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modifications to the C&SF Project for improving the quality of the environment;
protecting water quality in the south Florida ecosystem; improving protection of the
aquifer; improving the integrity, capability, and conservation of urban and
agricultural water supplies; and improving other water-related purposes.
Summary
Final Feasibility Report and PEIS April 1999
ii
The following principles guided the development of the recommended
Comprehensive Plan:
· The overarching objective of the Comprehensive Plan is the restoration,
preservation and protection of the south Florida ecosystem while providing
for other water related needs of the region;
· The Comprehensive Plan will be based on the best available science, and
independent scientific review will be an integral part of its development and
implementation;
· The Comprehensive Plan will be developed through an inclusive and open
process that engages all stakeholders;
· All applicable Federal, tribal, state, and local agencies will be full partners
and their views will be considered fully; and
· The Comprehensive Plan must be a flexible plan that is based on the concept
of adaptive assessment – recognizing that modifications will be made in the
future based on new information.
Although this document meets the requirements of Section 404 (r) of the
Clean Water Act (Public Law 92-500, as amended), as addressed in Annex C, the
Corps will request a Section 401 State water quality certificate during subsequent
phases of this project.
The final integrated feasibility report and Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement is being transmitted through the Division Engineer and the
Washington-level Federal report review process, which will include reviews by the
Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of the Army. The Assistant Secretary of the
Army for Civil Works, representing the Secretary of the Army, will coordinate the
documents with the Office of Management and Budget, and send them to Congress.
The study authority states that the Secretary shall transmit the Comprehensive Plan
to Congress not later than July 1, 1999.
MAJOR CONCLUSIONS
The Everglades has molded the regional character of central and southern
Florida and sustains the economic and cultural growth of the region. The
Everglades has influenced the regional mosaics of space and landscape patterns -
urban, agricultural and natural. As such, it epitomizes the region's sense of
definition and place. As importantly, the Everglades is unlike any other place in the
world.
The remaining Everglades and other natural ecosystems in south Florida no
longer exhibit the functions, richness, and spatial extent that defined the predrainage systems. There have been substantial and irreversible reductions in the
Summary
Final Feasibility Report and PEIS April 1999
iii
spatial extent of the wetland systems (including an approximately 50 percent
reduction in the extent of the true Everglades) and in the total water storage,
timing, and flow capacities of these systems. These natural systems will not recover
their defining characteristics under current conditions and will not be sustained
into the future. Indeed, the health of the ecosystem will continue to decline unless
corrective actions are taken. For example, wading birds, whose numbers have
already decreased by 85-90 percent, are key indicators of broad, regional patterns of
aquatic production. There is a continuing reduction in the total number of birds
initiating breeding in south Florida. Fisheries, including economically important
recreational and commercial species, continue to decline steadily in many areas of
south Florida, affecting the natural and the human environment.
Several of the major unintended impacts to the natural system attributed to
the C&SF Project in south Florida include the following:
· extreme fluctuations in high and low water levels in Lake Okeechobee have a
major adverse impact on the lake’s littoral and pelagic zones and fish and
wildlife habitats;
· extreme fluctuations between too much and too little freshwater discharge
into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries result in detrimental salinity
conditions and physical alterations of fish and wildlife habitat;
· detrimental hydrologic conditions in freshwater wetland habitats cause major
adverse impacts on plant and animal communities of the native Everglades;
and
· unsuitable freshwater flows to Florida and Biscayne bays and Lake Worth
Lagoon adversely impact salinity and physically alter fish and wildlife
habitat.
Water quality throughout south Florida has also deteriorated over the past
50 years since construction started on the C&SF Project. Many wetlands that acted
as natural filters and retention areas either can no longer serve these purposes or
have been lost to drainage or development. Urban and agricultural development
and drainage systems result in the rapid discharge of runoff containing pollutants
into south Florida’s water bodies. As a result, many water bodies throughout south
Florida presently do not meet water quality standards. Untreated urban and
agricultural storm water that does not meet water quality standards is sometimes
sent to natural areas. Excessive nutrients entering the Everglades have led to an
overabundance of cattails, a visible sign of unfavorable water quality conditions and
a potential decline in ecological productivity. Flood control releases from Lake
Okeechobee and runoff discharged via secondary drainage canals in the St. Lucie
River Basin have been linked to fish lesions and a decline in estuarine productivity,
resulting in substantial ecological and economic impacts.
Summary
Final Feasibility Report and PEIS April 1999
iv
Adequately and reliably meeting water supply for all sectors is also a
problem. Historically, most rainwater soaked into the ground in the region’s vast
wetlands. As south Florida developed, the canal network worked too effectively and
drained too much water off the land too quickly. The result is that not enough water
is stored for all uses. Water shortages that occur today are expected to become more
frequent without any changes to the water management system. Without the steps
outlined in this Comprehensive Plan, conflicts over the allocation of water needed
for natural, agricultural, and urban areas will only increase.
Flooding is also a problem. Florida is a low-lying, flat, and wet state. Today,
the Project provides flood protection on a regional basis for south Florida, supported
by many locally operated canal networks. The Comprehensive Plan will maintain,
and in some situations improve, this important protection from flooding.

modifications to the C&SF Project for improving the quality of the environment;

protecting water quality in the south Florida ecosystem; improving protection of the

aquifer; improving the integrity, capability, and conservation of urban and

agricultural water supplies; and improving other water-related purposes.

Summary

Final Feasibility Report and PEIS April 1999

ii

The following principles guided the development of the recommended

Comprehensive Plan:

· The overarching objective of the Comprehensive Plan is the restoration,

preservation and protection of the south Florida ecosystem while providing

for other water related needs of the region;

· The Comprehensive Plan will be based on the best available science, and

independent scientific review will be an integral part of its development and

implementation;

· The Comprehensive Plan will be developed through an inclusive and open

process that engages all stakeholders;

· All applicable Federal, tribal, state, and local agencies will be full partners

and their views will be considered fully; and

· The Comprehensive Plan must be a flexible plan that is based on the concept

of adaptive assessment – recognizing that modifications will be made in the

future based on new information.

Although this document meets the requirements of Section 404 (r) of the

Clean Water Act (Public Law 92-500, as amended), as addressed in Annex C, the

Corps will request a Section 401 State water quality certificate during subsequent

phases of this project.

The final integrated feasibility report and Programmatic Environmental

Impact Statement is being transmitted through the Division Engineer and the

Washington-level Federal report review process, which will include reviews by the

Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of the Army. The Assistant Secretary of the

Army for Civil Works, representing the Secretary of the Army, will coordinate the

documents with the Office of Management and Budget, and send them to Congress.

The study authority states that the Secretary shall transmit the Comprehensive Plan

to Congress not later than July 1, 1999.

MAJOR CONCLUSIONS

The Everglades has molded the regional character of central and southern

Florida and sustains the economic and cultural growth of the region. The

Everglades has influenced the regional mosaics of space and landscape patterns -

urban, agricultural and natural. As such, it epitomizes the region's sense of

definition and place. As importantly, the Everglades is unlike any other place in the

world.

The remaining Everglades and other natural ecosystems in south Florida no

longer exhibit the functions, richness, and spatial extent that defined the predrainage systems. There have been substantial and irreversible reductions in the

Summary

Final Feasibility Report and PEIS April 1999

iii

spatial extent of the wetland systems (including an approximately 50 percent

reduction in the extent of the true Everglades) and in the total water storage,

timing, and flow capacities of these systems. These natural systems will not recover

their defining characteristics under current conditions and will not be sustained

into the future. Indeed, the health of the ecosystem will continue to decline unless

corrective actions are taken. For example, wading birds, whose numbers have

already decreased by 85-90 percent, are key indicators of broad, regional patterns of

aquatic production. There is a continuing reduction in the total number of birds

initiating breeding in south Florida. Fisheries, including economically important

recreational and commercial species, continue to decline steadily in many areas of

south Florida, affecting the natural and the human environment.

Several of the major unintended impacts to the natural system attributed to

the C&SF Project in south Florida include the following:

· extreme fluctuations in high and low water levels in Lake Okeechobee have a

major adverse impact on the lake’s littoral and pelagic zones and fish and

wildlife habitats;

· extreme fluctuations between too much and too little freshwater discharge

into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries result in detrimental salinity

conditions and physical alterations of fish and wildlife habitat;

· detrimental hydrologic conditions in freshwater wetland habitats cause major

adverse impacts on plant and animal communities of the native Everglades;

and

· unsuitable freshwater flows to Florida and Biscayne bays and Lake Worth

Lagoon adversely impact salinity and physically alter fish and wildlife

habitat.

Water quality throughout south Florida has also deteriorated over the past

50 years since construction started on the C&SF Project. Many wetlands that acted

as natural filters and retention areas either can no longer serve these purposes or

have been lost to drainage or development. Urban and agricultural development

and drainage systems result in the rapid discharge of runoff containing pollutants

into south Florida’s water bodies. As a result, many water bodies throughout south

Florida presently do not meet water quality standards. Untreated urban and

agricultural storm water that does not meet water quality standards is sometimes

sent to natural areas. Excessive nutrients entering the Everglades have led to an

overabundance of cattails, a visible sign of unfavorable water quality conditions and

a potential decline in ecological productivity. Flood control releases from Lake

Okeechobee and runoff discharged via secondary drainage canals in the St. Lucie

River Basin have been linked to fish lesions and a decline in estuarine productivity,

resulting in substantial ecological and economic impacts.

Summary

Final Feasibility Report and PEIS April 1999

iv

Adequately and reliably meeting water supply for all sectors is also a

problem. Historically, most rainwater soaked into the ground in the region’s vast

wetlands. As south Florida developed, the canal network worked too effectively and

drained too much water off the land too quickly. The result is that not enough water

is stored for all uses. Water shortages that occur today are expected to become more

frequent without any changes to the water management system. Without the steps

outlined in this Comprehensive Plan, conflicts over the allocation of water needed

for natural, agricultural, and urban areas will only increase.

Flooding is also a problem. Florida is a low-lying, flat, and wet state. Today,

the Project provides flood protection on a regional basis for south Florida, supported

by many locally operated canal networks. The Comprehensive Plan will maintain,

and in some situations improve, this important protection from flooding.