May 23, 2003

By Florida Governor Jeb Bush

jeb.bush@myflorida.com

The Everglades is an important Florida treasure and it's restoration has been my highest environmental priority.

In recent weeks there has been much written and said that does not convey the facts behind recent legislation and it's potential impact on our current federal partnership.

I hope the following will help clarify the policy, motivations and impact. Please do not hesitate to get back to me with any feedback or additional questions.

On Tuesday, May 20, 2003, I signed into law a much-discussed bill that will further our efforts to restore the Everglades.

Restoring the River of Grass involves both water flow and water quality. It also requires cooperation.

The 1992 court-ordered settlement agreement and the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan are central to our state-federal partnership to clean up this national treasure.

The law I signed Tuesday strengthens the other crucial part of our efforts -- the 1994 Everglades Forever Act, which established Florida's commitment to restoring water quality.

Under the Everglades Forever Act, all parties involved determined that cleaning up the Everglades meant reaching a 10 parts per billion (ppb) phosphorous standard in the water because the unique nature of the Everglades is that it can only tolerate very small amounts of phosphorus.

To put that into perspective, 10 ppb is equal to 10 grains of sand in a bucket of a billion grains.

Today, 90% of the 2.4 million acres of land and water that make up the Everglades are at or below this 10 ppb standard.

By the December 2006 deadline, 95% of the Everglades 2.4 million, will be at or below 10 ppb standard.

While the Everglades Forever Act of 1994 told us to clean up the water in the Everglades by 2006, it didn't tell us how.

The Act told us to reduce phosphorus by 2006, but didn't tell us by how much. Instead, it required the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) to figure out and implement a plan by December 2003 that will achieve our goal.

The bill I signed into law Tuesday answers these open questions and extends our commitment.

We worked hard over the past several weeks to ensure that the bill that passed through the legislature had the stringent standards to continue our success, and it does.

It allows DEP to adopt a strict 10 ppb standard, and the SFWMD to implement a Long-term Plan to accomplish the goal.

It also adds another $450 million to pay for the effort, without raising taxes or increasing federal funding.

The reality is that the new law actually defines the state's responsibilities more clearly, and acknowledges the fact that -- while a plan will be in place for reaching a 10 ppb standard across the entire Everglades by 2006 -- five percent of the water will not be at 10 ppb, but will achieve the "net improvement" standard set in place in 1994.

Decades of buildup of run off from Lake Okeechobee has embedded phosphorous in the Everglades sediment, and that will take longer than the original deadline of 2006 to dilute.

I remain fully committed to restoring the water quality of the Everglades at the earliest possible date, and to protecting the valuable partnership of state and federal government required to complete the restoration of this national treasure.

This is a complicated issue, and there has been much misinformation about the legislation I signed Tuesday and the state's efforts to restore the Everglades.

I hope the following helps clarify the facts on this important issue. Again, I invite you to contact me at jeb.bush@myflorida.com  with any feedback or further questions. Thank you.

Everglades: Myths vs. Facts

MYTH: Proposed amendments to the Everglades Forever Act undermine the federal settlement agreement.

FACT: Florida is meeting the obligations of the Settlement Agreement and will continue to do so. The Settlement Agreement applies to federal waters, which are Everglades National Park and the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge. It does not apply to state waters. The State of Florida is responsible for restoring water quality for the entire Everglades Protection area, and we are currently ahead of schedule in this regard.

MYTH: The Everglades is completely polluted.

FACT: Water in 90 percent of the Everglades is clean, meaning [that] it's already at 10 ppb.

Since 1994, Florida has cut average concentrations of phosphorous entering the Everglades Protection Area from 170 ppb to numbers as low as 20 ppb.

Today, water in 90 percent of the Everglades has phosphorus levels of no more than 10 ppb, and all federal waters within the marsh currently have less than 10 ppb.

We reached this standard last year -- four years ahead of schedule.

By December 31, 2006, 95 percent of the entire Everglades also will meet this goal.

The remaining five percent will sporadically have phosphorus levels higher than the goal until the phosphorus buildup in the sediment can be cleansed through "green" technology.

But the remaining five percent will meet the requirement that "net improvement" be achieved, as set forth in the 1994 Everglades Forever Act.

MYTH: Florida has done nothing to clean up the Everglades.

FACT: Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in the construction of 44,000 acres of man-made marshes that filter pollution from water entering the Everglades. These treatment marshes, along with improved farming practices, cut phosphorus by 60 percent over the last decade. By 2006, optimization of these "green" technologies will further reduce phosphorus levels.

Keep in mind that Florida has the sole responsibility for restoring water quality, and we have demonstrated our commitment by investing $650 million to clean up pollution in the Everglades. The legislation signed by Governor Bush today guarantees another $451 million to get the job done -- without federal funding or raising taxes.

The state-federal partnership deals with water quantity, and in this Florida too has demonstrated its commitment. Since 2000, we have provided an additional $711 million, including $200 million in this tough budget year, to fund our share of the state-federal plan to implement the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.

MYTH: Proposed amendments to the Everglades Forever Act change or weaken the compliance deadline.

FACT: The compliance deadline remains the same, December 31, 2006. The deadline requires that we meet the 10 ppb standard or show continued net improvement. The legislation signed today and the proposed amendments require a plan, an enforceable schedule, and the money to get the job done.

Today, water in 90 percent of the Everglades has phosphorus levels of no more than 10 ppb, and by December 31, 2006, 95 percent of the entire Everglades will meet this goal. The remaining five percent will sporadically have phosphorus levels higher than the goal. This is the result of more than 30 years of phosphorus flowing freely into the Everglades from Lake Okeechobee that became imbedded in the sediment of the marsh.

Scientifically it is impossible to bring this small amount of land to the 10 ppb level, but we will continue to reduce the levels by cleansing the water through "green" technology. This five percent will meet the requirement that "net improvement" be achieved, as set forth in the 1994 Everglades Forever Act. The bill Governor Bush signed today provides a clear path for continuing to lower the phosphorus levels in these areas.

MYTH: We are weakening water quality standards.

FACT: We are not weakening water quality standards and the Department of Environmental Protection proposed a science-based Phosphorus Water Quality Standard of 10 parts per billion (ppb). The Department is committed to adopting that stringent standard.

MYTH: There is something Florida can do today or in the near future that will make the entire Everglades attain the 10 ppb by the statutory deadline.

FACT: Florida is currently implementing the most environmentally sound, technically feasible technologies to attain the 10 ppb in the entire Everglades. But, a natural phenomenon known as "soil reflux," which is caused when phosphorus embedded in the soil from years of pollution is released into the water, will cause phosphorus levels to exceed 10 ppb for years, perhaps even decades. The State is exploring ways to accelerate this natural process.

MYTH: The Florida Legislature is establishing the water quality standard.

FACT: The 1994 Everglades Forever Act requires the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt a water quality standard by December 31, 2003. The Department is on schedule to adopt a rule by the statutory deadline.

Copyright 2003 State of Florida

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