CAPTAINS FOR CLEAN WATER High-volume discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the coasts that wreak havoc on the estuaries, communities and economy.

Captains For Clean Water reported that three industrial sugarcane corporations filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the design and intended use of an Everglades restoration project, the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir.

Considered the keystone restoration project, the EAA Reservoir is intended to provide full-scale relief to South Florida’s water quality crisis by restoring the natural Everglades flow south. Expected to be complete and operational in 2030, it will store excess Lake Okeechobee water, clean it to federal standards and move it south through the Everglades and into Florida Bay at the proper timing, volume and distribution needed.

Captains For Clean Water reported that the reservoir will help maintain the lake at lower, healthier levels; restore the ecology of the Everglades; balance salinities in the Florida Bay; recharge the aquifer that provides drinking water for millions of Floridians; and mitigate the harmful lake discharges that devastate Florida’s economy and coastal ecosystems.

Filed by the United States Sugar Corporation, Okeelanta Corporation (Florida Crystals) and The Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, the lawsuit claims that they are owed a specific amount of public water for irrigation from the lake and the reservoir could serve exclusively to fulfill that demand — rather than what the project was designed for.

“This lawsuit gets to the core of the fight which is — who’s in control of the water in Florida and how is water being prioritized? Are we prioritizing water for the benefit of our economy, our environment? Or are we continuing to prioritize the irrigation supply for the sugar industry, which is exactly what got us into the situation we’re in now,” Captains For Clean Water co-founder and Executive Director Capt. Daniel Andrews said.

Last year, the sugar industry’s case was ruled against by a federal judge who, in his ruling, cited arguments from the “friends of the court” brief submitted by the Everglades Law Center, Captains For Clean Water and seven other organizations opposing the lawsuit.

In response, the three companies — collectively known as “Big Sugar” — filed an appeal and the case is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Currently, the public is awaiting the court’s decision on whether oral arguments will be heard. The timing of the decision is unknown.

Captains For Clean Water reported that if Big Sugar is successful in the lawsuit, they could push to use the reservoir as their personal taxpayer-funded water supply, upending years of restoration progress and sealing the fate of Florida’s future to include more damaging coastal discharges, more toxic algal blooms, and more economic and environmental peril. It could also set a dangerous precedent, forcing Everglades restoration projects to prioritize Big Sugar’s interests and replace their historical water supply over benefits to South Florida’s waters.

It added that as the sugar industry publicly promotes support of Everglades restoration, its historical patterns continue to contradict that sentiment. The lawsuit directly threatens the single-most important restoration project that represents a sustainable solution benefiting the economy, the environment and the quality of life for Florida’s residents and visitors.

Captains For Clean Water has launched a public movement urging Big Sugar to drop their lawsuit.

“We believe in the power of the people to make a difference; to come together and say enough is enough. Regardless of the political mountains, regardless of the amount of corruption and dollars that our opposition puts into this — our job is to come together as we the people, come together as a collective voice, and to stand up and fight against the corruption that’s allowed this tragedy to continue for so long,” Andrews said.

Captains For Clean Water is rallying the public to sign its petition, which has already gained support across various industries and sectors, including outdoor brands, tourism-driven businesses, environmental organizations, celebrity anglers and social influencers.

For more information and to sign the petition, visit https://captainsforcleanwater.org/dropthelawsuit/.