UNITED STATES SENATE

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20510

MEDIA RELEASE

March 29, 2007

BILL NELSON, FLORIDA

Senate gets off dime on cleanup of Florida rivers

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Dan McLaughlin or Meredith McFadden

( 202 ) 224-1679

A key U.S. Senate panel today passed a bill that would pay for two big river cleanups considered essential to restoring the Florida Everglades, according to Sen. Bill Nelson.

It was the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee that approved a broad water resources bill and the two critical estuary projects it contains, which are: about $1.36 billion for cleanup of the Indian River Lagoon in southeast Florida and more than $362 million for the Picayune Strand project in eastern Collier County.  The two estuaries carry pollution into Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades.

A water resources bill like the one that cleared the Senate panel Thursday morning has not been passed by Congress since 2000.  The House passed a version in 2005 and the Senate in 2006, but the two legislative chambers never reached a compromise.

“We cannot continue to delay when it comes to cleaning up one of the most important bodies of water in the world,” said Nelson, who, along with Florida’s other senator, Mel Martinez, has pushed hard for congressional passage of the long-delayed Water Resources Development Act, known as WRDA.

Last week, a key House panel also passed a WRDA bill containing money for cleanup of the two estuaries. 

In fact, Florida fares well in both the Senate and House bills.  In addition to the river cleanups, there is a total of $2 billion for a dozen water-related projects in the Sunshine State, according to Nelson. 

The next step is for the full Senate and full House to take up their respective WRDA bills.  Following is a list of Florida projects funded in the Senate bill:

- Indian River Lagoon-South Project, Martin County                 $1,365,000,000

- Picayune Strand ecosystem restoration, Collier County           $362,260,000

- Miami Harbor                                                                        $125,270,000

- Everglades Ecosystem Restoration                                          $95,000,000

- Seminole Water Conservation                                                $30,000,000

- Lido Key                                                                               $14,809,000

- Port Sutton Channel                                                               $12,900,000