PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A controversial plan from large sugar corporations to excavate thousands of acres within the Everglades Agricultural Area cleared its first bureaucratic hurdle, but the project still faces several regulatory reviews and mounting public scrutiny over its potential environmental impact.
Palm Beach County Commissioners approved a zoning change on Thursday, which allows Florida Chrystals and US Sugar to excavate 6,000 acres to create places to store water discharges south of Lake Okeechobee across 120,000 acres. The project called the “Southland Water Resource Project” would create a hole next to reservoirs for the everglades while also giving the companies the ability to sell rocks to the Florida Department of Transportation for road project and use the top soil in sugar fields.
Even with the approval, the companies still need approval from the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District. Both the US Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District, who spend money on maintaining and creating reservoirs to restore the everglades, are studying the projects’ impact on the area.
Those studies aren’t complete.
A spokesperson for the South Florida Water Management District said the process could take about a year to study. The Army Corps of Engineers didn’t respond to WPTV by publication.
Matt Eidson, who is the Vice President for the sugar companies’ general contractor Phillips and Jordan, said they’ve already spent $18 Million on the project and they expect to spend over $200 Million to start excavating the area. He asked the county to give its approval without the data from the government to justify moving forward.
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“We’re here for the commission to make a vote on one step,” Edison said. “A no for us would make this very difficult if we wanted to move forward at all.”
Environmental advocacy groups voiced concerns about the county voting without comprehensive scientific evaluation from an independent party. They argue the proposed excavation, adjacent to key Everglades restoration sites, could threaten the delicate ecosystem if not thoroughly vetted.
“What is going to be in there before we send that water south?” one concerned environmentalist asked county commissioners on Thursday. “I want to make sure we’re not sending toxic water south.”
Proponents for the project claim the project aligns with state water goals and could also provide economic benefits to nearby communities. Documents show the project will add 50 jobs in the Glades.
