The Latest: Rubio wants Obama to declare emergency for algae

STUART, Fla. – The Latest on an algae bloom that prompted Florida’s governor to declare a state of emergency (all times local):

2:45 p.m.

Sen. Marco Rubio called on President Barack Obama to declare a state of emergency to help businesses harmed by the massive algae bloom fouling some of Florida’s southern rivers and beaches.

Rubio on Friday toured a portion of the St. Lucie River where a smelly muck is fouling an area promoted as Florida’s “Treasure Coast.” The Florida Republican told of visiting one riverside home where it “smelled like an open sewer.” Rubio’s Democratic colleague, Sen. Bill Nelson, toured the area Thursday.

Rubio also called on the Army Corps of Engineers to continue holding more water in Lake Okeechobee rather than divert it into the rivers. The corps releases water to lower the pressure on a dike to avoid a repeat of a 1928 hurricane breach that killed 2,500 people.

___

4:45 a.m.

As a noxious algae bloom fouls beaches on Florida’s Atlantic coast, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing to reduce the flow of water from Lake Okeechobee.

Many people blame that flow for fueling the problem.

The Corps’ Jacksonville District says in a news release it plans to begin the reductions Friday, targeting the Caloosahatchee Estuary and the St. Lucie Estuary.

The action comes after Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency over the problem, and as politicians and residents are blaming the federal government.

Residents and business owners blame the algae on pollutants streaming from the lake.