Gov. Rick Scott is issuing an emergency order to help counties that are impacted by an algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee.
According to officials, the bloom has been sending its toxic, green slime to sensitive estuaries downstream.
On Monday, Scott signed an order that will give the state environmental and tourism agencies more resources to respond to the problem.
Algae blooms in Lake Okeechobee have been a problem for years. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers controls a dike system around the lake and releases water when lake levels get too high.
The algae blooms deplete water of oxygen, hurting wildlife and tourism.
Scott's order authorizes water releases south of the lake instead of down the rivers that empty into the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.