President Donald Trump's budget has less for Everglades projects than Florida leaders want

A recommended budget released by the Trump Administration has less for Everglades restoration funding than what's been requested by state leaders and environmentalists. 

More than $63 million is recommended in the budget for projects to restore wetlands and other ecosystems in the state, according to a budget released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  

That's far from the $200 million that members of Florida's congressional delegation requested last month. 

More: Scott, Rubio, DeSantis ask Trump to fund Everglades restoration projects

The budget recommendation from the White House is only a recommendation, and Congress holds responsibility for appropriating federal funding for projects. 

U.S. Reps. Brian Mast and Francis Rooney, and Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott said this is the third year in a row the White House has released budget requests that "underfund" Everglades projects. 

“It is incredibly short-sighted to continue to underfund a series of projects that are absolutely necessary to ensure the environmental sustainability and economic vitality of one of the most dynamic regions of our nation,” the members said in a joint statement first released by Mast's office.

They said the federal government failing to provide the funding is contrary to the Trump Administration's goal of improving federal-state partnerships, including those in which federal and state governments share the costs of a project.

“Successive Florida Governors have remained committed to this goal, pushing state funding of this 50/50 federal-state partnership to historic highs," the members said in the statement. "Congress and the Army Corps of Engineers envisioned a $200 million per year federal commitment when the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was first authorized nearly 20 years ago, and it is time for the administration to meet that commitment.”

Florida has steadily increased funding for Everglades projects each year. In January, Gov. Ron DeSantis recommended the state should appropriate $360 million for Everglades restoration projects as part of his budget recommendations. 

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“Although we were hoping for more, we look forward to working with our congressional leaders to ensure Florida’s needs are met," DeSantis spokeswoman Helen Aguirre Ferré said.

Algae blooms

Recurring blue-green algal blooms in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers have caused dozens of people to be medically treated for symptoms related to exposure. Several dogs on the Treasure Coast also died from or were sickened by algae blooms in 2018. 

More: How high and how low should Lake Okeechobee go to prevent algae blooms?

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The blooms are caused primarily by freshwater discharges of water from Lake Okeechobee, polluted by agricultural runoff and runoff from communities north of the lake Lake O discharges also feed red tide blooms in nearshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.

Everglades Foundation CEO Eric Eikenberg said the federal government has failed to provide enough funding for Everglades projects, and Congress should up the funding. 

“Florida cannot continue to suffer through repeated outbreaks of toxic blue-green algae and red tide: the nation’s third-most populous state is undergoing a perennial environmental disaster and an economic catastrophe, and the federal government must fulfill its role in helping solve the problem of Florida’s waterways."

Everglades restoration projects

The projects that could be completed with the $200 million requested from Florida politicians include: 

• The Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir, which intends to curb Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers. The EAA reservoir's goal is to reduce Lake O discharges, which cause toxic blue-green algal blooms and contribute to nearshore red tide blooms in the Gulf of Mexico. 
• Projects included in the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP), which are supposed to store, treat and send water south to the Everglades and Florida Bay.
• Water storage and treatment projects in the Indian River Lagoon's southern region in Martin County, including the C-44 Reservoir, which filters and cleans water before it moves into the South Fork of the St. Lucie River.
• The C-43 Reservoir, which will store water going to the Caloosahatchee River estuary during wet periods and provide water during the dry season

More:Florida Sen. Gayle Harrell's bill to fund Indian River lagoon projects passes Senate committee

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