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Critical condition

Rising costs and friction between state and federal government threaten to kill the Everglades restoration plan in its early stages.

The grand plan to restore the Everglades could be in trouble, and there is plenty of blame to go around. While politicians love to use the River of Grass as a backdrop for their expressions of environmental sincerity, they haven't been as willing to make the tough decisions needed to save it.

The situation has grown so precarious that the man in charge says the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (or CERP) is "at a critical juncture." In fact, Gary Hardesty of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says that he is "hearing statements like "CERP is dead.' "

Hardesty didn't mean for those statements to be public. Rather, he wrote them in an internal memo in preparation of a five-year report to Congress, which St. Petersburg Times reporter Craig Pittman was able to obtain. When asked about it, however, Hardesty didn't deny any of his warnings about cost overruns, delays and political infighting.

Even in these early stages "cost growth is a huge issue," Hardesty wrote, with the first few projects already $1-billion over budget and most of the work yet to be done. Although the burden was supposed to be equally borne by federal and state government, Congress hasn't given its share. Meanwhile, the state's actions have led to congressional skepticism.

For one thing, Congress is rightly critical of the state's decision to weaken water quality standards to accommodate the sugar industry. Some in Congress vow that Everglades funding "will not (be) used to help the state clean up its water quality problems." Unfortunately, neither state nor federal officials have the courage to stand up to the sugar barons, who are kept in business by congressional subsidies.

There are other tensions between the partners. Although this is supposed to be an environmental restoration effort, key congressional leaders suspect the state is promoting projects to enhance the South Florida drinking water supply while "the Corps will be left to implement projects for the natural system." In a tight budget year, Hardesty questioned which projects he'll be able to do if "funding stays relatively flat."

Nobody thought Everglades restoration would be easy, but Floridians should expect an honest effort. Hardesty's memo may not have been meant as a public wake-up call, but it should serve that purpose.

To begin the real job of saving the Everglades, Congress needs to live up to its responsibility and the state needs to send a clear signal that its interest is in protecting an invaluable natural area, not in promoting more development. Anything less and the predictions of an early death for Everglades restoration could come true.

[Last modified March 24, 2005, 01:19:16]