BY RANDY SCHULTZ – EDITOR OF THE EDITORIAL PAGE
Suddenly, saving the St. Lucie River and restoring the Everglades have buzz. Lots of it.
One week ago, state Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, led a nearly nonstop eight-hour committee hearing in Stuart examining the plight of the St. Lucie, which has turned toxic after being pounded by releases of water from Lake Okeechobee. Sen. Negron wanted short-term and long-term ideas for moving that water elsewhere or not moving it at all.
On Tuesday, the South Florida Water Management District produced a list of ideas, with costs. On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott announced that the state and the federal government would team up to complete a project that is very important to Everglades restoration and thus to the St. Lucie River.
Restoring the Everglades means restoring, to the extent possible, the flow of water south from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay that existed before creation of the canal system that drained so much of South Florida for development and farming. If more water can go south, less water has to go east to the St. Lucie and west to the Caloosahatchee River when rising lake levels threaten the Herbert Hoover Dike. Also, getting more water to the Everglades at the right time of the year will help wildlife.
For decades, however, that flow of water has been blocked by Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) in Miami-Dade County. This year, however, work to build a bridge over one mile of the road was completed. Water now can flow into Everglades National Park and on to the bay. On Wednesday, making very big news, the governor committed $90 million over three years for the bridging of another 2.6-mile stretch that will allow much more water to move south.
According to the governor’s office, the money will come from the Florida Department of Transportation budget and will not need legislative approval. The money is contingent, though, on the federal government matching that $90 million. The Interior Department, which oversees the park, was represented at Wednesday’s announcement. Given the Obama administration’s good record on Everglades restoration, we should be optimistic, but the state’s congressional delegation must make the money a priority.
At last week’s hearing, Sen. Negron asked if the water management district could move more water south under current conditions. The district has offered three proposals that over the next six months could accommodate up to roughly 15,000 acre feet of water per day at a cost of about $2.3 million. That amount is modest, compared to the overall volume of the releases, but Martin County residents will take any short-term favors. The district offered other options for emergency storage of water on public and private land around the lake.
With the governor’s pledge to find $40 million next year toward a large restoration project in the Treasure Coast, Sen. Negron may be right when he says, “In eight to 10 years, we’re going to have a much better system.” That won’t clean the St. Lucie River in six weeks. But those who demanded action deserve credit for the buzz they started. Now, that buzz has to last.
Randy Schultz
for The Post Editorial Board