Big sugar is at it again, putting profits ahead of the water needs of seven million Floridians and the health of the Everglades.
Last week, US Sugar unveiled plans to build a massive, sprawling city called Sugar Hill between the Everglades and its water source, Lake Okeechobee. The project would bring 18,000 new residential units and 25 million square feet of commercial, industrial, office and retail buildings directly into the Everglades agricultural area, effectively preventing clean water from Lake Okeechobee from reaching the Everglades and the millions who rely on it.
The 67-square-mile development would have a devastatingly irreversible impact on the Everglades and coastal communities. This dangerous plan would also skyrocket the value of US Sugar's land, potentially derailing completion of the Florida government's contract with US Sugar to purchase 153,000 acres in the Everglades for cleaning and restoration.
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