SFWMD: Water district board OKs leasing reservoir’s land to sugar grower

Environmentalists and state officials agree there’s “no silver bullet,” no single project that will seriously curtail discharges of excess Lake Okeechobee water east to the St. Lucie River and west to the Caloosahatchee River. A suite of projects north, south, east and west of the lake are either under construction or in the planning stage to help solve the problem. Screenshot of SFWMD’s Lake Okeechobee reservoir project tracker (Photo: CONTRIBUTED BY SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT)

Over the objections of a congressman and the governor-elect, the South Florida Water Management District extended the lease on land to be used for the reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee.

The lease with New Hope Sugar Co., a subsidiary of Florida Crystals, that would have expired at the end of March now will extend until March 31, 2027. But provisions allow the district to take parts or all of the land back, with four months notice, for construction of the reservoir.

Noting the extension proposal was not announced until Wednesday night, U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, told board members he and Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis wanted to be briefed on the proposal before its approval "to make sure we’re not adding additional hurdles to the project."

Still, the board voted unanimously, with member Daniel O’Keefe abstaining, to approve the lease extension.

After the vote, Mast told TCPalm the board’s action was “frustrating to be sideways with them on this, but it’s not surprising.”

Delaying the lease agreement a month won’t delay the project, Mast said, but it would “give us a little time to make sure nothing nefarious is going on.” Rushing the agreement through, he added, “makes it look suspicious.”

The state and federal government each are to pay half of the project’s expected $1.8 billion cost. State funding is in place. Congress has approved the project, but hasn’t appropriated money for it.

Convincing his cohorts to fund the project could be more difficult because […]

Full article: EAA reservoir: Water district board OKs leasing project’s land to sugar grower

More about Lake Okeechobee, Big Sugar, and the pollution of Florida’s once-pristine waterways:

White House approves huge reservoir for Lake Okeechobee overflow

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich on water releases from Lake Okeechobee

Toxic Lake: The Untold Story of Lake Okeechobee