SITUATION BRIEF | January 28, 2022

Army Corps announces historic investment in Everglades Restoration, but none for critical EAA Reservoir

28 January 2022

FEDERAL FUNDING FOR EVERGLADES RESTORATION

On January 19, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced the largest federal investment in history with $1.1 billion for Everglades restoration. The catch? Not a single dollar was allocated to the EAA Reservoir— the project that will provide the greatest reduction in damaging discharges to Florida’s coastal estuaries.

This funding infusion was allocated through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Of the $17.1 billion the Army Corps received, the largest line-item is the $1.1 billion for ecological improvements in the Everglades, through the long-running South Florida Ecosystem Restoration program. This was a one-time shot of money that we won’t see again.

CAPTAINS PERSPECTIVE

The EAA Reservoir is the heart of Everglades restoration and the #1 priority project for the state of Florida and the South Florida Water Management District. This begs the question: then why wasn’t it funded?

Our best guess? Politics. Why partially-fund one massive project when you can fully fund six smaller ones? That’s six ribbon-cuttings. Quantity over quality. Yes, the six funded projects are important components of Everglades restoration, but they’re not going to do anything to curb the harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges.

Everglades restoration is a 50-50 cost share partnership between the state of Florida and the federal government. The state side is funded, the federal side is not. The agreement is that the South Florida Water Management District (the “state”) builds the stormwater treatment area (STA) and the Army Corps (the “feds”) builds the Reservoir.

On the federal side, the most expensive piece of the EAA Reservoir is the embankment contract which is estimated to cost $2.1 billion. We must continue to secure incremental federal funding to expedite this critical project so all Floridians can experience the benefits.

"This is a historic, monumental amount of money and we are grateful to the bipartisan members of Florida’s delegation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and to our supporters for making this necessary investment in Everglades Restoration. However, while this investment is extremely important, it's not going to do anything to stop the discharges. The project that will provide actual relief from the damaging discharges—the EAA Reservoir—has been further delayed and is still not fully funded. The EAA Reservoir project is known as the "Heart of Everglades Restoration" and it will provide the greatest reduction in discharges to the estuaries, yet none of this federal funding was allocated to the EAA Reservoir. As restoration is a marathon, not a sprint, we do look forward to additional significant funding in this year’s annual budget process to commit to this critical storage project south of Lake Okeechobee, but we still question why it received nothing from this record amount of money."

Capt. Daniel Andrews, Executive Director, Captains For Clean Water

MOVING FORWARD: SECURE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THE EAA RESERVOIR

Our next opportunity to secure federal funding for the EAA Reservoir is in the annual federal budget process (the president’s FY 2023 budget) which will take place in the next few months.

Securing consistent funding requires constant political pressure. That’s where Captains and our supporters are most effective. Together, we must continue to advocate for record levels of funding and ensure our policymakers prioritize this important project.

WHAT PROJECTS WERE FUNDED?

Broward County Water Preserve Area C-11 Impoundment feature - Initiate and fully fund constructionIndian River Lagoon- C23/24 North Reservoir feature - Initiate and fully fund construction
Indian River Lagoon- C23/24 North Reservoir feature - Initiate and fully fund construction
Central Everglades Planning Project South - S-356 Pump Station feature - Initiate and fully fund construction
Biscayne Bay & Southern Everglades Ecosystem Restoration - Complete Post-implementation Review (PIR)
CERP Design - Western Everglades Restoration Project - Complete Post-implementation Review (PIR)

CONTACT

For questions, contact Alycia Downs, Director of Education & Awareness, alycia@captainsforcleanwater.org or Jessica Pinsky, Director of Public Affairs & Policy, jessica@captainsforcleanwater.org.