For Immediate Release
Contact: Jay Liles
(850) 656-7113
Tallahassee, FL. –The South Florida Water Management District has ratified the purchase of 187,000 acres of the Everglades owned by US Sugar in order to help return the “River of Grass” to its natural flow. In order to meet the anticipated $1.75 billion sales price, the district will take $50-million from cash reserves and cover the rest with long-term notes called "certificates of participation." Bond payments will come from property taxes already assessed in the district. No additional taxes will be required for the purchase.
The size and scope of this ambitious land purchase should send a clear signal to Congress that the state is fully committed to restoration of the Everglades (Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project - CERP) and that the federal government must step up and provide additional funding for construction projects that, heretofore, have gone without full federal participation. Last year Congress finally passed a bill authorizing further spending, but so far no money has been approved.
Although many details of the buy-out still must be worked out before it closes in November, the bottom line is this: U.S. Sugar would continue farming its land — an area roughly the size of Pinellas County — gradually handing over control to the state over the next six years and ceasing further farming on much of the land. It would constitute the largest conservation purchase in state history.
Governor Charlie Crist cited a successful law suit by Earthjustice and the Florida Wildlife Federation as the catalyst for the deal. The suit contended that backpumping (the practice of pumping farm runoff from Lake Okeechobee into nearby rivers and streams) was a violation of the Clean Water Act. In December 2006, U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga agreed, ruling that US Sugar was violating the federal law by pumping phosphorous, pesticides and chemical-laden water into the lake, causing massive algae blooms and compromising drinking water quality for small towns such as Pahokee and South Bay. Soon the Florida Department of Environmental Protection followed with an order to stop further pumping and US Sugar saw its options quickly vanishing. That’s when Governor Crist stepped in with a groundbreaking solution – why not sell your land to the state?
“I am awestruck by the simple genius of this proposal”, said Manley Fuller, President of the Florida Wildlife Federation. “In one fell swoop, Governor Crist and US Sugar have devised a solution that promises long-term resolution of the Everglades water quality and supply issues. They have laid the cornerstone for completion of Everglades Restoration and ensured that future generations can enjoy this wonder of nature”.
The purchase of U.S. Sugar's land will also work to resolve two major concerns: It will permit Lake Okeechobee to serve as a dry season water supply for the Everglades and reduce pollution of the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries.
Before the Army Corps of Engineers built a dike around Lake Okeechobee, the lake waters could spread out naturally and serve as a buffer against both floods and droughts. With the dike, the lake began to be managed as an irrigation water reservoir, which caused great harm to the lake, its estuaries and the Everglades.
The ecological integrity of the Everglades absolutely depends on low plant nutrient concentrations. Lake Okeechobee water can’t be delivered to the Everglades without prior removal of nutrients. State acquisition of US Sugar lands will allow construction of extensive nutrient removal areas, create more natural flows of pure water to the Everglades and make it possible to more effectively manage Lake Okeechobee.
