[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 22122]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            RESTORING THE EVERGLADES, AN AMERICAN LEGACY ACT

  Mr. L. CHAFEE. Mr. President, when the Senate passed the Water 
Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA) on September 25th, a landmark 
piece of legislation was attached to the bill. This legislation--S. 
2797, Restoring the Everglades, an American Legacy Act--was introduced 
by Senators Smith, Baucus, Voinovich, Graham and Mack earlier this 
summer to restore the natural ecosystem of the Florida Everglades.
  Historically, the Florida Everglades system consisted of a natural 
flow of 1.7 billion gallons of fresh water draining into the Gulf of 
Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean on a daily basis. Beginning in 1948, the 
system has been adversely impacted by a series of Federal flood control 
projects authorized by Congress to redirect water flows throughout the 
Everglades. Over a half-century of Army Corps of Engineers' water 
infrastructure projects, consisting of a series of levees and canals, 
have severely damaged the Everglades system. This substantial diversion 
of water resulting from the infrastructure construction, coupled with 
increased development in the area, threaten the overall environmental 
health and sustainability of the Everglades National Park. In 1992 and 
1996, Congress directed the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a 
``Restudy'' of the existing system and recommend changes to improve the 
current state of the Everglades. The results of the restudy and 
recommendations for restoring the system are incorporated into the 
``Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan''.
  S. 2797 implements the Everglades Restoration Plan. The bill was 
approved by a bi-partisan majority of members of the Senate Committee 
on Environment and Public Works and is strongly supported by the 
Administration and the State of Florida. Restoring the Everglades, an 
American Legacy Act is a $7.8 billion dollar package that includes a 
broad framework for repairing the system's fragile ecosystem. 
Additionally, the bill creates a new and significant partnership 
between the Federal Government and the State of Florida. S. 2797 
includes cost share provisions establishing a 50:50 Federal to non-
Federal cost share requirement and providing that operation and 
maintenance costs will also be split in half between the Federal and 
non-Federal sponsors. Most importantly, the bill balances the benefits 
to the natural system, while providing for water supply and flood 
protection needs.
  I thank the Committee for moving forward with this important 
legislation. I would particularly like to thank Chairman Bob Smith for 
his leadership on restoring the Everglades and for crafting legislation 
that will ensure the future preservation of this national treasure.

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