Public, media excluded from upcoming Rooney roundtable on toxic algae blooms at FGCU

The public is shut out of a multi-agency roundtable on harmful algae blooms U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Naples, is organizing at FGCU on May 7, and the event will not be live-streamed.

The meeting is to discuss responses to the devastating dual algae emergencies last year: red tide along the coast and cyanobacteria blooms in freshwater.

Participants include officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Florida departments of emergency management, environmental protection and economic opportunity as well as Lee and Collier counties, the cities of Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Sanibel and Bonita Springs, the village of Estero, Lee Health and FGCU.

More:Florida Department of Health emails show agency struggled to manage algae crisis

Members of the media are shut out as well. Once the event ends, Rooney will host a press conference.

As for why those citizens who fund those agencies can neither attend nor watch the event live, Rooney spokesman Christopher Berardi said some of the groups "confirmed with the condition they would be coming only if (the public was excluded) ... I didn't organize this," adding he would have to check into it further.

However, Rooney's office did not provide a list of which agencies refused to participate unless the media and public were excluded.

Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani is disappointed with the exclusions.

"For public tax-supported agencies saying they would not attend if (not) open to the public is unfortunate," he said. "I thought the agencies and policymakers work for the public."

The decision to keep the media and public out drew sharp criticism from other stakeholders and citizens on social media.

"This secret meeting is just wrong!" wrote Cape Coral resident Mary Ann Parsons. "What are they trying to hide? Possibly public panic about cyanobacteria? Spoiler alert – the word is out already! If you don’t have enough room to open it up to the public, then at least let The News Press and other news outlets in to cover the truth. We don’t want it sugar-coated by Rooney or others after this event."

More:FGCU and Mote Marine join forces to fight red tide and toxic blue-green algae

Bonnie Jean Clancy wondered, "What is the purpose of this round table if neither any public or media are allowed?" she asked. "I hope no decisions are made; wouldn’t that be a violation of Sunshine Laws? At any rate, more and more of what government does is being (concealed) behind closed doors, and it’s becoming quite disturbing," she wrote. "This is being held in our backyard, with officials from our municipalities present, and we aren’t allowed to attend."

However, much as citizens may not like the secrecy, there may be nothing they can do about it, said Barbara Petersen of the nonprofit First Amendment Foundation. Florida's Sunshine Law doesn't apply to federal officials, and she points out, "If there’s only one member of a local government body attending, then chances are good that the Sunshine Law doesn’t apply (either)." 

However, "What’s the harm in opening the meeting to the public and the press?" Petersen added. "This is an important issue of wide public concern and even, I would say, alarm, and the public needs to know what our elected representatives are doing to address the issue. Seems more than a little absurd that the public and press will be shut out and will be completely dependent on a press conference following the meeting."

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A release issued by Rooney's office noted "Last year, local municipalities spent over $2 million removing more than 400,000 gallons of blue-green algal blooms from local waterways...There are many concerned citizens living near the harmful algal outbreak zones."

Late Monday afternoon, it emailed this statement: “We are bringing various federal, state, and local agencies and entities together to share best practices and discuss how to best deal with the adverse impacts of harmful algae blooms. It is important that these agencies meet face-to-face to build personal relationships that can be leveraged when these events occur, and that we provide a private forum conducive to free and open, technical discussion concerning appropriate responses to future outbreaks, how to contain and minimize their impacts and how to track and communicate resultant health risks.

"To obtain the participants we have, the forum must be private and technically oriented. I will continue to do my best to inform our community about progress made and welcome comments, questions, or input from all of our citizens.”