Resolution 307-1993
Commissioner A. Earl Cheal
RESOLUTION NO. 307 -1993
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, EXPRESSING OPPOSITION TO THE
PROPOSED AD VALOREM MILLAGE INCREASE OF THE SOUTH
FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT AND EXPRESSING
CONCERN OVER THE EVERGLADES MEDIATION STATEMENT OF
PRINCIPLES.
WHEREAS, Florida's Everglades ecosystem is unique in the
world; and
WHEREAS, Florida Bay and the Florida Keys are inextricably
linked to the greater Everglades; and
WHEREAS,
with generous
productivity,
quantities of
the Everglades has endowed all of South Florida
rainfall, retained in wetlands of great beauty and
supplying aquifers that provide plentiful
pure drinking water for our region; and
WHEREAS, Florida Bay once flourished as a fabulously rich
estuarine and marine ecosystem, famous for its fish, birds and
sealife: a vital natural area and economic resource of Florida;
and
WHEREAS, the health of the Everglades has d~lined '-Ciue ]0
abuses from drainage, water diversion and pollution~ ~~d ~ ~~
,...,(, VJ -'
WHEREAS, the South Florida Water Management Di~~ict ~FWMD)
oversees the operation and management of a water~~:delivEC:ty and
drainage system covering the greater Everglades dr~nage syste~;
~d- ~
WHEREAS, Florida Bay and the Florida Kej~ hav~ been
suffering from inappropriate water management decisions in the
greater Everglades region; and
WHEREAS, Florida Bay cannot be restored without public
acquisition of lands at the headwaters of Taylor Slough; and
WHEREAS, restoration of the long-term health of Florida Bay
cannot be fully assured without the restoration of the entire
greater Everglades drainage system, starting with the Kissimmee
River basin and Lake Okeechobee; and
WHEREAS, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD)
oversees the operation and management of a particular water
delivery and drainage system in the Everglades Agricultural Area
(EAA) that benefits the agricultural industry almost exclusively;
and
WHEREAS, all South Florida taxpayers pay most of the costs
of operating and maintaining this EAA water delivery and drainage
system; and
WHEREAS, EAA agricultural interests, primarily sugar cane
growers, have been proven to cause great harm to the Everglades
with their polluted farm runoff threatening the integrity of the
Everglades ecosystem on which our communities and livelihoods
ultimately depend; and
WHEREAS, restoration of the greater Everglades system cannot
proceed without addressing the critical pollution cleanup
component; and
WHEREAS, two years ago the Florida Legislature unanimously
passed the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Everglades Protection Act,
giving the SFWMD the authority to charge agricultural interests
in the EAA a per-acre fee to clean up their polluted farm runoff;
and
WHEREAS, the SFWMD is proposing that all of the taxpayers in
the l6-county area of South Florida have their taxes raised $22
million a year to begin this cleanup process; and
WHEREAS, Monroe County residents appear to be the victims
rather than the beneficiaries of the SFWMD drainage canal system;
and
WHEREAS, the proposed SFWMD tax increase places
burden on Monroe County taxpayers already suffering
hardship because of the collapse in Florida Bay; and
WHEREAS, the Everglades Mediation Agreement announced July
13 has caused tremendous controversy over its perceived omissions
and weaknesses; and
an undue
economic
WHEREAS, clean water
water -- is a necessary
ecosystem restoration; and
rather than only less polluted
component of Everglades/Florida Bay
WHEREAS, Monroe County taxpayers are loathe to pay to clean
up pollution that they did not cause; and '
WHEREAS, any Everglades Mediation Agreement must be placed
in the form of a final judgment order with the courts to
guarantee enforceability; and
WHEREAS, the Governing Board of the SFWMD is in powerful
position both to make decisions to restore and clean up the
Everglades system and to strengthen the Everglades Mediation
Agreement; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, as follows:
Section 1. Monroe County is opposed to the ad valorem
millage increase of the South Florida Water Management District
as presently proposed.
Section 2. This Board expresses its concern in the
strongest possible terms over the omissions and weaknesses of the
Everglades Mediation Statement of Principles and urges the South
Florida Water Management District Governing Board to exercise its
leadership to protect all South Florida taxpayers by ensuring
that the final Everglades Mediation Agreement:
a. gets clean water into the Everglades system;
b. forces polluters to pay to clean up the pollution they
have caused; and
c. guarantees legal enforceability of all Agreement
provisions.
Section 3. The Clerk of the Board is hereby directed to
send a copy of this Resolution to the Governing Board of the
South Florida Water Management District by facsimile transmission
no later than noon on September 8, 1993.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of
Monroe County, Florida, at a regular meeting of said Board held
on the 7th day of September , A.D. 1993.
Mayor London
Mayor Pro Tern Cheal
Commissioner Freeman
Commissioner Harvey
Commissioner Reich
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
BY:~~~
BY:
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY, FLORIDA
(SEAL)
ATTEST: DANNY L. KOLHAGE, CLERK
viisfwmd
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