Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Sen. Bill Nelson urged Southwest Floridians to call state lawmakers and tell them to put Amendment 1 money toward land purchases, a move he said would help ease the effect of Lake Okeechobee releases.
“If you can take that dedicated source of funding and, instead of using it on salaries, go spend it on buying endangered lands, that will help the overall effort,” said the Florida Democrat during a stop in Fort Myers on Saturday. “If you want to blow up the phones, blow up the phones of state legislators.”
Nelson was in Southwest Florida for a meeting with Lee County mayors on Saturday. The meeting came just days after several several Lee County mayors, including Florida League of Mayors president and Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson, traveled to Washington, D.C., to talk Lake Okeechobee releases with Nelson and Rep. Curt Clawson, a Bonita Springs Republican.
“This is our community; these are our critters,” Clawson said. “This is us and I’m going to support this 100 percent, conservative or not.”
Nelson said the federal government is taking steps to alleviate the pain from the discharges. In December, both chambers of Congress approved the Water Resources and Reform Development Act. Among the projects included in the project was the C-43 Caloosahatchee reservoir project, which will capture and store water.
The Central Everglades Planning Project was not included in the plan. However, Nelson said the Senate will pass a new water bill in the coming months that will include the Central Everglades Planning Project.
Clawson said he plans to file several bills early next week to address the discharges.
Among the proposals Clawson said he plans to file is a bill that calls on the Army Corps of Engineers to finish the Herbert Hoover Dike in five years; a bill that encourages the federal government to purchase land south of Lake Okeechobee if the state won’t do it; and a bill to give the state one-year relief from the Endangered Species Act to help maximize water the flow south.
The Army Corps of Engineers began discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers on Feb. 5. The discharges came after a rainy January and were needed to draw down the lake. About two weeks after they started, the Corps said it could not slow the discharges.
The discharges come as Southwest Florida is entering its high tourist season, and Southwest Florida officials said it could have a devastating effect on the areas economy.
“There is something different about this. It is killing my town,” said Fort Myers Beach Mayor Anita Cereceda. “I’m hanging every hope I have on you two gentlemen.”
Nelson said the federal government is taking steps to address the problems, but Floridians should also call on their state legislators to act. Nelson said before the 2016 legislative session adjourns, lawmakers should set aside Amendment 1 dollars “to buy land south of the lake and north of the lake.”
“Seventy-five percent of the people approved it, and they want that money to be used for environmentally endangered lands,” said Nelson.
