By Mark Perry
February 16, 2017
TC Palm
Mark Perry, Executive Director
Florida Oceanographic Society
Lake Okeechobee discharges to the coastal estuaries result in significant economic, public health and environmental damages. The single most important project that can be implemented to reduce damaging discharges to the estuaries and restore flow to the Everglades and Florida Bay is completion of the Everglades Agricultural Area storage project, an integral component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan for more than 17 years.
It’s time for the Florida Legislature to pass Senate Bill 10, which directs the state to buy land in the EAA and complete the water storage project.
State funding is available to buy the land and complete the project. Public consensus is clear. In 2014, 75 percent of Florida voters amended the state constitution to provide $15 billion over 20 years for the Land Acquisition Trust Fund. This dedicated source of funds was intended to buy land for this project, but Senate leaders at the time dictated the funds be spent on state operating budgets instead.
Senator Joe Negron, together with other state representatives, has initiated a plan in SB 10 to direct the state to specifically proceed with the EAA storage project. The right people are in the right place to move this forward so that the funds originally allocated actually go to this critical project. The project is part of CERP and will receive 50 percent matching federal money.
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