Joining me this afternoon are two members of the Environment & Public Works Committee. Senator Bob Graham is well known to friends of the Everglades. As Governor of Florida, he was responsible for one of the first major Everglades restoration efforts, Florida's Save Our Everglades Act of 1983. He remains a strong voice in the Senate for protection of the this vital national resource. Also joining us today is Senator George Voinovich of Ohio. Senator Voinovich is the Chairman of the Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Everglades restoration proposal, and I know he plans to hold additional hearings on this subject in Washington. I would also like to acknowledge the important contributions of Senator Connie Mack, a strong supporter of Everglades restoration, who was not able to join us today because of a previous engagement.
There are many other people to be commended not only for the efforts that went into this bipartisan plan, but for the work that still remains to be done. EPA Administrator Carol Browner, a Florida native, has been an advocate and leader within the Administration on this project. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and the Army Corps of Engineers' Joe Westphal are also in leading roles in this effort.
The federal government has very strong partners here in Florida, starting with Governor Jeb Bush and including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District. There are many others, too numerous to mention now, who have been instrumental in bringing the Everglades restoration agenda to this critical juncture. The people you see here today at this hearing and participating in the conference have been integral in this effort to preserve and protect the Everglades for the next century and beyond.
This is my first hearing as Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and it is no mistake that the subject of my first hearing is the restoration of a national environmental treasure. We are here because restoration of the Everglades is one of the nation's most urgent environmental priorities. It is my hope that today's hearing will set the tone for the committee's activities in the coming year.
Let me also say that I appreciate the opportunity to be here in Florida to learn more about this restoration effort. Over the past thirty years, I have enjoyed Southern Florida's hospitality many times as a private citizen, a Member of the House of Representatives, and as a Senator. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of visiting the Everglades several times. Just a few days ago, Everglades National Park Superintendent Ring took time out of his busy schedule to give me an expert tour of his park, and I must say this tour reinforced my view that this is truly one of the nation's most unique environmental treasures. The Superintendent is here today, and I thank him for his time and for his insights.
As most of you are aware, Senator John Chafee was strongly committed to seeing this restoration effort go forth in a timely and bipartisan manner. I totally agree--you will find no daylight between Senator Chafee's position and my own. I support restoring the Everglades, and I will work to ensure that we in the Congress do what we need to do to achieve the goal. I intend to take over where Senator Chafee left off crafting and moving forward with legislation that implements the goals of the restoration plan early in this session of the Congress.
The face of South Florida has changed significantly over the past 50 years. The entire region has experienced explosive growth in that time, and this growth in turn has exerted tremendous pressure on the natural resources of the region, and especially the Florida Everglades. The Everglades, estimated to be half the size they were at the turn of the century, are the largest wetland and subtropical wilderness in the country, and home to countless species of plants and wildlife.
We all know that the Everglades face grave peril. The unintended consequence of a massive federal flood control project of the late 1940s is the too efficient redirection of water from Lake Okeechobee. Approximately 1.7 billion gallons of water a day, 1.7 billion, a number I am sure we are to hear repeated often today, is needlessly directed out to sea. This project was done with the best of intentions---the federal government simply had to act when devastating floods took thousands of lives prior to the project. Unfortunately the very success of the project disrupted the natural sheet flow of water through the so-called "River of Grass," altering or destroying the habitat for many species of native plants, mammals, reptiles, fish and wading birds.
The billions of gallons of water diverted to the sea needs to be conserved, not only to replenish what remains of the Everglades ecosystem, but for urban and agricultural use as well. Everyone wins if we can make the Comprehensive Plan being discussed here today a success---the environment, fish and wildlife, agriculture, and the economy.
This Comprehensive Plan strikes a balance between restoring the biological health of the South Florida ecosystem and delivering enough water to urban areas, farms and communities in the region to keep the economy moving forward. The multitude of projects that the Comprehensive Plan contemplates will be constructed over many years at an estimated cost of $7.8 billion. Although I am sure witnesses will comment on the estimated cost of the project, I would like to remind witnesses that we intend to explore costs and the financing of the project at the D.C. hearing. Today we want to hear the details of the project, its impact on the health of the Everglades including its many species of plants and animals, as well as its impact on the nearby communities, and industry.
The scope of the Comprehensive Plan is as large as the problem it addresses. Some of the key elements are--- - 181,000 acres of new reservoirs - 35,600 acres of restored or reconstructed wetlands - 300 underground aquifer storage wells, and - removal of 240 miles of levees & canals to restore that have interrupted natural water flow, drying vast tracts of the Everglades while destroying habitat.
I can assure everyone that the Committee will take a hard look at the Comprehensive Plan. There are many important questions that need to be answered before legislation is finalized, and the Environment Committee will carefully scrutinize individual Plan elements in future years as the Administration seeks further authorizations to complete this multi-decade project.
Many will ask: why should the federal government be involved? First of all, this is a national environmental treasure. Restoring the Everglades benefits not only Floridians, but the millions of visitors who flock to Florida each year to behold this unique ecosystem. It has been said that the Everglades are to Florida and the nation what the Rockies are to the western states; what the Grand Canyon is to Arizona; what the Adirondack, White, and Green Mountains are to New England, my backyard; and what the Mississippi River is to the nation's heartland. Second, it was federal legislation that authorized the Central and South Florida Project in 1948. We have a responsibility to correct what we, with the best of intentions, helped damage.
Finally, this is a legacy to future generations. When our distant descendants move into the Fourth Millennium, I hope that it will be remembered that this generation, at the beginning of the Third Millennium, put aside partisanship, narrow self-interest and short-term thinking by answering the call and saving the Everglades.
Before I conclude, I would like to recognize the contributions of the four Senate staff members who put this hearing together---Catherine Cyr of Senator Graham's staff, Ellen Stein of Senator Voinovich's staff, JoEllen Darcy of Senator Baucus' staff, and Chelsea Henderson of my staff. They did a great job!
In closing, I would like to reiterate my position---I strongly support the restoration of the Everglades. We will do what we need to do in order to achieve this goal. I also promise, in close cooperation with Senator Voinovich, to closely scrutinize the details and costs of the many elements of the Comprehensive Plan. Finally, I commit to working in an open, bipartisan manner to move forward with a bill this Spring. This year's bill is but the first step in the multi-decade Comprehensive Plan, but it is time to take that first step.
It is useful to reflect for a moment on the wise words of Marjory Stoneham Douglas, author of The Everglades: River of Grass, and a preeminent voice in Everglades restoration:
"A century after man first started to dominate the Everglades, that progress has stumbled. Consequences have started to catch up. It is, perhaps, an opportunity. The great wet wilderness of South Florida need not be degraded to a permanent state of mediocrity. If the people will it, ... the Everglades can be restored to nature's design."
Let's do our part to restore the Everglades to nature's design.