By Melissa L. Meeker, West Palm Beach

Effective strategies used in the early and mid-2000s by the South Florida Water Management District to acquire land for water resource and restoration purposes have come under recent criticism.

For anyone who lived in Florida a decade ago, it's not hard to remember the fast-paced real estate market during that time. As development increased and property values escalated, it made sense for the district to set aside lands ahead of the design and construction of projects associated with long-term restoration programs.

The SFWMD land acquisition program accomplished its goals. From 2000 to 2008, the district put close to 165,000 acres into public ownership for Kissimmee River Restoration, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and other water resource purposes.

The $1.6 billion invested in land during those years has brought tangible results. In the restored Kissimmee, for example, we have vastly expanded the river's flood plain, holding more water north of Lake Okeechobee and thereby reducing harmful discharges to coastal estuaries. For the new suite of projects that will send cleaner water to the Everglades, timely implementation would not be possible without needed tracts of land already in public ownership.

With the years of intensive land buying behind us, we are concentrating on strategic acquisitions and putting publicly owned acreage to its best use. Whether constructing on-site projects, exchanging for lands in more critical locations or leveraging our real estate assets, we are focused on targeting resources where they are needed most and implementing restoration work.

The district's policymaking, land acquisitions and surpassing activities have always been carried out under Governing Board direction in accordance with state statutes and as part of an open and public process.

For the past year, we have been reviewing and improving the agency's business, administration and operational practices districtwide. My ongoing goal is to ensure the agency is operating prudently, effectively and efficiently in the best interest of South Florida's water resources and its taxpayers.

Melissa L. Meeker is executive director of the South Florida Water Management District.

Phosphorus Reductions Again Improve Water Quality

Improved farming techniques help EAA, C-139 achieve phosphorus reduction goals

For the 17th consecutive year, water flowing from farmlands in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) achieved phosphorus reductions that exceeded those required by law. Implementation of improved farming techniques, known as Best Management Practices (BMPs), produced a 71-percent phosphorus reduction in the 470,000-acre EAA farming region south of Lake Okeechobee for the 2012 monitoring period. An approved model is used to compute the reductions and makes adjustments to account for the influences of rainfall.

Just west of the EAA, the C-139 Basin also met its goal of reducing phosphorus discharges to historic levels. The 170,000-acre C-139 farming region consists primarily of pasture land, row crops, citrus and sugarcane. Results show 15 metric tons flowed from the basin during the 2012 monitoring period, less than half the target load of 32 metric tons.

"Year after year, science-based Best Management Practices deliver reductions in nutrients that are greater than required by state law, helping to significantly improve Everglades water quality," said Joe Collins, Chairman of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board. "Together with treatment wetlands, BMPs provide a solid foundation for our collective efforts to achieve the ultra-low water quality standards in the River of Grass."

In the EAA, the most commonly used BMPs are more precise fertilizer application methods, refined stormwater pumping practices and erosion controls to reduce the amount of phosphorus transported in stormwater runoff to the Everglades and connected water bodies. In the C-139 Basin, the District recently worked with landowners to develop more comprehensive and stringent BMP plans for each farm that better address the unique nutrient challenges in this basin. These plans are anticipated to result in greater phosphorus reduction results.

Monitoring Data Documents the Nutrient Reductions
Phosphorus can impact the Everglades ecosystem when stormwater runoff carries excess amounts into protected wetlands. To meet the requirements of Florida's Everglades Forever Act, the amount of phosphorus leaving the EAA must be 25 percent less than the amount before phosphorus reduction efforts started. Data show that a 71-percent phosphorus reduction was achieved for the 2012 monitoring period. The overall average reduction from the implementation of BMPs over the program's 17-year history is 55 percent, more than twice the amount required by law.

When measured in actual mass, 154 metric tons of phosphorus were prevented from entering the regional canal system, which sends water into the Everglades, during the 2012 monitoring period. Over the past 17 years, the BMP program has prevented 2,565 metric tons of phosphorus from leaving the EAA.

In the C-139 Basin, a BMP program has been in place for the past nine years with the goal of reducing phosphorus discharges to historic levels. In November 2010, the program requirements were enhanced to better control nutrient runoff. The District uses a model to determine the phosphorus load that the agricultural region must achieve each year based on rainfall. For the 2012 monitoring period, the target load was 32 metric tons. Data show the actual mass of phosphorus discharged from the basin during that time was 15 metric tons.

Stormwater Treatment Areas Provide Additional Improvements
Water leaving the EAA and C-139 Basin receives additional treatment in one of several Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) before entering the Everglades. These SFWMD-constructed wetlands are filled with native vegetation and use "green" technology to further reduce phosphorus levels.

Since 1994, the network of five STAs south of Lake Okeechobee — with 45,000 acres of effective treatment area — have treated 12.3 million acre-feet (4 trillion gallons) of water and retained more than 1,560 metric tons of phosphorus that would have otherwise entered the Everglades. Last year, the STAs treated approximately 700,000 acre-feet of water and recorded their best performance year to date, retaining 83 percent of phosphorus from water flowing through the treatment cells and treating water to an average of 19 parts per billion of phosphorus.

Through the end of April 2012, more than 4,060 metric tons of phosphorus have been prevented from entering the Everglades through treatment wetlands and the BMP program. Overall, Florida has invested more than $1.8 billion to improve Everglades water quality since 1994.

This year, the District is completing several water quality improvement projects to further enhance its water-cleaning efforts:

• Construction is complete and pump station commissioning is in progress for an STA expansion that will nearly double the size of STA-2 in western Palm Beach County to 15,500 acres. Known as Compartment B, the 6,817-acre expansion will help the STA achieve optimal performance.
• A 4,656-acre expansion of treatment wetlands in southeast Hendry County, known as Compartment C, is complete and pump station commissioning is set to begin. Compartment C will further improve water quality flowing into the Everglades. This $47.5 million investment will connect two existing Stormwater Treatment Areas (STA-5 and STA-6) in the EAA and more than double water treatment capability at the site.

In June, the state announced an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to expand water quality treatment that will lead to achievement of the ambient water quality standard for the Everglades. Highlights of the state's Everglades water quality improvement strategy includes:

• Design and construction of 110,000 acre-feet of additional storage adjacent to existing Everglades STAs, better controlling water flow into the wetlands and thereby improving their performance.
• Doubling the size of Stormwater Treatment Area 1-West adjacent to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, increasing by 50 percent the treatment capacity of water quality facilities currently discharging into the Refuge.
• Improving treatment in the western Everglades by adding 11,000 acre-feet of associated storage in the C-139 Basin that is capable of storing 3.5 billion gallons and constructing 800 acres of additional wetlands in STA-5.
• A robust science plan to ensure continued biological, ecological and operational research to improve and optimize the performance of water quality treatment technologies.
• Regional and sub-regional source controls in areas of the eastern Everglades where phosphorus levels in runoff has been historically higher.

For more information on the SFWMD's water quality improvement initiatives, please see Just the Facts: Providing Clean Water for the Everglades. A multimedia look at how STAs work and what water quality improvements they have delivered can be found on the District's Improving Water Quality website.

Improved farming techniques help EAA, C-139 achieve phosphorus reduction goals

For the 17th consecutive year, water flowing from farmlands in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) achieved phosphorus reductions that exceeded those required by law. Implementation of improved farming techniques, known as Best Management Practices (BMPs), produced a 71-percent phosphorus reduction in the 470,000-acre EAA farming region south of Lake Okeechobee for the 2012 monitoring period. An approved model is used to compute the reductions and makes adjustments to account for the influences of rainfall.

Just west of the EAA, the C-139 Basin also met its goal of reducing phosphorus discharges to historic levels. The 170,000-acre C-139 farming region consists primarily of pasture land, row crops, citrus and sugarcane. Results show 15 metric tons flowed from the basin during the 2012 monitoring period, less than half the target load of 32 metric tons.

"Year after year, science-based Best Management Practices deliver reductions in nutrients that are greater than required by state law, helping to significantly improve Everglades water quality," said Joe Collins, Chairman of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board. "Together with treatment wetlands, BMPs provide a solid foundation for our collective efforts to achieve the ultra-low water quality standards in the River of Grass."

In the EAA, the most commonly used BMPs are more precise fertilizer application methods, refined stormwater pumping practices and erosion controls to reduce the amount of phosphorus transported in stormwater runoff to the Everglades and connected water bodies. In the C-139 Basin, the District recently worked with landowners to develop more comprehensive and stringent BMP plans for each farm that better address the unique nutrient challenges in this basin. These plans are anticipated to result in greater phosphorus reduction results.

Monitoring Data Documents the Nutrient Reductions
Phosphorus can impact the Everglades ecosystem when stormwater runoff carries excess amounts into protected wetlands. To meet the requirements of Florida's Everglades Forever Act, the amount of phosphorus leaving the EAA must be 25 percent less than the amount before phosphorus reduction efforts started. Data show that a 71-percent phosphorus reduction was achieved for the 2012 monitoring period. The overall average reduction from the implementation of BMPs over the program's 17-year history is 55 percent, more than twice the amount required by law.

When measured in actual mass, 154 metric tons of phosphorus were prevented from entering the regional canal system, which sends water into the Everglades, during the 2012 monitoring period. Over the past 17 years, the BMP program has prevented 2,565 metric tons of phosphorus from leaving the EAA.

In the C-139 Basin, a BMP program has been in place for the past nine years with the goal of reducing phosphorus discharges to historic levels. In November 2010, the program requirements were enhanced to better control nutrient runoff. The District uses a model to determine the phosphorus load that the agricultural region must achieve each year based on rainfall. For the 2012 monitoring period, the target load was 32 metric tons. Data show the actual mass of phosphorus discharged from the basin during that time was 15 metric tons.

Stormwater Treatment Areas Provide Additional Improvements
Water leaving the EAA and C-139 Basin receives additional treatment in one of several Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) before entering the Everglades. These SFWMD-constructed wetlands are filled with native vegetation and use "green" technology to further reduce phosphorus levels.

Since 1994, the network of five STAs south of Lake Okeechobee — with 45,000 acres of effective treatment area — have treated 12.3 million acre-feet (4 trillion gallons) of water and retained more than 1,560 metric tons of phosphorus that would have otherwise entered the Everglades. Last year, the STAs treated approximately 700,000 acre-feet of water and recorded their best performance year to date, retaining 83 percent of phosphorus from water flowing through the treatment cells and treating water to an average of 19 parts per billion of phosphorus.

Through the end of April 2012, more than 4,060 metric tons of phosphorus have been prevented from entering the Everglades through treatment wetlands and the BMP program. Overall, Florida has invested more than $1.8 billion to improve Everglades water quality since 1994.

This year, the District is completing several water quality improvement projects to further enhance its water-cleaning efforts:

• Construction is complete and pump station commissioning is in progress for an STA expansion that will nearly double the size of STA-2 in western Palm Beach County to 15,500 acres. Known as Compartment B, the 6,817-acre expansion will help the STA achieve optimal performance.
• A 4,656-acre expansion of treatment wetlands in southeast Hendry County, known as Compartment C, is complete and pump station commissioning is set to begin. Compartment C will further improve water quality flowing into the Everglades. This $47.5 million investment will connect two existing Stormwater Treatment Areas (STA-5 and STA-6) in the EAA and more than double water treatment capability at the site.

In June, the state announced an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to expand water quality treatment that will lead to achievement of the ambient water quality standard for the Everglades. Highlights of the state's Everglades water quality improvement strategy includes:

• Design and construction of 110,000 acre-feet of additional storage adjacent to existing Everglades STAs, better controlling water flow into the wetlands and thereby improving their performance.
• Doubling the size of Stormwater Treatment Area 1-West adjacent to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, increasing by 50 percent the treatment capacity of water quality facilities currently discharging into the Refuge.
• Improving treatment in the western Everglades by adding 11,000 acre-feet of associated storage in the C-139 Basin that is capable of storing 3.5 billion gallons and constructing 800 acres of additional wetlands in STA-5.
• A robust science plan to ensure continued biological, ecological and operational research to improve and optimize the performance of water quality treatment technologies.
• Regional and sub-regional source controls in areas of the eastern Everglades where phosphorus levels in runoff has been historically higher.

For more information on the SFWMD's water quality improvement initiatives, please see Just the Facts: Providing Clean Water for the Everglades. A multimedia look at how STAs work and what water quality improvements they have delivered can be found on the District's Improving Water Quality website.

 

Committed to healthy Everglades

By President Barack Obama, special to the Times

Published Friday, July 13, 2012

The Everglades are, and always will be, an important part of the cultural and environmental landscape in Florida. They are a national treasure and a source of pride. But more importantly, the ecosystems that make up the Everglades — from the northern freshwater marshes to the mangrove forests that lead to the Florida Bay — are critical to the local economies and jobs that so many Florida families depend on.

Over the last century, all of that has been put at risk. Population growth, development and other challenges have threatened the Everglades. For far too long, efforts to restore and protect the Everglades suffered from bureaucratic delays and a lack of leadership, including insufficient investment at the federal level. And recently, it has become clear that if we don't do something to reverse course, damage to the Everglades will continue to harm our water supply, diminish tourism, and ultimately cost us jobs.

That is why I've made restoring the Everglades a national priority. Over the last three and a half years, we have invested more than $1.5 billion in Everglades restoration — nearly as much as the previous eight years combined — to successfully jump-start restoration construction projects and support a conservation approach that is led by Floridians themselves.

On Friday, my administration released a report outlining our continuing efforts to cut the red tape, strengthen partnerships with state, tribal and local leaders, and create a strong foundation to help restore and rebuild the Everglades. This includes projects that reduce harmful runoff, and infrastructure projects — like the Tamiami Trail bridge — that will increase natural water flow while also creating thousands of jobs.

Last week, we also announced an additional $80 million investment to support farmers and ranchers who voluntarily conserve wetlands on agricultural land — helping to restore an additional 23,000 acres of wetlands vital to the water quality and wildlife habitat in the Everglades system. And to build on this success, I've proposed investing another $246 million in Everglades restoration.

These investments are critical to the long-term health of the Everglades, but they're also important for the long-term health of Florida's economy. The Everglades help provide billions of dollars in tourism, agriculture and outdoor recreation. In fact, one study estimated that every dollar we spend restoring the Everglades adds four dollars to Florida's economy. And at a time when too many families are still struggling, we need to do everything we can to give Florida families the economic security they deserve.

Restoring the Everglades is important for everyone. For cities, it means cleaner water. For rural Floridians, it means giving back to the land that's given us so much. And for all Floridians, it means more jobs, and healthier, more prosperous communities.

As we work together to boost the economy and create jobs across America, it's important to recognize the strength we draw as a nation from our abundance of natural resources. I'm proud of what we have accomplished in the Everglades — but we have much more to do. And I'm committed to building on our historic progress in the years to come.

The Miami Herald Editorial
Posted on Wed, Jul. 18, 2012

Ailing after a decade of broken deals, choking, invasive exotic plants, runoff from sugar and other farms, federal lawsuits, and even deadly pythons, the Everglades finally has a fighting chance to be restored to that fabled River of Grass that Marjory Stoneman Douglas sought to save more than 60 years ago.

In dispute for years: how to reduce nutrients from nearby farms and urban runoff that have poisoned the Everglades with heavy concentrations of phosphorous, changing the very character of the swampy river that Florida wildlife counts on to survive.

Under the Everglades Forever plan, Big Sugar has reduced the amount of phosphorus flowing south from Lake Okeechobee — the latest count by regional water managers was down 71 percent from 1994 levels. Despite that strong performance by farms using marshes to stem the flow into the river, the damage accumulated over decades has been hard to reverse. The water, though significantly cleaner, still does not meet the federal standard for a healthy Everglades.

That, too, seems to be resolved with U.S. District Judge Alan Gold’s order last week that clears the way for a historic $880 million cleanup plan agreed upon by state and federal governments. The Obama administration also announced an $80 million program to preserve 23,000 acres of farmland by buying up the development rights to ensure that ranchland in the Northern Everglades remains pristine in perpetuity — a key to saving the endangered Florida panther.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told the Editorial Board on Wednesday that he has been meeting with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians to hear their concerns about road improvements to Tamiami Trail. It’s good to keep an open door, but unless the facts change it’s difficult to see, after years of studies, how else to protect animals in that corridor without an elevated roadway.

Mr. Salazar visited the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge to celebrate these new efforts to clean up the Everglades — part listening tour and part stump speech for President Obama’s reelection. He told the board that Gov. Rick Scott’s support is crucial to ensuring a steady course for the clean-up, instead of more stalling. The governor says he’s committed. Good.

This is not a quick fix. The landmark cleanup will take a dozen years to complete. Not only is the Everglades and the lake the source of drinking water for millions in South Florida, its survival depends on removing the canals and dikes that have drained the natural water flow and cleaning up the pollution.

As it is, the clean-up target of 2025 comes two decades after the project was to be completed. South Florida’s future depends on keeping to the timetable. No more deadly delays.

Posted on Wed, Jul. 18, 2012

By CURTIS MORGAN
Cmorgan@MiamiHerald.com

Curtis Morgan / Miami Herald Staff - U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is aboard an airboat in the Everglades on trip to tout the Obama administration's progress on Everglades clean up.

From a helicopter over Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar took in some of the daunting challenges of restoring the Everglades.

Down below, suburbs abut the refuge’s last cypress stands. Vast sugar farms loom to the north. Cattails, fueled by nutrient pollution, choke out native plants around its border. Massive man-made marshes filter dirty water flowing in, but not well enough. Giant pumps replicate a natural flow now blocked by canals and levees.

The visit to the western Palm Beach County refuge was intended to highlight Everglades restoration progress by the Obama administration, which has kick-started stalled projects with $1.5 billion in federal support over the last 3 1/2 years and struck an important pollution clean-up settlement last month with Florida.

But partisan election-year overtones buzzed almost as loudly as the cicadas. In what sounded an awful lot like Obama campaign talking points, Salazar ticked off a string of successes while also issuing a caution about the amount of work ahead and uncertain future state and federal support.

“Frankly, a great fear I have is there will be a U-turn,’’ Salazar told reporters after a chopper and airboat tour.

He questioned the long-term support of Republican Gov. Rick Scott for the deal, which will cost the state some $880 million to expand manmade marshes that reduce the flow of the damaging nutrient phosphorus.

“There has to be a continued commitment on the part of the state of Florida to get this thing done,’’ Salazar said. Scott, who had personally championed a settlement, released a statement saying his office has worked closely with federal agencies and environmentalists to secure the agreement.

“I would be shocked if Secretary Salazar said that, knowing how hard we’ve worked on our historic agreement to restore water quality and water flow to the Everglades,’’ he said. “I, along with all Floridians, care deeply about the Everglades and recognize it as an international treasure.’’

But notably absent from Salazar’s visit were representatives of the South Florida Water Management District, which is in charge of Everglades restoration for the state and headquartered a half-hour drive from the refuge. The district — which last week tentatively agreed to trim $100 million from its budget, money environmentalists argue should be put toward clean-up costs — referred questions to the governor’s office

Salazar, whose agency oversees federal parks and refuges, also warned that a budget drafted by Republicans in Congress would amount to a “death knell’’ for programs that fund conservation projects – not just Everglades restoration but nationwide.

“It’s not the kind of conservation agenda that Teddy Roosevelt or Barack Obama or I would support,’’ he said. “I will do everything I can to fight that, as will the president.’’

Salazar’s visit followed one last week to Orlando by four high-ranking administration aides to announce an $80 million purchase of “conservation easements’’ that will preserve 23,000 acres of rural wetlands in the Northern Everglades. Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a fellow Democrat facing a tough election battle this year, made a similar Glades-as-a-backdrop stop in Miami-Dade County in April.

Matt Connelly, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, accused the White House of using the Everglades to distract from more pressing national problems.

“It’s clearly a political move that highlights how desperate the president is to talk about anything besides his failed economic policies and political cronyism for campaign donors,” Connelly said.

Salazar insisted restoring the River of Grass had been his and the president’s top environmental priority from day one, Salazar said. He acknowledged there were decades of work ahead but argued “we have been able to move more the last 3 1/2 years than we have, I think, in the last 20 years."

The administration calculates that the $1.5 billion it has put into restoration in the president’s first term nearly matches the previous eight years under President George W. Bush — an uptick in federal funding that helped break ground on a number of long-stalled projects, including the bridging of Tamiami Trail. The White House banned the importation of the Burmese python that had invaded the Glades – an effort championed by Salazar – and after 18 months of intense negotiations cut a pollution clean-up deal with the state intended to resolve two long-running federal lawsuits.

How much Everglades support will resonate with typical Florida voters is uncertain but environmentalists heaped praise on the efforts by the administration. Historically, candidates from both parties have pledged to save the Everglades but so far Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney hasn’t taken a public position on continuing support for the $12.5 billion state and federal restoration project, said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon of Florida.

“It looks like Romney has ceded the Everglades to the president,’’ Draper said. “The message that Romney sends out about smaller government and less taxes is antithetical to Everglades restoration.’’

Miami Herald Staff Writer Marc Caputo contributed to the story.

Environmentalists are applauding a pledge from the Obama administration and a Glades cleanup ruling by a federal judge.

By CURTIS MORGAN
cmorgan@MiamiHerald.com

Everglades restoration got a double boost this week — first from a Miami federal judge who approved a landmark $880 million pollution cleanup plan and then from the Obama administration, which announced an $80 million expansion of a program that already has preserved nearly 100,000 acres of rural wetlands in the Northern Everglades.

U.S. District Judge Alan Gold on Wednesday issued an order clearing the path for resolving long-running legal battles over reducing the flow of damaging nutrients from farm, ranches and yards into the struggling River of Grass.

The administration followed up Friday with an announcement that it will pay farmers and ranchers $80 million to place “conservation easements” on some 23,000 acres in the Northern Everglades, including a key parcel in Glades County that biologists consider critical to saving the endangered Florida panther. The 1,278-acre American Prime tract, named for a company that once wanted to develop it, provides a corridor for the big cats to cross the Caloosahatchee River and allow a population concentrated in Southwest Florida to expand northward.

The news conference in Kissimmee, featuring four top White House aides overseeing Glades issues, included the release of a report touting some $1.5 billion in Everglades funding over the past three years — a major increase over the previous four years under President George W. Bush.

“With the president’s leadership, we are making real and measurable progress in Everglades restoration,’’ said Nancy Sutley, the chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, in a news release.

Charles Lee, a longtime activist for Audubon of Florida, acknowledged the announcement was aimed at burnishing the president’s image in a swing state important to his reelection hopes but also called that typical election-year politics.

“From our point of view, $80 million and 23,000 acres is nothing to sneeze at,’’ said Lee, who attended the announcement at the Disney Wilderness Preserve. “That’s more than the entire state program has done in the last two or three years.’’

Among other projects, the report cited continuing work to restore 3,000 acres of historic floodplain along the Kissimmee River, construction of a new bridge along Tamiami Trail and plans to establish the 150,000-acre Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area north of Lake Okeechobee.

The conservation easement program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has emerged over the past three years as a promising new restoration strategy. Since 2009, the administration has spent $373 million, far more than any other state, to purchase similar easements on some 95,000 acres of wild lands mostly west and north of Lake Okeechobee.

The easements come much cheaper than outright land purchases. And they allow farmers and ranchers to continue using land while blocking development, preserving habitat and helping store and clean up damaging nutrients from water flowing south toward the greater Everglades. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the administration’s Everglades efforts also have created nearly 7,000 jobs.

Cary Lightsey, a Lake Wales rancher whose family has participated in the program, told the Tampa Bay Times that future residents will appreciate the conservation program more than voters today.

“If we didn’t do anything, then most of this land would become houses,” he said.

The decision from Gold, who over the past few years has issued a series of rulings blasting state and federal agencies for “glacial delay” and repeatedly failing to enforce water-pollution standards tough enough to protect the Everglades, cleared the way for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue the state permits for a slate of new projects.

They’re part of a plan worked out between the EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection with the goal of settling two lawsuits over Everglades pollution, one going back to 1988. Gold, who handled a lawsuit filed in 2004 by the Miccosukee Tribe and the environmental group Friends of the Everglades, had pressured both sides to draft a new plan.

It calls for the state to expand an existing network of 45,000 acres of artificial marshes that absorb damaging nutrients from farm and suburban storm runoff that damages native plants and the Everglades food chain.

Though most environmental groups have applauded the plan, the tribe and Friends of the Everglades have been lukewarm. They filed briefs calling it a step in the right direction but arguing it will push back cleanup deadlines to 2025 — almost two decades beyond an original 2006 target — and questioning whether the state has a firm plan to pay for the work.

 

A new Everglades restoration plan proposed by Gov. Rick Scott will delay restoration and will be unenforceable, according to the group Friends of the Everglades.

U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold has scheduled a July 18 hearing in Miami on a framework agreement for restoration proposed by Scott in 2011. The $880 million, 12-year agreement was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on June 13.

While Audubon Florida and the Everglades Foundation supported the proposal, Friends of the Everglades only had issued a short statement last month raising concerns.

Friends of the Everglades and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians sued the federal agency in 2004 for failure to clean up sugar industry pollution flowing into the Everglades. Gold sided with the plaintiffs in 2008 and EPA issued an amended determination in 2010 ordering Florida and the South Florida Water Management District to construct additional stormwater treatment areas to treat phosphorus-rich water.

The new plan proposed by Florida calls for construction of 6,500 acres of additional stormwater treatment areas and water storage areas capable of holding 32 billion gallons, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Gold set the July 18 hearing date and required all of the parties in the case to file briefs in response this week.

In its filing, Friends of the Everglades said the proposed new timetable for restoration extends through 2025, five years longer than EPA had directed the state in 2010. The group also has concerns about technical shortcomings in the plan, its lack of interim standards and its enforceability.

In an opinion column submitted to news media, Friends of the Everglades President Alan Farago quoted President Ronald Reagan's approach to nuclear arms negotiations: "Trust, but verify."

"So far, what the state and EPA propose is a step in the right direction but lacks the iron-clad commitments that (Friends founder) Marjory Stoneman Douglas fought for and that our organization is determined to achieve for Florida and the nation’s interest in the Everglades," Farago wrote.

Spokespersons for the DEP and the EPA were invited to comment on Tuesday but had not provided responses by deadline.

DEP's federal court filing said the plan complies with a 2010 court order, EPA's amended determination and the federal Clean Water Act. DEP said no further discussions with EPA are necessary because the matters raised in previous court orders have been resolved.

The EPA said the timetable is based on estimates provided by the South Florida Water Management District for reliably financing and constructing the restoration projects. Assuming a consent order is approved in a timely fashion, all of the issues raised by the court will have been resolved, the federal agency said.

Related Research: Access pleadings and other documents filed in the Friends of the Everglades federal court case.

Reporter Bruce Ritchie can be reached at britchie@thefloridacurrent.com.

 

 

Rich Botta bags a python during a “Python Patrol” responder course on Thursday in Davie hosted by Florida Atlantic University’s Environmental Science Program in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Taimy Alvarez / Sun Sentinel

DAVIE – They came to Florida Atlantic University to learn about wading birds, but on Thursday, they got a lesson in slithering snakes.

About 17 environmental science students, most of whom are studying avian ecology, were trained on how to capture Burmese pythons, non-native snakes which have virtually wiped out raccoons, marsh rabbits and other mammals in the southern region of Everglades National Park.

PhD student Jennifer Chastant, 31, who had never handled a snake before, volunteered to go first.

"The trainers said [the snakes] were a little calm in the morning, so I decided I needed to take care of this now," she said. "It's a little scary. It's a wild animal, and you don't know what it's going to do."

Because many of the students trek through the Everglades for research, it's not unusual for them to encounter the non-venomous pythons, said Dale Gawlik, who heads FAU's environmental science program in Davie.

"We want students to be comfortable. We don't want them to panic and make bad decisions," he said. "And it's a chance to do something good for the Everglades. It's a chance to get some potentially dangerous, invasive species out of the ecosystem."

Trapped pythons are used for research and training, including Thursday's event, which was sponsored by the non-profit Nature Conservancy and several other agencies.

Jeffrey Fobb, who works for the venom response unit of Miami Dade Fire Rescue, used a few basic tools in his demonstration: a golf club-sized snake hook, a fabric bag and black adhesive tape. He showed the students how to pin the snake so it was startled and could be easily and gently grabbed.

"You don't' want to give him the Kung Fu grip," he said. "You want to have your fingers right up next to his jaws. The more force you use, the more resistance you're going to get."

The students each were able to secure a snake into a bag without any bites, although doctorate student Jessica Klassen, 27, had a close call. As she removed her snake from a bag, the animal turned its head several times as if to strike her.

"It was exhilarating, but I just gave it some time to relax and calm down," she said. "It all worked out in the end."

Wildlife officials believe there are tens of thousands of Burmese pythons in South Florida, although exact numbers are unknown. More than 1,800 have been captured over the 12 years.

The python course is not open to the public. Anyone who wants to learn how to identify and report invasive reptiles are encouraged to take a free, online reptile detection and documentation class, available at ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu (select REDDy training).

If a python, Nile monitor, tegu lizard or other invasive exotic animal is seen, people are encouraged to stay at a safe distance, take a photo, and report it to 1-888-IVE-GOT-1, online at http://www.IveGot1.org, or on the IveGot1 mobile apps for the iPhone and Android.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-fau-python-20120628,0,5615454.story#