In January 2019, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 19-12 creating the Blue-Green Algae Task Force (BGATF) charged with expediting progress toward reducing the adverse impacts of toxic blue-green algae blooms. In October 2019, the Task Force issued an initial consensus document outlining recommendations to make progress toward that goal. As we approach the three-year anniversary of the issuance of those recommendations, ecological conditions in Florida have not improved and, in many cases, they have worsened. Lack of meaningful water quality protections have resulted in persistent harmful algal blooms, a record number of manatee deaths, and an overall decline in water quality statewide. During the summer of 2022, as algal blooms continued to plague waterways across the state, a coalition of environmental organizations representing Floridians across the state came together to review the BGATF recommendations and provide an update on their implementation.

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Only 2 out of 14 Government approved BGATF recommendations have been fully implemented in the last 3 years. We must send a strong message to the governor to keep his commitment to clean water! Pick a category or just ask for him to put more focus on accomplishing these important goals. Please be aware that this report is a Statewide perspective. The Indian River Lagoon has it's own subset of these issues. Please see the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan for related IRL issues.