From NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, will take a tour of the St. Lucie Estuary and the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee on Monday, as a $220 million plan to reduce pollutants from the lake is now flowing through the Senate. Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican and the author of the river cleanup plan that was backed Tuesday by his Select Committee on Indian River Lagoon and Lake Okeechobee Basin, has invited Weatherford for the afternoon helicopter tour. The House State Affairs Committee and House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee were given an overview of the fiscal package on Wednesday. The plan takes aim at improving the quality of the water that is released into canals on both the east and west sides of the lake. The plan also offers general support for future efforts that would eventually redirect the water flow south through the Everglades. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tries to maintain the water level of the lake between 12.5 feet and 15.5 feet to lessen stress on the Herbert Hoover Dike. The Army Corps estimates that when the lake is slightly above 18.5 feet, the risk of failure is considered at 45 percent. The proposed Senate fiscal package and other recommendations must still get support from the Legislature during the 2014 session as well as from Gov. Rick Scott. The governor has a couple of items among the recommendations, including $90 million that would be spread over three years to bridge a 2.6-mile section of the Tamiami Trail west of Miami.