DeSantis Votes to Destroy Everglades Wetlands

[jaxlongtimer]

Our "protect the Everglades" governor just voted to do the opposite.  Two-faced once again.  Actions speak louder than words.  And for one who wants to hold protestors accountable for following the rules, he decides to shred them (here, a rule drawing a hard line for development boundaries).  No surprise, he is best friends to developers.

This project won't even be of much value, adding a 6 minute savings to a 2 hour commute at a cost of $1 billion for 13 miles.  Meanwhile, Miami's water supply and endangered species will be negatively impacted.  Sad... DeSantis is destroying Florida in every way imaginable.

Florida Cabinet, DeSantis clear way for Miami-Dade’s highway through Everglades wetlands

Rejecting a judge’s recommendation, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet cleared the way for Miami-Dade County’s plans to build a highway through wetlands meant to help preserve the Everglades and the county’s drinking water supply. Environmentalists vowed to fight the decision.

The item, listed without details on the cabinet’s public agenda, came up in the last few minutes of a meeting Tuesday and was quickly approved by DeSantis, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Attorney General Ashley Moody. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who has announced she will run for governor herself, was the only no vote, arguing the controversial project will be harmful to the environment.

“You’re siding with developers in favor of harming Everglades restoration, risking wildlife, agricultural lands and Miami-Dade’s water supply, not really reducing urban sprawl,” she said during the meeting.

Plans for the $1 billion Kendall Parkway, a 13-mile extension to State Road 836 touted as a solution for congestion in the county’s western suburbs, were the subject of a fierce legal challenge by environmentalists and community activists who argued that the project violated Miami-Dade’s comprehensive development plan and provided only small improvements in commute times.

After Miami-Dade commissioners approved the project in 2018, Tropical Audubon Society filed a lawsuit in October arguing the project would breach the county’s Urban Development Boundary, which was created to shield the Everglades from dense suburban subdivisions and commercial complexes.

Hearings for the legal challenge in 2019 revealed that traffic relief would amount to just six minutes on a typical two-hour round-trip commute from West Kendall to downtown Miami. In March last year, Suzanne Van Wyck, an administrative law judge for Florida, recommended that DeSantis and the state Cabinet reject Miami-Dade’s application to change development rules allowing for the construction of the toll road. She cited uncertain impacts on Everglades preservation and “meager” improvements of traffic congestion.

In a meeting in June the state Board of Administration, the governor, Patronis and Moody rejected Van Wyck’s ruling, giving Miami-Dade the green light to seek environmental permits from state agencies. At the time, DeSantis said it was “premature” to assume that the project would be approved. He also said he didn’t think the project would be approved by the South Florida Water Management District.

The Tuesday vote formally reversed the judge’s order and allows the county to seek permits from state agencies. Miami-Dade would need a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection to build on wetlands, for instance.

Environmentalists said at the time that the decision ran counter to the governor’s efforts to restore the Everglades and Biscayne Bay, both dependent on a plentiful supply of fresh, clean water. They also say the highway would destroy wetlands that help replenish Miami-Dade’s underground drinking water supply and open the door to more suburban sprawl.

Paola Ferreira, executive director at Tropical Audubon, one of the groups that challenged the county’s plans, said advocates intend to appeal the Cabinet’s decision.

“We believe that their interpretation of the law is incorrect,” she said. By allowing the county to build infrastructure outside of the Urban Development Boundary, the state could be creating a “dangerous precedent,” she added.

Richard Grosso, an attorney representing Tropical Audubon Society and West Kendall resident Michelle Garcia in the legal action, called the Cabinet’s order “atrocious.”

“It bends over backwards in trying to allow the highway and in doing so undermines the essence of the CDMP,” he said, referring to the county’s development plan. He said the order interprets the master plan in a way that may weaken it going forward.

The wetlands, formally known as the Bird Drive Basin, is a rare empty swath of land critical to replenishing the shallow aquifer that supplies the county’s drinking water. It’s also home to native animals, wading birds and rare plants. The basin is also part of ongoing Everglades restoration and is part of the 2000 plan to move more water south to marshes damaged by flood control.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article254433198.html

[Florida Power And Light]

South Florida’s “ First Coast Expressway”.

Let’s shift our gaze from South Florida to ....... Here.
 Planners, Consultants.First Coast X- way promoters and defenders......and soon...... apologists...... will note Brannon Chaffee/ X Way was properly vented. Permitted and...... Vested.Mayor Delaney pivotal role. Trust For Public Lands / Mitigation. A couple of well placed persons/ speculative land purchase owners. An attorney whose family member eventually headed up FL DOT / Scott Administration. “ Growth Management”. Brannon Chaffee Sector Plan FL DCA. Two ( 2!) Lake Asbury Sector Plan  FL DCA.The first  Lake Asbury Sector Plan a train wreck for the Beltway promoters... the citizens not agreeable to a Branon Chaffee Extension/ outer beltway through Reinhold property.....
Yep.
We can only imagine ( or simply not share) what recently occurred way down there in South Florida....

At issue of much more consequence than the continual effort to March development Westward Ho! Urban Planning Boundary/ New roadways in South Florida :
Former Everglades Flow Way lands/ Sugar and Ag lands once slated for public purchase and inclusion in Everglades Restoration concept as envisioned by Art Marshall was circumvented years ago.
And in the meantime, Lake O levee “ improved”/ more water storage.
Now, US Sugar has decided to not sell per former Public Purchase per Charlie Crist administration efforts.Maneuvering for development.....
Former Charlie Crist staff person now heads up Everglades Foundation...... a classic Side Track. Foundation is dangerous. Charlie will likely fail at Elevating Glades Restoration as a campaign platform. After all..... Who Cares?
I grew up in South Florida and worked closely with Art Marshall and other key Glades Restoration persons.
At this point, Skip the Glades and focus on the Ocala To Osceola Conservation Corridor and some great Non News about what is going on and not going on in Northeast Florida.
My guess is this thread will not proceed to news and information on Glades or NE FL via the original poster or anybody else.
Surprise me.

[BridgeTroll]

I have no idea what FPL is raving about but... to be fair...

https://www.flgov.com/2021/08/20/governor-ron-desantis-celebrates-groundbreaking-of-underground-wall-to-support-everglades-restoration/

Upon taking office, Governor DeSantis made Everglades restoration and the protection of water resources a top priority, calling for a $2.5 billion investment over four years, a $1 billion increase over the previous four years. Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, record investments have been made for these efforts and Florida has made significant progress on Everglades restoration projects, including the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir Project, the C-43 Reservoir, and the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area

And...

“Audubon applauds the Governing Board and the Army Corps for expeditiously reaching an agreement to move the EAA Reservoir Project forward,” said Beth Alvi, Policy Director for Audubon Florida. “We thank Governor DeSantis for his continued commitment to Everglades restoration. The EAA Reservoir Project will benefit Florida’s environment and economy reducing harmful discharges to the estuaries east and west, sending clean water south to the Everglades.”

“The EAA Reservoir project is critical to restoring the Everglades and protecting our lagoons and estuaries,” said Lisa Interlandi, Executive Director of the Everglades Law Center. “This project has been a long time coming and it’s great to see the State of Florida and the South Florida Water Management District moving forward at full speed to implement it.”

“The signing of this agreement is an important event as we continue the journey to restore the Everglades with our state partners,” said Col. Andrew Kelly, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District.

[Charles Hunter]

How do the two projects - toll road and the reservoir project - affect the Everglades on balance? Does the benefit of the reservoir counteract the damage of the toll road? What secondary development will the toll road induce? I don't know, that's why I ask.

[jaxlongtimer]

I have no idea what FPL is raving about but... to be fair...

https://www.flgov.com/2021/08/20/governor-ron-desantis-celebrates-groundbreaking-of-underground-wall-to-support-everglades-restoration/

Upon taking office, Governor DeSantis made Everglades restoration and the protection of water resources a top priority, calling for a $2.5 billion investment over four years, a $1 billion increase over the previous four years. Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, record investments have been made for these efforts and Florida has made significant progress on Everglades restoration projects, including the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir Project, the C-43 Reservoir, and the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area

And...

“Audubon applauds the Governing Board and the Army Corps for expeditiously reaching an agreement to move the EAA Reservoir Project forward,” said Beth Alvi, Policy Director for Audubon Florida. “We thank Governor DeSantis for his continued commitment to Everglades restoration. The EAA Reservoir Project will benefit Florida’s environment and economy reducing harmful discharges to the estuaries east and west, sending clean water south to the Everglades.”

“The EAA Reservoir project is critical to restoring the Everglades and protecting our lagoons and estuaries,” said Lisa Interlandi, Executive Director of the Everglades Law Center. “This project has been a long time coming and it’s great to see the State of Florida and the South Florida Water Management District moving forward at full speed to implement it.”

“The signing of this agreement is an important event as we continue the journey to restore the Everglades with our state partners,” said Col. Andrew Kelly, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District.

BridgeTroll, this is another example of DeSantis wanting his cake and eating it too or being two-faced.  The same Audubon folks who lauded him in August are vilifying him now.  I believe he has deluded himself into thinking he can cater to his base and to others who think much differently at the same time.  Or, as he pursues his real agenda, he tries to cover his tracks by throwing "bones" to those inclined to differ with him.  In the end, I don't really think he is fooling anyone who is paying even half attention to his actions.  I judge him by the lowest bar (by my criteria) he sets for himself, which is pretty low nowadays.

[BridgeTroll]

Or... and much more likely btw... this is a small compromise in the never-ending tug of war between the environment and progress. It happens all the time... while I bet even democrats have made similar compromises.  When you view things through your partisan lens you get assumptions like yours...

[jaxlongtimer]

Or... and much more likely btw... this is a small compromise in the never-ending tug of war between the environment and progress. It happens all the time... while I bet even democrats have made similar compromises.  When you view things through your partisan lens you get assumptions like yours...

Only problem, this is not really a tug of war between the environment and progress, as the benefits to the community are miniscule and the costs great, both financially and environmentally.  It's actually a regression for the community.  No, this is DeSantis appeasing his developer donor class who could care less about true "progress" and only care about their bank accounts.  Progress would be doing more to control development and preserving Dade's water supply to allow any development at all.

You do realize your lens is just as partisan as mine  so it just comes down to the power of our arguments to support our positions.

[BridgeTroll]

Meh... miniscule is an opinion not a fact...  this is simply a compromise. The overall Everglades project dwarfs this miniscule compromise...

[BridgeTroll]

How do the two projects - toll road and the reservoir project - affect the Everglades on balance? Does the benefit of the reservoir counteract the damage of the toll road? What secondary development will the toll road induce? I don't know, that's why I ask.

Perhaps this has the answers you seek...

https://mdxway.com/kendallparkway

[Charles Hunter]

Interesting. If the "right developer" comes along, is a two-thirds vote of the county commission to move the urban boundary an insurmountable barrier? Not knowing Miami-Dada politics, I can't say.

The project will pay for itself with tolls? Doubtful, especially in the first several years as traffic builds.

[tufsu1]

Meh... miniscule is an opinion not a fact...  this is simply a compromise. The overall Everglades project dwarfs this miniscule compromise...

having been involved peripherally in this, it is hardly a miniscule compromise. This is a terrible project, and hopefully never gets built.

[BridgeTroll]

I’m sure it is…

[jaxlongtimer]

^ If the justification for approving the project is improving travel times and it amounts to 6 minutes out of two hours, why compromise at all?  On its own, it doesn't justify spending $1 billion for 13 miles to effectively change almost nothing.  On the other hand, the damage to the Everglades and the water supply and the slippery slope a precedent like this sets for violating the urban boundary are irreparable and significant downsides.

A no brainer to all but the politically motivated catering to special interests that donate handsomely to their campaigns.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Not a compromise at all.

[Florida Power And Light]

I’m sure it is…

Mitigating discharge  from Lake O to coasts east and west can be mitigated via “ Reservoir “ and “ Storage “...... compartments, dikes, levees....... the same  concept that has driven Everglades Flow Way Natural System alteration to the point Everglades Restoration championed.

Everglades Foundation, a Billion Dollar backer and a former Charlie Crist admin person at the helm of a particular narrative.
A billion bucks = an idiot can prevail.

Comprehensive Everglades Restoration, as recognized by Arthur Marshall, has been sequestered.

[Florida Power And Light]

Meh... miniscule is an opinion not a fact...  this is simply a compromise. The overall Everglades project dwarfs this miniscule compromise...

having been involved peripherally in this, it is hardly a miniscule compromise. This is a terrible project, and hopefully never gets built.
[/quote tufsu1 .......

Tufsu1 I know you are personally incapable of altering future events with this.......
Great place to be. View with alarm...... Next!!!!!
The Endless Loop must provide solace to you.