Florida asks for $200M annually for Everglades
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis has joined U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott in urging President Donald Trump to include $200 million a year in the federal budget for the Everglades.
In a letter released this week, the three Florida Republican leaders requested a commitment for construction funding.
“The federal-state partnership to restore the Everglades is critical to protecting Florida’s unique environmental character, preserving our state’s full economic potential, and enhancing the resilience of every community south of Lake Okeechobee,” the letter said. “Unfortunately, federal funding has not kept pace with the state’s increasing contributions.”
The federal money would help speed work on the Central Everglades Planning Project and the Everglades Agricultural Area Storage Reservoir, along with storage and treatment infrastructure planned for the Caloosahatchee River (C-43) West Basin Storage Reservoir and Indian River LagoonSouth projects, the letter said. The state’s 27-member congressional delegation sent a similar letter to Trump in January.