SANIBEL-CAPTIVA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION

The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation reported that on May 24, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM), the updated management plan for Lake Okeechobee.

The plan seeks to maximize the number of days the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie watersheds receive low or optimal flows from Lake Okeechobee, as well as increase the volume of water conveyed south to the Everglades and Florida Bay.

Throughout the five-year LOSOM development process, the SCCF has provided modeling, evaluation and commentary on the proposed plans. Now in the home stretch, the FEIS is in a 30-day review period, after which a Record of Decision (ROD) will likely be issued and signed, putting it into effect.

“With the wet season quickly approaching, we welcome today’s announcement from the Army Corps. LOSOM will provide the operational flexibility to avoid some of the worst ramifications from harmful algal blooms (HABs) in our northern estuaries,” Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis said. “LOSOM won’t solve all of our problems, but it will lower the number of damaging discharges that transport massive amounts of polluted lake water into our estuarine ecosystems. As our recent study showed, even one HAB event can be hugely destructive to the economies of our coastal communities.”

The SCCF reported that some of the intended outcomes of LOSOM include recognizing the Seminole Tribe of Florida as a separate and distinct water supply user, reducing stress to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries, sending more water south, and better addressing HABs.

“With LOSOM online, we will be one step closer to protecting our estuaries, strengthening our communities and restoring America’s Everglades,” he said.

The SCCF noted that despite the operational improvements from LOSOM, the FEIS states that more water storage is still needed as envisioned in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. As a recent study from the SCCF’s Marine Lab highlights, fully protecting the Caloosahatchee Estuary will require finding solutions for the pollutants generated within the local watershed.

PUBLIC MEETING PLANNED

A virtual, LOSOM Project Delivery Team Meeting — which the public can attend and provide comment during — will take place on July 24 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The log-in details are as follow:

https://usace1.webex.com/meet/earl.t.gysan

Call-in toll-free number (ATT Audio Conference): 1-844-800-2712

Call-in number (ATT Audio Conference): 1-669-234-1177

Access Code: 1997788788

Questions about the FEIS can be emailed to LakeOComments@usace.army.mil or mailed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attn: Jacob Thompson, Project Biologist, 701 San Marco Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32207-8915.

To read the FEIS, visit https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p16021coll7/id/25886.