U.S. Senate passes Water Resources Development Act in 99-1 vote
On Oct. 10, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed bipartisan, comprehensive water resources infrastructure legislation – the federal water bill – that authorizes the EAA Reservoir.
The 2018 Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, is the bill we have been working on to move forward a critical and fundamental Everglades restoration and estuaries enhancement project that will enable excess water to be directed south out of Lake Okeechobee instead of west and east to the Caloosahatchee and St Lucie rivers and estuaries.
The project is designed to move water from Lake Okeechobee through 6,500 acres of filter marshes to clean the water and store it in a 10,500-acre reservoir. The reservoir is estimated to cost about $1.3 billion, which will be split evenly between the federal government and the state.
The bill also directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to implement a five-year harmful algal bloom technology development program to identify and develop improved strategies for prevention and management techniques, early detection and procedures to reduce harmful algal blooms.
We thank Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for working together to get the project included in the bill.
Next steps on the federal level: the bill goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. As soon as the bill is signed, the Army Corps will complete the documentation process. Our voices will be needed to continue the momentum to support project funding in the 2019 and 2020 federal budgets to keep the project moving forward.
At the state level, we will need to pursue a commitment from the new administration to get the project started.
This is a great step forward. Stay tuned for more information.
Rae Ann Wessel is the natural resources policy director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. For more information about the SCCF, visit online at www.sccf.org.