DeSantis pledges $3.5 billion to Florida water projects, conservation efforts

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A week into his second term, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Tuesday reaffirming and building on a commitment to clean water he had signed exactly four years earlier.

Like in 2019, the order addresses issues that have plagued the state, such as red tide and blue-green algae blooms, as well the yearslong effort to restore the Everglades. It orders the Department of Environmental Protection and regional water management districts to make those issues a priority and pledges $3.5 billion for water projects over the next four years.

In his executive order, DeSantis directed the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to:

• Secure an historic $3.5 billion over the next four years for Everglades restoration and protection of our water resources, including water quality and water supply.
• Prioritize the protection of the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) and secure at least $100 million annually for priority projects to improve water quality in the IRL.
• Expand the existing Wastewater Grant Program by broadening project eligibility to address impacts to water quality from nonpoint sources such as stormwater and agricultural runoff.
• Ensure that all wastewater facilities discharging to waterbodies within a basin management action plan (BMAP) area or waterbody not attaining water quality standards upgrade to advanced wastewater treatment by 2033.
• Coordinate with the Department of Economic Opportunity to improve local government long-term comprehensive planning to encourage successful and sustainable growth while protecting natural resources.
• Strengthen BMAPs, which provide a roadmap to restoring water quality and reducing pollutants, to include the specific projects necessary to meet the requisite water quality standards to achieve restoration goals.
• Ensure continued funding for statewide resilience projects through the Resilient Florida Program.
• Take all necessary steps to expedite the state’s land conservation efforts, including a strategic focus on acquisitions within the Wildlife Corridor.

The order also directs the South Florida Water Management District to:

• Continue to expedite Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program (CERP) projects.
• Make every effort to ensure meaningful progress on Everglades restoration projects undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), including the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir Project.
• Work with the Corps to ensure the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) is implemented in a manner that reduces discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries and sends more water south to benefit the environment and meet the needs of our communities.

"I said four years ago and then I reiterated that last Tuesday, we need to leave Florida to God better than we found it," DeSantis said at a news conference.

The governor said making a commitment to the environment is not only the right thing to do, but it also helps drive the state's tourism.

Tourists "want to go to the beaches, they want to go fishing, they want to go boating," DeSantis said. "That's just the lifeblood of our state's DNA. So it's the right thing to do but it also reinforces, I think, our economic objectives."

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