Everglades Restoration: Recent Developments and Legislation

Everglades Restoration: Recent Developments and Legislation

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March 3, 2016
Everglades Restoration: Recent Developments and Legislation
Overview
Recent Developments
What Is the Everglades? The Everglades is a unique
WRRDA 2014 Authorizations
network of subtropical wetlands in South Florida. Due in
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of
part to federal water supply and flood control projects (as
2014 (WRRDA 2014; P.L. 113-121), enacted in June 2014,
well as agricultural and urban runoff), it has been degraded
authorized four CERP projects with completed feasibility
and is approximately half its historical size. The ecosystem
studies, but the bill did not authorize one project (the
is home to a number of unique species, including 67 species
Central Everglades Planning Project, or CEPP) because the
on the Federal Endangered or Threatened Species lists.
project was still under study at the time (see Table 1). As of
2016, CEPP is the only Everglades restoration project with
What Is CERP? The Comprehensive Everglades
a completed study that is awaiting authorization.
Restoration Plan (CERP) was approved by Congress in the
Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA 2000;
Table 1. Status of Recently Studied CERP Projects
P.L. 106-541). It is a framework under which the federal
government, with the State of Florida, is attempting to
Project Name
Authorization
Status
restore the Everglades and expand water supplies by
Site 1 Impoundment WRDA 2007
Under Construction
improving the timing, distribution, and quality of the water
flowing south from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades,
Picayune Strand
WRDA 2007
Under Construction
among other things. Under CERP, the federal government
Indian River
WRDA 2007
Under Construction
(through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the
Lagoon-South
Department of the Interior [DOI]) is required to fund half of
the costs for restoration, with an array of state, tribal, and
C-43 West Storage
WRRDA 2014
Under Construction
local agencies paying the other half. Originally, CERP was
Basin
expected to include 60 projects that would be completed
C-111 Spreader
WRRDA 2014
Under Construction
over a 30-year horizon at a cost of $10 billion. More recent
Canal
estimates have projected that the project will take
approximately 50 years to implement, at a total cost of
Broward County
WRRDA 2014
Under Construction
$13.5 billion. To date, federal and state governments have
Water Preserve
spent more than $1.2 billion on CERP.
Areas
Biscayne Bay
WRRDA 2014
Under Construction
Everglades restoration under CERP was approved in
Coastal Wetlands
2000 and is expected to take 50 years to complete.
Central Everglades
Awaiting
Study Complete

Planning Project
Authorization
Outside of CERP, complementary efforts to restore the
Everglades (most of which predate CERP) are also
Loxahatchee River
Awaiting
Study in Progress
ongoing. These efforts, collectively referred to as non-
Watershed Project
Authorization
CERP projects, have cost more than $3 billion.
Big Cypress/L-28
Awaiting
Study Initiated
Interceptor
Authorization
(FY2016)
Everglades Restoration Projects Must Be
Authorized by Congress
Lake Okeechobee
Awaiting
Study in Progress
Although WRDA 2000 approved the overall CERP plan
Watershed Project
Authorization
(FY2016)
and process and authorized several pilot projects, most
Source: Congressional Research Service based on U.S. Army Corps
CERP construction projects require additional study by the
of Engineers data.
Corps and congressional authorization of construction
Note: WRRDA 2014 = Water Resources Reform and Development
before they can receive federal appropriations, including
Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-121).
credit or reimbursement for nonfederal work undertaken in
advance. The Water Resources Development Act of 2007
Authorization of the Central Everglades Planning
(WRDA 2007; P.L. 110-114) authorized three CERP
Project
construction projects, all of which are currently under way.
CEPP (project area shown below in Figure 1) is an
Other CERP studies are complete and awaiting
Everglades restoration study under the CERP framework
congressional construction authorization.
that was initiated in 2011 by the Corps and DOI, with the
State of Florida. It was initiated due to a perceived need to
prioritize restoration projects in this portion of the
ecosystem to enhance the prospects for Everglades
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Everglades Restoration: Recent Developments and Legislation
restoration overall. It recommends a suite of restoration
CEPP and New Authorizations. Some have raised
projects in the central Everglades that would be part of the
concerns about two factors that could slow progress on new
broader CERP program aiming to address problems
Everglades restoration projects: 1) the potential for earmark
associated with the timing and distribution of freshwater
moratoriums to complicate geographically specific project
flows in the central Everglades. Due to a number of factors,
authorizations in the Everglades and 2) the lack of a clear
study of CEPP was not finalized by the Corps until after
path forward for future water resource development
enactment of WRRDA 2014, thus the project has yet to be
authorization legislation. Supporters of Everglades
authorized for construction.
restoration worry that these developments will slow
Figure 1. Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP)
consideration of the next generation of Everglades
Study Area
restoration projects for authorization. Absent authorization
for these projects, federal work on Everglades restoration
could slow if ongoing projects wind down and the Corps is
unable to expend funds and match prior state expenditures.
Such a scenario would potentially delay CERP relative to
the current expected timeline.
In the 114th Congress, companion bills S. 2481 and H.R.
4436 would amend the CERP authorization in WRDA 2000
to authorize the Corps to construct any project or group of
projects that was included in the CERP plan and has a
completed project implementation report (PIR). This
provision would appear to authorize for construction not
only CEPP but also any future Everglades restoration
projects that were included under CERP and have a
completed PIR.
Historically, it has been unusual for Congress to authorize
any Corps water resource projects in stand-alone legislation
rather than as part of a water resources development act
(which typically authorizes many projects). Proponents of
S. 2481 argue that the unique and urgent circumstances of
Everglades restoration, which has been widely supported by
Congress, warrant a project delivery process that provides
for predictable progress on recommended projects going
forward.
If the aforementioned legislation is not enacted, CEPP
potentially could be approved by the traditional
authorization process for water resources projects or
through a new processes established in WRRDA 2014.
However, the prospects for either of these processes in the
114th Congress are unclear.
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Note: Shaded portions indicate CEPP study area.
Lake Okeechobee/Herbert Hoover Dike. A separate bill,
Congressional Interest
H.R. 4667, would direct the Corps to expedite ongoing
repairs to Herbert Hoover Dike and would provide an
With the enactment of WRRDA 2014 and uncertain
additional $800 million in funding for the project. Although
prospects for water resources authorizing legislation in the
this project is not usually characterized as Everglades
114th Congress, attention has focused on appropriations for
restoration, some connect the two because they both relate
recent Everglades authorizations and the status of CEPP.
to ecosystem health in Florida. Interest in the project stems
from the fact that increased storage in Lake Okeechobee (as
Appropriations. Since enactment of WRRDA 2014,
will result from the repairs) will decrease the need to
appropriations for Everglades restoration have increased. In
release large amounts of runoff from the lake to the east (St.
enacted appropriations for FY2016, Congress provided the
Lucie River) and west (Caloosahatchee River). These
Corps with $124 million for Everglades restoration,
releases may in some cases harm estuarine ecosystems.
including $86 million for CERP activities. DOI received
$64 million for Everglades restoration, including $8 million
For more information, see CRS Report R42007, Everglades
for CERP. Total restoration funding for both agencies
Restoration: Federal Funding and Implementation
($188 million) was $58 million more than the FY2015
Progress, by Charles V. Stern.
enacted amount (which preceded enactment of the WRRDA
2014 authorizations). The President’s budget request for
Charles V. Stern, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
FY2017 proposed $169 million for Everglades restoration,
IF10372
including $83 million for Corps and DOI work under
CERP.
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Everglades Restoration: Recent Developments and Legislation

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