

 1969). Thus, the estuarine-dependent life of 

 Florida's Gulf coast estuaries suffers damages 

 from the ubiquitous pollutants being found ev- 

 erywhere, and concerned people here as else- 

 where are looking for the means to prevent 

 disastrous results to fish, wildlife and perhaps 

 ultimately man himself. 



DREDGING 



Recent legislation has established the means 

 to abolish indiscriminate dredging and filling in 

 Florida. The voters approved a constitutional 

 amendment in November 1970 that prohibits the 

 sale of submerged land except when clearly in 

 the public interest. Earlier in 1970 the legis- 

 lature authorized the Trustees of the Internal 

 Improvement Fund (the Cabinet) to buy back 

 submerged land (Section 253.02, 1970 Supple- 

 ment to the 1969 Fla. Statutes) , and it prohibited 



the practice of issuing "after-the-fact" dredge 

 and fill permits (Section 253.124, 1970 Supple- 

 ment to the 1969 Fla. Statutes). In 1969, 14 

 aquatic preserves in west coast estuaries were 

 established within which various activities in- 

 cluding dredging and filling are controlled (Flor- 

 ida Inter-Agency Advisory Committee on Sub- 

 merged Land Management, 1968) . The Randell 

 Act of 1967 requires that a biological survey be 

 made in connection with application for dredging 

 (Ch. 67-393, Fla. Statutes) and The Bulkhead 

 Act of 1957 provides for the setting of bulkhead 

 lines (the future shore line) by counties and 

 cities (Ch. 57-362, Fla. Statutes). 



Recent Federal actions parallel those of the 

 State. In July 1970 a Federal Court of Appeals 

 upheld the right of the Corps of Engineers to 

 deny a dredge-fill permit on the grounds that the 

 work was not in the general public interest 

 (Zabel-Russell case, Boca Ciega Bay). The de- 

 nial was based on damages to fish and wildlife 

 resources. The court's action was consistent 

 with provisions of the Environmental Policy Act 

 of 1969 (P.L. 91-190), which requires Federal 

 agencies to consider environmental matters in 

 the administration of public laws, and the Fish 

 and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958 (P.L. 85- 

 624), which requires consideration of fish and 

 wildlife in the issuance of Federal permits to* 

 construction in navigable waters. Under its ori- 

 ginal authorization to issue permits, the Corps 

 of Engineers was required to consider navigation 

 only (River and Harbor Act of 1899). Zabel 

 and Russell appealed the decision of the Federal 

 Court of Appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, 

 which in February 1971 declined to review the 

 case, thereby confirming by its silence the con- 

 stitutionality of the denial. 



We have mapped filled areas by comparing 

 modern charts and photographs with charts 

 made before dredging was done, and we have 

 planimetered the area of land made by filling 

 (Figs. 2-24, Table 9) . The U.S. Coast and Geo- 

 detic Survey provided charts published from 

 1883 to 1930, and the National Archives sent us 

 photocopies of the earliest charts, dated 1858- 

 1888. 



The Corps of Engineers has designed 42 navi- 

 gation channels along the west coast of Florida 

 over the years, most of which are short access 

 channels from the Gulf to coastal communities; 

 nearly all have been completed (Table 10). 



116 



