Florida Crystals’ Okeelanta Corp., U.S. Sugar, and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative filed separate lawsuits and are suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over proposed reservoir water levels. The sugar companies say the proposed levels will be too low to supply enough water to their fields.
The Corps are attempting to keep the water low as part of an Everglades restoration project, but the growers would want to see the levels returned to a standard adopted in 2000.
“Farms need a secure supply of water, and all farmers need certainty as we plan and manage our planting schedules and crop rotation,” said Jaime Vega, Florida Crystals’ vice president of agriculture.
U.S. Sugar, in their lawsuit, said they would also like to see the reservoir levels returned to the standard of 20 years ago.
“South Florida farmers are asking that the Corps uphold the federal commitment that environmental restoration would be achieved while maintaining a sustainable South Florida water supply,” said Judy Sanchez, U.S. Sugar’s senior director for corporate communications and public affairs. “This promise was the cornerstone of the 2000 Congressional authorization as well as key to creating the broad coalition of support that passed CERP.”
The Corps are currently building a 10,500 acre reservoir designed to help drain and cleanse water heading south from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades. The name of the project is the Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir, and the Corps said the lawsuit will not slow down construction.
“At the end of the day, the Corps is committed to continuing putting infrastructure in the ground for restoration and we are committed to continuing working on getting a balanced water management plan,” said Col. Andrew Kelly, commander of the Corps’ Jacksonville District.
Kelly also said the Corps is committed to providing enough water supply for the farmers as well as maintaining environmentally friendly water levels.
“We go through a very, very deliberate process, not only with our (environmental) analysis, but with all of the analysis it takes to figure out the best infrastructure to be put in the ground in the right place,” Kelly said. “So we’re pretty confident that the infrastructure plan that we have going forward is a good one.”
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
