For lagoon, a glimmer of hope Another year. Another $250,000 in taxpayer money. That’s what state senators say it will take to craft a plan to end the unjustifiable practice of flooding the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers with polluted freshwater from Lake Okeechobee. It’s a long time to wait, considering how long we’ve already been waiting. It’s more money being thrown at a problem that has been studied ad nauseam during the past halfcentury. (And it we’re not even talking about the big money that would be required to actually build the lake-to-Everglades flow way the plan will call for.) Here’s the thing: It’s all we’ve got going for us. We’ve got to get behind it. State Sen. Joe Negron, a Republican from Stuart, last week recommended the $250,000 so the University of Florida’s Water Institute could develop “a comprehensive plan for moving water south from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades.” It would map out the best way to store, clean and move water south when Lake O gets too full. Negron’s cohorts in the Senate Appropriations Committee agreed to include the money in the state budget. If the House follows suit, the Water Institute would have until March 1 to present its report to the governor, See SAMPLES, 13A EVE SAMPLES COLUMNIST Article Continued Below Eve SAMPLES on Page A13eV SAMPLES from 1A the Senate president, the House speaker and the two chambers budget chiefs (one of whom currently is Negron). After almost a century of damage from Lake Okeechobee, its tough to get excited about another study. The political reality is its necessary. As it is, we have no government-sanctioned plan for moving water south at a quantity adequate to stop or dramatically slow discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries. Not even the massive, $10 billion-plus suite of projects known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan would accomplish it. Thats why a study of todays options must come first. The challenge will be ensuring the research is not tainted. The Water Institute at UF is well respected. It has tackled global issues such as dams in the Brazilian Amazon, and it has won awards for hyper-local work related to drainage on UFs campus. The institutes researchers are capable of being impartial - but the agencies they will partner with are a different story. Negrons budget amendment stated UF must partner with the South Florida Water Management District and Army Corps of Engineers on this study. Those two agencies have been preserving the status quo for decades. The district in particular is heavily influenced by large agricultural interests, including U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals - cane growers in the area between Lake O and the Everglades. For this study to prove valuable, Big Sugars needs must not come before the needs of the long-abused St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries. Two of the most vocal advocates for a flow way from Lake O to the Everglades had different takes on the study when I spoke to them last week. Mark Perry, executive director of Florida Oceanographic Society, called it encouraging. Karl Wickstrom, founder and editor-in-chief of Florida Sportsman, said we have to be very skeptical. Theyre both right. These are old, old questions, and we shouldnt have a study that starts at zero, Wickstrom said. We should start with the assumption that this has to happen. Perry said it will be important for the Water Institute to examine all useful land south of Lake Okeechobee - even if its currently used for growing sugar cane. If further land purchases are required, and thats the footprint we think is best, then lets rally behind that, pay fair market value for the land and move on, Perry said. Lets not constrain ourselves. Negron, who is running for Senate president in 2016, is an increasingly powerful force in the Legislature. He wont achieve hero status simply by getting this $250,000 in the state budget. A whole lot of followthrough - and a whole lot of money to build a flow way - will be required before that can happen. Eve Samples is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. This column reflects her opinion. Contact her at 772-221-4217 or eve.samples@scripps. Powered by TECNAVIA Copyright © 2014 Scripps Media
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 09:46:15 +0000