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October 17, 2019
Recent Developments in Everglades Restoration
Overview
awaiting congressional construction authorization, or in
progress (see Table 1).
What Is the Everglades? The Everglades is a unique
network of subtropical wetlands in South Florida. Due in
Table 1. Status of Recent CERP Projects
part to federal water supply and flood control projects (as
well as agricultural and urban runoff), it has been degraded
Construction
and is approximately half its historical size. The ecosystem
Project Name
Authorization
Status
is home to a number of unique species, including 67 species
on the Federal Endangered or Threatened Species lists.
Site 1 Impoundment WRDA 2007
Phase 1 completed
Phase II on hold
What Is CERP? The Comprehensive Everglades
Picayune Strand
WRDA 2007
Under construction
Restoration Plan (CERP) was approved by Congress in the
Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA 2000;
Indian River
WRDA 2007
Under construction
P.L. 106-541). It is a framework under which the federal
Lagoon-South
government, with the State of Florida, is attempting to
C-43 West Storage
WRRDA 2014
Under construction
restore the Everglades and expand water supplies by
Basin
improving the timing, distribution, and quality of the water
flowing south from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades,
C-111 Spreader
WRRDA 2014
Complete
among other things. Under CERP, the federal government,
Canal
through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and
Broward County
WRRDA 2014
Under construction
the Department of the Interior (DOI), is required to fund
Water Preserve
half the costs for restoration, with an array of state, tribal,
Areas
and local agencies paying the other half. Originally, CERP
was to include 60 projects that would be completed over 30
Biscayne Bay
WRRDA 2014
Under construction
years at a cost of $10 billion. More recent estimates have
Coastal Wetlands
projected that CERP will take approximately 50 years to
implement at a total cost of $13.5 billion. To date, the
Central Everglades
WRDA 2016
Awaiting construction
federal government has spent more than $1.5 billion on
Planning Project
CERP. The State of Florida estimates it has spent over $4.2
(CEPP)
billion, according to the South Florida Ecosystem
Everglades
WRDA 2018
Awaiting construction
Restoration Task Force, although much of this funding has
Agricultural Area
(authorized as
yet to be officially credited for Floridaâ€™s portion of the cost
Reservoir Storage
an addendum to
share.
CEPP)
Loxahatchee River
Awaiting
Study in progress
Everglades restoration under CERP was authorized in
Watershed Project
authorization
2000 and is expected to take 50 years to complete.
Big Cypress/L-28
Awaiting
Study in progress

Interceptor
authorization
Outside of CERP, complementary efforts to restore the
Everglades (most of which predate CERP) are ongoing. The
Lake Okeechobee
Awaiting
Study in progress
federal government has spent more than $3 billion on these
Watershed Project
authorization
efforts, collectively referred to as non-CERP projects.
Source: Congressional Research Service based on USACE data.
Note: WRDA = Water Resources and Development Act. WRDA
Everglades Restoration Projects Must Be
2007, WRDA 2016, and WRDA 2018 are P.L. 110-114, P.L. 114-322,
Authorized by Congress
and P.L. 115-270, respectively. WRRDA 2014 = Water Resources
WRDA 2000 approved the overall CERP plan and process
Reform and Development Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-121).
and authorized several pilot projects, However, most CERP
construction projects require additional study by the
Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP)
USACE and congressional authorization of construction
CEPP is a restoration project under CERP that was
before they can receive federal appropriations, including
authorized in 2016 (P.L. 114-322). CEPPâ€™s objective is to
credit or reimbursement for nonfederal work undertaken in
improve the quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of
advance. Several laws subsequent to WRDA 2000 have
water flows through the Everglades ecosystem south of
authorized projects under CERP, and some projects are
Lake Okeechobee (see Figure 1). CEPP focuses on
under construction after receiving appropriations from
prioritizing restoration projects in the Everglades. The
Congress. Studies for other CERP projects are complete,
estimated cost is $3.0 billion, with a federal share of
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Recent Developments in Everglades Restoration
approximately $2.9 billion. (The cost share of individual
The Presidentâ€™s budget request for FY2020 initially was
projects can vary from the overall cost share of CERP,
$69 million but was amended in May 2019 to increase
which is 50:50 for the federal government and Florida.)
funding to $205 million, which is expected to accelerate
Some observers consider CEPP to be a key project in
some CERP projects (e.g., CEPP), according to the
restoring the Everglades.
Administration. In FY2018 and FY2019, Congress
provided appropriations for Everglades restoration activities
Figure 1. Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP)
to USACE exceeding the budget requests, and subsequent
USACE work plans for both fiscal years included a total of
approximately $111 million (see Table 2).
Congress also has provided appropriations to DOI agencies
for Everglades restoration activities. These agencies
received $65.0 million for these activities in FY2018 and
$63.7 million in FY2019. Of these amounts, CERP
activities received approximately $8.0 million annually.
Table 2. Federal Funding of Everglades Restoration
2020
Agency
Project
2017
2018
2019
Request
USACE
CERP
$78.4
$95.0
$97.2
$200.0
USACE
Non-CERP
$53.5
$16.4
$13.7
$6.6
DOI
CERP
$8.0
$8.0
$7.8
$7.8
DOI
Non-CERP
$56.6
$57.0
$55.9
$48.1
Source: South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force.
Notes: Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), funding
is in millions of dollars and rounded to the nearest decimal for each
fiscal year.
Lake Okeechobee/Herbert Hoover Dike. Since 2007,
USACE has conducted repairs on Herbert Hoover Dike and
has regulated water storage and discharges from Lake

Okeechobee to address structural issues associated with the
Source: USACE.
dike. Because of these changes, increased discharges from
Note: Green shaded portions indicate CEPP project area.
the lake have at times led to an excess flow of nutrient-rich
water down canals to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee
WRDA 2018 Authorization
estuaries, which has exacerbated harmful algal blooms and
The Water Resources Development Act of 2018 (WRDA
increased sediment in the estuaries.
2018, Title I of Americaâ€™s Water Infrastructure Act of
2018, P.L. 115-270) authorized the Everglades Agricultural
Repairs of Hoover Dike may increase Lake Okeechobeeâ€™s
Area Reservoir Storage Project (EAA Storage) as an
capacity to store water and regulate discharges to reduce
addendum to CEPP. EAA Storage is a USACE project that
negative environmental effects. These activities are not
aims to provide approximately 350,000 acre-feet of water
categorized under Everglades restoration per se but are
storage for receiving water flows from Lake Okeechobee
considered by many observers to be essential to broader
and stormwater treatment areas (wetlands that remove
restoration efforts in South Florida. For FY2018, this
nutrients from agricultural and urban runoff) for improving
project received $514 million in supplemental funding.
water quality.
Congressional Interest
USACE anticipates repairs to be completed by 2022, which
would allow for new discharge regulations to be issued
In Congress, attention has focused on appropriations for
under the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual.
constructing projects and overseeing progress in Everglades
Section 1106 of WRDA 2018 directed USACE to expedite
restoration and related projects affecting water flows.
completion of an updated Lake Okeechobee regulation
schedule to coincide with completion of the repairs. The
Appropriations. According to the 2018 Seventh Biennial
schedule aims to consider relevant aspects of CERP,
Review of Everglades Restoration, conducted by the
including projects not yet constructed (e.g., EAA Storage).
National Academies of Sciences, funding for Everglades
restoration remains a key constraint on the rate of
restoration progress. The federal appropriations process
Pervaze A. Sheikh, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
dictates the timing and level of funding, which affect
Anna E. Normand, Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
project implementation and completion.
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Recent Developments in Everglades Restoration

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