Florida Aims to Accelerate Everglades Restoration

By J.R. Pegg

WASHINGTON, DC, October 15, 2004 (ENS) - Florida Governor Jeb Bush unveiled a plan Thursday to jumpstart the massive Everglades restoration effort by spending $1.5 billion on eight flood control and water supply projects.

The projects are part of the massive $8 billion, 30-year federal-state plan to restore the Everglades, much of which has been drained or paved during the past 50 years.

Governor Bush said the state aims to complete the "Accler8" plan within seven years and will raise the $1.5 billion to pay for the projects through special revenue bonds.

Everglades bird populations, like the great egret, have been harmed by diversions of water. (Photo courtesy USGS)

Florida officials said these were selected because they can provide immediate benefits to the Everglades and South Florida and because much of the land needed is already owned by the state or the federal government.

The projects include the construction of several water storage reservoirs, stormwater and agricultural runoff treatment areas as well as the restoration of coastal wetlands near Biscayne Bay.

The need for additional water storage and flood control was highlighted by the recent hurricanes that swept through South Florida and swelled lakes and rivers with polluted stormwater, officials said.

"Sound environmental and financial management is putting Everglades restoration ahead of schedule at considerable savings," said Henry Dean, executive director for the South Florida Water Management District, which will spearhead the projects. "We are delivering environmental results faster and making water available for nature quicker than originally planned."

The natural ecosystem of the Everglades needs a slow, steady, clean supply of water in order to survive. (Photo courtesy U.S. Geological Survey)

Interior Secretary Gale Norton praised Florida for moving to secure funding for the projects and called the initiative "a win-win for all stakeholders."

"Acceler8' allows us to turn our attention to the design, environmental analysis, and on-the-ground completion of projects that will have many benefits for Interior-managed resources in South Florida," Norton said.

The Florida governor's brother, President George W. Bush, "enthusiastically endorses and welcomes" the new initiative, added White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairman James Connaughton.

"It will help us in our joint efforts to restore the Everglades faster and more efficiently and effectively," Connaughton said.

Environmentalists say acceleration of the restoration effort is welcome, but question the priorities of the new plan, which focuses on projects that primarily benefit the residents of South Florida rather than the Everglades, and the commitment of federal and state agencies to the imperiled ecosystem.

Little progress has been made on the federal-state effort to save the Everglades - known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) - since Congress approved the plan in 2000.

The CREP is a daunting effort by any measure - its 55 projects span 16 counties across more than 18,000 square miles and center on revamping the Central & Southern Florida Project, which includes 1,000 miles of canals, 720 miles of levees, and hundreds of water control structures.

The Florida panther is one species that has suffered from manmade changes to the Everglades ecosystem - fewer than 100 exist in the wild. (Photo courtesy National Parks Conservation Association)

The world renowned wetland, called the River of Grass, today covers only about a fifth of its original size and contains some 60 endangered or threatened species.

The ultimate goal of the 30 year plan is to restore 2.4 million acres of the ecosystem while ensuring clean and reliable water supplies and flood control.

But funding has fallen far short of the plan's requirements and federal agencies are far behind schedule on almost every component of Everglades restoration.

"This announcement by the state does nothing to address the lack of action at the federal level," said George Frampton, who served as Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Assistant Secretary of the Interior during the Clinton administration.

"The federal government announced a pact with Floridians to restore this endangered treasure, and the Bush administration has undercut progress since day one," Frampton said.

Both President Bush and Governor Bush have been criticized by Everglades advocates for policies many believe undermine the restoration plan.

Critics point to a law signed by Governor Bush in May 2003 that relaxed water quality standards designed to reduce phosphorus runoff from agricultural operations that is polluting the Everglades.

And last fall the President's administration unveiled federal guidelines for the plan that critics say are too vague and fail to ensure that the ecosystem gets enough water to recover and survive.

None of the projects directly benefit Everglades National Park. (Photo courtesy Park Service)

"President Bush's administration has ignored agricultural pollution, diverted water away from natural ecosystems, and encouraged surrounding development," he said. "Bush supported initiatives are inflicting irreversible damage on the Everglades."

Last month, Florida's Democratic Senators Bill Nelson and Bob Graham urged the White House to accelerate implementation of the plan and to budget for land purchases identified as vital to the restoration effort.

More than 200,000 acres need to be acquired at an estimated cost of $2 billion - a price that increases each year as land values in South Florida continue to rise.

Development in South Florida has boomed in the past few decades and some eight million individuals already depend on the limited fresh water of Everglades ecosystem.

The state is expected to grow by at least six million people by 2025.