It is that project and its consequences that have lead to the current impasse, where billions of dollars are being spent to save the dying Everglades and still the rivers and estuaries are being trashed. The US Army Corps of Engineers dodged a bullet this week, and the agency knows it.
Environmentalists and policy makers have been struggling against the political might of Big Sugar to regain equity for Florida taxpayers and the national interest in fixing what's wrong with the Everglades. A piece of the massive puzzle -- the Central Everglades Planning Project -- is meant to address the pollution of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers by providing additional water storage and treatment through the creation of a more integrated central flow-way that could, eventually, also serve the purpose of relieving pressure from the leaky Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding the Lake.
It is possible that this week's rainfall, more than 20 inches in less than 24 hours, could have created a disaster for South Florida had it been positioned only a hundred miles to the southeast by causing a feared breach in the dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee. The damage in the Panhandle will preoccupy decision makers for months to come. It could have been much, much worse.
Last week before the severe weather event, U.S. Representative Patrick E. Murphy, D-Jupiter led a bipartisan Florida delegation letter to U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo-Ellen Darcy urging the Army Corps to move forward as quickly as possible with finalizing the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP). According to a press statement, "This project would move more water south of Lake Okeechobee, helping reduce harmful freshwater discharges into the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. Joining Murphy in sending the letter is Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Reps. Ander Crenshaw (R-FL), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Joe Garcia (D-FL), Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Bill Posey (R-FL), Tom J. Rooney (R-FL), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)."
Interesting that US Senator Marco Rubio failed to sign the letter. Why?
Press Release:
MURPHY LEADS BIPARTISAN LETTER DEMANDING ARMY CORPS APPROVE EVERGLADES PROJECT IMMEDIATELY
Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Representative Patrick E. Murphy (FL-18) led a bipartisan Florida delegation letter to U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo-Ellen Darcy urging the Army Corps to move forward as quickly as possible with finalizing the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP). This project would move more water south of Lake Okeechobee, helping reduce harmful freshwater discharges into the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. Joining Murphy in sending the letter is Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Reps. Ander Crenshaw (R-FL), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Joe Garcia (D-FL), Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Bill Posey (R-FL), Tom J. Rooney (R-FL), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). (Please find below and attached a copy of the letter.)
April 25, 2014
The Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy
Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)
108 Army Pentagon, Room 3E446
Washington, DC 20310-0108
Dear Assistant Secretary:
We are writing to express our extreme disappointment with the Army Corps Civil Works Review Board’s decision to delay proceeding forward with finalizing the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) and to urge the Corps to reconvene as quickly as possible in order to finalize the CEPP Chief’s Report.
The importance of this project to America’s Everglades cannot be understated. Every rainy season, the Army Corps sends discharges of nutrient heavy fresh water from Lake Okeechobee out to our coastal estuaries instead of sending the water south to the critical habitats of Everglades National Park that desperately need fresh water. Discharges of nutrient heavy fresh water from Lake Okeechobee have plagued the coastal estuaries and communities of Florida for far too long. These releases contribute to an influx of fresh water harmful to public health, the fragile estuaries, and tourism-based economies of the area. The opposite problem exists south of the lake where fresh water is desperately needed to restore the natural ecosystem and crucial habitats of Everglades National Park. Delaying the approval and construction and implementation of CEPP is harmful to Everglades restoration efforts and to people of south Florida that rely on fresh water for their health and their livelihoods. Time is of the essence in moving forward with this critical Everglades restoration project.
We welcome members of the Review Board to witness first-hand the serious environmental problems that the completion of CEPP will help address, such as the damage that releases from Lake Okeechobee have on the coastal estuaries and the communities that depend on the water quality of their local waterways.
We again urge the Army Corps to move forward as expeditiously as possible. Please provide us with a written response that includes the upcoming dates and schedule for the Army Corps’ plans to finalize CEPP.
Sincerely,
Patrick E. Murphy
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Bill Nelson
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Ander Crenshaw
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Ted Deutch
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Mario Diaz-Balart
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Lois Frankel
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Joe Garcia
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Alcee L. Hastings
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Bill Posey
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Tom J. Rooney
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Cc: Secretary Sally Jewel, Department of Interior
Major General John Peabody, Mississippi Valley Division Commander, Army Corps of Engineers
Brigadier General John Kem, Northwestern Division Commander, Army Corps of Engineers
Steve Stockton, Director of Civil Works, Headquarters, Army Corps of Engineers
Theodore A. (Tab) Brown, P.E. Chief, Army Corps of Engineers
James Hannon, Chief, Operations and Regulatory, Army Corps of Engineers
James Dalton, Chief of Engineering and Construction (E&C), South Atlantic Division, Army Corps of Engineers
Karen Durham-Aguilera, Director, Contingency Operations, Army Corps of Engineers
3 comments:
We need to start looking for someone to replace Rubio now. All these elected officials who vote against our interests, and show no concern for critical issues that impact our very survival need to be removed from office. We need to look for a woman to put in that seat. The few women that are there are carrying the heavy load for the country, and in Florida, we need to make up for lost time on major infrastructure projects like this that have been ignored by Rubio. With Clinton in the Whitehouse, and a woman senator, we may be able to make up for lost time.
He thinks drinking water comes from bottles. He doesn't understand where South Florida's drinking water comes from: The Everglades.
Here is something interesting to read about the Tea party and the 2016 elections http://www.thedemocratictruth.com/gop/could-the-gop-lose-part-of-the-base-in-2016/
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