Today, U.S. Representative Patrick E. Murphy (FL-18) led a bipartisan Florida delegation letter to U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo-Ellen Darcy urging the Army Corps to move forward as quickly as possible with finalizing the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP). This project would move more water south of Lake Okeechobee, helping reduce harmful freshwater discharges into the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. Joining Murphy in sending the letter is Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Reps. Ander Crenshaw (R-FL), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Joe Garcia (D-FL), Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Bill Posey (R-FL), Tom J. Rooney (R-FL), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). (Please find below and attached a copy of the letter.)

April 25, 2014

The Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy
Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)
108 Army Pentagon, Room 3E446
Washington, DC 20310-0108

Dear Assistant Secretary:

We are writing to express our extreme disappointment with the Army Corps Civil Works Review Board’s decision to delay proceeding forward with finalizing the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) and to urge the Corps to reconvene as quickly as possible in order to finalize the CEPP Chief’s Report.

The importance of this project to America’s Everglades cannot be understated. Every rainy season, the Army Corps sends discharges of nutrient heavy fresh water from Lake Okeechobee out to our coastal estuaries instead of sending the water south to the critical habitats of Everglades National Park that desperately need fresh water. Discharges of nutrient heavy fresh water from Lake Okeechobee have plagued the coastal estuaries and communities of Florida for far too long. These releases contribute to an influx of fresh water harmful to public health, the fragile estuaries, and tourism-based economies of the area. The opposite problem exists south of the lake where fresh water is desperately needed to restore the natural ecosystem and crucial habitats of Everglades National Park. Delaying the approval and construction and implementation of CEPP is harmful to Everglades restoration efforts and to people of south Florida that rely on fresh water for their health and their livelihoods. Time is of the essence in moving forward with this critical Everglades restoration project.

We welcome members of the Review Board to witness first-hand the serious environmental problems that the completion of CEPP will help address, such as the damage that releases from Lake Okeechobee have on the coastal estuaries and the communities that depend on the water quality of their local waterways.

We again urge the Army Corps to move forward as expeditiously as possible. Please provide us with a written response that includes the upcoming dates and schedule for the Army Corps’ plans to finalize CEPP.

Sincerely,

Patrick E. Murphy
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Bill Nelson
UNITED STATES SENATOR

Ander Crenshaw
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Ted Deutch
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Mario Diaz-Balart
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Lois Frankel
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Joe Garcia
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Alcee L. Hastings
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Bill Posey
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Tom J. Rooney
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Debbie Wasserman Schultz
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Cc: Secretary Sally Jewel, Department of Interior
Major General John Peabody, Mississippi Valley Division Commander, Army Corps of Engineers
Brigadier General John Kem, Northwestern Division Commander, Army Corps of Engineers
Steve Stockton, Director of Civil Works, Headquarters, Army Corps of Engineers
Theodore A. (Tab) Brown, P.E. Chief, Army Corps of Engineers
James Hannon, Chief, Operations and Regulatory, Army Corps of Engineers
James Dalton, Chief of Engineering and Construction (E&C), South Atlantic Division, Army Corps of Engineers
Karen Durham-Aguilera, Director, Contingency Operations, Army Corps of Engineers