Everglades Restoration Timeline

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

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 15.7 miles along its north shore. After another major hurricane in 1947, Congress took additional action to construct a new dike system which was completed in the 1960’s and named the Herbert Hoover Dike. Today the dike system contains 143 miles of levees, gates, and other structures.  

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 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. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. WCA 2 and WCA 3 are almost completely enclosed by levees and canals and are used for water storage during high rainfall events, as reservoirs for urban and agricultural uses, and for wildlife habitat and recreation.

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 the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in 1986.

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. Environmental concerns — artificially amplified floods were just as destructive as droughts — caused construction to be discontinued before all authorized project features were completed.

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 of water be delivered to the Park each month of the year.  

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, subject to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval, to develop and enforce comprehensive water quality standards establishing water quality goals for all intrastate waters. The Act also requires permits for the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters from point sources (the NPDES program) and establishes a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program aimed at restoring “impaired” waters that fail to meet water quality standards.

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 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 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.

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 year earlier, the consent degree requires the construction of a minimum of 32,000 acres of stormwater treatment areas (STAs) and the use of best management practices in the EAA to achieve water quality standards for phosphorus by July 2002.  STAs are large, engineered wetlands used to treat water flowing into the Everglades.  They improve water quality by naturally filtering out pollutants such as phosphorus.  

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 an imbalance in the natural populations of aquatic flora and fauna. It also sets a default numeric nutrient water quality standard of 10 parts per billion of phosphorus if the state otherwise does not adopt such a rule by December 31, 2003. The Act extends the deadline for compliance with the phosphorus standard until 2006. The Act also modifies many of the construction, operation, and compliance deadlines set forth in the consent decree and establishes a schedule for the construction of STAs.

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 “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 of the abatement of that pollution.”  

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 water pollution in the Everglades Protection Area and the Everglades Agricultural Area.  It can be funded by any source, including gifts and state and federal funds.

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 FWS found they would both jeopardize the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow and adversely modify its critical habitat.

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 hundred waters on Florida’s list of impaired waters under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act.

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

To undo much of the environmental damage caused by the C&SF Project, Congress passes the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA 2000) and approves CERP. Under CERP, the Corps and SFWMD, in consultation with other Federal, state, and local agencies, are charged with restoring the South Florida ecosystem by improving the quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of water entering the natural system.

The state legislature directs FDEP, SFWMD, and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to establish programs to restore and protect Lake Okeechobee.  The Act directs the agencies to establish the Lake Okeechobee Protection Plan to provide an implementation schedule for achieving the TMDL established for the Lake (140 metric tons of phosphorous per year) by 2015.  The Act also includes several other programs and projects including the Lake Okeechobee Construction project.

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 in an April 27, 2001 Omnibus Order. The new timeline mirrors the timeline established in the 1994 Everglades Forever Act, including the deadline for compliance with the 10 ppb phosphorus water quality standard at the end of 2006. The modified consent decree remains in effect and under the jurisdiction of the court. A special master is appointed to oversee compliance with the consent decree.

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.

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 the agency failed to take the necessary “hard look” at the cumulative effects of the project under NEPA. The biotech facility is subsequently relocated to Jupiter and the former site (“Mecca Farms”) was later purchased by the SFWMD where it will be used to restore freshwater flows to the Loxahatchee River as part of Everglades restoration.

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

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), as well as additional update on the implementation of marsh operational criteria to protect the Everglades and endangered and threatened species.  

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 a NPDES permit forthwith.”

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 Corps completed in response to the Moore EIS case.  The court rejects the Miccosukee Tribe’s claims, and the Tribe appeals.

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 the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Construction Project, the St. Lucie River Watershed Protection Plan, and the Caloosahatchee River Watershed Protection Plan.

The Phase II Technical Plan: Identifies construction projects and other measures to reduce the amount of pollution entering the Lake. It also identifies the need for more storage north of Lake Okeechobee (900,000 to 1.3 million acre-feet) to reduce discharges into the estuaries.  This includes above-ground reservoirs, underground storage, and alternative water storage projects on public and private lands.

The St. Lucie River Watershed Protection Plan: Aimed at reducing nutrient loads into the watershed.  It calls for implementation of BMPs on agricultural and urban lands, construction of 11,800 acres of reservoirs and 8,500 acres of STAs, restoration of 95,000 acres of wetlands and natural areas within the St. Lucie watershed, muck removal, and an additional 200,000 acre feet of water storage within the watershed.

The Caloosahatchee River Watershed Protection Plan: Similarly calls for BMPs, construction of 36,000 acres of reservoirs and 15,000 acres of STAs, wetland restoration, and an additional 400,000 acre-feet of water storage in the watershed.

The SFWMD completes its study of the amount of storage needed to reduce the discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries and to move more water south.  The SFWMD concludes that approximately 1 million acre feet of storage is needed to reduce the discharges by 90% and provide approximately 350,000 acre feet of additional flow to the Everglades each year.

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 LORS there were several lake regulation schedules.  Most recently they included the Water Supply and Environment (WSE) schedule from 2000-2008 and Run 25 from 1994-2000.  LORS remains in effect and sets the lake levels between 12.5 and 15.5 feet above mean sea level.

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.

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 more deferential standard of review, and remand to the agency to revisit its decisions.  (Case No. 03-23427-CIV-Hoeveler)  The 11th Circuit upholds this decision in January 2010.

The federal district court dismisses the EAA A-1 Reservoir Case (NRDC et al.  v. Van Antwerp et al. (Case No. 07-80444-CIV-MIDDLEBROOKS)) because the reservoir is no longer being built pursuant to the Corps permit the environmental groups had challenged.  As a result, the court finds the case no longer presents a live controversy and is “moot.”

The Southeast Regional Florida Climate Change Compact involves 4 counties and 109 cities, comprising ⅓ of Florida’s population.  Focus is addressing sea level rise, extreme weather events and flood risk.

The State buys 26,800 acres from U.S. Sugar with a ten-year option for the SFWMD to buy a remaining 153,200 acres.

On remand from the 11th Circuit (in Moore Case 2), the Corps and FWS continue to use habitat triggers to define the triggers that would require reinitiation of consultation to assess the effects of an action on the endangered and threatened species at issue.  Judge Moore rules that the Corps’ approach is acceptable for the Everglade Snail Kite and the Wood Stork, but not for the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow, requiring the triggers to again be reconsidered for that species.

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 that discharge into the Everglades Protection Area until the FDEP is in compliance with the Clean Water Act.

Following this ruling, EPA issues its Amended Determination, which notifies FDEP that the narrative and numeric nutrient criteria for phosphorus are not being met in the Everglades Protection Area. The Amended Determination among other things establishes for the first time a water quality based effluent limitation (WQBEL) for discharges into the Everglades Protection Area.  The WQBEL must be included in all permits for discharges from the STAs into the Everglades Protection Area.

The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal reverses two lower court decisions upholding the issuance of development orders to permit hard rock mining in the EAA.  The Court finds the development orders are inconsistent with the local comprehensive plan. The Court also affirms a lower court decision finding that mining in the EAA is inconsistent with the local comprehensive plan.  

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 property. The court found the claims were barred by a six-year statute of limitations and that the claimants failed to establish any compensable riparian property rights.

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 for most of the state’s waters (after the state had also failed to do so). In 2009, EPA enters into a consent decree with the plaintiffs agreeing to promulgate new criteria. The State later developed new criteria, which EPA approved, and conservation organizations challenged. The federal court upheld several of the new criteria while invalidating others (which the State has now revised).

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 level conservation approach, the refuge will protect up to 50,000 acres of lands in fee-simple and another 100,000 acres through conservation easements.

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 intended to reduce water levels in Lake Okeechobee during periods of high flow.  In 2013, the discharges led to toxic algae blooms which had a significant impact on local businesses, often referred to as the “Lost Summer of 2013.” 

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 and Broward County WPAs) were new projects, whereas the two others (the C-111 Spreader Canal and Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands) were previously initiated by the state but required congressional authorization for federal participation. As of early FY2017, construction had been initiated or planned for initiation for all four projects.

The SFWMD declines to exercise an option to purchase any additional lands, effectively putting an end to the deal reached in 2008.

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. 

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

In July 2016, the Corps and FWS complete their reinitiation of consultation on how C&SF Project operations affect several endangered and threatened species and agree on a reasonable and prudent alternative to ERTP in response to multiple factors:  1) the 2012 ERTP Biological Opinion was expiring; 2) one of the reconsultation triggers in the 2012 Biological Opinion had been surpassed in 2014, triggering the need to re-initiate ESA consultation; and 3) a pending challenge by environmental groups to the 2012 Biological Opinion. The revised operations, which include a suite of changes to better protect Cape Sable seaside sparrows in subpopulation A, which live west of northeast Shark River Slough, are to implemented in ongoing processes to revise operations as part of the long-running Mod-Waters Project.

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 in effect.

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 the first part of a 3-year plan to implement Mod-Waters Project operations.  Increment 1.1-1.2 is to go into effect in March 2017; Increment 2 is slated to go into effect in March 2018; and the Combined Operations Plan (“Increment 3”) is set to go into effect in 2019.

In March, Mod-Waters Increment 2 begins. This second phase of the Mod-Waters project builds on data collected during Increment 1.1-1.2 and allows further raising of the operating limit of the L-29 Canal toward the goal of 8.5 ft NGVD.

Congress passed a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA 2018) approving a revised version of the Everglades Agricultural Area Storage Reservoir Project as an addendum to CEPP.  It modifies CEPP to include a 23 foot deep reservoir, a stormwater treatment area and conveyance improvements in lieu of CEPP’s Flow Equalization Basin (FEB). The goal of the project is to further reduce water releases from Lake Okeechobee to the eastern and western estuaries and increase water flowing south to Everglades National Park. Congress directs the Army Corps to address remaining issues before proceeding to construction.

A bipartisan group of United States Senators and Representatives from Florida jointly request a new C&SF Project Flood Control Restudy that would integrate the potential impacts of sea level rise and generally higher water tables into the engineering and design of improved flood control features.

In June, individuals living and working in and near the Everglades Agricultural Area filed a federal class-action lawsuit against multiple sugar companies alleging harm from long-standing annual sugar cane burns on the EAA farms and seeking money to redress that harm.

The Army Corps issues its final recommendation — officially called the “Report to Address Concerns, Recommendations, and Conditions Identified in the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works (ASA(CW)) Review Assessment” — regarding the proposed plan to amend CEPP to incorporate the revised EAA reservoir design and related components (set forth in Section 1308(b) of Water Resources Development Act of 2018).

An extremely “wet” dry season at the end of 2020 — including, in November 2020 rainfall 319% more than normal — precedes the Army Corps’ decision to approve a temporary deviation from the newly approved COP that allowed significant water flows through Cape Sable seaside sparrow habitat in western shark slough to reduce water levels in Water Conservation Area 3A.  High water levels in the 8.5 square mile area (the Las Palmas community) limit the Corps’ authority to flow water into Northeast Shark River Slough, as COP would generally require.

The Army Corps announces the approval of a planned deviation from the water control plan for Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades Agricultural Area, also known as the Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS 2008), in order to reduce risk from Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). The Corps approved the planned deviation from LORS 2008 in anticipation of and following freshwater HABs, to help reduce the risk of potential concerns associated with algal blooms in Lake Okeechobee, the St. Lucie, and Caloosahatchee estuaries. The announcement states that implementation of this deviation could begin in February 2021 at the earliest.