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1 1 (January 14, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/govesbt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Recent Developments in Everglades Restoration Updated January 14, 2025 Overyi ew What Is the Everglades? The Everglades is a unique network of wetlands in South Florida. By the end of the 20th century, the ecosystem had degraded and was approximately half its historical size, due in part to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) water-supply and flood-control projects (as well as agricultural and urban runoff). The ecosystem is home to Everglades National Park and unique species, including 67 species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. §§1531 et seq.). Congress has authorized and funded restoration of the Everglades, which continues to be of interest to Congress. What Is CERP? Congress approved the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) in the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA 2000; P.L. 106-541). CERP is a framework under which the federal government and the State of Florida are attempting to restore the Everglades and improve the timing, distribution, and quality of the water flowing south from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades. Under CERP, the federal government, through USACE and the Department of the Interior (DOI), is to fund half the costs of restoration; the State of Florida is to contribute the other half. Tribes and local agencies also are involved in the restoration effort. Originally, CERP was to include over 50 projects to be completed over 30 years at a cost of $8.2 billion (FY2000 dollars, equivalent to $13.8 billion in FY2023 dollars). The most recent report to Congress projected CERP would take approximately 50 years from its authorization to implement at a total cost of $23.2 billion (FY2020 dollars, equivalent to $26.9 billion in FY2023 dollars) due to inflation, changes in project scope and schedule, and new project authorizations. Through FY2024, the federal government has spent $3.2 billion and the State of Florida has spent $2.8 billion (nominal dollars) on CERP construction projects, according to cost-share transparency reporting. Separate from CERP, USACE has performed actions complementary to restoring the Everglades (most of which predate CERP). For example, after 22 years of constructing the lower Kissimmee River Restoration Project, USACE completed the project in 2021. The federal government has spent approximately $1.0 billion (nominal dollars) on these non-CERP construction projects. CERP Projects Requfre Authorization by Congress WRDA 2000 approved CERP and its implementation process, and authorized several pilot projects. The process requires that USACE produce a project implementation report and obtain congressional project authorization before a project can receive federal appropriations for construction, including credit or reimbursement for nonfederal work undertaken in advance. Subsequent laws authorized projects planned under CERP. Some projects received appropriations and are under construction. Other CERP project studies are in progress (see Table 1). Table I. Status of CERP USACE Projects in FY2024 Project Name Construction Status Auth. Year Site I Impoundment Picayune Strand Restoration Project Indian River Lagoon - South C-43 West Storage Basin Reservoir C- IlI Spreader Canal Western Project Broward County Water Preserve Areas Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project Central Everglades Planning Project Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Project Western Everglades Restoration Project Lake Okeechobee Component A Storage Reservoir Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project Biscayne Bay and Southern Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Southern Everglades 2007 2007 2007 and 2022 2014 and 2020 2014 2014 2014 and 2024 2016 and 2020 2018 and 2020 2020 2024 2024 Not Applicable Not Applicable Not Applicable Phase I completed Under construction Under construction Under construction Completed Under construction Under construction Under construction Under construction Awaiting construction Awaiting construction Awaiting construction Study in progress Study in progress Study in progress Sources: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades, The Tenth Biennial Review- 2024; USACE factsheets, work plans, and spend plans; and laws. Note: Auth. = Authorization; CERP = Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan; USACE = U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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