Resolution 121-1994
Mayor Jack London
RESOLUTION NO.
121-1994
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A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF CO~T:t
COMMISSIONERS AUTHORIZING THE MA YOltOF
MONROE COUNTY TO PROVIDE THE U. S. A~
CORPS OF ENGINEERS WITH WRITTEN
COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT GENERAL
REEVALUATION REPORT AND ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT STATEMENT FOR THE PROPOSED
RECONSTRUCTION OF THE C-lll CANAL
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WHEREAS, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has developed a Draft General
Reevaluation Report and Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed
reconstruction of the C-lll Canal near Homestead and Florida City, Florida; and
WHEREAS, the proposed changes to the C-lll canal basin are being designed to
significantly alter the amount of fresh water currently entering the Taylor Slough
drainage basin within Everglades National Park; and
WHEREAS, reduction in the historic flow of fresh water through Taylor Slough,
which flows into Florida Bay, is a significant component of the current ecological
degradation being witnessed in Florida Bay, and
WHEREAS, the health of Florida Bay plays a critical role in the continued health
of tourist and commercial fishing economies in Monroe County, Florida; and
WHEREAS, the health of Florida Bay also plays a significant part in defining the
character of the Keys' quality of life for its citizens whose lives are so integrally
intertwined with the ambient waters and marine life of the Keys; and
WHEREAS, the decline of Florida Bay is currently having a significant impact on
the tourism and commercial fishing economies and the general quality of life in
Monroe County, Florida.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that:
· the Mayor of the Board of Commissioners is authorized to provide the attached
letter as the official comments of the Board regarding the C-Ill
Reconstruction Proj ect; and
· this letter reflects the Board's vital interest in the appropriate and expeditious
completion of this project; and
· this letter also reflects the Board's strong commitment to the revitalization of
the County's tourist and commercial fishing economies and general quality of
life through the restoration of health to Florida Bay.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe
County, Florida at a s:oecialmeeting held on the 12th day of April, A. D. 1994.
Mayor London
Mayor Pro Tern Cheal
Commissioner Freeman
Commissioner Harvey
Commissioner Reich
yes
yes
absent
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BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
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(SEAL)
Attest: DANNY 1... ~O:r.HAGEt Clerk
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CLERK OF THE COURT
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GIW IDCIBC042412
COUNTY of MONROE
KEY WEST
FLORIDA 33040
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
MAYOR, Jack London, District 2
Mayor Pro Tem, A, Earl Cheal, District 4
Wilhelmina Harvey, District 1
Shirley Freeman, District 3
Mary Kay Reich, District 5
12 April 1994
Colonel Terrence C. Salt
District Engineer
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
P. O. Box 4970
Jacksonville, Florida 32232-0019
MONROE COUNTY COMMISSION'S COMMENTS: DRAFT GENERAL
REEVALUATATION REPORT AND ENVIROMviENTAL IMPACT
STATEMENT FOR THE C-lll CANAL.
Dear Colonel Salt:
The paramount concern and commitment of the Board of Commissioners
and citizens of Monroe County to the issues surrounding the demise and
resurrection of Florida Bay was evident at the recent public hearings held by the
Army Corps of Engineers in Homestead. Monroe County represents a small
fraction of the population of south Florida, a mere 78,000 residents, and yet more
half of those in attendance wore the orange Tee Shirts pronouncing, "No
Bay.....No Jobs!"
We thank the Corps of Engineers for its current intensified effort and shared
commitment to the restoration of the Everglades Ecosystem and, particularly,
Florida Bay. We equally appreciate your continued efforts to restore flows to
Taylor Slough and Florida Bay and the opportunity to comment on your current
plans to do so.
I. Monroe County has the following concerns and objectives regarding
Florida Bay and the C-11l canal:
1. Florida Bay is a critical economic and environmental resource for Monroe
County. A vast segment of the County's $2 Billion annual tourist economy and
$90+ million annual fishing economy depend upon the ecological health of
Florida Bay. In addition, real estate values and tax revenues in Monroe County
depend upon environmental health, which is what draws people to the Keys.
Tourism
. Over 6.2 million tourists visited the Keys in 1990.
. Tourists spent over $787 million in 1991 in Monroe County.
. The tourist economy, which depends on clean marine waters, healthy reefs, and
abundant fish life, employed 18,000 people in 1990.
. In 1992 the HotellMotel industry generated $314 million in gross sales.
. In 1992 the Hotel/Motel industry generated over $18 million in yearly sales
taxes in Monroe County.
Commercial Fishing
. The commercial fishing industry represents an important source of revenue for
Monroe County; in 1990, commercial fisherman landed 19.7 million pounds of
finfish, shellfish, and other aquatic organisms.
. 1990 dockside landings were valued at over $48.4 million. This corresponded
to over $90 million in total economic activity generated by the industry.
. The commercial fishing industry produces over 20% of the statewide total for
at least 12 economically important species.
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. There are 3,550 commercial vessels, 3,294 saltwater products licenses, 83
wholesale seafood dealers, 155 retail seafood dealers in Monroe County.
. The 1991 pink shrimp landings in Monroe County dropped by almost 80%
from 1981 levels (from 15,773,173 pounds landed in 1981 to 3,267,315 landed
in 1991) resulting in the collapse of the pink shrimp industry. The nursery
grounds for pink shrimp lie within Florida Bay.
Real Estate
. The Real Estate Industry, which depends on a healthy Florida Bay and Reef
System to sell properties, in 1990 generated over $150 million in purchase
loans.
. The current volume of real estate sales in Monroe County exceeds $250 million
annually.
. Mortgage loan closings presently exceed $400 million per year.
. Public revenue, in the form of state intangible taxes and documentary stamps,
generated annually from real estate closings presently exceeds $2.5 million.
2. Florida Bay is undergoing an ecological collapse.
. At least 83,000 acres of seagrasses, which provide food and shelter for fish and
shellfish, have died in the past 6 to 7 years.
. Algae blooms fueled by the seagrass die-off, have clouded the Bay's clear
waters and have extended as far as the Florida Keys coral reef tract,
compounding the damage and affecting fishing and diving interests there.
. Millions of sponges have died recently, as a result of algae blooms, eliminating
habitat for commercially valuable spiny lobsters, other invertebrates, and
juvenile fish.
. Sediments underlying the currently denuded sea bottom are re-suspended
continuously under virtually all wind conditions, not just during storm events.
. Salinities and temperatures have become uncharacteristically high and exhibit
less seasonal fluctuation than is typical, an unhealthy circumstance.
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. Oxygen levels frequently plummet and are, now, typically lower than average.
This forces respiration in normally photosynthetic algae and remaining
seagrasses. The condition also promotes more and more frequent fish kills.
Among other causes, a lack of historical fresh water inputs to Florida Bay ranks
prominently in the demise of this formerly rich ecosystem,
3. The restoration of Florida Bay must be a paramount objective for the Army
Corps Engineers in their management of fresh water and the network of
conveyance canals on the mainland. Monroe County's economic health and
quality of life depend on it.
4, There is a scientific consensus that the restoration of clean, nutrient and
pesticide free, fresh water flows to Florida Bay is an action that can be taken NOW
to help restore vitality to Florida Bay. Until recently, flows have been
systematically reduced by as much as 80% over the past fifty years as the result of
the Army Corps' construction and management of the South Florida water
conveyance system. As a result of these past actions, Florida Bay has been
changed from an estuary into a hypersaline lagoon.
5. The C-lll canal system is a critical part of the canal system that now
controls flows to Florida Bay, This canal system has been utilized to divert fresh
water away from Taylor Slough where it historically contributed to the Bay's fresh
water inputs. The Corps has taken this action without considering the harm to
Monroe County, simply to benefit a few land owners in south Dade County. This
policy and action must be reversed.
6. In addition, the C-lll has been used to release huge quantities of fresh
water into Manatee Bay and Barnes Sound during periods of intense rainfall. The
unnatural slugs of fresh water have resulted in fish kills, destruction of benthic
resources, and have resulted in significant harm to the residents of Monroe
County, Once again, the Corps has taken these actions to provide drainage to a
few landowners in south Dade County.
7. New plans for the C-lll canal system must reverse these damages to
Monroe County. The new plans must advance the restoration of fresh water flows
to Florida Bay, eliminate the harmful discharges to Manatee Bay, and must be
formulated to account for their impacts to the economy of Monroe County.
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II. Specific comments on the Army Corps' preferred alternative for
reconstruction of the C-lll canal System.
1. The economic impacts of the C-111 reconstruction plan on the future
economy and environmental health of Monroe County have not been taken into
consideration. This is a serious short coming in the Corps' planning. The Corps'
actions regarding the C-111 canal have seriously impacted the economy of
Monroe County in the past and the plan is woefully incomplete without this
analysis.
2. The preferred alternative, Plan 6A, is a step in the right direction, but it does
not go far enough in satisfying the preceding concerns and objectives. The
analyses and computer models from Everglades National Park, as well as, from the
Corps itself, indicate that the preferred plan will make modest advances only in
restoring fresh water levels in Taylor Slough, and thus, Florida Bay. It will not
return historic levels of flow to the Bay,
3. Monroe County supports the following specific components of Plan 6A:
. Acquisition of the lands west of the L-31/C-111 canals, known as the "Frog
Pond" and the "Rocky Glades Agricultural Area." Keeping these lands dry
enough to farm causes huge losses of fresh water from Taylor Slough and
Florida Bay, causing damage to the interests of Monroe County.
. Establishment of the retention/detention areas west of L-31, with pumps and
structures to deliver water westward into Taylor Slough.
. Backfilling of the C-1 09 and C-11 0 canals with 9-10 plugs in each.
. Building a 1,000 foot bridge across State Road 9336 (the road leading to
Flamingo) at the Taylor Slough crossing, to replace the current inadequate
bridge and culverts.
These structural and land use changes will benefit Florida Bay by increasing water
levels and flows in Taylor Slough, and thus, fresh water flows to Florida Bay.
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4. Monroe County requests that the following changes in the preferred plan (6A)
be evaluated and implemented if deemed to be effective in improving conditions
in Florida Bay:
. Replace the proposed C-111N spreader canal with a water detention/retention
area running east-west at the head of the C-l11 basin. The detention/retention
area must be located further north than the proposed spreader canal, in order to
reestablish fresh water flows and deliver maximum benefits to these coastal
wetlands. The retention/detention area must extend across US-1 in order to re-
establish fresh water flows into the impounded wetlands between US-1 and
Card Sound roads. Construct a 500 cfs pump at the S-332E location to
accommodate both normal and high rainfall periods.
. Plug and backfill the existing C-111 canal below the S-18C structure and
eliminate the S-197 structure. The C-111 canal must NEVER AGAIN be used
to discharge flood waters to Manatee Bay. Construction of the
retention/detention area described above, and the larger pump, will give
operational flexibility to manage high rainfall periods.
. In the long-term and with a look to the Big Picture, the retention/detention area
west of the L-31 canal and levee must be extended northward to the Tamiami
Trail. The productivity and health of Florida Bay will be completely restored
only if more fresh water is delivered to Everglades National Park as a whole,
and therefore, Taylor and Shark River Sloughs, from Water Conservation Area
3 (WCA 3). Currently we "rob Peter to pay Paul" within Everglades National
Park and south of the Tamiami Trail, when delivering more water to Taylor
Slough. The coordinated rise in water levels within both Sloughs, with a
consideration of quantity, quality, and hydro-period, is ultimately essential to
the restoration of health to Florida Bay.
. These changes to the preferred plan will help to eliminate the adverse impacts
that Monroe County currently feels in the administration of water conveyance
and management in the C-111 basin.
5. Finally, Monroe County requests that the Army Corps of Engineers
accelerate the schedule for the implementation of the preferred plan. The crisis in
Florida Bay is too urgent, a compressed schedule must be developed and
implemented. The Corps must request funds from Congress for Fiscal Year 1995
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to begin implementation of the preferred plan, inclusive of the modification
requested above.
On behalf of the cItIzens of Monroe County, whose livelihoods are so
integrally tied to the health of Florida Bay, the Board of Commissioners is
heartened to see the strength of the Corps' current efforts to restore the Everglades
Ecosystem, and Florida Bay as a part of it. We implore the Corps to look more
closely at the down stream impacts created from its past actions in the Everglades.
These impacts are felt most strongly in the Keys. We appreciate the opportunity
to address our concerns both for the impacts of Florida Bays' demise on our
economy and on your efforts in the C-lll basin to resurrect Florida Bay. We look
forward to future participation in this vital process.
ely,
~
ayor Jack London
onroe County Board of Commissioners
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