At the direction of Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward the Everglades Drainage District is created to reclaim the Everglades for agricultural production. Over the following years, the Everglades Drainage District constructed several canals, which continue to divert water from..Read More

Following two hurricanes in 1926 and 1928, which killed more than 2,500 people, Congress enacted the Rivers and Harbor Act of 1930, authorizing the construction of 67.8 miles of levees along the south shore of Lake Okeechobee and..Read More

Congress sets aside 1.5 million acres of conservation land to create Everglades National Park. The park is protected under the National Park Service Organic Act (16 U.S.C. § 1) among other laws.

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 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the South Florida Water Management District enter into a license agreement under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, establishing Water Conservation Area 1 as a national wildlife refuge.  The refuge was renamed..Read More

In 1968, Congress authorized modifications to the C-111 Project for the construction of the Everglades National Park-South Dade Conveyance System (enlarged canals and additional structures/pump stations) to provide water supply to Everglades National Park and South Dade County...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

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

The federal government creates the first national preserve in the national park system. This more than 700,000-acre preserve was established following a failed attempt by the state to use the site for a massive jetport.

The federal government sues the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation alleging violations of state and federal law regarding pollution  (particularly phosphorus) in the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge and Everglades National Park. The..Read More

The FWS concludes that the Mod-Waters Project, as proposed, will jeopardize the Everglade Snail Kite and issues a reasonable and prudent alternative. 

Congress authorizes the restoration of the Kissimmee River ecosystem, which had been degraded by dredging and channelization beginning in the 1960s. This nearly $1 billion project was sponsored by the Corps and the SFWMD and sought to restore..Read More

The Corps finalizes the GDM, a plan — required by the 1989 Everglades National Park Protection and Expansion Act — to modify operations of the C&SF Project with a rainfall driven schedule, along with some structural modifications.

The Florida legislature enacts the Everglades Forever Act. The Act eliminates the SWIM plan and establishes a narrative water quality standard for phosphorus that prohibits waters in the Everglades Protection Area to be altered so as to cause..Read More

In May 1994, the Corps finalizes its Final Integrated General Reevaluation Report for the C-111 Project.  The C-111 Project boundary is that portion of the C&SF Project including and south of the S-331 structure.

Following a ballot initiative, the Florida Constitution is amended providing for the administration of a trust fund administered by the South Florida Water Management District for the purposes of conservation and protection of natural resources and abatement of..Read More

In WRDA 1996, Congress authorizes continued planning for CERP as well as changes to the C-111 Project, consistent with the 1994 Final Integrated General Reevaluation Report.

In February 1999, the FWS issues a Biological Opinion regarding the Mod-Waters Project, the Experimental Program, and the C-111 Project. Evaluating the effects of construction features only, because operations had not been developed for the three projects, the..Read More

Following the state’s failure to establish total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for many waters throughout the state and a lawsuit by environmental organizations, the court approved a consent decree directing the EPA to establish TMDLs for over five..Read More

Federal and state agencies agree to purchase approximately 50,000 acres of former sugar plantation land for Everglades restoration.

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

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 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

Federal and Florida agencies reach agreement and finalize the IOP to replace the ISOP.

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 Corps adopts final rules to implement CERP and to ensure its goals and purposes are achieved.

The Florida legislature amends the Everglades Forever Act to adopt SFWMD Conceptual Plan and establishes a 2016 deadline for meeting the phosphorus standard with the option of extending it to 2026.

In early 2004, Florida announces plan to “expedite” construction of eight projects or groups of projects, comprising 11 CERP projects and one non-CERP project the State deems particularly important.

Judge Moreno finds phosphorus levels have been exceeded in the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.

The Army Corps of Engineers begins repairing this aging structure to reduce the risk of catastrophic failure, which would threaten communities to the south. This more than $500 million project is expected to be completed by 2025.

Judge Altonaga concludes that “back-pumping” water from the EAA canals through the S-2, S-3, S-4 pump stations and into Lake Okeechobee without a NPDES permit violates the Clean Water Act.  The court later orders the SFWMD to “apply…for..Read More

The Court orders that the Corps complete a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to assess the effects of the changes from IOP Alternative 7 to Alternative 7R (relief requested by both the Miccosukee Tribe and the NRDC Intervenors),..Read More

The state legislature expands the Lake Okeechobee Protection Act of 2000 to include projects to restore and protect the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers and Estuaries. The Act includes, among other projects, the Phase II Technical Plan of..Read More

In 2007, the Miccosukee Tribe amended an earlier (November 2005) complaint that had challenged the FWS’s 2002 Biological Opinion approving the IOP.  The amended complaint includes additional challenges to a Biological Opinion included in the SEIS that the..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

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reverses Judge Altonaga’s decision and rules that backpumping water from the EAA canals into Lake Okeechobee does not require an NPDES permit after applying deference to the EPA’s newly promulgated “water transfers..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

In response to the 2008 court order in the 2004 Gold case finding portions of the Everglades Forever Act to be water quality standards, EPA disapproves of parts of those amendments  as water quality standards and began rulemaking..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

Because SFWMD stopped construction of the EAA A-1 Reservoir while land purchase negotiations with U. S. Sugar were ongoing, the court dismisses as moot the environmental groups’ challenge to Florida’s plan to construct a portion of the EAA..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.”

Judge Gold grants EPA’s motion to amend his previous order and finds that EPA has made a “more committed effort” to comply with the 2010 order.  The Court eliminates the requirement that EPA withdraw FDEP’s authority to issue..Read More

The ERTP — explicitly designed as a multi-species management plan — replaces the IOP as the operational plan for the southern portion of the C&SF Project. It sets forth desired habitat ranges and goals for multiple species and..Read More

The EPA and the State of Florida reach agreement on the development of “Restoration Strategies” to ensure compliance with water quality standards for the Everglades Protection Area.  The plan calls for the creation of 6,500 acres of new..Read More

The Corps completes a one-mile long bridge on Tamiami Trail. When completed, the 6.5 miles of bridging will allow water to flow under Tamiami Trail and into northeast Shark River Slough. The road, which was originally constructed to..Read More

By a 3:1 margin, Florida voters pass the Water and Land Conservation Initiative, which sets aside 33% of state fees on real estate transactions (“doc stamps”) for conservation purposes. Amendment 1 is expected to generate approximately $20 billion..Read More

A federal judge in New York strikes down the “water transfers rule” as an unreasonable interpretation of the Clean Water Act. The decision is appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

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

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

Congress authorizes CEPP in the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act.  CEPP is aimed at delivering more natural freshwater flows to the central Everglades and ultimately to Florida Bay. The project calls for the construction and..Read More

Declaring that an emergency exists in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries due to the discharges from Lake Okeechobee, the legislature directs the SFWMD to design and construct a reservoir providing at least 240,000 acre-feet of water storage..Read More

The Corps approves and implements Mod-Waters Increment 1.1-1.2, incorporating and implementing the July 2016 ERTP Reasonable and Prudent Alternative and effectively replacing ERTP as the operating plan for the southern portions of the C&SF Project. It is explicitly..Read More