Statement from Everglades Foundation CEO Eric Eikenberg Regarding Today’s Meeting of the South Flori

For Immediate Release Thursday, May 14, 2015

Palmetto Bay, Fla. – The Everglades Foundation today released the following statement, attributable to CEO Eric Eikenberg, regarding today’s meeting of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).

“Today’s action taken by SFWMD is certainly disappointing to those who have supported executing the U.S. Sugar land buy to build a badly-needed reservoir and send the water south.

“The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was a bi-partisan state and federal partnership that has been ongoing since 2000. A storage reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) has always been a part of that plan since Day One – a component so important to Everglades restoration that Governor Jeb Bush put it on a fast-track list. One reason an EAA reservoir is such a good investment of taxpayer dollars is the multiple purposes it will serve. The reservoir will provide water for the Everglades and other users when water is scarce and provide another outlet for Lake Okeechobee water to be sent south instead of to the estuaries.

“We look forward to working with Governor Rick Scott, the Florida Legislature and SFWMD to find a viable alternative site for this critical Everglades restoration project.”

###