EAA reservoir: Water district board OKs leasing project's land to sugar grower

Over the objections of a congressman and the governor-elect, the South Florida Water Management District extended the lease on land to be used for the reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee.

The lease with New Hope Sugar Co., a subsidiary of Florida Crystals, that would have expired at the end of March now will extend until March 31, 2027. But provisions allow the district to take parts or all of the land back, with four months notice, for construction of the reservoir.

Noting the extension proposal was not announced until Wednesday night, U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, told board members he and Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis wanted to be briefed on the proposal before its approval "to make sure we're not adding additional hurdles to the project."

Still, the board voted unanimously, with member Daniel O'Keefe abstaining, to approve the lease extension.

After the vote, Mast told TCPalm the board's action was "frustrating to be sideways with them on this, but it's not surprising."

Delaying the lease agreement a month won't delay the project, Mast said, but it would "give us a little time to make sure nothing nefarious is going on." Rushing the agreement through, he added, "makes it look suspicious."

The state and federal government each are to pay half of the project's expected $1.8 billion cost. State funding is in place. Congress has approved the project, but hasn't appropriated money for it.

Convincing his cohorts to fund the project could be more difficult because of the district's action, Mast said.

"I could be out there fighting for this appropriation," he said, "and someone will say, 'That land is still being used (for farming); let's wait and get to it next year.' "

The Everglades Foundation called on Gov. Rick Scott to demand the resignations of all the board members, all Scot appointees, and Executive Director Ernie Marks.

More: Read the Everglades Foundation letter to Gov. Rick Scott

"I must conclude that your administration is complicit in this illegal maneuver that benefits a single sugar company over the interests of the people of Florida, who own the land in question," foundation Executive Director Eric Eikenberg wrote in a letter to Scott.

In a response Thursday night, board chairman Federico E. Fernandez said he stood behind Marks "and this Governing Board. Both Governor-Elect Ron DeSantis and Senator-Elect Rick Scott want to get this reservoir built. Our actions today align with this priority."

More: Read all of Fernandez's statement

'Lawsuit will follow'

Kimberly Mitchell, executive director of the Everglades Trust, threatened to sue to stop the lease.

"A lawsuit will follow," Mitchell told TCPalm after the vote. "We very well could be the ones to file it, but somebody will."

More: What are Lake Okeechobee discharges?

District staff and board members said the lease will help expedite construction, not delay it; and it's required by the state legislation authorizing the project.

General Counsel Brian J. Accardo said the district is required by state law to allow farming on the land on a "field-by-field basis" until the land is needed for "site preparation, on-site investigation or construction" of the reservoir.

The law Accardo cited is not the 2017 Senate Bill 10 pushed by Senate President Joe Negron authorizing the reservoir, but subsequent legislation in 2018 implementing the project.

More:TCPalm's complete coverage of clean-water issues

Acting on the lease agreement immediately, Accardo said, also would allow the district to begin stockpiling rock and fill dirt on about 560 acres of the site, work that needs to be done during the current dry season.

Extending the lease also would earn the district about $1 million a year in rent, Accardo said.

Sunshine violation?

Echoing Mast, members of several environmental groups called for the board to delay action because the proposed lease agreement was posted on the district website and added to the board's agenda at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

That didn't give the public time to review the proposal and violated state sunshine laws requiring proper notice, Lisa Interlandi, executive director of the Everglades Law Center, told the board.

"They violated state statutes," Eikenberg told TCPalm. "This is a post-election double-cross."

More:Bacterial pollution levels | Real-time Florida map

The lease agreement was "posted at 9 o'clock because it landed at 8 o'clock," Accardo said.

The law requiring advance publication of the lease agreement doesn't apply, he added, because the lease is "mandated" by state law. ... It's the only way to move the project forward."

More:Status of EAA reservoir to cut Lake Okeechobee discharges

Environmentalist groups also have argued the land should be available for storing excess Lake Okeechobee water during periods of heavy rain.

With a four-month notice required before taking over the land, "we couldn't get to it when we need it," said Shannon Estenoz, chief operations officer and vice president of the Everglades Foundation.

In response, Accardo again cited state law saying to leave the land in agriculture until it's needed for the reservoir project.

More: Trump signs law authorizing reservoir to cut Lake O discharges

9 to 10 years

With "consistent funding," it will take nine to 10 years to design and build the 16,158-acre project, water district spokesman Randy Smith has told TCPalm.

The district's preliminary design for the project includes a:

• 23-foot-deep, 10,100-acre reservoir to store up to 78.2 billion gallons of excess lake water
• 6,500-acre man-made marsh to clean the water before it's sent south to Everglades National Park and Florida Bay

The reservoir project is expected, when used in conjunction with other existing and planned projects, to reduce the number of damaging discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers by 63 percent.

More:With Trump's signature, EAA Reservoir becomes law 

It also will send an average of about 120.6 billion gallons of clean water south to the thirsty Everglades and Florida Bay.

This story will be updated.