This is not a new plan. This is something that has been at the heart of Everglades restoration since 1999 and was a major part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan signed into law by then-Governor Jeb Bush and then-President Bill Clinton with overwhelming bi-partisan support.
Today, the project is not scheduled to begin to be planned until the year 2021. Science proves, and the environmental disasters occurring throughout South Florida show us, this project date needs to be moved up. Simply, we cannot wait another 5 years.
And as called for in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, the Everglades needs an above ground reservoir directly south of Lake Okeechobee located in the 500,000 acres of sugar cane fields that make up the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA). The EAA reservoir is the most important project that will significantly reduce the amount of freshwater that is currently being dumped east and west. The critical dollars to build these project are available from both the federal government and the state of Florida. Everglades restoration is funded annually by the United States Congress via direct appropriation to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior.
Everglades Trust supports the 200-plus Everglades scientists who believe that increased storage, treatment and conveyance of water south of Lake Okeechobee is essential to stop the damaging discharges to the coastal estuaries; to restore the flow of clean, fresh water to Everglades National Park, Florida Bay and the Florida Keys; to improve the health of Lake Okeechobee; and to protect the drinking water for 8 million Floridians living in Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Using Amendment 1 and other funds, we must identify and secure 60,000 acres of land south of the lake without delay, before development in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) or other uncertainties condemn our waters to irrevocable destruction.
The Negron Plan
Florida’s Senate President-elect Joe Negron announced on August 9, 2016, that he’ll seek state lawmakers’ approval for a $2.4 billion plan to store water south of Lake Okeechobee.
The plan would require the acquisition of about 60,000 acres of land in an area mostly occupied by sugar growers and farmers. Conveyance and storage of massive amounts of water would be included, as well as the treatment of the polluted water before it is released, when needed, back into the Everglades.
The goal is to reduce Lake Okeechobee water outflows that have contributed to the growth of blue-green algae on Florida's east and west coasts.
"Our community has been plagued by tremendous environmental and economic impacts as hundreds of millions of gallons of water are released from Lake Okeechobee each year,” Negron said in a press release. “Permanent storage south of Lake Okeechobee is unquestionably needed as part of the overall plan to solve this catastrophic problem.”
Negron, a Republican, represents part of the Treasure Coast. The area has been plagued this year by blue-green algae -- a result of polluted water released from Lake Okeechobee and nearby waterways. Being able to store and filter the water in reservoirs south of the lake would dramatically limit flows to Florida's coasts and curb the algae problem, along with the devastation that comes from introducing freshwater (clean or dirty) into saltwater environments.
The plan that Senator Negron has laid out is a key component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) that’s been in place now for 16 years.
Florida and the federal government would split the costs of the land and the water storage facilities. Florida would cover its $1.2 billion bill with $100 million annual withdrawals from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund -- a fund voters approved in 2014 for the restoration and conservation of the Everglades.
Everglades Foundation Action Plan
Through the vital work of a remarkable team at the Everglades Foundation, there now exists an Action Plan for local and state leaders to follow – a multi-point roadmap to restore 