February 24,
2020
U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District
ATTN: Andrew LoSchiavo
701 San Marco Boulevard
Jacksonville, Florida 32207-8175
ATTN: Andrew LoSchiavo
701 San Marco Boulevard
Jacksonville, Florida 32207-8175
Amy Thompson
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
P.O. Box 4970
Jacksonville, Florida 32232-0019
Dear Mr. LoSchiavo and Ms.
Thompson:
Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of
the Everglades submit the following comments on the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Central and Southern Florida, Everglades Agricultural
Area (EAA), dated January 2020.
An EAA Storage Reservoir can be an integral component of the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), if adequately planned,
designed, and constructed. An
appropriately designed EAA Storage Reservoir can help solve South Florida’s
ongoing water crises and restore the globally unique and invaluable Everglades ecosystem,
including Everglades National Park and Florida Bay. We support and advance an EAA Reservoir
project that provides the long-term ecosystem restoration benefits that both people
and the natural system need, especially in light of the challenges South
Florida faces with sea level rise and other climate changes, and that meets,
with greater certainty, all applicable water quality standards. We also want to
support a restoration project that does not pose unnecessary risk to the people
and properties in and near the EAA and downstream of the project area.
However, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) alternatives
fail to address these issues; therefore, we offer the following 20 major
concerns with the goal of seeing Alternative 3 significantly improved.
Alternative 3 only has minor design refinements from Alternative 2 (Alternative
C240A in the Draft EIS), with the claim that these refinements had no
substantial changes relevant to environmental concerns. Therefore, our
underlying concerns about Alternative 3 remain substantially the same as with
Alternative 2. Our concerns also
continue to echo a number of the concerns expressed by the Office of the
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works (ASA) and the USACE in its May
2018 Review Assessment of the SFWMD’s recommended plan as described in their
Section 203 Post Authorization Change Report (PACR), Integrated Feasibility
Study, and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (March 2018, amended May 2018).
1.
When the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 10 (SB 10) in
2017 (Chapter 2017-010, Florida Laws), it did not intend to remove SFWMD’s
authority to analyze alternatives with a larger land footprint. SB 10 did not
prohibit the modeling of project alternatives with private lands from owners
that at the time of SFWMD’s scoping phase had expressed no interest to sell or
swap lands. Therefore, other possible
alternatives should still be evaluated as they might produce a project that is more
economically feasible, safer, carries less uncertainty in cost and benefits,
and provides greater ecological benefits. It is in the public interest, and
certainly in the federal interest, to study the feasibility of other less
land-restricted alternatives.
We
echo the Miccosukee Tribe’s position, as stated in their July 17, 2018 comment
letter, that the USACE has failed to conduct an independent “Alternative
Analysis” that does not have the land footprint constraints that SFWMD chose to
impose on itself when it conducted its evaluation using a flawed interpretation
of SB10.
2.
There is no legitimate reason to limit the feasibility study
to alternatives within lands in state ownership in the A-1 and A-2 parcels and
just west of A-2; nothing, including the removal of the eminent domain option
in SB 10, imposed such a limitation. The study was overly restrictive in
assuming that none of the current private landowners, in areas that could
provide a more optimal footprint, would be willing to sell or swap land by the
time the project is ready for the Pre-Construction Engineering and Design (PED)
phase. Economics, politics, and other
factors could motivate landowners to re-consider and sell or swap their lands
with other state-owned land holdings. For instance, the state currently leases
several thousand acres of land within or near the EAA with soils that are
favorable to agriculture. It is premature to assume that no additional land can
be acquired while the project is in the planning phase. In fact, SB 10
explicitly authorized SFWMD and the Board of Trustees of the Internal
Improvement Trust Fund to amend or terminate leases in the EAA for exchange or
use for the reservoir project. Failing to explore these options needlessly
constrains the project.
3.
It appears that the USACE Final EIS (section 3.1.5)
incorrectly uses a US Senate committee report (Senate Report 106-362 on Title VI
of WRDA 2000) as a "directive" to site the EAA reservoir features
solely on publicly owned lands. The
cited committee report was only referring to the EAA reservoir Phase I. There is nothing within the record, nor
within SB 10, that requires the EAA Storage Reservoir be limited to
publicly-owned lands.
4.
The study should include the feasibility of alternatives with
reservoir options that are between six (6) and twelve (12) feet in water depth
(depths proposed in in 2000 and 2006 respectively) and that provide a minimum of 240,000 acre-feet of water
storage, if not the final increment in Component G. If this project is to be considered the final
increment, it then would be required to provide a minimum of 360,000 acre-feet of water storage.
5.
The SFWMD’s work that
led to the 2006 Revised Draft
Integrated Project Implementation Report (PIR) and Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoirs
project, which had
recommended a 12-ft deep reservoir, should be considered as an alternative.
6.
According to the final EIS, SFWMD’s recommended plan provides
only minor benefits to nearshore Florida Bay (via Taylor Slough). This again
highlights the need for alternatives that more meaningfully improve hypersaline
conditions in Florida Bay.
7.
The SFWMD recommended plan should not be considered the final increment of surface storage within the
EAA. We disagree with the SFWMD Section
203 report statement that SFWMD’s preferred alternative is “the final step,”
instead of “the next increment,” towards implementation of Component G. Component G is set forth as providing a minimum of 360,000 acre-feet of water
storage and therefore the provision of surface storage under CERP will not be
finalized until at least 360,000
acre-feet of water storage has been achieved.
In
the June 2018 Draft EIS, Section 3.1, USACE stated that “CERP identifies
capacity for 360,000 acres [ft.] of storage south of Lake Okeechobee, for
Component G. Considering anything short
of 360,000 acre [ft.] storage option a final action could limit achievement of
CERP goals related to Component G.” We
agree.
We
therefore now strenuously oppose, are surprised by, and find no basis for the
change in position by USACE found on page ES-2: “the project achieves the final
increments of the required storage in the EAA (CERP Component G) and freshwater
flows to Northwest and Central WCA3A (CERP Component II), providing the
remaining one-third of the restoration flow goal identified in CERP and in
CEPP.” The current EAA Storage Reservoir
design/plan should not be considered
the final increment of surface storage within the EAA.
Note
especially that the 2014 CEPP PIR stated that since the formulation of CERP,
published studies “estimate that the northern inflow to the Everglades was an
average of two million acre-feet (ac-ft.) annually” (pg. 3-3). The 2014 CEPP
PIR (pg. 3-9) also states that “new science demonstrates that the need for
flows passing through EAA is even higher than envisioned in CERP. This suggests that storage greater than 360,000 ac-ft., and
necessary treatment, is likely needed if CERP goals and objectives are going to
be fully achieved.” These concerns are
now amplified by the fact that the modeling performed by SFWMD did not take
into account the greater freshwater flows that will be needed to effectively address
climate changes already extant, and accelerating, including sea level rise.
8.
The SFWMD Draft EIS (March 2018) states that, based on
modeling with the 41-year period of record (1965-2005), the SFWMD preferred
alternative (C240A) “meets” the CERP goal for average annual flows to the
central Everglades. As stated, this is a great concern as this erroneously
implies that the approximate 370,000 ac-ft. increase in average annual flows to
the central Everglades (via the C240A alternative) will be enough to meet the
freshwater needs of South Florida’s ecosystems. The 2014 CEPP PIR stated that
since the formulation of CERP, published studies “estimate that the northern
inflow to the Everglades was an average of two million acre-feet (ac-ft.)
annually” (pg. 3-3). The 2014 CEPP PIR (pg. 3-9) also states that “new science
demonstrates that the need for flows passing through EAA is even higher than
envisioned in CERP. This suggests that storage greater than 360,000 ac-ft., and
necessary treatment, is likely needed if CERP goals and objectives are going to
be fully achieved.” Amplifying this
concern is the fact that the modeling performed by SFWMD did not take into
account the greater freshwater flows that will be needed to cope with climate
changes already taking place, and accelerating, including sea level rise.
9.
All alternatives presented in the SFWMD feasibility study
should include sufficient land to treat water to meet applicable water quality
standards with a high degree of certainty. We share the concern stated in the
ASA Review Assessment that the proposed project “poses a significantly high
risk in feasibility, design, and construction in terms of cost and performance
of a water quality treatment facility. This poses a significant risk that once
constructed, the flows into the Everglades from this project will not meet
water quality standards, and the project flows will be reduced significantly to
meet those standards”.
10. We agree with the
decision to not re-purpose the existing
A-1 Flow Equalization Basin (FEB) into either a reservoir or an STA as part of
the recommended plan. The A-1 FEB is an
important component of the Restoration Strategies Regional Water Quality Plan that
is already operational. Meeting the Water
Quality Based Effluent Limit (WQBEL) of the EAA STAs is of the utmost
importance and there is land, other than the A-1, that should be utilized. We
are gravely concerned that the FDEP Secretarial Final Order OGC No. 18-0138
suggested possible conversion of A-1 FEB into an STA in the event the WQBEL is
not attained. If any EAASR design cannot
be expected to meet the required WQBEL, with the all aforementioned ecological
benefits, it is the wrong design.
11. SB 10 had been
introduced and passed in recognition that high-volume freshwater discharges to
the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries must be resolved. Therefore, project
alternatives should provide significantly more reductions of these high-volume
discharges above what the previously authorized CEPP and other authorized
projects will provide (also referred to as Future Without – FWO). Based on the information presented in
Sections 3 and 4 of the Final EIS, the SFWMD C240A alternative, while it
provides some added relief to both estuaries, the reductions are relatively
minor in comparison to those provided by already authorized projects. To
re-establish stable health to these estuaries more significant high-volume
discharge reductions are needed. For
instance, as noted in the model output figure below for the Caloosahatchee
estuary, the high-volume discharges (with mean monthly flows above 2800 cfs)
are only reduced by nine (9) months beyond the twenty-two (22) months
anticipated with CEPP and other authorized projects (FWO) (Figures 3-4, Tables
3-3 and 4-1, Final EIS). This still leaves sixty-one (61) months of harmful
discharges within the 41-yr period record. Again, while any relief to the
estuaries is welcomed, project alternatives that provide higher benefits to the
estuaries are needed.
12. The Final EIS still
does not clearly indicate to stakeholders what percentages related to reducing
damaging discharges to the northern estuaries are benefits that were already
predicted to be realized by CEPP versus those gained by SFWMD’s recommended
plan. The EIS should not make this
ambiguous, particularly to the decision makers that need to evaluate the lift
the recommended plan would provide. For instance, the Final EIS states (pg.
4-1) “compared to the No Action Alternative, the CEPP PACR Recommended Plan
(Alternative 2) and CEPP New Water Modification (Alternative 3) provides an
overall 55% reduction in freshwater release volumes and a 63% reduction in the
number of freshwater release events to the Northern Estuaries from Lake
Okeechobee, in conjunction with other authorized projects.” For clarity and transparency, the report
needs to include the portions of those percentages that are being realized by
the recommended plan.
13. The 6,500-acre STA
proposed for the EAA Storage Reservoir has not been proven adequate for water
quality treatment. The Final USACE EIS
fails to adequately answer the questions raised by wetlands ecologist Dr.
William J. Mitsch, director of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Everglades
Wetland Research Park, in his peer-reviewed paper in the journal Ecological Engineering.[1] The USACE has failed to prove or guarantee
that “an additional minimum of at least 17,500 ha (43,000 acres) of treatment
wetlands (STAs or passive wetlands) will be needed to treat the water flowing
south”1 is not accurate.
In fact, Annex F of the SFWMD Draft EIS (F.6 Conclusion) states:
“However, while water quality is
expected to improve, compliance with
Appendix A cannot be quantified given the high level of uncertainty from
changes in flow distributions proposed under the TSP.
Similar
to CEPP, it is important to note that this CEPP PACR only includes a
qualitative rather than quantitative assessment of Appendix A compliance at
SRS. Although water quality is expected to improve with respect
to P concentrations because of both CEPP and CEPP PACR, the impact of the project on Settlement Agreement compliance is
uncertain because of the qualitative nature of the analysis A quantitative
prediction of future SRS TP concentrations was not done because the
uncertainties were considered to be unacceptably high. The limitation of
predictive tools, uncertainties in the systems response and the lack of
historical data that reflects the substantially altered flow and loading
patterns contribute to these uncertainties. Also, with future Appendix A
compliance methodology currently under review by the TOC, these quantitative
predictions may be premature at this time.
CEPP PACR project features cannot proceed unless/until it is
determined through the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Regulation Act
(CERPRA) permitting process that construction and/or operation of the feature
1) will not cause or contribute to a violation of water quality standards; 2)
will not cause or contribute to a violation of the permit(s) discharge limits
or specific conditions; and, 3) reasonable assurances exist that demonstrate
adverse impacts on flora and fauna in the area influenced by the project
element will not occur. The tentative feature implementation sequence is
designed to minimize the potential for temporary increases in TP during project
construction, commissioning, and long-term operations. Given the magnitude of the hydrologic changes proposed in CEPP and the
CEPP PACR, this project presents some risk of future non-compliance with water
quality criteria particularly in the SRS.”
14. We are not appeased
or convinced by the USACE response in the Final EIS to the concerns raised in
the ASA Review Assessment in regards to analysis of potential failure modes,
consequences of failure/life loss, and seepage analysis. The failure to (1) provide
guarantees of the stated ecological benefits of this project and (2) ensure the
project is properly designed for the safety of people and property within and
near the EAA and downstream of the project is unacceptable and contrary to the
responsibilities held by USACE and the SFWMD.
15. A 23-ft. deep
reservoir of nutrient-rich water will promote the same or more profound
conditions that fuel intense, frequent, and long-duration Harmful Algae Blooms
(HABs) than those currently fueling HABs in Lake Okeechobee. The human health
impacts related to these toxic algae blooms are well known – for example, an Ohio
State University study identified a “cluster” of nonalcoholic liver disease in
areas with significant blue-green algae blooms from 1999-2010.[2]
A reservoir design
that promotes conditions favorable to more intense, frequent, and longer
duration toxic cyanobacteria blooms is contrary to the interests of public
health. The scientific literature
abounds with relevant data. The South
Korea Four Major Rivers Project (FMRP) provides the perfect cautionary tale: To secure water resources for industrial,
agricultural, drinking, and recreational uses, a project that included the
construction of sixteen (16) in-stream weirs, two reservoirs, three dams, and
dredging of sediments in four major river basins was launched in 2008 and
completed in 2012 with an investment of $20 billion.[3] “Contrary to the original purposes and
expected outcome of the project, several controversies arose over ecological
issues after completing the project in the four major river areas.”[4] The FMRP increased water levels and retention
time in the Nakdong, Geum, and Yeongsan rivers, and all three experienced an
increase in the severity of HABs after project completion.[5] “One important finding across the study areas
is that there was a significant association between HABs and liver diseases
after the FMRP completion,” “whereas no significant relationship was observed
in non-project areas.”2 Studies in the U.S.2, Canada,
and Serbia have shown similar significant association between cyanobacteria and
liver disease.3
The results of the FMRP, and the 2019
Seungjun Lee et al study combined, present a strong argument for extreme
caution here in South Florida. Although
“the original intention of the project was for enhancing water security and
sustainability”[6]
the outcome of FMRP was contrary to water quality protection and anathema to
public health. The USACE is responsible for ensuring that the “fix” for one HAB
problem and the Florida residents it endangers, does not become yet another HAB
problem that endangers another group of Florida residents.
16. We agree with the
Miccosukee Tribe, as stated in their July 17, 2018 letter to USACE, that Tribal
lands in WCA-3 should not be used as a “Mixing Zone” or biological filter to
treat upstream sources. We share their
concerns that with an undersized STA lacking sufficient treatment, the
additional water flows from Lake Okeechobee will not only violate the Tribe’s
Water Quality Standard of 10 ppb for phosphorus, but will fail to deliver on
assurances to the Tribe of an 80% phosphorus load reduction. An undersized STA, leading to more instances of
water bypasses which discharge polluted water to WCA 3, and thereby adding phosphorus
to muck sediments and degrading Everglades habitats, whether intended to do so
or not, is unacceptable.
Again, the scientific literature provides examples of why a
23-ft. deep reservoir will become another source of nutrient pollution at risk
of polluting downstream waters. Restoration of flow-through lakes – Theory and practice,
published in Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology (2018), by Julita A. Dunalska et al, studied flow-through lakes (similar to retention reservoirs) in
Western Poland. The study found that
flow-through lakes cannot be effectively restored when the nutrient inflow is
too high. Despite large financial support, such lakes become a source of algal
blooms and a threat to downstream populations.[7] Another problem will be the bottom
sediments; theoretically, bottom sediments in lakes have an endless stock of
phosphorus and nitrogen, and the so-called ‘internal supply’ can sustain
primary production for many years.[8] The fix for Lake Okeechobee is not another source of muck and
HABs.
17. The timeframe
provided to external agencies for the Agency Technical Review (ATR) was
extremely tight and particularly unfair to the local government agencies within
the study area that were invited to participate. It is our understanding that
the ATR kick off meeting was held Friday, February 16, 2018, just before the
President’s Day holiday, and that participants were asked to provide written
comments by noon on Monday, February 26, 2018 (five business days later). This
likely explains why only one county (Broward) provided written comments. In
fact, in its comments, Broward County via Carolina Maran, stated that “the
established time frame was insufficient to provide the extensive review
required for this type of document.”
Given the importance of this project to South Florida, adequate time
should have been allocated to allow for careful review of the draft report and
for meaningful input before SFWMD issued its final Section 203 report.
18. While public
scoping meetings were held later in 2017 by SFWMD in West Palm Beach and
Clewiston, they were inadequate in scope and timing. In addition, neither SFWMD nor USACE provided
meaningful and accessible NEPA-compliant in-person public participation in the
stakeholder process to all those that stand to benefit from, or be impacted by,
this project. While public meetings were held in West Palm Beach, Clewiston,
Fort Myers, and Stuart, both agencies failed to provide any public
participation opportunities south of the reservoir project where restored water
flows are intended to flow. In
particular, residents of Miami-Dade and Monroe counties (where Everglades
National Park and Florida Bay are located) were not afforded equal
representation and equal opportunity for public engagement. The Southeast Florida region experiences
significant traffic congestion during the times that SFWMD and USACE conducted
its public hearings – travel time and distance made the availability of meetings in only the northernmost part of the
project area a sizable barrier to public engagement. We raised this concern repeatedly because
webcast recordings and SFWMD Governing Board meetings did not provide
accessible, quality, and open public engagement opportunities.
19. The Final USACE EIS
failed to address nineteen (19) enumerated and specific comments and/or
questions in the July 24, 2018 comment letter regarding the Draft EIS submitted
by Sierra Club, Friends of the Everglades and Bullsugar Alliance. In addition, USACE neglected to respond to
other stakeholder questions found in the comment letters in Appendix C
(Pertinent Correspondence). These
stakeholder questions/comments must still be addressed, and the failure to
respond needs to be explained.
Moreover, the Final
USACE EIS only partially responded to comments submitted by Sierra Club to
SFWMD as part of their scoping and Draft EIS (between November 21, 2017 and
February 26, 2018). While our comments were included in the Appendix C, only a
portion of our comments were addressed.
The reason provided was that “the Draft EIS and SFWMD Section 203 Report
should address all other comments and questions.” However, those documents produced by SFWMD
failed to do so; our comments, timely submitted to EAAreservoir@sfwmd.gov, were left out of
those documents. If this failure is not
fully explained and redressed, we will be left to understand that SFWMD cherry-picked
the public comments to which it ultimately responded.
20. The NEPA regulations provide (40 CFR
1502.22): “When an agency is evaluating reasonably foreseeable significant
adverse effects on the human environment in an environmental impact statement
and there is incomplete or unavailable information, the agency shall
always make clear that such information is lacking.”
Further, under subsection (a) “If the
incomplete information relevant to reasonably foreseeable significant adverse impacts
is essential to a reasoned choice among alternatives and the overall costs of
obtaining it are not exorbitant, the agency shall include the information
in the environmental impact statement.”
This Final EIS for the reservoir is
premature; the public has not received information critical to reasoned choice
among alternatives because the SFWMD has yet to prepare a final EIS for the
TSP. Currently, there is only a draft EIS for the TSP and additional
alternative(s) could be considered and selected by the SFWMD before it issues a
final EIS. Any new alternatives considered by the SFWMD would be relevant
for determining the impacts of the EAA storage reservoir and thus this
information needs to be included in the Final EIS for the EAA storage reservoir.
Finally, we would like to point out that the EAASR,
as currently designed, is yet another industrial-scale plumbing project that is
as far from being a natural system as possible.
Florida, and the USACE, have an unflattering history of investing billions
of dollars into large plumbing projects that in turn must be reversed, or
mitigated, because of the failure of those projects to work as well as the
natural system does to protect people, property, and the environment.
The USACE response to Dr. Mitsch in the Final EIS clearly
illustrates the folly that is planned anew: “The purpose of the EAA reservoir
is to hold water in order to provide freshwater to the Everglades during the
dry season when needed. The intent is not for the reservoir to be reverted back
to the natural Everglades ecosystem." This project cannot, and does not purport to,
restore the Everglades to the greatest extent possible both spatially and
functionally. It is therefore time to
return to the drawing board.
We look forward to receiving a response to all of our
concerns.
Sincerely,
Diana Umpierre
Organizing Representative, Sierra Club
136 S. Main Street, Unit A
Belle Glade, FL 33430
561-983-8655
Jaclyn Lopez
Florida Director Center for Biological
Diversity
P.O. Box 2155 St. Petersburg, Florida
33731
(727)490-9190
Eve Samples
Executive Director, Friends of the Everglades
772-485-8164
[1] Mitsch,
W.J. 2019. Restoring the Florida Everglades: Comments on the current reservoir
plan for solving harmful algal blooms and protecting the Florida Everglades.
Ecological Engineering 138: 155-159. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590290319300094
[2] Zhang,
F., Lee, J., Liang, S. et al. Cyanobacteria blooms and non-alcoholic liver
disease: evidence from a county level ecological study in the United States. Environ Health 14, 41 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-015-0026-7
[3] Seungjun Lee, Jinnam Kim, Boseung Choi, Gijung Kim & Jiyoung Lee
(2109) Harmful algal blooms and liver diseases:
focusing on areas near the four major rivers in South Korea, Journal of Environmental Science and Health,
Part C, 37:4, 356-370. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10590501.2019.1674600
[4] Lah TJ, Park Y, Cho YJ. The four major
rivers restoration project of South Korea:
an assessment of its process, program, and political dimensions. J Environ. 2015; 24(4):375-394. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1070496515598611
[5] Srivastava A, Ahn CY, Asthana RK, et al. Status, alert
system, and prediction of cyanobacterial Bloom in South Korea. Biomed
Res. Int. 2015; 2015:1. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2015/584696/
[6] Lee JH, Gwon JN, Yang SY. Seasonal variation of phytoplankton community
in the Naktong River. Algae. 2002;17(4):267-273.
https://www.e-algae.org/journal/view.php?doi=10.4490/ALGAE.2002.17.4.267
[7] Dunalska, Julita A., et al. “Restoration of Flow-through Lakes – Theory and
Practice.” Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology, vol. 18, no. 4, 2018,
pp. 379–390. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1642359318300910
