In one of a series of public meetings hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this week and next, Okeechobee, FL residents last night packed the house for presentations and public input about the management of lake water levels. 200 people showing up for a meeting like this in Okeechobee is like 20,000 showing up on the coast, taking …
Scott to Seek More Money for Lake Okeechobee Dike
Gov. Rick Scott confirmed Monday his budget request for the 2018 legislative session will include $50 million to help speed federal repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee. “These repairs are a priority, and that’s why I’m proposing $50 million in state funding to help expedite the project,” Scott said in a prepared statement. Scott last week announced …
Trump Calls For Speeding Up Lake Okeechobee Dike Work
With the White House pointing to ties between President Donald Trump and Gov. Rick Scott, repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee might be done more quickly than anticipated. Trump on Thursday directed Mick Mulvaney, the chief of the White House Office of Management and Budget, to accelerate the work. “The administration, working closely with Florida Gov. Rick …
Lake Okeechobee Rise Spurs More Water Releases
Water started to be released southwest from Lake Okeechobee on Tuesday morning, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeks to stem a post-hurricane rise in the lake’s water level. The Army Corps had resumed flows from the lake east toward the St. Lucie Estuary on Friday but held off on western releases because of flooding from Hurricane Irma that …
EPA, U.S. Army Move to Rescind 2015 “Waters of the U.S.”
The Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Army, and Army Corps of Engineers (the agencies) are proposing a rule to rescind the Clean Water Rule and re-codify the regulatory text that existed prior to 2015 defining “waters of the United States” or WOTUS. This action would, when finalized, provide certainty in the interim, pending a second rulemaking in which the agencies …
Army Corps Needs More Time on Negron Reservoir
by Jim Turner, News Service of Florida Federal assistance may be on the way for the state’s latest Everglades restoration effort. But the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will need another month to figure out how to join in Senate President Joe Negron’s plan for a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. Col. Jason Kirk, the Florida commander for …
Trumping the Army Corps?
by Lloyd Dunkelberger and Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida Negron is banking on the owner of a certain waterfront Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach for help with a new reservoir. Negron said Wednesday he sees no need to change his pursuit of 60,000 acres of farmland in the Everglades Agricultural Area, after Col. Jason Kirk, the Florida commander …
Landowner Wins Case against Army Corps
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says landowners scored a victory last week when a federal district court ruled against the Army Corps of Engineers for incorrectly claiming jurisdiction over private property. The Corps had claimed a piece of property owned by Hawkes Company, and used by Hawkes to harvest peat, was a “waters of the United States” which requires a …