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photo of Lake Okeechobee near Ritta Island

Everglades Agricultural Area Storage Reservoir Project

Congress Considering Authorization of Proposed EAA Storage Reservoir Plan

On May 25, 2018, the South Florida Water Management District responded to a review assessment from the Assistant Secretary of the Army (ASA) for the feasibility study detailing SFWMD's proposed plan for the EAA Storage Reservoir.

The ASA determined SFWMD’s plan for the EAA Storage Reservoir to be feasible and sent the report to the Office of Budget and Management (OMB) for review on May 30. OMB completed its review of the plan on July 10 and the ASA submitted the project to Congress for authorization on July 11.

On June 6, the House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2018 (H.R. 8) with authorization of the EAA Storage Reservoir included. A companion bill in the Senate, America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (S. 2800), is awaiting consideration.

Click to read the Central Everglades Planning Project Post Authorization Change ReportOn March 26, 2018, the South Florida Water Management District submitted its plan for the EAA Storage Reservoir to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works for federal review, approval and submittal to Congress. In accordance with state law, the Post Authorization Change Report (PACR) seeks to increase the storage, treatment and conveyance of the congressionally authorized Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP).

The Tentatively Selected Plan was developed to meet the goals set forth by the Florida Legislature when it passed Senate Bill 10 and to be consistent with the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The plan will reduce damaging discharges to the northern estuaries, deliver clean water for Everglades restoration and achieve water quality standards.

The plan was approved by the SFWMD Governing Board on March 8, 2018, and submitted to the Assistant Secretary along with an independent peer review that found the report to be technically sound.

Central Everglades Planning Project Post Authorization Change Report

Related Documents

Background: Senate Bill 10

In May 2017, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation that provides more than $1 billion to increase water storage south of Lake Okeechobee as part of an effort to reduce harmful lake discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries.

Click for EAA Reservoir Project TrackerThe Water Resources Law of 2017 (Laws of Florida, Chapter 2017-10, Senate Bill 10) directs the expedited design and construction of a water storage reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) to provide for a significant increase in southern storage to reduce high-volume discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

A project component of CERP, the reservoir will be designed to hold at least 240,000 acre-feet of water and include water quality features necessary to meet state and federal water quality standards. The law requires the South Florida Water Management District to meet certain timelines for implementing the project. You can follow the District's progress at:

Modeling Results

As part of the extensive public process for the EAA Storage Reservoir Project, the District is conducting a series of computer modeling runs to inform the development of the project's features. As new modeling results are released, they will be posted at the FTP link below.

Public Planning Meetings

The District conducted a series of meetings to solicit public input on the EAA Storage Reservoir Project. Presentations, videos and materials from these meetings are posted in the archive below.

These public meetings were consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The NEPA process provides an opportunity for the public to give input related to the project.
 

Meeting Archive