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Summary:
The Everglades, a unique network of subtropical wetlands in Florida, is now half its original size. Many factors contributed to its decline, including flood control projects and agricultural and urban development. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and other federal, state, tribal, and local agencies collaborated to develop a Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP, or the plan). CERP aims to increase storage of wet season waters to augment the water supplies available during the dry season for both the natural system and urban and agricultural users. The plan consists of more than 60 projects estimated to take more than 30 years and $10.9 billion to complete. The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2000 (P.L.106-541) approved the CERP framework and authorized a first set of projects at $1.4 billion. WRDA 2000 established that CERP costs would be split; the federal government would pay half the construction and operation costs, and an array of state, tribal, and local agencies the other half. Issues since 2000 include authorizations for additional CERP projects (including those in the pending WRDA 2007, H.R. 1495); project priorities and funding; timeliness and effectiveness of restoration efforts; mitigation of excess phosphorous; and technological uncertainties. This report summarizes the restoration efforts and how implementation issues are shaping these efforts.
