Praise for Senator Negron's Plan to Buy Land and Send Water South
Today, Florida Senate President-designate Joe Negron announced a plan to restore the Everglades by buying 60,000 acres of sugar land in the Everglades Agricultural Area to store water and send it south using Amendment 1 money to finance the state's contribution.
Statement by Sierra Club Florida Director Frank Jackalone:
"We applaud Senator Negron's bold leadership to truly find a solution to the algae crisis and help restore America's Everglades. Senator Negron's plan proposes a significant amount of land for the water storage and treatment needed to protect our communities and to restore the natural flow of the Everglades from Lake Okeechobee south to Florida Bay while replenishing our aquifers.
"This proposed purchase will leave most of the farm land in the Everglades Agricultural Area intact while adding thousands of well-paying construction jobs. It will keep Lake Okeechobee from spilling over during the rainy season and protect the lives of those who live next to the Herbert Hoover Dike. At the same time, it will provide an additional 120 billion gallons of water storage that will protect our coasts from massive marine die-offs and the unprecedented threats to human health from nutrient-loaded Lake Okeechobee discharges.
"Sierra Club will review all aspects of Senator Negron's proposal as details materialize, but this appears to be a major breakthrough.
"We urge Governor Scott and the Legislature to adopt Senator Negron's plan to end this crisis and to immediately join the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as sponsors of the planning process for water storage south of Lake Okeechobee. Following Senator Negron's lead, Governor Scott and the Florida Legislature can restore the Everglades, end the algae crisis along our coasts, and build a stronger economy in the Glades communities."
