May 2024
FACT SHEET
CENTRAL & SOUTHERN FLORIDA (C&SF) PROJECT
Construction (C)
Congressional Districts: 9, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
1. DESCRIPTION
Congress authorized the Central and Southern Florida (C&SF) project in the Flood Control Act of 1948 and subsequent authorizations through the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020. The C&SF project is a multi-purpose project that provides flood control, water supply for municipal, industrial, and agricultural uses, prevention of saltwater intrusion, water supply for the Everglades National Park (ENP), and protection of fish and wildlife resources. The C&SF project involves an area of about 18,000 square miles, which includes all or part of 18 counties in central and southern Florida. The project is being implemented through a series of separable elements. The major separable elements are: Upper St Johns River Basin, West Palm Beach Canal (stormwater treatment area [STA]-1E/C-51), South Dade County (C-111), Manatee Protection, and the C&SF Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Other related projects that are appropriated separately are the Kissimmee River Restoration and Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park projects, and the Everglades and South Florida Ecosystem Restoration (Critical) projects.
WRDA 1992 and WRDA 1996 provided the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with the authority to re-evaluate the performance and impacts of the C&SF project and to recommend improvements and or modifications to the project for the purpose of restoring, preserving, and protecting the South Florida Ecosystem. The resulting Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was designed to capture, store, and redistribute fresh water previously lost to tide and to regulate the quality, quantity, timing, and distribution of water flows. WRDA 2000 approved the plan as an implementation framework, established a programmatic authorization, and required individual Project Implementation Reports (PIRs) for authorization. The CERP includes approximately 68 components combined into multiple projects and will take more than 30 years to construct.
WRDA 2007 authorized the following CERP projects: Indian River Lagoon South, Picayune Strand, and Site 1 Impoundment. In addition, new authorized project costs were provided for the Hillsboro and Lake Okeechobee Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) and the Caloosahatchee ASR pilot projects, and a provision was included establishing Section 902 limits for the Programmatic Authority projects.
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA 2014) authorized four CERP projects for construction: (1) Caloosahatchee River (C-43) West Basin Storage Reservoir; (2) Canal 111 (C-111) Spreader Canal Western; (3) Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Phase 1; and (4) Broward County Water Preserve Areas.
WIIN 2016 authorized the CERP’s Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) and a new total project cost for the CERP Picayune Strand Restoration Project.
WRDA 2018 directed the Secretary of the Army to expedite completion of the Lake Okeechobee Regulation schedule. Section 1308 of the Act authorized the C&SF Everglades Agricultural Area, which was submitted by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) under the Section 203 process. For Kissimmee River Restoration, WRDA 2018 also provided crediting authority for actions taken and proposed to be performed by the non-Federal sponsor that were integral to implementation of the project.
WRDA 2020 authorized the CERP’s Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Project (LRWRP), modified the C-111 South Dade project to include construction of permanent pump stations for S-332B and S-332C, updated the total project cost for the CERP C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir, and authorized the CERP EAA phase project features to be included within the CEPP project and updated the total project costs for CEPP.
WRDA 2022 authorized a feasibility study for resiliency and comprehensive improvements or modifications to existing water resources development projects in the central and southern Florida area, for the purposes of flood risk management, water supply, ecosystem restoration, recreation, and related purposes.
WRDA 2022 also directed the Secretary to expedite completion of the Project for ecosystem restoration, Central and Southern Florida, Everglades Agricultural Area.
2. FUNDING
a. Regular Civil Works Funds:
| Allocation for FY24 |
$12,897,000 |
| President’s Budget FY25 |
$12,501,000 |
3. SPONSOR
South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD)
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, Florida 33406
4. STATUS
The one word that characterizes Everglades restoration at this time is momentum. Federal, state, local, and tribal governments, the United States Congress, the Florida Legislature, stakeholder groups, and members of the public have taken concrete, collaborative steps over the past several years to move key restoration programs and plans forward. This period has been busy with new construction starts, project completions, accelerated planning efforts, and record-breaking new investments.
The components that are authorized and are in the design and/or construction phases are described in the Integrated Delivery Schedule (IDS) (https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/Ecosystem-Restoration/Integrated-Delivery-Schedule/). The initial IDS was developed in response to advice provided in the 2007 General Accountability Office (GAO) report and the 2006 National Academy of Science (NAS) Report to Congress. Subsequently, the IDS was integrated with the progress of Foundation and other key Non-CERP projects and serves the purpose of the Master Implementation Sequencing Plan (MISP) originally described in the CERP Yellow Book authorized by Congress in 2000.
The IDS allows implementing agencies to inform decision-makers for scheduling, staffing, and budgeting South Florida Ecosystem restoration program efforts. The IDS is not an agency action or decision document. The IDS is a living document and is updated as necessary to reflect any major changes in program authority, funding, or other pertinent decisions. Regular updates to the IDS require consultation with the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task and stakeholder input in accordance with the Programmatic Regulations for the CERP (33 CFR Part 385). The latest information on consultation with the Task Force on the IDS is available on the website -evergladesrestoration.gov/content/ids/idsw/. The IDS synchronizes program and project priorities with the State of Florida and achieves the CERP restoration objectives at the earliest practicable time, consistent with funding and the interdependencies between project components. The IDS reflects the sequencing strategy for planning, design, and construction and does not include costs for completed work or land acquisition.
Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) has been an outstanding year for Everglades restoration. After completing construction in FY20, the Jacksonville District began the operational transition plan for the Kissimmee River Restoration and has provided benefits to Everglades National Park from the C-111 South Dade project through the Combined Operations Plan. Construction was completed on the Indian River Lagoon-South C-44 project Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area. Construction is ongoing at the Indian River Lagoon South, Picayune Strand Restoration, Biscayne Bay Coast Wetlands, and Central Everglades Planning Project. As features are completed, they are transferred to the SFWMD for O&M each fiscal year. USACE is continuing planning and design efforts on CERP projects, including preparation of Project Management Plans (PMPs), PIRs, and Validation Reports. Currently, the main effort is focused on continuing design and construction of the C-111 South Dade projects (authorized in WRDA 2020), CERP projects, and implementation of the system operations manuals, including but not limited to the Combined Operations Plan.