MEMORANDUM: April 11, 2003
Letter Regarding Proposed Amendments to the Everglades
Forever Act to Florida's Congressional Delegation.
# # #
April 10, 2003
Dear Congressman,
On behalf of Governor Jeb Bush, I want to correct the record regarding
Florida’s commitment to restoring water quality in the Everglades.
On December 11, 2001, the Department of Environmental Protection proposed
the first-ever, numeric phosphorus criterion of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for
the Everglades Protection Area. The announcement was made more than a year
ahead of the deadline mandated by the Florida Legislature in the 1994
Everglades Forever Act.
It should also be noted that Florida is currently in full compliance with
the federal Consent Order to reduce phosphorus by 85 percent in the Loxahatchee
National Wildlife Refuge and the Everglades National Park. Over the last
decade, Stormwater Treatment Areas and Best Management Practices have cut total
phosphorus by more than 60 percent into the entire Everglades Protection Area.
Final construction and optimization of Stormwater Treatment Areas is projected
to reduce phosphorus by 93 percent in 2006 and by 96 percent in 2011 since the
project was initiated.
As you are probably aware, the Florida House Natural Resources Committee
voted yesterday to amend the Everglades Forever Act. A companion bill will be
introduced in the Florida Senate shortly.
Contrary to some press reports, the legislation does not change the
compliance deadline from 2006 to 2026, but rather requires a plan with a
specific schedule, a process to measure progress, the ability to enforce
compliance, and funding for implementation, that is designed to ultimately
achieve the criterion.
Regardless of new deadlines, whether written into law or imposed as a result
of litigation, progress cannot be practically accelerated. Doubling the funding
will not clean the water faster. It simply takes time for 44,000 acres of newly
created treatment marshes to reach their optimum performance. The laws of man
do not dictate the Laws of Nature.
For the record, Governor Jeb Bush supports legislation that strengthens our
commitment to clean up pollution in the Everglades, but will not support any
effort, legislative or other, that undermines the integrity of a 10 ppb
criterion proposed by the Department of Environmental Protection.
I would be pleased to personally meet with you and your colleagues to
further explain Florida’s plan for ensuring water quality improvements.
Sincerely,
David B. Struhs
Secretary
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
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Questions and Answers: Proposed Amendments to Everglades
Forever Act
April 22, 2003
What is being proposed?
The Florida Legislature is considering proposed amendments to the 1994
Everglades Forever Act that strengthen Florida’s commitment to clean up
pollution and improve water quality in the Everglades. This is the first time
the Act has been updated since it became law nearly a decade ago and since the
passage of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan to restore water flow
through the Everglades.
What are the essential elements of the proposed amendments?
- Endorses the use of “green technology,” specifically the optimization of
treatment marshes, known as Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs), and Best Management Practices (BMPs), as the
most effective means available for reducing phosphorus in the Everglades
Protection Area.
- Requires that the South Florida Water Management District implement these green technologies as outlined in
the Long-Term Plan to achieve the phosphorus criterion.
- Upholds the integrity of the stringent 10 parts per billion (ppb)
phosphorus standard proposed by the Department.
- Establishes enforceable technology-based effluent limitations.
- Allows expansion of the existing 47,000 acres of STAs if, in the future,
additional treatment marsh is needed to further reduce phosphorus levels.
- Requires water quality improvements in the Long-Term Plan be integrated with
Congressionally authorized components of the Comprehensive Everglades
Restoration Plan (CERP) to ensure consistency and reduce overall costs to the
taxpayers without modifying any current state-federal cost sharing
responsibilities for implementing CERP.
- Requires the completion of the initial and second phases of the Long-Term
Plan before eminent domain may be used to acquire privately owned land to
expand the existing footprint of the Stormwater Treatment Areas.
- Allows the use of ad valorem taxes, at their current level, for the design,
construction and implementation, including operation and maintenance, of these
“green technologies.”
How would the proposed amendments affect the 1992 Consent Decree?
Florida is currently in full compliance (and will remain in compliance) with
the federal Consent Order to reduce phosphorus by 85 percent in the Loxahatchee
National Wildlife Refuge and the Everglades National Park. Over the last
decade, Stormwater Treatment Areas and Best Management Practices have cut total
phosphorus by more than 60 percent into the entire Everglades Protection Area.
Final construction and optimization of Stormwater Treatment Areas is projected
to reduce phosphorus by 93 percent in 2006 and by 96 percent in 2011 since the
project was initiated.
How would the proposed amendments affect the phosphorus criterion for the
Everglades Protection Area?
The proposed amendments do not establish a numeric phosphorus criterion and
do not affect the default numeric phosphorus criterion. The 1994 Everglades
Forever Act required the Department to propose a numeric criterion for
phosphorus by December 31, 2002. On December 11, 2001 - more than a year ahead
of schedule - the Department proposed the first-ever, numeric criterion of 10
parts per billion for the Everglades Protection Area. The 10 ppb criterion is
the scientific foundation for the proposed phosphorus water quality standard
proposed by the Department and currently under review by the Environmental
Regulation Commission. Proposed amendments by the Senate uphold the integrity
of the 10 ppb criterion by establishing it, in law, as the planning goal.
How would the proposed amendments affect the compliance deadline for the
phosphorus criterion?
The proposed amendments do not change the compliance deadline. The
compliance deadline remains December 31, 2006, as mandated in the original 1994
Everglades Forever Act.
How will the amended law effect clean up of the Everglades?
The law provides clear direction to the South Florida Water
Management District to implement a plan that cleans up pollution in the
Everglades. New amendments provide an enforceable schedule and a mechanism that funds implementation of
the plan - without raising property taxes or establishing new taxes for the
people of Florida. Barring lengthy and costly lawsuits that prevent
implementation of the plan, the law may accelerate restoration of the
Everglades.
How will amending the Everglades Forever Act effect the proposed water
quality standard for phosphorus?
The proposed amendments endorse the use of a technology-based rule with
moderating provisions to achieve compliance with the water quality standard,
which are the essential components of the rule proposed by the Department and
currently under review by the Environmental Regulation Commission. The
legislation also supports the implementation of the Long-Term Plan, which
outlines a detailed strategy for achieving the 10 ppb criterion as soon as
practicable.
What is the Long-Term Plan?
The 2003 Everglades Protection Area Tributary Basins Conceptual Plan for
Achieving Long-Term Water Quality Goals, known as the Long-Term Plan, is a
detailed strategy for reducing phosphorus in the Everglades Protection Area
over 13 years (2003-2016).
How will optimizing STAs and BMPs improve water quality?
Adjusting the flow of water or adding vegetation in the Stormwater Treatment
Areas and improving management practices on farms and in urban areas are proven
methods for reducing phosphorus. As these technologies and management practices
are refined and improved, more phosphorus will be removed from the water
flowing into the Everglades.
Press Office
