Resolution 465-2002
Commissioner George Neugent
RESOLUTION NO.
465 -2002
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA CONCERNING THE PROGRAMMATIC
REGULATIONS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE EVERGLADES RESTORATION
PLAN
WHEREAS; Monroe County includes the Florida Keys island chain as well as a substantial
portion of the mainland Everglades;
WHEREAS; The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is an $8 billion federal-state
endeavor that aims at restoring America's Everglades including Florida Bay;
WHEREAS; Florida Bay is an aquatic nursery that provides the breeding grounds for
commercially and recreationally important fish as well as rare birds;
WHEREAS; The Florida Keys are home to a $2 billion-a-year tourism economy largely based
on sportfishing and scuba diving, both dependent on clean water and a healthy South Florida
Ecosystem;
WHEREAS; The Florida Keys are also home to natural resources of international
significance including the third-largest barrier coral reef in the world - mainland America's only
living coral reef - three national parks, the nation's most-visited national marine sanctuary, five
national wildlife refuges, Florida's most-visited state park and the nation's largest and most
protected marine reserve;
WHEREAS; The Florida Keys are home to Florida's most valuable commercial fishery, which
in landings value regularly ranks in the top five in the country;
WHEREAS; The Programmatic Regulations are the blueprint for building and operating the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan projects;
WHEREAS; It is in the interest of the Florida Keys - both the natural resources and the
residents who depend on the tourism economy - that this blueprint provide strong guidance toward
a healthy, restored ecosystem;
WHEREAS; Both Florida's senators have joined in a bipartisan position of Senators on the
Programmatic Regulations including supporting independent scientific review and strong public
outreach efforts as well as the reinstatement of the 80/20 split of water for the natural system
and a strong role for the Department of Interior; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, THAT THE MONROE COUNTY COMMISSION hereby agrees to send
this letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers endorsing the Senators' position and calling for the
Programmatic Regulations to be strengthened so as to provide stronger guidance for ecosystem
restoration.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida,
at a regular meeting of said Board held on the 16th day of October, 2002.
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BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
By
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United States Army Corps of Engineers
Attn: CESAJ-DR-R
P.O. Box 4970
Jacksonville, FL 32232-0019
To Whom It May Concern:
Monroe County, which includes much of the mainland Everglades and the island chain of the Florida Keys, is
the ultimate recipient of the South Florida ecosystem watershed. As such, the Monroe County Board of
County Commissioners, on behalf of the citizens of the Keys, is vitally concerned with the success of the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). We are especially concerned that the Programmatic
Regulations - the blueprint for building and operating the projects under the Plan - be strengthened to
ensure the health of the natural resources and the success of the ecosystem restoration that was the basis
for this project's approval by Congress in 2000.
We endorse the Sept. 27,2002, letter from Senators Bob Graham, Bill Nelson, Jim Jeffords, Bob Smith and
George Voinovich. Like the senators, we are strongly supportive of independent scientific review as a
cornerstone of CERP and an important element in public credibility of the plan as implementation progresses.
We are also concerned with the continuation of strong public outreach efforts, especially for the
geographically isolated residents of the Florida Keys.
As an area whose tourism and commercial fishing economy depends on clean water and a healthy South
Florida ecosystem, we are also concerned with project assurances and water reservations. Florida Bay and
the Keys coral reef ecosystem needs the right amount of clean water at the right times. We support the
inclusion of the 80 percent /20 percent split of water benefits to ensure the health of the natural system.
As an area with natural resources of international significance, including mainland America's only living coral
reef, three national parks, five national wildlife refuges, 22 federally listed threatened and endangered
species and Florida's most-visited state park, we support a strong role for the Department of Interior,
steward of federal lands, in the guidance of CERP projects. Florida Bay makes up one-third of Everglades
National Park and is an important and threatened estuary that serves as the nursery area for fish and
shellfish that support the Keys sportfishing and commercial fishing industries. The tourism economy of the
Keys is based on the health of those natural resources, for which the Everglades and Florida Bay are the
foundation. The commercial fishing industry that regularly ranks as one of the top commercial fishing ports
in the nation in value of landings also depends on a healthy bay. As the federal steward of the natural
resources that are the basis of our economy, we strongly support a full and meaningful role for the
Department of the Interior. This role was intended by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works to be more than mere concurrence.
The Corps has made great improvements to the Programmatic Regulations since the first draft was released
early this year. We support the continued improvement before the Regulations final draft is released in
order to ensure the greatest possible protections for the public that depends on a restored South Florida
ecosystem.
Sincerely,