05/18/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/18/2022 14:08
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) today advanced seven key pieces of legislation to address critical water quality and water infrastructure needs in Florida as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022. The biennial piece of legislation, which was passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today, included Rep. Mast's Northern Estuaries Restoration Plan, $100 million to construct infrastructure protecting the St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon and Lake Worth Lagoon, and 5 other provisions written by Rep. Mast.
"Without a doubt, the number one issue for our community is water. With the Water Resources Development Act, we have the chance to move the ball down the field in that fight, and this year, we got substantially closer to our touchdown: no discharges ever again," Rep. Mast said. "Included in the bill is the Northern Estuaries Restoration Plan, which is a landmark piece of legislation mandating the Army Corps develop the infrastructure needed to completely eliminate harmful discharges to the northern estuaries. On top of that, this bill includes $100 million that I secured for water quality improvement projects to benefit the St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon and Lake Worth Lagoon. This bill also includes 5 other provisions I wrote to improve water quality in the Indian River Lagoon, combat harmful algal blooms, remove legacy nutrients from Lake Okeechobee and more. Taken together, this bill is a massive win for the environment, public health and economy in our community."
Included in the bill are seven major provisions written by Rep. Mast:
The Northern Estuaries Restoration Plan (NERP) will take over where CERP leaves off. It will require the Army Corps to plan additional infrastructure to stop the remaining discharges that CERP won't. Finishing construction on all CERP projects remains the immediate goal and this bill will ensure that the Army Corps does not wait until that is over to start work on additional infrastructure to fully eliminate discharges.
This provision will authorize $100 million in new funding for Martin, St. Lucie and Palm Beach Counties to build water infrastructure designed to improve water quality in the St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon and Lake Worth Lagoon. The funding is directed to be used for local water projects, such as septic to sewer conversions or construction of new waste and stormwater treatment infrastructure to improve water quality in the estuaries.
Rep. Mast wrote this provision to authorize the additional funding needed to keep the project on schedule. More information on this critical project is available here.
Previous iterations of WRDA have included provisions written by Rep. Mast to develop new technology to combat harmful algal blooms, primarily focusing the research and development efforts on the source of the blooms in Lake Okeechobee.
This year, Rep. Mast added a provision authorizing the Army Corps to develop new technology and tools to predict, detect, prevent, treat and eliminate harmful algal blooms specifically in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee.
WRDA 2022 includes report language written by Rep. Mast that requires the Army Corps to prioritize and expedite completion of the EAA Reservoir.
Rep. Mast's amendment authorizes the dredging of legacy nutrients from Lake Okeechobee for environmental purposes, including the removal of excess phosphorus. Removing these legacy nutrients from the lake is critical in the fight to combat harmful algal blooms.
Rep. Mast's amendment requires the Army Corps to note in the file of personnel every time that they are exposed to harmful algal blooms that exceed the level the EPA has determined to be unsafe. This tracking is critical to ensuring that personnel are able to receive the care and compensation necessary should they face these disastrous health impacts.
The Water Resources Development Act was passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The bill now awaits consideration by the full House of Representatives.
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