May 2024
FACT SHEET
COMPREHENSIVE EVERGLADES RESTORATION PLAN
Central Everglades Planning Project
Construction (C)
Congressional Districts: 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
1. DESCRIPTION
The Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) was formulated as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) National Pilot Program for Feasibility Studies. The pilot initiative for the project provided an opportunity to test principles that have been outlined in the USACE Recommendations for Transforming the Current Pre-Authorization Study Process (January 2011) and associated presentation materials. The Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) of 2000 provided authority for the project study in Section 601(b)(1)(A). The Record of Decision and letters transmitting the Final Project Implementation Report / Environmental Impact Statement (PIR/EIS) and the Chief of Engineers Report to Congress for authorization were signed in August 2015. The project was authorized by Section 1401(4) of WRDA 2016 under P.L. 114322. Under WRDA 2016, the CEPP included the South, North and New Water phases.
The CEPP Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) phase was authorized by Section 1308 of WRDA 2018, Public Law 115-270, and modified by Section 324 of WRDA 2020, Public Law 116-260. The EAA phase is subject to the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the non-federal sponsor’s Section 203 Study, dated May 2020, and the report prepared by the Secretary of the Army that is required in Section 1308(b)(1) of WRDA 2018 to address the concerns, recommendations, and conditions identified by the Secretary in the review assessment. WRDA 2020 added the CEPP EAA phase. The CEPP includes EAA, South, North and New Water.
The CEPP project area encompasses the Water Conservation Areas: Everglades National Park (ENP), the Southern Estuaries (Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay), and the Lower East Coast. The project beneficially affects more than 1.5 million acres in the project area, improving the quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of water flows to the central Everglades (Water Conservation Areas and ENP).
The CEPP EAA phase integrates with the CEPP South, North and New Water phases to provide additional water into the central Everglades by including features that will remove barriers to flow within WCA 3 (WCA 3A/3B) and at the northern boundary of ENP. This provides sufficient conveyance, water storage, and treatment capacity south of Lake Okeechobee in the EAA to further reduce regulatory releases of freshwater from Lake Okeechobee to the Northern Estuaries and deliver additional flow to the Greater Everglades. When combined with CEPP New Water, the CEPP phases will add operational flexibility within the current system to move water south more effectively toward ENP.
2. FUNDING
| Estimated Total Cost |
$6,134,242,000 |
| Estimated Federal Cost |
$3,067,121,000 |
a. Regular Civil Works funds:
| Allocation thru FY23 |
$797,707,667 |
| Allocation for FY24 |
$352,480,000 |
| President’s Budget FY25 |
$388,100,000 |
b. P.L. 117-58: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Supplemental:
| Total Work Plan |
$274,665,000 |
| Allocation thru FY23 |
$0 |
| Allocation for FY24 |
$274,665,000 |
3. SPONSOR
South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD)
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, Florida 33406
4. STATUS
USACE completed the study within the 3 years specified by the USACE SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Risk-informed, Timely) planning guidance. CEPP was authorized for construction in the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016 and amended in WRDA 2018 and WRDA 2020. The authorized project consists of increments of six CERP components at a total project cost of $6.9 billion. The Chief's Report for authorization of CEPP requires separate Validation Reports for CEPP EAA, CEPP South, CEPP North, and CEPP New Water.
CEPP South
An initial Validation Report for CEPP South was approved in May 2019 and a second Validation Report in December of 2022. USACE is working with South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) to advance the construction of project features in CEPP South. This led to a fully executed Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) for CEPP South on 27 July 2020. The PPA was amended in March 2024 to add additional in-kind work to be performed by the Sponsor. The first construction contract for CEPP South, Contract 1A(r) (culverts in L-67C levee), was awarded in December of FY22. CEPP South Contracts 2A and 3B the S-356E Pump Station and S-355W Gated Spillway are scheduled for award in September of FY24.
CEPP North
The Validation Report for CEPP North was initiated in FY21 and is scheduled to be complete in FY24. In FY24, designs of CEPP North features are ongoing by the non-federal cost share partner, SFWMD. A Pre-Partnership Credit Agreement (PPCA) for CEPP North was executed on 27 February 2020. The SFWMD awarded a construction contract for the S-620 feature in December 2022.
CEPP New Water: L-31N Seepage Curtain Wall
The Validation Report for the L-31N Seepage Curtain Wall began in FY21 and is scheduled to be approved in FY24. A Pre-Partnership Credit Agreement was executed in December 2022, and the SFWMD initiated construction of the seepage cutoff wall around 8.5 square FY23, and construction will be complete in FY24.
CEPP EAA
The EAA Section 1308 report serves as the Validation Report for CEPP EAA and was completed in April 2021. The PPCA for EAA was executed 29 May 2020 and a PPA was executed 29 April 2021. Construction of the A-2 Stormwater Treatment Area and associated Inflow/Outflow and Seepage Canals was initiated by SFWMD in FY21. Design of the A-2 Reservoir Inflow/Outflow and Seepage Canals was completed in FY21, and the construction contract was awarded in FY22. Design for the Embankment Preparation and Seepage Cutoff wall for the A-2 Reservoir was completed in FY22, and the construction contract was awarded in FY22. The remaining reservoir components will be awarded in FY24.
