TC PALM.COM TALLAHASSEE — House Speaker Steve Crisafulli dealt a blow to local hopes the state would buy land from sugar growers to help alleviate discharges into the St. Lucie River.
The Merritt Island Republican told Scripps/Tampa Tribune Capital Bureau reporters Thursday he is against the purchase, which would allow water from Lake Okeechobee south into the Everglades, saying he’s a “proponent of agriculture.”
“I don’t think the state needs to own more land,” he said.
Crisafulli also said the state should use money made available through Amendment 1 to preserve land it already owns.
Approved by more than 75 percent of voters last year, the amendment sets aside one-third of real estate transaction tax revenues through 2035 — totaling an estimated $22.6 billion and $757 million this year — to buy, restore, improve and manage conservation lands, including rivers and the Indian River Lagoon.
Environmental groups, such as the Everglades Foundation, and Martin County officials are lobbying the Legislature to appropriate money during its March-through-May session to buy 46,800 acres south of Lake O from U.S. Sugar Corp. The state has until Oct. 12 to buy the land, according to a deal former Gov. Charlie Crist’s administration reached with the company.
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