By Jordyn Grinnell
May 12, 2017
CBS 12
CLEWISTON, Fla. —
Governor Rick Scott is expected to sign a bill to build reservoirs south of Lake Okeechobee.
The governor is heading to Clewiston Friday before going on an aerial tour of Lake Okeechobee and the area where the construction will take place.
CBS12 is the only station in the state invited by Gov. Scott and the only station to have a one-on-one interview with him.
The $1.5 billion plan aims to prevent algae blooms that have been harmful to the environment and tourism. According to the Associated Press, the proposal is to build a 240,000-acre-feet reservoir system (78.2 billion gallons or 296 billion liters) to treat nutrients.
It received pushback from the sugar and agricultural industries throughout the vetting process. The powerful industries, which often give hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to Florida politicians, feared thousands of acres of farmland would be taken out of production to move way for the reservoir. The law now prohibits the state from taking private land to build the project.
Gov. Scott signed the bill on Tuesday, but he will sign the “Lake Okeechobee Bill” (SB10) again in Clewiston.
CBS12’s Greg Angel will be there when the governor signs the bill around 9:45 a.m.
http://cbs12.com/news/local/cbs12-exclusive-scott-expected-to-sign-lake-okeechobee-bill