POLITICS

Florida Sen. Joe Negron drastically changes Lake Okeechobee reservoir bill

Isadora Rangel
isadora.rangel@tcpalm.com
About 400 were in the audience during a discussion with Florida Senate President Joe Negron and other area politicians Friday, March 17, 2017 at Pahokee Middle/High School in Pahokee. Many Glades residents are upset by the proposal of Senate Bill 10, headed by Negron, that would take 60,000 acres out of production in order to minimize Lake Okeechobee water being discharged to the east and west. "Every community has a responsibility," Negron told the crowd.

TALLAHASSEE — After facing pushback from the sugar industry and other lawmakers, state Senate President Joe Negron announced Tuesday he intends to take less land out of agricultural production to build a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee to curb discharges.

A 31-page amendment to Senate Bill 10 changes the proposal dramatically — from buying 60,000 acres from farmers to using 14,000 acres the state owns and leases to Florida Crystals until 2019. The amendment calls for smaller private land purchases and other state-owned parcels to complement that.

The project cost, split between the state and federal government, would drop from $2.4 billion to $1.5 billion, Negron said.

The changes make the bill more palatable to critics concerned about the project's scope, cost and impact to rural communities and puts the reservoir one step closer to reality, supporters said. The sugar industry gave signs Tuesday it could warm up to Negron.

U.S. Sugar Corp., which has been fiercely lobbying against the measure, would be off the hook from selling 153,000 acres as agreed in a 2010 contract with the state. The amendment kills a bill provision that calls for the South Florida Water Management District to execute the contract if it cannot find willing sellers for other lands. The amendment also terminates that contract, which expires in 2020, if Congress approves the reservoir or the state secures land from other sources.

The Clewiston-based company called the Negron's move "significant progress," but spokeswoman Judy Sanchez said she's concerned the bill still would disrupt the current schedule of Everglades restoration projects by expediting planning of a southern reservoir from 2021 to 2018.

RELATED STORY: Feds: North storage would cut discharges in half

“This amendment demonstrates that the Florida Senate has begun taking seriously the concerns of residents from communities south of Lake Okeechobee," Sanchez said. "The decision to no longer take 60,000 to 153,000 acres of farmland out of production is a positive step forward."

The Senate budget committee will hear the amendment at 2 p.m. Wednesday, when the bill gets its last hearing before it's ready for a full Senate vote. The bill is stalled in the House, and Speaker Richard Corcoran has said he's waiting to see what the Senate does before hearing the proposal.

Negron, R-Stuart, said the amended bill still would achieve his original goal: storing 100 billion to 120 billion gallons of water that today gets discharged east to the St. Lucie River and west to the Caloosahatchee River, where it causes environmental damage such as toxic algae blooms.

"We knew the bill would ultimately evolve to something different than what was originally filed," said sponsor Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island.

FACEBOOK LIVE: Negron's press conference

Here are the major changes Negron and Bradley are pushing:

AMOUNT OF LAND

The amendment:

  • Directs the South Florida Water Management District, along with the Army Corps of Engineers, to retrofit a shallow reservoir already planned on the 14,000 acres in Palm Beach County into a 14-foot-deep reservoir that would hold 240,000 acre-feet of water. In addition to that land, the district also could consider using an adjacent reservoir known as A-1 that today cleans Everglades-bound water to increase storage to at least 360,000 acre-feet, but only if that doesn't compromise how clean the water is when it reaches the River of Grass.
  • Directs the water district to negotiate modifications of lease terms on state- and district-owned lands to make more land available. Specifically, the amendment tells the agency to look at 3,700 acres adjacent to the A-2 parcel and identify the lessees for the 3,200 acres that are state-owned and the owners of the remaining 500 acres. 
  • Frees up state land for swaps with private owners by terminating a program in western Palm Beach County that uses inmate labor for agricultural work.
  • Tells the district to present a plan to the Legislature by Jan. 9, detailing how much additional land it would need and how to secure it.

FUNDING

The state and federal government still would go 50/50 on the $1.5 billion cost.

The bill would allocate $64 million this year, but the Legislature would have to borrow money in the following years with $100 million allocated annually for debt service to generate up to $1.2 billion. Negron said he doesn't expect the state will need that much money but wants to ensure the Legislature has enough financing in case it needs it. Money not used for the reservoir could go into other Everglades restoration projects.

CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL

Congress approved the A-2 reservoir last year, but because it would be retrofitted into a deeper reservoir, Congress would have to approve that change. That might be easier to achieve than getting approval for a new reservoir, as would be required without the amendment, said Audubon Florida Executive Director Eric Draper.

HELPING THE GLADES

Negron tried to appease concerns from residents in the Glades area south of the lake, who said taking land out of production would kill jobs.

As amended, Senate Bill 10 would give priority for reservoir construction jobs to former agricultural workers as long as they are qualified. It also would establish the Everglades Restoration Agricultural Community Training Program to train worker for non-agricultural jobs.

The bill also would support funding for the Airglades Airport in Hendry County and an inland port in Palm Beach County.