Save endangered sea turtles from lethal pipelines in Florida

Hundreds of protected and endangered sea turtles are injured or killed from being sucked into pipelines in Florida each year. The Florida Power and Light St. Lucie plant that utilizes the pipelines is just now beginning to test and implement any barrier to prevent this from happening. However, their proposed grate covering would not prevent even a third of the sea turtles from getting sucked in. The only way to ensure no turtles are sucked in and then injured or killed is to cover all three of the pipe openings with mesh. FPL won't do it because the mesh would change the flow of water and disrupt goings on at the plant. Sign this petition to tell FPL to prioritize the lives of precious sea turtles over their convenience by installing mesh over these pipelines.

According to best estimates, the pipelines have injured or killed thousands of sea turtles in their 40 years of existence. The area is a very popular place for turtles. They use a nearby beach to nest and reef to rest. FPL knows this and so employs a nonprofit to monitor the end of the pipelines for marine life. The non-profit does not prevent sea turtles from getting sucked in, they only assess injuries of those that do. They report that almost every turtle who goes through the pipeline gets fresh cuts and scrapes from the barnacle-encrusted pipelines. Often the turtles' injuries are severe enough to warrant critical medical attention. Sometimes the turtle is already dead when it ends up on the other side. If FPL just put mesh coverings on all these pipelines then zero seat turtles would get pulled along for the ride and get injured or even die.

FPL doesn't want to cover the openings with mesh because that would alter the 1 mph current of water that goes to the plant. It is atrocious that the third largest electric provider in the country can't be bothered to make sure their plant doesn't harm wildlife around it. From their perspective, the hassle of recalibrating the way the plant uses the ocean is too high a burden to protect endangered sea turtles.