Letter to Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works - Regarding Restoration of the Florida Everglades

Letter

Dear Assistant Secretary Darcy:

As you know, today, the Senate voted to enact the Water Resources and Reform Development Act (WRRDA). Unfortunately, because of your agency's inability to approve the Central Everglades Planning Process (CEPP) in a timely manner, the project did not receive Congressional authorization.

CEPP is a vital project to the restoration of the Everglades and, when authorized and ultimately constructed, will allow for waters that are currently discharged from Lake Okeechobee to the east and west of the state to flow south through the Everglades National Park. Not only will this project be a significant step forward in alleviating the concerns of local communities negatively impacted by the current discharges from Lake Okeechobee, it will also be a major step towards restoring our national treasure, the Everglades.

It is unfortunate that the agency could not move forward at a pace that would allow for CEPP's inclusion in the final enactment of WRRDA. However, CEPP remains as a vital component to our Florida ecosystem and of our state's water management and I am committed to moving the project forward. Therefore, I respectfully request that your agency move as expeditiously as possible towards the approval of CEPP at the Civil Works Review Board tomorrow and provide a Chief's Report to Congress immediately thereafter. As soon as you conduct this work within your agency, we can work in Congress to move the project forward to final enactment.

Thank you for your consideration of my request.

Respectfully,

Marco Rubio

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