Last week, Florida Daily reported that after a 4-year battle with the Sugar Industry, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”), affirming its approval of the Everglades Agricultural Area (“EAA”) Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area Project (“EAA Reservoir Project”).
Several coalition groups are applauding the court’s ruling.
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation
“This is a huge win for America’s Everglades and our coastal estuaries that are dependent on the EAA reservoir to provide restorative flows to the River of Grass and meaningful relief from damaging flows from Lake Okeechobee. Over the past two and half decades, the Caloosahatchee estuary and our coastal ecosystems have endured substantial impacts to seagrasses and oyster habitats and the fisheries that depend on them. These losses have also had a direct impact on our local economy. The EAA Reservoir is essential for reducing those damaging discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries and moving that water south where it is desperately needed,” said James Evans, CEO, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.
Captains for Clean Water
“The appellate court just rejected Big Sugar’s absurd claim that growing sugarcane in the middle of the Everglades is somehow more important than protecting the Everglades and South Florida from toxic discharges. This ruling clears the way to complete and operate the Everglades Reservoir as it was intended—to protect the coasts of Florida from damaging discharges by cleaning Lake Okeechobee water and sending it south to rehydrate the Everglades & Florida Bay,” said Capt. Daniel Andrews, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Captains For Clean Water
Sanibel and Captiva Chamber of Commerce
“Our members and businesses depend on clean water and a healthy environment. This ruling ensures that the benefits of Everglades restoration will support sustainable tourism and resilient communities,” said John Lai, President & CEO, Sanibel and Captiva Chamber of Commerce.
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