WEST PALM BEACH – The Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) and South Florida Water Management
District (SFWMD) today released a comprehensive
update of environmental projects in South Florida.
The 2006 South Florida Environmental Report provides
a detailed summary of Everglades restoration efforts
and updates on the progress of other environmental
programs in the Kissimmee Basin, Lake Okeechobee,
estuaries and other coastal areas.
“No other government has taken on a mission as
large and as important as Everglades restoration,”
said DEP Secretary Colleen M. Castille. “The 2006
South Florida Environmental Report delivers a
comprehensive snapshot of Florida’s unprecedented
success over the past year.”
The annual report documents the accomplishments
of state and federal scientists, engineers, planners
and program managers who are restoring the
Everglades by reducing pollution and better managing
the flow of water, while meeting the State’s flood
control and water supply responsibilities.
Consolidating information compiled from more than
50 separate reports, the 2006 South Florida
Environmental Report covers “water year 2005” (May
1, 2004 thru April 30, 2005). The report provides
extensive research summaries, data analyses,
financial updates and a searchable database of
environmental projects.
Highlights of the 2006 South Florida
Environmental Report include:
- Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) which have
treated almost 1.5 million acre-feet of water and
prevented 189 metric tons of phosphorus from
reaching the Everglades in water year 2005 alone.
- Best Management Practices (BMPs) recorded its
tenth consecutive year of outstanding results in
reducing phosphorus inputs. The BMP program achieved
a 59-percent phosphorus load reduction in the
Everglades Agricultural Area this year, more than
doubling the 25 percent required by law.
- To date, STAs and BMPs combined have prevented
more than 2,178 metric tons of phosphorus from
entering America’s Everglades.
- In October 2004, Governor Jeb Bush unveiled
Acceler8 - a plan to accelerate the restoration of
eight key environmental projects to be completed 10
years ahead of schedule.
- The millionth acre of melaleuca, an invasive
exotic plant species, was cleared from the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project (CERP)
area in water year 2005.
- To date, more than 210,000 acres of land have
been acquired for use in CERP.
“The 2006 South Florida Environmental Report is
one of our agency’s most impressive annual
documents,” said Carol Wehle, Executive Director of
the SFWMD. “It showcases the first-rate science,
engineering and water resource management that are
making South Florida’s environmental restoration a
reality.”
Under the leadership of Governor Jeb Bush,
Florida forged a 50-50 State-federal partnership to
implement the $8.4 billion Comprehensive Everglades
Restoration Plan and has invested $1.3 billion and
committed an additional $3 billion through the end
of the decade to clean up and restore the famed
River of Grass.
The 2006 South Florida Environmental Report,
including a 52-page Executive summary, is available
online at
http://www.sfwmd.gov/sfer/
