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                                                                Order Code RS21331
                                                            Updated August 23, 2005



 CRS Report for Congress

              Received through the CRS Web



                 Everglades Restoration:

           Modified Water Deliveries Project

                           Pervaze A. Sheikh
         Analyst in Environmental and Natural Resources Policy
                Resources, Science, and Industry Division

Summary


     The Modified Water Deliveries Project (Mod Waters) is a controversial ecological
 restoration project in south Florida designed to improve water delivery to Everglades
 National Park. The implementation schedule of Mod Waters is of interest to Congress
 partly because its completion is required before the implementation of portions of the
 Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Concerns have been raised in hearings on
 the Administration's FY2006 budget request regarding the cost of implementing the
 project and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' authority to fund the project. Further,
 due to concerns regarding phosphorus pollution in the Everglades, Congress enacted a
 provision in the FY2004, FY2005, and FY2006 Interior Appropriations Acts that
 conditions funding for Mod Waters on meeting state water quality standards. In
 addition, the use of eminent domain to acquire land for a flood mitigation plan adjacent
 to the park has been contentious. Several landowners who were unwilling to sell their
 land obtained a ruling in federal court that prevented further land acquisitions in the
 area. The Corps appealed this decision, and Congress authorized a plan, which included
 land acquisition, in the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution for FY2003 (P.L. 108-
 7). This report provides background on Mod Waters and discusses issues relating to its
 current status, funding, and land acquisition needs. This report will be updated as
 warranted.


 Most Recent Developments

    The Modified Waters Deliveries Project (Mod Waters) is being implemented by the
Department of the Interior and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in southern Florida.
(See Figure 1.) For FY2006, the Administration has requested a total of $60 million for
the project: $35 million through the Corps and $25 million through the Department of the
Interior.

    The President's request for the Everglades has drawn attention because of a proposed
change in the funding of Mod Waters. The request called for the Corps to broaden its role
by jointly funding the project with the Department of Interior, which previously had solely
funded the project. This raises the question of whether the Corps is authorized to receive

       Congressional Research Service +. The Library of Congress

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