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1 1 (October 17, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbbkq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: $ Congressional Research Service Info n' g the lejaslative de[ ate sir ce 1914 0 October 17, 2019 Recent Developments in Everglades Restoration Overview What Is the Everglades? The Everglades is a unique network of subtropical wetlands in South Florida. Due in part to federal water supply and flood control projects (as well as agricultural and urban runoff), it has been degraded and is approximately half its historical size. The ecosystem is home to a number of unique species, including 67 species on the Federal Endangered or Threatened Species lists. What Is CERP? The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was approved by Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA 2000; P.L. 106-541). It is a framework under which the federal government, with the State of Florida, is attempting to restore the Everglades and expand water supplies by improving the timing, distribution, and quality of the water flowing south from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades, among other things. Under CERP, the federal government, through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Department of the Interior (DOI), is required to fund half the costs for restoration, with an array of state, tribal, and local agencies paying the other half. Originally, CERP was to include 60 projects that would be completed over 30 years at a cost of $10 billion. More recent estimates have projected that CERP will take approximately 50 years to implement at a total cost of $13.5 billion. To date, the federal government has spent more than $1.5 billion on CERP. The State of Florida estimates it has spent over $4.2 billion, according to the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, although much of this funding has yet to be officially credited for Florida's portion of the cost share. Everglades restoration under CERP was authorized in 2000 and is expected to take 50 years to complete. Outside of CERP, complementary efforts to restore the Everglades (most of which predate CERP) are ongoing. The federal government has spent more than $3 billion on these efforts, collectively referred to as non-CERP projects. Everglades Restoration Projects Must Be Authorized by Congress WRDA 2000 approved the overall CERP plan and process and authorized several pilot projects, However, most CERP construction projects require additional study by the USACE and congressional authorization of construction before they can receive federal appropriations, including credit or reimbursement for nonfederal work undertaken in advance. Several laws subsequent to WRDA 2000 have authorized projects under CERP, and some projects are under construction after receiving appropriations from Congress. Studies for other CERP projects are complete, awaiting congressional construction authorization, or in progress (see Table 1). Table I. Status of Recent CERP Projects Construction Project Name Authorization Status Site I Impoundment WRDA 2007 Phase I completed Phase II on hold Picayune Strand WRDA 2007 Under construction Indian River WRDA 2007 Under construction Lagoon-South C-43 West Storage WRRDA 2014 Under construction Basin C-Ill Spreader WRRDA 2014 Complete Canal Broward County WRRDA 2014 Under construction Water Preserve Areas Biscayne Bay WRRDA 2014 Under construction Coastal Wetlands Central Everglades WRDA 2016 Awaiting construction Planning Project (CEPP) Everglades WRDA 2018 Awaiting construction Agricultural Area (authorized as Reservoir Storage an addendum to CEPP) Loxahatchee River Awaiting Study in progress Watershed Project authorization Big Cypress/L-28 Awaiting Study in progress Interceptor authorization Lake Okeechobee Awaiting Study in progress Watershed Project authorization Source: Congressional Research Service based on USACE data. Note: WRDA = Water Resources and Development Act. WRDA 2007, WRDA2016, and WRDA 2018 are P.L. I10-114, P.L. 114-322, and P.L. 115-270, respectively. WRRDA 2014 = Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-121). Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) CEPP is a restoration project under CERP that was authorized in 2016 (P.L. 114-322). CEPP's objective is to improve the quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of water flows through the Everglades ecosystem south of Lake Okeechobee (see Figure 1). CEPP focuses on prioritizing restoration projects in the Everglades. The estimated cost is $3.0 billion, with a federal share of icrsreportscongressgo,

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