One Florida lawmaker is calling on Congress to authorize funding for the next phase of Everglades restoration, known as the Water Resources Development Act. State Representative Gayle Harrell of Martin County filed the House memorial on Wednesday, urging Congress to act before it adjourns.
Memorials are non-binding, mostly ceremonial legislation. But Harrell says Congress needs to know that the water issues facing Florida aren't new.
"It’s part of what has been going on really since the ‘30s, when the whole plumbing of South Florida was changed with the diking of Lake Okeechobee, with the various canal systems that have been put in place to control flooding within South Florida", Harrell said.The memorial asks for continued funding of projects already underway around Lake Okeechobee, the Indian River Lagoon and the Saint Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers.
Funding the cleanup of the Everglades is supposed to be paid for with both state and federal dollars. But Harrell says the feds aren't living up to their end of the bargain.