South reservoir part of CERP's intended purpose
As an active Member of the Florida Congressional Delegation when the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was negotiated, authorized and passed in 2000, I read with dismay the recent public comments by state Rep. Matthew Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers, that pursuing a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee would “disrupt Everglades progress.”
As I recall, there was a reservoir component in the EAA envisioned by CERP and it was one of the first projects authorized by Congress in 2000. Governor Jeb Bush identified a southern reservoir as one of the most important Everglades projects in 2004 as part of his Acceler8 plan. What I don’t understand is this false narrative that proclaims storage south of the Lake to be something just dreamed up by environmentalists with nothing better to do. The reservoir plan has been around longer than some of its critics.
What struck me most odd about Caldwell’s “press availability” remarks in conjunction with his Everglades flyover trip on the SFWMD helicopter is his apparent lack of any sense of urgency, almost as if the high-water discharges of 2013 and 2016 never took place; sort of one-off events.
Well, they did take place and had a very negative impact on both the state’s economy and environment; and yes, the two are integrally related. If you doubt it, just ask BP. Businesses are still cashing claims checks some seven years after that disaster due to impacts - real and perceived - the oil spill had on our tourist economy. So, as some in Tallahassee argue over the best way to market Florida in these competitive days, I would offer that all the promotional money in the world isn’t going to convince families, sports fishermen, beachcombers, sun seekers or eco-tourists to spend time or money in a state with dirty water and fouled shores. Of course, diminished quality of life for those of us who live, work and play here counts for something, too.
Caldwell favors “more time.” I think seventeen years is a long wait. I had hopes my grandchildren wouldn’t have to swim and fish in stinky, degraded water discharged from Lake O. Sadly, I am now at a point where I have transferred that hope to my great grandchildren. My response to Rep. Caldwell is, “enough is enough; don’t tell me to wait ‘til 2025. That was never the intent of CERP.” It appears that timeline is an arbitrary distraction conjured up by those with a different “plan.”
I am thankful for those in the Florida Legislature and the U.S. Congress who are willing to fight back and say “no” to vested agricultural interests in the EAA and to tell them “you have had your turn; it worked out well for you. It has not worked out for the rest of us.” It is way past time to stop chasing will o’ the wisps promoted by those with a different agenda. A Southern Reservoir is the best management solution both to restore the Everglades and to reduce Lake O discharges. I certainly agree that other reservoirs to the North and elsewhere could be helpful supplements, but not at the expense of the fundamentally correct and long-identified solution of conveying water to the South.
I want to publicly applaud Florida Senate President Joe Negron for his leadership to get moving on the Southern Reservoir and I am heartened to know he is working with Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala and my Senator, Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, to pass legislation in the Florida Senate. I expect the Lee County delegation and Congressman Rooney to follow the lead of Benacquisto and state Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen, R-Fort Myers, to support what was intended by CERP, to fight for funding, and to achieve meaningful progress for Everglades restoration and measurable relief from the dirty discharges from Lake O.
Anything less would be a disservice to their constituents.
Porter Goss was a member of Congress representing Southwest Florida from 1989-2004 and director of the CIA from 2004-2006. He also was mayor of Sanibel and a Lee County Commissioner. He lives on Sanibel with his wife, Mariel.
