Florida could get $5 billion for Everglades restoration, but there’s a catch
Florida lawmakers say a looming $1 trillion infrastructure bill has enough money in it to cover the federal government’s share of Everglades restoration projects — but the ultimate say on how the money is spent is up to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a federal agency that has long been a target of anger from Florida Republicans and Democrats.
During a meeting of Florida’s 27-member U.S. House delegation on Wednesday, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said a bipartisan infrastructure bill, which is in procedural limbo but is expected to pass, includes nearly $13 billion in funds that could be spent on the Everglades.
That’s more than enough for the federal government to cover its $5 billion share for approved Everglades restoration projects, Wasserman Schultz said. The money will come from an $11.6 billion funding pot for the Army Corps of Engineers and $1.9 billion for projects to restore aquatic ecosystems.
“They can spend $5 billion over five years, they’ve acknowledged that they have the capacity,” Wasserman Schultz said of the Army Corps’ Jacksonville District, which is responsible for protecting waterways in Florida. “We want to make sure that outside the appropriations process that we get our share, get the federal share of Everglades restoration funding back in balance and we get us considerably down the pathway to finishing all of our projects.”
The argument from Florida lawmakers is that Everglades projects are already approved by Congress and have been delayed for years, meaning if the Corps allocates funds to other projects that need approval, it will result in delays across the board.
During the Florida delegation meeting, the first gathering since former Florida delegation cochairman Alcee Hastings died in April, Miami Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez pressed Col. James L. Booth, the new Jacksonville District commander for the Army Corps, on how quickly it can spend money that Congress sends its way.
“Everglades restoration is very important for me and all the people I represent. Are we on time with the projects that are in the books?” Gimenez asked Booth, prompting sarcastic laughter from Wasserman Schultz.
The comprehensive Everglades plan, which was authorized by Congress in 2000, has faced many delays.
HOW ARMY CORPS SPENDS THE FUNDS
Gimenez then asked Booth how much federal money is needed to complete authorized projects and the entire Everglades restoration project, whose costs are split evenly between the federal government and the state of Florida.
Booth replied that $5 billion is needed to finish projects that have already been approved and $10 billion total will be needed from the federal government to finish the entire project.
“Could you reduce the amount of federal funding if we front-loaded that?” Gimenez asked. “If we gave you more money quicker, would it reduce the cost at the end?”
Booth said that the $5 billion and $10 billion figures assume that future projects will be completed on time. Any further delays will result in more money being spent.
The prospect of Everglades restoration funding in an infrastructure bill that already passed the U.S. Senate and awaits consideration in the U.S. House is a different approach than what Florida Democrats pursued in August. All 10 of Florida’s House Democrats wrote congressional leaders of their desire to get $5 billion for Everglades restoration in a larger socialspending bill that is still being debated by progressive and centrist Democrats.
Now, Wasserman Schultz says the money is there inside the separate infrastructure bill, which has received some Republican support. The larger socialspending bill is not expected to get any Republican votes in Washington.
Republicans, Democrats and the Corps are in agreement that $5 billion is the right amount of federal money needed to complete approved projects, including the massive reservoir that was approved by Congress in 2018 and is being built just south of Lake Okeechobee to clean polluted water before it reaches the Everglades.