The Everglades Win Big, but DeSantis Wants Control of Restoration Projects
The Everglades and South Florida won big Wednesday.
That victory came from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel unanimously ruled against Everglades sugar growers who had demanded first dibs on water from a new reservoir in western Palm Beach County.
The reservoir, which is scheduled to begin operating in 2029 or 2030, is designed to receive water sent south from Lake Okeechobee. The project is important in two ways.
First, it will prevent discharges of polluted lake water to the east and west when levels rise enough to potentially threaten the restored dike on the lake’s south side and to damage grasses that sustain marine life. Second, an adjoining treatment area will filter water from the reservoir and send it to the Everglades and farther south in dry times.
Both functions are key elements in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) that Congress approved in 2000. That new water also will help to protect municipal water wells—like those Boca Raton and Delray Beach use—from saltwater intrusion caused by rising sea levels.
As the growers see it, though, this widespread public benefit will end the decades-long control they have held over state water policy. Farmers treat the lake as their backup water supply, especially during dry springs like this one, and mostly have blocked attempts to change that. This attempt failed.
It began in 2021, with a lawsuit alleging that the Army Corps of Engineers—which manages the lake—violated the “savings clause” of the restoration plan. It prohibits the plan’s 68 projects from taking water from existing users, sugar fields being some of the biggest.
But the plan itself was designed to re-create—as much as possible—the natural flow of water south from the lake that stopped when the Everglades was drained for flood control to allow farming and development. Because the reservoir will restore some of that flow, upholding the growers’ case would have meant that restoration had no chance to succeed. The water would have gone to the farmers.
U.S. District Court Judge Don Middlebrooks recognized this contradiction in 2023 when he ruled against the growers at trial. Joining the Corps of Engineers were environmental groups and organizations representing businesses that will benefit from the reservoir, such as charter fishing operations. Florida Bay, at the end of the Everglades system, needs fresh water.
The 11th Circuit upheld Middlebrooks on every key point. The growers could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the justices likely wouldn’t take the case, given the lower court rulings. Even if the high court heard arguments, the growers almost certainly would lose.
Combined with new rules for lake levels, the reservoir represents the best hope for the “River of Grass” since the 1994 Everglades Forever Act passed the Legislature. It’s also a win for almost all South Florida.
Gov. DeSantis aims to take control of restoration projects from federal government
Speaking of the Everglades, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to take over all restoration projects from the federal government. But the reservoir case undermines his argument.
Though they also have serious influence in Washington, sugar growers have far more in Florida. They have spent three decades lobbying against final, tough standards that the Everglades Forever Act sets for farm runoff.
Only a fortunate confluence of events allowed the new reservoir to happen. The Senate president at the time, Joe Negron, represented Martin and St. Lucie counties. They suffered most when polluted lake water was released east to the St. Lucie River and into the ocean.
Growers did manage to shrink the size of the reservoir, so less farmland would be lost. When you consider that the DeSantis administration considered allowing golf courses in state parks, you can see the danger of removing the federal government as the monitor of Everglades restoration.
Boca to install speed cameras in six school zones
Boca Raton will install speed cameras in six school zones, beginning with the academic year in August. The city council decision came last week after an oddly tortured discussion.
Much comment focused on the supposed need to alert drivers that they would risk a citation—one that won’t assess points on their license—for going 10 miles over the limit during school days. In supporting the program, Deputy Mayor Yvette Drucker said, “We need to raise awareness.” A representative from a company that makes and operates the cameras said educating the public is critical.
Cameras will go up at only six locations this year, to “ensure that the program is effective” before adding more, according to the staff memo. The locations: Addison Mizner School, Blue Lake Elementary, Boca Raton High, Calusa Elementary, Omni Middle/Spanish River High and J.C. Mitchell Elementary. The locations generally align with where the city is trying to reduce accidents.
Given problems elsewhere, the decision to start small makes sense. Manatee County this month ended its program, with five of seven commissioners believing that revenue had become the priority, not safety. The company representative urged council members not to include camera revenue in budgets. The goal, he said, is no revenue.
Then there are the potential technical issues. Palm Bay, in Brevard County, suspended its program after drivers complained that they had received tickets on non-school days. A hearing officer must review all cases and hear appeals.
While acknowledging that the city would get the word out, City Manager George Brown called it “a sad commentary” that Boca Raton must go to such lengths to state the obvious: Don’t speed in a school zone. Councilman Andy Thomson agreed, noting that school zones already feature signs and flashers. “I’m not terribly sympathetic” to drivers’ professed ignorance.
Delray makes another attempt at improving schools
At today’s workshop meeting, Delray Beach city commissioners will take their latest swing at trying to improve the city’s schools.
On the agenda are proposed amendments to the education element of Delray Beach’s comprehensive plan. The amendments run to 14 pages and cover everything from facilities to programs to reducing crime.
Members of the current commission, like previous commissioners, have expressed frustration at what they consider lack of cooperation from the school district. Example: One proposed change seeks to expand “career development programs” that the city offers. According to the staff memo, that change is “not feasible because of School District policies.”
And while two of the seven school board members represent Delray Beach, the city is not a major portion of either’s district. In contrast, Gloria Branch represents all of Boca Raton and West Boca. Her predecessor, Frank Barbieri, secured many key projects for the district.
Meanwhile, Delray Beach schools tend to be underenrolled and underperforming, though some showed progress in last year’s grades. City Manager Terrence Moore said the goal of the workshop is to create “more dialogue with the school district that leads to better student outcomes.”
West Palm Beach Tesla protest turns deadly
Fortunately, protests at the Tesla dealership in Delray Beach haven’t become what happened near West Palm Beach.
Twice, protesters have gone to the dealership on South Federal Highway to criticize company CEO Elon Musk. On behalf of Trump, Musk is carrying out what opponents claim is reckless, haphazard cutting of the federal budget. The second time, the dealership turned on the sprinklers.
On Saturday, though, things got much more hostile at the dealership on Okeechobee Boulevard. According to the probable cause affidavit, 45-year-old Andrew Dutil drove his SUV at a group of protesters before going inside to state that he “stands with Tesla.” Dutil is being held without bail in the county jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a weapon.
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