Sierra Club members and supporters helped pack the
auditorium at the South Florida Water Management District (District) to protest
the Governing Board’s failure to act on the contract to purchase 46,800 acres
of U.S. Sugar land south of Lake Okeechobee. The deal, which expires in
October, would provide land to build a reservoir – a critical part of the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan -- to clean and send water south. A
total of forty-five individuals gave public comment, at times highly
confrontational, and to robust applause from the audience.
Families and businesses on the coasts can’t endure a repeat
of the harmful 2013 discharges from Lake Okeechobee when water levels were too
high. Inexplicably, however, acquiring this land in the Everglades Agricultural
Area (EAA) that could provide a permanent solution was left off the Governing
Board’s agenda.
Sierra Club Regional Organizer Julia Hathaway called on the
District to schedule a special meeting to address the issue, saying, “The
health of the Indian River and Caloosahatchee River estuaries is at stake.
Everglades restoration is at stake. South Florida’s economy is at stake. We
have Amendment 1 money. Time is running out.”
In response, the Governing Board defended their inaction by
pointing out multiple considerations that they must incorporate into any effort
to send water south.
Several board members agreed with James Moran’s
characterization that the public just doesn’t understand the constraints that
complicate their decision making. Moran also characterized the environmental
community as "duplicitous" in indicating otherwise, and advised the
crowd to "learn the truth."
Everglades restoration is complicated. It has always been
complicated, and it will always be complicated. What is simple is this: we have
a once in a lifetime chance to secure vital lands in the EAA that expires in
October. This land will never be cheaper than it is now to provide a permanent
solution. We already have a contract on the table. We have the money. And actions
speak louder than words.
Add your voice by calling the District at 561-686-8800. Tell
them that buying the U.S. Sugar land is the most important thing they can do
this year: don’t let it slip away while our children pay the price with more
lost summers. (To leave a comment after hours, press #4.) You can also send an
email via the District’s Contact
Form.
For press coverage of the District meeting, please see:
