2018 AdWatch: on Environment

Bill Nelson: Lake Okeechobee water is murky, but it's a state issue

Scott has run a TV ad accusing Nelson of having done nothing during his time in Congress to improve the situation with Lake Okeechobee. Seasonal discharges from the lake have fueled toxic algae blooms along the Treasure Coast and in Southwest Florida.

Nelson responded with his own ad that ended with "the water is murky, but the fact is clear: Rick Scott caused this problem."

Whenever heavy rains raise Lake O's water level, the Army Corps of Engineers releases billions of gallons of water from the lake through canals. Since the federal government controls those discharges, Scott blames Nelson for not doing more to stop it. But the Army Corps doesn't control the quality of the water in the lake.

Rick Scott: Lake Okeechobee water is murky, but it's a federal issue

Scott has run a TV ad accusing Nelson of having done nothing during his time in Congress to improve the situation with Lake Okeechobee. Seasonal discharges from the lake have fueled toxic algae blooms along the Treasure Coast and in Southwest Florida.

Whenever heavy rains raise Lake O's water level, the Army Corps of Engineers releases billions of gallons of water from the lake through canals. Since the federal government controls those discharges, Scott blames Nelson for not doing more to stop it.

But the Army Corps doesn't control the quality of the water in the lake. Environmental groups across the state have been harshly critical of Scott's tenure in Tallahassee, saying his administration's budgets cuts for environmental programs helped lead to the water problems now plaguing the state.

Don Blankenship: AdWatch: Year in prison for contaminating drinking water

Last week, the newly-formed super PAC began airing TV ads targeting Blankenship, who spent one year behind bars following a deadly 2010 explosion at his Upper Big Branch Mine. The national party isn't promoting its role in the group but its fingerprints are all over it.

The 30-second commercials, which the group is spending nearly $700,000 to air, accuse Blankenship's company of contaminating drinking water by pumping "toxic coal slurry," even as the multimillionaire installed a piping system that pumped clean water to his mansion. "Isn't there enough toxic sludge in Washington?" the narrator intones.

Blankenship last month issued a statement saying he was well aware of the possibility that party leadership could target him.

Don Blankenship: AdWatch: role of MSHA in mine disaster was covered up

An extensive review of multiple government reports, plus a search through a database of thousands of news articles produced no supporting facts.