The state builds the St. Lucie canal to connect the St. Lucie River to Lake Okeechobee.

In her highly influential book, Marjory Stoneman Douglas brings national attention to the degradation of America’s Everglades.

The 1948 C&SF Project established more than 480,000 acres south of Lake Okeechobee as the EAA. This region is now more than 700,000 acres with the vast majority of those acres used for farming sugarcane.

The 1948 C&SF Project also provided for the construction of three Water Conservation Areas known as WCA 1, WCA 2, and WCA 3. Construction was completed in 1962. WCA 1 is now also known as the Arthur R...Read More

By way of the Flood Control Act of 1962, Congress authorizes the Canal 111 (C-111) South Dade project, located adjacent to the eastern boundary of Everglades National Park, as a modification of the South Dade County portion of..Read More

In response to concerns voiced by the Department of the Interior about failing ecosystems in Everglades National Park, Congress approves a “floor” for water to be delivered to the Park through the C&SF Project, guaranteeing a minimum amount..Read More

Following a special water conference convened by Governor Askew in response to water shortages, salt-water intrusion into well fields, and fires in the Everglades, the Florida Legislature enacts the Water Resources Act.  Considered by many scholars as one..Read More

Congress enacts the Clean Water Act to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.” The Act provides a comprehensive framework for addressing both point source and non-point source pollution. States are directed,..Read More

In November 1983, as a result of adverse effects within Everglades National Park related to high rainfall and water management practices in south Florida, Congress enacts legislation (the Supplemental Appropriations Act) authorizing the “Experimental Program,” which allows the..Read More

Congress passes the Everglades National Park Protection and Expansion Act, incorporating Northeast Shark River Slough (east of the L-67 extension) under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.  This legislation also, among other things, authorizes Modified Water Deliveries..Read More

The Everglades Protection Act directs the State to establish and implement the Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) plan to restore the Everglades.  This plan served as the precursor to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) enacted by..Read More

The parties to United States v. South Florida Water Management District, 847 F. Supp. 1567 (S.D. Fla. 1992) enter into a consent decree approved by Judge Moreno. Based upon the requirements of the Everglades Protection Act enacted a..Read More

Congress authorizes the Corps to study the effectiveness of the C&SF Project, eventually leading to the publication of the Central and Southern Florida Comprehensive Review Study (also known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan or CERP) in 1999.

Pursuant to the 1992 Consent Decree the State agrees to build and operate a minimum of 32,600 acres of STAs and to require farmers to use BMPs to reduce nutrient pollution. 

In October 1995, the FWS concludes that Test 7 of the 1983-approved Experimental Program (which would have added to changes already explored in earlier tests, changing flows through the L-31W canal into Taylor Slough) would jeopardize the Cape..Read More

Following a ballot initiative, the Florida Constitution is amended providing “Those in the Everglades Agricultural Area who cause water pollution within the Everglades Protection Area or the Everglades Agricultural Area shall be primarily responsible for paying the costs..Read More

In November 1997, the Corps agrees to reinitiate consultation under the ESA on the Mod-Waters Project and the Experimental Program, because of concerns related to a variety of endangered and threatened species including the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow..Read More

In a document commonly known as the “Restudy” or “Yellow Book” the Corps and SFMWD identify more than 60 projects to improve the quality, quantity, timing, and distribution of water through the Everglades.  These projects include: A 200,000..Read More

The Florida legislature directs FDEP to evaluate state waters and establish TMDLs for waters with impaired water quality.  FDEP may develop basin management plans to achieve these TMDLs and promulgate rules establishing BMPs.

Following both repeated emergency deviations from Experimental Program Test 7 operations to protect endangered species and high level consultation among various agencies, the Corps implements the Interim Structural and Operational Plan (ISOP), as an Emergency Deviation from Test..Read More

The Save Our Everglades Trust Fund is established within the Department of Environmental Protection.  The funds are to be spent on implementing CERP, as well as other projects including the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Protection Plan, the Caloosahatchee River..Read More

Florida’s premier land acquisition program is established in July. To date the state has purchased more than 718,126 acres of land for conservation under this program.

The state had moved the court in United States v. South Florida Water Management District (S.D. Fla. 1992) to modify the 1992 consent decree following the enactment of the Everglades Forever Act. The court grants the state’s request..Read More

In September 2002, the Miccosukee Tribe challenges the Corps’ approval and implementation of IOP in federal court in Florida under various federal environmental and other laws, including nuisance under federal common law and the Indian Trust doctrine.  

The Natural Resources Defense Council and several other environmental organizations (the NRDC Intervenors) intervene in the Moore Case 1 in 2003.  The intervenors also file their own cross-claim, demanding the expeditious implementation of “marsh operational criteria” — operational..Read More

SFWMD adopts a plan (Conceptual Plan) to extend the final deadline for achieving the 10 ppb phosphorus standard to 2026.

Plaintiffs file suit to compel EPA to review and disapprove Florida’s amended Everglades Forever Act, claiming it establishes new water quality standards that differ from those previously in place under the Clean Water Act.

In the 2004 Gold Case, the court holds that the Everglades Forever Act amendments constitute new or revised water quality standards and EPA must approve or disapprove these standards. The numeric standard for phosphorus entering the Everglades Protection..Read More

Environmental groups challenge the Corps’ decision to issue a dredge and fill permit under the Clean Water Act for the construction of a biotech facility in western Palm Beach County. The court invalidates the Corps’ decision finding that..Read More

In response to Moore Case 1, the Corps completes an SEIS for the IOP.  As part of that process, the FWS develops a Biological Opinion evaluating whether the IOP would jeopardize endangered or threatened species or adversely modify..Read More

Judge Hoeveler overturns Corps’ decision to issue permits allowing more than 5000 acres of historic Everglades wetlands in the Lake Belt area to be mined for rock to be used in roads and other construction projects and sets..Read More

Environmental groups challenge the Corps’ approval of Florida’s plan to build CERP projects — in particular, a portion of the EAA Reservoirs Project, a project that would provide 360,000 acre-feet of water storage in the central Everglades —..Read More

IRL-South Project. Congress authorizes the IRL-South Project to improve water quality in the St. Lucie Estuary and IRL.  The project includes four reservoirs (totaling 130,000 acre feet of storage), four STAs (totaling 8,700 acres), 90,000 acres of habitat restoration,..Read More

The 11th Circuit vacates Judge Hoeveler’s 2006 and 2007 rulings in the Lake Belt case, holding that the court failed to give the Corps the level of deference required by federal laws.  It remanded for the lower court..Read More

Under the C&SF project, the Corps establishes a regulation schedule for Lake Okeechobee.  This regulation schedule guides the Corps in its management of the lake for flood control, water supply, and protection of the natural system. Prior to..Read More

Following Judge Altonaga’s decision finding that SFWMD must apply for an NPDES permit to backpump water from EAA canals into Lake Okeechobee, EPA promulgates the “water transfer rule” exempting the transfer of water between two water bodies from..Read More

In May 2009, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals partially grants the Miccosukee Tribe’s appeal of a lower court order (a second challenge the Miccosukee Tribe filed related to IOP implementation)(Moore Case 2) related to the IOP and..Read More

On remand from the 11th Circuit’s decision vacating the district court’s 2006 and 2007 orders invalidating 12 permits allowing mining in the Lake Belt region of the historic Everglades, the district court again rejects the permits, using a..Read More

The original deal is revised to include a purchase of 72,800 acres with the option of purchasing a remaining 107,000 acres at a later date.

The court in the Gold Case finds the 2009 EPA Determination did not comply with the court’s previous order.  The Court orders the EPA to issue an amended determination that prohibits FDEP from issuing NPDES permits for STAs..Read More

In response to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals’ January 2010 opinion affirming a lower court decision rejecting 2001 permits the Corps had issued to several mining companies, the Corps approves a revised mining and mitigation plan and..Read More

Over a challenge by environmental groups, Center for Biological Diversity et al., v, Kenneth Salazar et al., a D.C. district approves the FWS’s designation of critical habitat for the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow, despite the agency’s decision to..Read More

A federal appeals court rules against twenty-three property owners, finding that a lower court lacked jurisdiction over their claims that the discharge of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie estuary constituted a taking of private..Read More

Upholding a special master’s report, Judge Moreno reverses a 2010  order compelling the construction of the EAA-1 Reservoir, finding instead that construction of the reservoir is “no longer in the best interest of the Everglades.”

A federal court rules on long running disputes regarding the need for Florida to promulgate numeric water quality standards. In 2008, conservation organizations had sued EPA under the CWA for failing to establish numeric nutrient water quality criteria..Read More

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service establishes a new national wildlife refuge in Okeechobee, Osceola, Polk, and Highlands counties to “protect and restore of the great grassland and savanna landscapes of eastern North America.”  Utilizing a working landscape..Read More

More than 5,000 people gather at the St. Lucie Lock and Dam to protest the discharge of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie Estuary.  The practice, which has occurred since at least the 1950’s, is..Read More

WRDA 2014 authorized four CERP projects, with total estimated costs of $1.9 billion: the C-111 Spreader Canal, Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands, C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir, and Broward County Water Preserve Areas (WPAs). Two of these (C-43 Reservoir..Read More

In 2014, the Florida Senate authorized an independent technical review of the options to reduce the discharges into the coastal estuaries and move more water into the Everglades. The report identifies the need for 400,000 acre-feet of storage..Read More

The Florida legislature passes House Bill 989, signed into law by Governor Scott.  The legislation dedicates up to $200 million funding a year for Everglades restoration. 

In its sixth biennial assessment of CERP, the National Academies calls for a re-examination of the original restoration goals in light of the scientific community gaining new knowledge on pre-drainage hydrology, climate change, and sea-level rise.  The report..Read More

The Army Corps of Engineers completes another (2.5 mile) segment of bridging on Tamiami Trail to restore water flow through Everglades National Park.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reverses the district court’s decision from 2014 that vacated the “water transfers rule.” The appeals court finds that the rule is a reasonable interpretation of the Clean Water Act.  The rule remains..Read More