[0:36] >> Good morning, everyone. If

[0:37] I can ask you to take your

[0:38] seats will get started. It's

[0:49] nice to see the energy in the

[0:50] room this morning. Good

[0:59] morning, everybody. It's

[1:01] 2/13/2025? I'm gonna call the

[1:02] business meeting. The

[1:03] governing board of the South

[1:03] Florida Water Management

[1:04] District order. First as

[1:06] always, we're going to say the

[1:08] Pledge of Allegiance, Mr.

[1:09] Styling. It's like to lead us

[1:09] in the pledge. If you all

[1:10] would stand and face the flag.

[1:33] Thanks, Jane, very much. Nice

[1:33] to see you all Vice Chair

[1:36] Wagner is not gonna be able to

[1:37] join us today. Mr. Martinez,

[1:38] Mr. Bergeron are on their way

[1:39] there in traffic. Ms Meads is

[1:42] joining us remotely. Surely

[1:43] you on. Yes, I'm here. behind

[1:48] here. it. Thanks, Sheryl. Mr.

[1:53] is here. Board members I'm

[1:55] gonna has to make sure that

[1:56] your microphone is on and you

[1:57] please speak into the mic. So

[1:58] the online attendees can hear

[2:00] you when we're talking members

[2:01] of the public on zoom who wish

[2:02] to address the board can use

[2:03] the raise your hand feature.

[2:04] Members of the public are

[2:05] having any trouble and need to

[2:07] help. Please go to our

[2:09] website. Sfwmd Dot Gov and

[2:11] click the Ask Us Button at the

[2:12] top of the page help you out.

[2:14] If using a phone and you'd

[2:15] like to comment, please. Press

[2:16] star 9 to raise your hand and

[2:18] star 6 to mute and Unmute as a

[2:21] courtesy to others who wish to

[2:22] speak. Members of the public

[2:24] are asked to comment only once

[2:24] on each topic. We'll take

[2:27] public comment first from

[2:28] those are here in person and

[2:29] submitted a comment card

[2:30] followed by those with raised

[2:31] hands on Zoom. Now we're gonna

[2:34] go to employee recognitions.

[2:35] We have 2 months of employee

[2:36] recognition. So walking out of

[2:36] the well. Thank you, Mister

[2:41] Chair. All right. Yeah, we got

[2:45] a few of them. So our January

[2:46] 2025 employee of the month.

[2:50] >> As Jamal Es de su section

[2:51] later, water resources and

[2:52] systems model. So as we all

[3:02] know, modeling is as really a

[3:04] cornerstone of what we do with

[3:05] the South Florida Water

[3:08] Management District. Ellis

[3:08] undertook incredible effort to

[3:12] update our regional simulation

[3:12] model for our northern

[3:14] watersheds in order for us

[3:16] this year to do our watershed

[3:18] protection update. So these

[3:19] are the models simulate water

[3:21] movement and Port St. Lucie

[3:23] Estuary Lake Okeechobee

[3:25] watershed and the

[3:26] Caloosahatchee estuary. So the

[3:28] difference. So we've had this

[3:29] model. But the difference that

[3:32] some Ellis undertook was

[3:32] inserting all of our dispersed

[3:35] water management projects into

[3:36] that model. So we had more

[3:36] accurate water modeling and

[3:39] the guess what? There are 29

[3:40] of them. And those those tree

[3:42] watersheds and they're all

[3:44] different. Every single one of

[3:45] them is different. And so that

[3:46] to incorporate them into the

[3:47] model, you've got to. He

[3:50] worked with the approach

[3:51] project managers to understand

[3:52] all the details of how the

[3:52] water flowed the know that up

[3:57] when it seems the seepage, all

[3:58] those types of things that he

[4:00] could get into the model for

[4:01] all. 29 of them. It took a lot

[4:03] of effort, but now we have

[4:04] this new model. We have a

[4:07] model that can that can help

[4:08] us to our planning. It can

[4:10] help us to our waters. All

[4:11] kinds of plans, right? Because

[4:12] it's once you have it, you

[4:14] have And it was only because

[4:16] of him that his efforts and

[4:17] his attention to detail that

[4:18] we have this updated model

[4:20] that not only we can use, but

[4:21] our public and stakeholders

[4:22] can use so for that analysis,

[4:25] our employee of the month. And

[4:26] we really appreciate his

[4:26] efforts.

[5:11] All right. Our

[5:13] January 2025, team of the

[5:15] month as our enforcement

[5:16] wetland protection team. That

[5:18] is Allison Brown, Patricia

[5:21] Guzman, Mary Hall, Emily

[5:23] Johnson Beni Ortiz. Julie

[5:25] Russell, Caleb Signet seconds.

[5:29] Caleb seconds. Darrell

[5:31] Stoddard, Gregory Vasquez and

[5:33] Lashonda Wilson. We had a

[5:43] situation in Miami-Dade County

[5:45] wher70 acres of wetlands are

[5:46] being filled and impacted and

[5:51] that's a bad thing, right? And

[5:52] we take wetlands very

[5:53] seriously. In the South

[5:54] Florida Water Management

[5:56] district. But as they started

[5:58] peeling back the onion on this

[5:59] enforcement case, it got super

[6:01] complex because it was kind of

[6:03] a single operation. But it was

[6:06] 29 different land, landowners

[6:08] and kind of some operations of

[6:11] the operation. So it was a

[6:13] very complex hitting the 70

[6:15] acres. So they had to pull all

[6:15] this data together. Get the

[6:18] detail, right, because when

[6:19] you move into an enforcement

[6:20] action, you got to get it just

[6:22] right. And so then we issued

[6:24] an administrative complaint,

[6:25] order for corrective action

[6:25] for them, too, mitigate coming

[6:29] for permits. Everything they

[6:30] needed to do to come in

[6:30] compliance with the law. And

[6:32] that was hard itself. But then

[6:34] it gets worse because they

[6:38] didn't stop, right? So they

[6:38] they continue to fill. And so

[6:41] they had to mobilize and do an

[6:42] injunction. And in the circuit

[6:44] court, right? And so that's a

[6:48] big deal. And that got this

[6:49] defendant's attention,

[6:50] defendants, plural, attention

[6:54] because that injunction is an

[6:55] enforcement action. Court can

[6:56] issue it. And then there's the

[6:57] police arrived right? And so

[6:59] they started paying attention.

[7:02] And this this settlement

[7:04] negotiation to try to get them

[7:05] in the Cup. Clients took

[7:07] weeks. It was laborious and

[7:11] ultimately resulted in a 44

[7:14] page consent order with very

[7:17] tough milestones, very strict

[7:19] enforcement mechanisms. If

[7:20] they got off track as they

[7:20] lost trust already, right? So

[7:22] they get off track. It was

[7:24] immediate injunction and then

[7:26] $740,000 worth of fines this

[7:29] person is in compliance now.

[7:33] Right? So is 1000. I mean,

[7:34] that that order. 44 pages. But

[7:37] if you put the exhibits and

[7:38] has more than 1000 pages, so

[7:41] and that took a lot of detail,

[7:42] a lot of work to get a tough

[7:44] to get it to together. And it

[7:45] was a it was tough work. But

[7:47] now things are in order in

[7:49] Miami-Dade County on the 70

[7:50] acres. And we really

[7:51] appreciate this team for

[7:52] making it happen for us.

[9:14] All

[9:15] right. Our February 2025

[9:20] employee of the month as in

[9:25] also known as So is actually

[9:39] in the Office of Council and

[9:40] what she is getting recognized

[9:42] for is all of detailed hard

[9:44] work on our resiliency grants

[9:46] program and we have a we

[9:49] resiliency program, as you

[9:50] know, has taken off and part

[9:52] of that taking office pursuing

[9:53] state in federal dollars. And

[9:56] so what this what the agency

[9:57] has been able to do is secure

[10:01] 45 agreements for 600 for

[10:03] 640 million dollars worth of

[10:05] projects through these

[10:05] resiliency grants. When would

[10:09] you put these things together?

[10:12] It takes everyone across the

[10:14] district to make it happen.

[10:17] You need the Administrative

[10:18] Services division,

[10:20] construction, modeling, water,

[10:21] resources, field operations,

[10:22] regulation and ecosystem,

[10:24] restoration permitting. And so

[10:25] when you have all those pieces

[10:27] coming together in a project

[10:27] with that's supported by

[10:29] grant, that then that grant

[10:31] funds further agreements.

[10:32] Everything has to line up and

[10:33] leaders emerge right and Yene

[10:38] became that later when she

[10:38] helped all these programs

[10:40] organized to make sure the

[10:41] details were there to make

[10:43] sure that we use the money in

[10:44] accordance with the grant and

[10:46] who is sub with used the money

[10:47] in accordance with a grant.

[10:49] It's a a minute in order to

[10:49] get reimbursed by these

[10:50] grants. Everything has to line

[10:52] up and those for those 45

[10:53] different agreements that have

[10:54] to line up with these things

[10:57] and really would have happened

[10:59] without you in a kind of

[11:00] showing the leadership

[11:01] stepping forward and making

[11:02] sure everything was lined

[11:05] because when you have

[11:06] something that has so many

[11:07] moving parts, you need that

[11:09] leader to emerge, right? And

[11:10] you any fill that gap and we

[11:12] really appreciate that because

[11:15] if not for our resiliency

[11:15] program wouldn't be where it

[11:16] is. You as a side note and

[11:20] that's why he's getting

[11:21] employee of the month. But as

[11:21] a side note, during this whole

[11:23] time, she was also the lead

[11:26] litigator for litigation on a

[11:27] permit that we had and helped

[11:30] with a 7 week trial. So that's

[11:33] a lot of work for for an

[11:35] attorney. We look for leaders

[11:38] all across This organization

[11:39] and many became one of those

[11:40] and we know are. And that's

[11:42] why she is employ the month.

[11:43] Congratulate.

[12:32] Are February

[12:32] 2025. Team of the month. You

[12:33] may have heard of this project

[12:35] is the Western Everglades

[12:37] Restoration Project that

[12:38] consists of Larry Brady on

[12:39] Michael Cheek. Eric Klein,

[12:43] Nancy Demme and strong land

[12:44] Fernandez, Marissa Code app.

[12:48] Jody Hutchens. And then that

[12:48] air you can. Halle Jarveon

[12:53] Amanda Con Julie and Little

[12:54] Rock. Wayne Lewis, John

[12:56] Madden. Amanda McKenzie, Alexa

[13:02] Menashe, Savannah, Middle Bush

[13:02] Sesh year 9 year. She now

[13:06] year. Sarah. Only Mendy

[13:10] parrot, Armando Ramirez, Peter

[13:11] Raw, like Fred Sklar, Naim

[13:15] Ming Leslie Waugh and Lori,

[13:15] when Kurt Lane. This is this

[13:26] is a big team because it was a

[13:27] big planning effort. But it

[13:28] started in 2016 and kind of

[13:29] take the long it was very

[13:33] difficult. It's a difficult

[13:34] planning project because you

[13:34] have 2 tribes, a national big

[13:38] Cypress preserve national

[13:38] lands and then a lot of sort

[13:41] of legacy landowners around in

[13:43] the bay in the basin as well.

[13:44] So it it took a lot of

[13:46] coordination. And as this

[13:47] board knows very well, it had

[13:50] some bumpy parts and that's

[13:50] putting it mildly but this

[13:54] district doesn't buckle under

[13:55] bumpy parts, right? We try to

[13:56] figure out a solution and it

[13:57] was really this team that up

[14:01] put their heads you know,

[14:02] rolled up their sleeves and

[14:05] figured out how to get the

[14:07] right place that worked with

[14:08] all the stakeholders that had

[14:10] the right modeling the right

[14:11] support to get authorized by

[14:13] Congress. And that's a lot of

[14:15] detail that's cost estimates

[14:16] that's designed. That's

[14:18] engineering. That's working

[14:18] with stakeholders primarily in

[14:20] this And this team really just

[14:24] spearheaded that. And over the

[14:25] last year in 2024, it was it

[14:30] was days and days of work

[14:30] nights of work. Weekends of

[14:32] work to try to get this thing

[14:34] ready for Congress. And by

[14:35] golly, it got Got authorized

[14:36] in 2024. And if you had asked

[14:40] us in 2023, whether it was

[14:41] going to authorize you to send

[14:42] out. But it's because of this

[14:45] team. And I I do think that

[14:46] from the bottom of my heart

[14:48] that it did get authorized in

[14:50] 2024. And so I want to thank

[14:52] them for their service and

[14:53] congratulations for being team

[14:54] of the month.

[15:49] it's really just

[16:55] I think Amando. Thank you. I

[17:01] Thank you.

[17:22] >> Okay, we have a 30 year

[17:24] service award. That's it for

[17:26] teams. So now we have a 30

[17:27] year service award and that is

[17:31] Benjamin Boland. He's a senior

[17:31] scientist in our field

[17:34] operations center, then came

[17:35] to us 30 years ago in 1995.

[17:37] And jumped right into water,

[17:38] quality sampling and he

[17:42] sampled everywhere around the

[17:43] water management district, an

[17:45] order watersheds the southern

[17:45] Everglades everywhere. And he

[17:46] did for 18 years. He knows how

[17:49] to collect samples and how to

[17:50] get that data in the field.

[17:52] And and he did that for 18

[17:56] years going through the swamps

[17:58] and air boats and outboard

[18:00] boats swamp buggies and

[18:02] everything out there in the

[18:04] field, getting the samples

[18:05] making sure they were

[18:06] collected correctly. And then

[18:08] after those 18 years, he

[18:09] realized that we hadn't

[18:09] actually invented

[18:11] airconditioning. And so and so

[18:14] he decided that he was going

[18:15] to move into the laboratory

[18:17] where he put his skills to

[18:19] work in the laboratory because

[18:20] he knows the field, right? He

[18:21] knows the field. And so he

[18:23] went into the sample. sample

[18:25] log in unit, which is

[18:28] basically the interface

[18:29] between getting those fields

[18:30] samples and getting him into

[18:31] the lab, making sure all the Q

[18:33] A is correct. All the

[18:36] documentation. Is there all

[18:37] kinds of different sample

[18:38] soil, water, you name it. He's

[18:38] they're making sure that it

[18:40] gets into the lab. He's a

[18:43] problem solver because it

[18:44] doesn't always come in, you

[18:45] know, with all the night, all

[18:45] the things you need. So was

[18:48] able to solve the problems,

[18:49] make sure that the Q A was

[18:50] there. And we've talked about

[18:51] how important Q A IS because

[18:54] we don't have Things really

[18:56] fall apart. So he was there to

[18:56] make sure that work the work

[18:59] he does such a good time job

[19:01] that he was promoted in the

[19:02] client services, right where

[19:03] he worked with the project

[19:05] managers, making sure that

[19:07] that design was right. The

[19:07] sampling was right. everything

[19:08] was coordinate its not only

[19:11] that with our lab, but with

[19:14] external labs, other ones that

[19:15] we contract out. So he became

[19:16] that customer client and her

[19:19] face again showed his problem

[19:21] solving skills, make sure all

[19:22] the data was there on

[19:23] everything went according to

[19:25] plan and we do science. We do

[19:27] it right here on You don't

[19:29] ever hear where we messed that

[19:31] up right. And that's because

[19:31] of folks like then eventually.

[19:35] So he did that so well. And

[19:37] yet such good attention to

[19:38] detail that they said, Hey,

[19:39] Ben, won't you? also? Some

[19:40] budget work for us. And that

[19:43] was like budget gross suspect.

[19:48] But now he jumped into a cause

[19:49] that's ban and and, you know,

[19:53] we care about efficiency. We

[19:54] care about stretching the

[19:55] dollar and so he was able to

[19:58] help plan budget help manage

[19:59] budget to make sure that we

[20:00] were able to get the job done

[20:01] with the budget. We had look

[20:02] for those efficiencies as our

[20:05] workload group and really

[20:06] became not only sort interface

[20:10] with the client, but also just

[20:10] a manager of the budget within

[20:11] the lab. And then he was

[20:15] recently and 2024 promoted to

[20:17] the senior environmental sent

[20:18] scientists or now he's leading

[20:20] a team training. Everybody

[20:21] making sure they have his same

[20:22] work ethic. It's been a great

[20:25] 30 year. See, you from from

[20:28] his beginning, he's created

[20:30] the data that we still use

[20:32] today. And we will use way

[20:33] into the future. So Ben, thank

[20:35] you for your service over

[20:35] those 30 years.

[21:21] All right. One

[21:21] more service award. 35 years

[21:25] of service for Marsy's Under

[21:26] Section administrator.

[21:37] >> Yeah, Marcia is a fan

[21:39] favorite like I So she she

[21:39] came to us in 1990, and she

[21:40] was a title examiner,

[21:44] basically and and she was that

[21:46] until 2015 when she became

[21:48] section administrator. Now she

[21:49] is one of the best title

[21:50] people that I've ever met

[21:52] actually haven't met that

[21:54] many. But and that's sheet.

[21:56] But I know and we all know

[21:57] that when she does that title

[21:59] work her staff does that title

[22:02] work? It is correct. It is

[22:02] always correct. And and so she

[22:05] she is that encyclopedia of

[22:09] knowledge when it comes to

[22:10] district real estate. We use

[22:13] all the time when we're in

[22:14] meetings with her and she says

[22:15] something we know it's it's So

[22:19] so weak. She brings that

[22:20] amazing amount of credibility.

[22:22] I would also say that she has

[22:23] the patience of job because

[22:26] she has to work with all the

[22:28] local governments, all the

[22:29] other government agencies, the

[22:30] core, everyone that has our

[22:32] own rules, their own way of

[22:34] doing real estate and try to

[22:35] sort it out with the district.

[22:36] And there's been experience

[22:39] recently where that was tested

[22:40] tested very hardly. And and

[22:44] she she helped us out. We got

[22:44] through it. It's actually on

[22:45] the agenda today of. But

[22:48] Marcia was wonderful in that.

[22:50] She's also she was also part

[22:52] of the statutory change that

[22:53] she led the effort on from the

[22:54] district where, you know, we

[22:55] have reservations right? But

[22:58] that the statute used to kind

[22:59] make those vulnerable, you

[23:00] know, to take over whatever.

[23:04] But now that statue change.

[23:05] And now there are solid. You

[23:07] know, we have actively release

[23:07] them for them to be used and

[23:08] other things. So she's looking

[23:11] out for our resources and our

[23:11] land and our real estate. And

[23:13] she does a great job on that,

[23:14] too. I also understand she's

[23:18] fast. Not me literally fast.

[23:22] Apparently like 5 years. And

[23:23] over time, the men real estate

[23:24] were bragging about how fast

[23:25] they can run and Marcy like I

[23:27] can run and so the survey team

[23:33] put staked out very accurately

[23:33] 100 yard dash. Along our all

[23:38] right away behind the building

[23:40] here and they took off and

[23:41] raced and Marcy came in second

[23:43] place, just barely but way

[23:46] ahead of 3rd place. And so

[23:46] she. She she wrote that

[23:51] stamped her name as fast and

[23:53] right now, survey staking out

[23:54] another 100 yard meter dash.

[23:56] And we're going to try to

[23:57] create recreate that moment.

[24:05] also, she is a mother of 2

[24:06] grandmother of 4. That sounds

[24:07] like a wonderful set up. She

[24:10] is enjoys hiking, gardening

[24:12] spending time with her rescue

[24:12] dog Juno traveling. But she is

[24:15] intense gator football fan and

[24:19] and baseball and its. And

[24:20] while that can be annoying at

[24:21] times, this really charming

[24:21] coming from her. So anyway,

[24:25] thank you so much. Marseille

[24:26] for 35 years of service.

[26:41] thank

[26:41] you so much for doing that.

[26:42] True.

[26:46] >> We'll move now to agenda

[26:46] item number 4, which revisions

[26:50] see if there are any real

[26:50] revisions that Molly. There

[26:52] are none. Mister Chairman, you

[26:54] revisions. Do we have any

[26:56] abstentions by board members?

[26:57] I'm going to pull you on this

[26:57] and we'll start with Mister

[26:58] Bergeron. Thank you, Mr. I

[27:02] have girl. None genus Thank

[27:05] you, Mr. Butler, I have thank

[27:08] you. And this means none.

[27:09] Thank you. Now we're going to

[27:14] go to the chairman of the

[27:14] Audit and Finance committee

[27:15] Mr. Stein Lee for his report.

[27:17] Okay with me. Why? she's

[27:19] finding classes thank you. For

[27:32] the meeting held on December.

[27:33] 12th the Audit and Finance

[27:37] Committee report started

[27:39] investment. investment update.

[27:40] This is through act. The end

[27:43] of October.

[27:43] >> And that was district

[27:45] continued its strategy of

[27:46] maintaining 5 Million. Thanks

[27:47] in Operating county today and

[27:51] investing all excess cash in

[27:52] overnight money market funds

[27:53] with an average yield of 4.5,

[27:56] 3%. So again, that the idea is

[27:58] to increase the yield versus

[27:59] the one percent operating

[28:02] account. This active

[28:04] management strategy allows

[28:04] staff to maximize returns

[28:07] ensure and also ensuring tale

[28:08] daily liquidity through

[28:12] October 31st. 20 for the

[28:13] portfolio. Balance was

[28:16] 388 million dollars.

[28:19] investment allocation of 70%

[28:20] in long-term investments and

[28:21] 30% in cash and cash

[28:24] equivalents district will

[28:25] continue to hold onto until

[28:27] maturity or until rates point

[28:28] for the district will realize

[28:31] losses or would realize

[28:32] potential gains on any bond

[28:32] sales. We discussed the

[28:36] committee discussed the

[28:37] district's increase spending

[28:39] requirements and the

[28:40] importance of liquidity which

[28:41] this plan is maintaining. We

[28:44] then moved on to the inspector

[28:45] general's audit. Reports you

[28:49] presented to our reports for

[28:51] the committee for approval.

[28:52] The first was for monitoring

[28:53] review of construction change

[28:55] orders. And this was a period

[28:58] from April. 24 through

[29:01] September. 24, that review

[29:03] found that the change orders

[29:04] were properly input into Eve

[29:06] builder authorize

[29:06] appropriately and accurately

[29:08] calculated change order.

[29:11] Average percentage was

[29:12] calculated at 24.5%. With all

[29:14] the contracts considered and

[29:19] 4.5%, 3 out lighter contracts

[29:22] excluded. So this was within

[29:24] the industry standard range of

[29:25] approximately 8 to 14%.

[29:27] Actually lower than it when

[29:28] excluding outliers. The 3

[29:32] outliers were result of

[29:33] significant changes in the

[29:34] scope of work. The second

[29:37] audit report was the audit of

[29:39] Department of Motor Vehicle

[29:40] Fire File security. The

[29:43] objective was to determine

[29:45] whether district internal

[29:46] controls related to employee

[29:49] driver's license. Information

[29:50] received from the DMV were

[29:50] adequate to ensure that the

[29:53] DMV records were protected

[29:54] from on authorize use. And

[29:56] that audit found that overall

[29:58] adequate internal controls

[29:59] were in place to protect DMV,

[30:00] personal data. Lastly, Mr.

[30:06] Parents presented the proposed

[30:07] audit plan for fiscal year. 24

[30:10] 25 in the long term audit plan

[30:10] for fiscal years. 26. Through

[30:16] the committee approved both

[30:16] auto plants and that

[30:17] adjourned. The meeting. Mister

[30:18] Chair. Thank you. Chair

[30:22] Stoney's. Anyone have any

[30:22] questions or comments. Thanks.

[30:26] Hearing on. We'll move on to

[30:28] the approval of the minutes of

[30:30] the December. 12th 2024 board

[30:31] meetings. Anyone have any

[30:32] changes to the minutes for

[30:33] that meeting.

[30:35] >> A move to approve Mister

[30:37] Chair. Thank motion. Second

[30:39] second, a motion a second. Is

[30:39] there further discussion? If

[30:41] not, we'll call that question,

[30:43] Mr. Bergeron. Yes, thank you,

[30:45] Mr. Styling. Yes, I'm gonna

[30:47] vote. Yes, Caron. Yes. Thank

[30:48] you, Mr. Mr. Butler. Yes, MS

[30:52] meads. Yes, thanks. That

[30:54] passes unanimously. We'll move

[30:58] now to the executive director

[30:58] report with Mr. Bartlett.

[31:00] Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[31:04] >> First thing I like to do

[31:05] today as address the South

[31:06] Southland Reservoir proposal.

[31:10] As you know, last year,

[31:12] Phillips and Jordan approached

[31:13] the district with a proposal

[31:14] to build storage on private

[31:16] land in the Everglades

[31:17] Agricultural area. For context

[31:20] in a water management system

[31:23] storage is the critical

[31:26] component to conduct a flood

[31:27] control without harming

[31:28] downstream resources

[31:29] downstream water bodies. And

[31:33] once it's in the storage

[31:34] recourse, you have it during

[31:35] the dry season for water

[31:36] supply for people and the

[31:36] environment. Naturally one

[31:40] more story. Opportunities

[31:42] present themselves. The

[31:42] district will entertain the

[31:44] idea by doing our due

[31:46] diligence to see if those

[31:47] opportunities are meaningful

[31:48] and feasible. In this case,

[31:52] the district is interested in

[31:55] more storage and more

[31:56] treatment in this area to help

[31:57] manage lake levels. Help

[32:01] control harmful estuary

[32:02] discharge and send more water

[32:03] South. However, we cannot just

[32:06] jump into a proposal. There is

[32:09] a process under state law to

[32:10] evaluate these proposals. It's

[32:13] called the public-private

[32:15] partnerships statute, which

[32:16] provides guidance for

[32:17] evaluating unsolicited

[32:19] proposals. And that's the

[32:20] process. The district is

[32:21] using. The district's

[32:25] unsolicited proposals. Process

[32:26] can be found on our website

[32:26] under procurement. And all the

[32:30] unsolicited proposals that the

[32:31] district has received can also

[32:32] be found on that website. I

[32:34] provided you a summary, a

[32:37] high-level summary of what

[32:37] that process is. And I've got

[32:41] copies of extra copies. If

[32:42] anyone in the audience would

[32:43] like one but there's a more

[32:46] detailed explanation that

[32:47] process on the website. On

[32:53] that Web pages, the Southland

[32:56] Reservoir proposal and a

[32:57] letter written by district

[32:58] staff sent to Phillips and

[32:59] Jordan conveying where we were

[33:01] in our review and evaluation

[33:03] and the steps necessary to

[33:04] continue our evaluation. The

[33:08] letter does include language

[33:09] regarding the likelihood of

[33:11] the project that the company

[33:11] can use to engage Palm Beach

[33:12] County requirements. Palm

[33:15] Beach counties looking at it

[33:15] from a land use lands. But the

[33:18] water management district is

[33:19] looking at it purely from a

[33:20] water management plans. While

[33:23] we have not conducted our full

[33:25] review. We do know that

[33:27] through our own experience

[33:28] that with the right

[33:29] engineering and configuration,

[33:31] storage and treatment can be

[33:32] accomplished in the area that

[33:34] will improve our operations

[33:36] for the benefit of the

[33:36] environment and people.

[33:38] Ultimately after staff review

[33:41] in vetting staff concludes it

[33:42] is a viable storage and

[33:44] treatment project that will

[33:45] provide regional benefits. It

[33:49] will not impact the

[33:50] construction or operation of

[33:50] the EA Reservoir Project. The

[33:53] staff will bring the project

[33:55] to the board for your

[33:56] consideration before entering

[33:58] into what's called a

[34:00] comprehensive agreement as

[34:01] outlined in Florida statutes.

[34:04] We project that the staff

[34:05] review of this proposal will

[34:06] happen over the next year. If

[34:09] staff concludes that it is

[34:09] viable and does not conflict

[34:11] with the EA Reservoir Project,

[34:13] only then will the district

[34:14] staff bring it to the board

[34:15] for your consideration? At

[34:17] this time? There's really

[34:18] nothing for you to review or

[34:19] approve. That AIDS in from

[34:23] Philips and Jordan is in

[34:24] attendance. If you have any

[34:25] questions regarding their

[34:27] proposal after I conclude my

[34:27] executive director's report,

[34:30] I'll be here to answer any

[34:31] process questions with Mayor

[34:32] Cruz's support and it just

[34:36] goes without saying as always,

[34:37] we appreciate any engagement

[34:38] and stakeholder engagement. We

[34:40] get on any of our projects,

[34:41] including this project from

[34:43] the public, the board,

[34:45] anybody, it only makes

[34:47] projects better and I suspect

[34:48] you might get some engagement

[34:48] on this project. All right.

[34:53] That's all ahead for the South

[34:54] and reservoir proposal. I do

[34:56] want to convey to you the

[34:57] governor's budget request that

[34:57] he submitted to the

[34:59] Legislature because it has

[35:01] substantial funds for our

[35:02] environment and for the water

[35:03] management district.

[35:06] 805 million dedicated to

[35:09] Everglades restoration. That

[35:11] 727 million to serve and

[35:13] 78 million for the northern

[35:13] estuaries and Everglades

[35:15] restoration program.

[35:16] Substantial funds. In

[35:18] addition, 150 million to the

[35:21] water management district

[35:23] dedicated to the operating and

[35:25] maintaining our critical flood

[35:26] control infrastructure and our

[35:27] Everglades restoration

[35:30] infrastructure. Incredible

[35:32] input and to South Florida's

[35:33] resiliency, South Florida's

[35:35] future and the sustainability

[35:36] of our operations. We really

[35:39] appreciate his his dedication

[35:42] to our efforts. Also, FDP is

[35:46] getting significant funds for

[35:47] our environment, particularly

[35:48] in some resources. We care

[35:50] much about 100 million dollars

[35:51] for the Indian River Lagoon.

[35:54] Restoration. 25 million

[35:55] dollars to improve water

[35:55] quality in the Caloosahatchee

[35:57] River watershed 20 million to

[35:59] include improve water quality

[36:00] of Biscayne Bay and an

[36:03] 80 million dollar infusion and

[36:04] the lower Kissimmee Basin

[36:04] stormwater treatment area to

[36:06] treat that hot spot entering

[36:07] Lake Okeechobee. But wait,

[36:09] there's more. FDOT. the

[36:14] governor directed FDOT through

[36:17] their works, plug a program to

[36:19] expedite raising the remainder

[36:21] of Tamiami trail through Big

[36:22] Cypress. That's right.

[36:25] Bridging water conveyance,

[36:29] wildlife protection, all for

[36:29] the rest of Tamiami Trail

[36:30] uncorking the whole thing.

[36:34] That's pretty impressive. And

[36:34] looking forward to seeing

[36:35] that. So while he has

[36:39] champing, a great budget, it's

[36:42] up to us to show why were

[36:43] worth investing right. So what

[36:44] you have in front of you as a

[36:48] flyer that we've been we've

[36:49] put together to demonstrate

[36:51] how we are effectively using

[36:53] taxpayers dollars at the water

[36:55] Management district. And it

[36:57] does convey that over the last

[36:59] 15 years we have been able to

[36:59] reduce costs at the water

[37:01] management district through

[37:03] with fte reductions where

[37:07] necessary and operational

[37:08] budget productions like a

[37:09] percent reduction in the

[37:10] operational budget of the

[37:12] district. While at the same

[37:13] time during those 15 years

[37:17] increasing the our permit

[37:17] reviews by almost 40%.

[37:21] Managing new critical water

[37:22] infrastructure, culverts and

[37:22] gates and structures and pumps

[37:24] increased by 52% over that

[37:27] time period. The land that we

[37:29] manage increased 80% over that

[37:31] time period. And with all the

[37:33] construction were doing, the

[37:35] construction were managing has

[37:35] increased by almost 600% over

[37:36] that time period. Efficient,

[37:39] effective use of water. of our

[37:42] of our resources and the

[37:42] taxpayer dollars. But the

[37:46] district every year is looking

[37:47] for more ways to stretch that

[37:49] dollar more efficiencies in

[37:49] the staff to a great job on

[37:51] that. Then the budget

[37:53] submitted January. There's a

[37:53] long list of efficiencies

[37:55] we've implemented and that

[37:57] puts us into a position to do

[37:58] some more cuts in areas where

[38:00] we can do those cuts and move

[38:03] those those monies and 2

[38:04] operations and maintenance of

[38:05] the sustainability of South

[38:06] Florida. Those are outlined at

[38:06] the bottom of this flyer. So

[38:10] not only is the funding

[38:12] request encouraging. also want

[38:16] to couple that with the fact

[38:17] that we are very efficient and

[38:18] affected district with the use

[38:19] of taxpayers dollars. All

[38:23] right. So as I conclude, I

[38:24] want to say. Congratulations

[38:28] to our swamp, King and Queen

[38:32] Charlotte romance who was

[38:33] crowned at the Everglades

[38:35] Coalition conference, very

[38:36] well-deserved honor for

[38:37] Charlotte Swamp 20. I also

[38:45] want to thank Lieutenant

[38:47] Governor, Jeanette Nunez. She

[38:48] is stepping down to take

[38:49] another great position that f

[38:52] I U. But she's been very much

[38:53] a supporter of Everglades

[38:56] restoration. She was at the

[38:57] seepage Wall. Groundbreaking

[38:59] 44 event, she was in the

[39:01] Everglades with Mister

[39:02] Bergeron and tribal members.

[39:03] And been very supportive of

[39:04] the python challenge, she was

[39:06] always there when we needed R.

[39:07] And so we wanted to thank her

[39:10] for her great service and

[39:11] support over those years.

[39:13] That's all I have. Mister

[39:14] Chair. Thank you. Miss

[39:17] Burleson. Don't have any

[39:18] questions or comments for I

[39:23] thought I just have few quite

[39:24] terms of Southland questions.

[39:24] Now.

[39:26] >> Short, I thank you for now.

[39:29] Obviously there's been some

[39:32] reporting on the on the

[39:36] proposal and I appreciate you

[39:37] guys sharing sort of the the

[39:39] unsolicited proposal process

[39:40] and sort of how we have

[39:41] approached I think it's we're

[39:44] saying that, you know, I think

[39:45] there was impression that we

[39:51] had approved her door a

[39:52] project. And I think it's

[39:53] important. Thank you for

[39:54] clarifying that. There's still

[39:55] a lot to consider and that

[39:58] it's going to be a public and

[40:00] transparent process. clearly

[40:01] one of those things for mine

[40:04] close to a reservoir that's

[40:06] close to the EA Reservoir that

[40:07] we're spending investing so

[40:08] much money in. We want to be

[40:12] we want to take into

[40:13] consideration any of the

[40:15] insular effects of a blasting

[40:17] everything I'd be interested

[40:19] if you don't mind just a few

[40:19] questions to learn about the

[40:25] business plan and sort of the

[40:27] transition from a mining

[40:27] operation to a water quality

[40:31] feature. Excuse me, a

[40:32] reservoir features so, you

[40:34] know, specifically as you guys

[40:36] look at this, what is the

[40:40] business plan look like in the

[40:42] form of how revenues are going

[40:44] to be dedicated to delivering.

[40:46] And I know we're at the early

[40:47] stages of this in terms of

[40:48] planning but to delivering

[40:51] sort of a finish reservoir

[40:53] product project and then on an

[40:55] ongoing basis. Obviously, you

[40:58] know, the district has a ton

[40:58] of projects were making a lot

[40:59] of process or progress but as

[41:03] we do that and get things

[41:06] online, our operation and

[41:08] management budget continues to

[41:09] I'm really interested in how

[41:14] you guys are exploring how

[41:15] some of those revenues can be

[41:17] considered for the future

[41:20] operations of of a potential

[41:24] reservoir. There's 2 parts of

[41:25] Yeah, there from from reading

[41:26] this correctly. The initial

[41:27] part of that is is how we are

[41:30] creating water reservoir

[41:30] itself and how those revenues

[41:31] are generated there, which is

[41:32] coming from the agger move a

[41:34] lot obviously.

[41:35] >> And we will construct those

[41:36] those watersheds cells from

[41:37] that from that process.

[41:40] Already, the team has borne

[41:41] the cost of all the

[41:42] engineering design.

[41:46] environmental research that

[41:46] has to been done within that

[41:47] extensively so far we've

[41:48] learned that call so far. As

[41:51] you said, we're still quite a

[41:52] ways away to working with the

[41:54] district of to finish out the

[41:54] process and come up with the

[41:55] rest of the budget as far

[41:57] within this concern, we've

[41:58] recognized that when it was a

[42:00] problem and issue for the

[42:02] district long before Southland

[42:02] came to like. And it's been a

[42:06] discussion that continue to

[42:07] have over the years that we've

[42:08] worked for the district and

[42:09] we're working to those ideas.

[42:10] Now, there've been several put

[42:11] on the table work, executive

[42:15] director develop those ideas,

[42:17] whether the set asides out of

[42:17] the project cost of the

[42:19] project Revenue Weathersby. We

[42:20] continue to handle it involve

[42:21] were on site for the years to

[42:24] come. And that's the case. You

[42:25] have 5, 10, 20 plus years for

[42:29] handling not only but the

[42:30] those are all still details or

[42:30] working out, not just for this

[42:31] project, but for other

[42:32] projects. We're doing the same

[42:34] thing north of like they're

[42:34] just a seven-year process.

[42:36] Their work Hanley, 5 of 7

[42:38] years of successful operations

[42:39] of the district gets the Keys

[42:40] to the project of the

[42:43] >> And and and in terms of I'm

[42:46] sorry,

[42:46] >> Government, can we get your

[42:48] name? Matt Matt, it's and

[42:49] Phil's son Jordan.

[42:56] >> There's been little

[42:57] discussion sort of a quality

[42:58] component that could

[42:58] potentially be in in

[42:59] considered in the plant. Who

[43:01] is that? Is that still the

[43:03] direction you guys are

[43:04] considering? It's still a

[43:05] consideration right now. We're

[43:06] still vetting that through the

[43:07] district, obviously right now.

[43:09] Initially we're trying to

[43:10] create as much storage can the

[43:11] next 5 years. We understand

[43:12] STA 5, 6, 8 of the water

[43:14] transfer to the other side

[43:14] because it does experience dry

[43:16] out.

[43:16] >> Our initial efforts will be

[43:17] to give that first 20,000 acre

[43:18] feet under 5 years. And that

[43:20] will immediately start to feed

[43:21] the offsets for STA 5, 6, as

[43:25] we work through this process

[43:25] and continue with the district

[43:26] will consider looking at

[43:27] future technology.

[43:30] >> Yeah, listen on. I'm

[43:33] interested in staying, you

[43:35] involved in an updated on on

[43:36] how you guys are looking at

[43:36] this. I think I think there's

[43:39] broad consensus that.

[43:43] >> More water storage is

[43:47] beneficial.

[43:48] >> especially if it includes

[43:48] water, quality component and

[43:52] listen, especially if it's at

[43:54] a lower cost to taxpayers in

[43:58] terms of finished product and

[43:58] the and the ongoing

[43:59] management. So hope you'll

[44:03] just consider those factors.

[44:04] If you don't mind, I'd like to

[44:05] take a second to address

[44:06] another couple of items

[44:09] actually matter where don't

[44:09] want to do a presentation on

[44:10] this because we did not

[44:11] advertise it that way. And I

[44:12] don't think it's fair to

[44:13] people.

[44:14] >> don't have a chance to

[44:15] maybe rebut if they if they

[44:17] don't like the project are at

[44:20] the end and I think they

[44:21] should have that opportunity

[44:22] should should have been

[44:22] noticed. And we didn't notice

[44:23] it. So I don't mind us in

[44:25] question, particularly since

[44:25] this is in your district. I

[44:27] will ask you one further

[44:28] question. But this is more

[44:29] process than actual project.

[44:33] And that's 8. Do anticipate

[44:33] taxpayer money being used on

[44:36] Right now? We have worked

[44:37] through the rest of the budget

[44:38] for the pump stations, canal

[44:39] improvements. We obviously

[44:40] have to connect to the Miami

[44:41] Canal and as whole.

[44:42] >> Board member Stanley, we're

[44:43] still working to that with the

[44:44] district.

[44:44] >> looking for an

[44:45] appropriation this year. No,

[44:46] okay. Anyone else question on

[44:48] process. Yeah, I had a

[44:54] question, Matt, that came up

[44:56] due to the fact there was some

[45:00] lack of clarity and what was

[45:02] required by Palm Beach County

[45:03] wind through this process.

[45:06] Could you shed some light on

[45:07] what you're required to do

[45:10] early on why you had to reach

[45:11] out to the water management

[45:12] district to some.

[45:15] >> So it's it's it's a lengthy

[45:17] process to get through DP and

[45:19] Palm Beach County. We have to

[45:20] go through It's been over a

[45:21] year and a half now with the

[45:23] FDP to get to the process of

[45:24] middle for the ERP permits and

[45:26] those plans, the county does

[45:27] require us to get through.

[45:28] Those ERP says to have clean

[45:30] no, no, a clean aria from BP.

[45:32] That's part of the process.

[45:34] The other part of the process

[45:35] is to get this through

[45:37] district and, you know,

[45:37] identify Kaisha letter for

[45:38] them of the potential project

[45:40] of so as we work for that

[45:41] project, we've had to work

[45:42] county zoning now and we

[45:43] submitted that process. We're

[45:44] looking to get a commission.

[45:47] Any other questions. But Mr.

[45:52] What is the depth?

[45:55] >> That you're intending did.

[45:58] And that's the debt. The

[45:58] deepest part of this reservoir

[45:59] is -9. That was that 30 feet

[46:05] -9. The current grand ovation

[46:06] is an average of 4 to 5 feet.

[46:07] So about 12 feet deep over all

[46:08] of current elevation, which is

[46:09] comparable to the EA Reservoir

[46:10] Bar area intake Canal. And to

[46:13] us, can take now. So working.

[46:17] We're not any excavation.

[46:19] We're not in the deeper than

[46:20] any other project. Okay. And

[46:22] you're delivering. Different

[46:26] phases over time, correct?

[46:28] Correct. What the

[46:31] improvements, the levees,

[46:33] correct? Chief, brothers, all

[46:37] of the different components

[46:40] storing water. So we enlisted

[46:44] the same team that was on the

[46:45] design team for the EA

[46:46] Reservoir. Most of those were

[46:47] from bay to STA as well. All

[46:50] of the subcontractors

[46:51] participated in that. So we

[46:52] listed that team on purpose to

[46:53] make sure that we didn't

[46:54] affect the other surrounding

[46:56] projects. Ours also includes a

[46:58] safety barrier canals, and it

[46:59] does delivered and self so

[47:00] faces. Your your storage

[47:06] Guesses.

[47:08] >> The water table. To

[47:11] whatever level you're going to

[47:12] store above. The water level,

[47:15] 4 feet. So we're an average 12

[47:20] to 13 feet death across the

[47:22] entire STA.

[47:23] >> So we're about 8 feet to 9

[47:24] feet below the water table and

[47:25] only 4 feet above. We're has a

[47:27] reservoir low as president. So

[47:31] what will be the depth of the

[47:31] storage the average?

[47:34] >> Water level. average water

[47:36] table before feet of storage

[47:37] above the average 4 foot. Yes.

[47:47] There's no more questions for

[47:50] Mr. Bartlett, we'll move now

[47:51] to a public comment. let you

[47:56] take over.

[47:56] >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman

[47:57] will hear first Kelly Ralston

[47:59] followed by Newton Cook.

[48:07] >> Good Morning, Mr. Chairman

[48:08] governing board members, jail

[48:09] house are voted on today. Tom

[48:12] Kelly Ralston representing

[48:13] Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. And

[48:14] I appreciate the opportunity

[48:15] to kind of give some insight

[48:17] as to why the TT is so

[48:19] invested in Everglades

[48:21] restoration, the conductivity

[48:23] of healthy landscapes to

[48:24] healthy coastal and offshore

[48:25] habitat and water quality

[48:27] really drives healthy aquatic

[48:28] ecosystems and fish stocks

[48:32] given the TT is focus on

[48:32] sustainable and a bone

[48:33] abundant bonefish, tarpon and

[48:36] permit and their prevalence in

[48:37] South Florida, Everglades

[48:39] restoration was and is an

[48:39] extremely high priority for

[48:40] our organization. We've been

[48:44] actively engaged in the

[48:44] process over the years,

[48:46] particularly in supporting the

[48:46] planning funding and

[48:47] construction of the EA

[48:48] Reservoir. We recognize the

[48:51] importance of a comprehensive

[48:52] everglades restoration plan,

[48:54] but also recognize that

[48:55] surface, not the complete

[48:57] solution in both of his

[48:58] environmental executive

[48:59] orders. Governor DeSantis

[49:01] directed the district to,

[49:02] quote, expedite restoration

[49:04] efforts and quote, projects

[49:06] that minimize the risk of

[49:07] harmful discharges and cent of

[49:08] water south. The Florida

[49:11] legislature has backed this

[49:12] directive with its own support

[49:13] for Everglades restoration

[49:14] each year through record

[49:15] funding. The tts grateful for

[49:19] the leadership of this

[49:20] governing board. And director

[49:21] Bartlett in seeking

[49:23] opportunities to identify and

[49:23] expedite meaningful projects

[49:25] that may not be part of sir,

[49:26] but to compliment Proof surf

[49:28] efforts. Knowing that we need

[49:31] extensive storage throughout

[49:33] the system and water flow to

[49:35] support existing restoration

[49:36] elements like St Ays. The

[49:40] district has continued to

[49:40] think outside of the box to

[49:41] look for additional needs and

[49:42] opportunities. For example, he

[49:45] worked with the Army Corps to

[49:46] inform where and how asr can

[49:47] safely and effectively be

[49:48] used. And you work with

[49:50] Everglades National Park to

[49:51] construct projects to improve

[49:52] water flow into Taylor Slough.

[49:55] The district is also recognize

[49:56] that no single entity,

[49:57] including the state as

[49:58] supportive as engaged as it

[50:00] is, doesn't have all the

[50:01] answers and has continued to

[50:02] explore public-private

[50:04] partnerships through a defined

[50:06] process to achieve a dense but

[50:08] additional benefits for the

[50:08] system center. To be clear,

[50:11] these comments are not

[50:12] directed at any specific

[50:13] project, but more to the

[50:14] ongoing need for collaboration

[50:16] and innovation. As we identify

[50:18] additional needs with them.

[50:18] The South Florida ecosystem.

[50:21] It's this creativity that 6th

[50:21] expediting Everglades

[50:24] restoration, progress and

[50:26] results. And we strongly

[50:27] encourage the district to

[50:27] continue with this innovative

[50:29] thinking to ensure that we

[50:30] achieve our restoration goals

[50:31] as quickly and efficiently as

[50:33] possible. And I can't let the

[50:35] time do without congratulating

[50:36] Charlotte on her. Her crown.

[50:39] Did you not bring it today?

[50:40] I'm very disappointed. Well,

[50:46] you're such a deserving

[50:47] recipient of of the Swamp

[50:48] Queen Award. I can't think of

[50:49] anybody who is more

[50:51] enthusiastic, engaged

[50:52] knowledgable and it's such a

[50:53] pleasure to having not only on

[50:55] the board, but that is the

[50:57] recipient in your king was

[50:57] pretty full 2 years. with

[50:58] that, thank you very much.

[50:59] Thank you. Miss Ralston.

[51:01] >> We'll hear next from Newton

[51:02] Cook, followed by Ernie Cox.

[51:10] >> Thank you very much. And

[51:10] you can cook United

[51:11] Waterfowlers Florida. I want

[51:13] to thank God, Jim staff. Who

[51:17] helped us put on. 2 wounded

[51:20] warrior hunts. We had. 51

[51:23] warriors twice. You just have

[51:26] to go see. expression on these

[51:32] guys faces. I see that sunset

[51:32] sunrise coming up and all of

[51:37] job. And it's an incredible

[51:38] thing for him. And we put on a

[51:39] good weekend. They have a

[51:40] shooting afternoon at the Palm

[51:40] Beach County. Shooting range

[51:43] at Foreman. And the hot the

[51:46] next day. we repeat that the

[51:47] second weekend. And if it

[51:50] wasn't for the district could

[51:51] happen. Yes, the A's are not

[51:54] in real good shape, but we

[51:55] still 5.15, holes put him and

[51:58] they had a wonderful time. And

[52:01] then on the new pop, we do.

[52:04] About 30 kids show up. And

[52:05] then, course, you've got their

[52:07] supervisors and and all these

[52:08] talks, we feed them all

[52:09] launch. And for the kids, they

[52:13] all get free raffle prizes and

[52:15] again, it's something to see

[52:15] the young. first time out. The

[52:20] hunt. To a great night. But

[52:25] alligators for sunrise and the

[52:26] real red eyes when having

[52:30] their It's a great time and

[52:32] the district makes it possible

[52:33] without it wouldn't happen in

[52:34] the staff here. kind of tired.

[52:38] We're not going to get to 12

[52:39] feet. We're not going 90 days.

[52:42] Hopefully we might get to 13

[52:43] feet. We're glad to get where

[52:47] we can get on the lake. We're

[52:49] getting a little bit of

[52:49] growth. But the Lakers they

[52:54] And it's going to go into the

[52:55] rainy season. They had. I'd

[52:59] only did with the fish. The

[53:01] fish all find a place to go.

[53:05] The tournament fish find a

[53:05] place chasing fish. But when

[53:08] you have 500,000 acre piece of

[53:10] property out there and 300,

[53:11] 1000 of it. It's not good.

[53:16] We're not meet the

[53:18] responsibilities. Everglades

[53:19] restoration. It is the heart

[53:19] of the Everglades. Summit's

[53:24] fault is fail. We've had 2

[53:25] years in a row. Of dumping

[53:28] water out the Port St. Lucie

[53:30] Caloosahatchee. We have you

[53:31] have a storm yet and way to

[53:32] that storm comes. The summer

[53:35] while summers. Could be a

[53:38] whole. I was year. After

[53:42] little curve today with this

[53:43] rock mine saying. But I just

[53:45] want to say that I think we

[53:46] had a precedent on that. The C

[53:48] 50 want right? We've already

[53:50] have a rock mind that we feel

[53:50] water for storage. I can't see

[53:54] anything wrong quite frankly.

[53:58] I mean, it's probably the

[53:59] least expensive way the world

[53:59] gets towards south. There's

[54:01] somebody else need to talk big

[54:02] hole. I can't see any reason

[54:07] to oppose it and appreciate

[54:09] the district make their

[54:09] comments. Thank you.

[54:13] >> Thank you, Mr. Koch, we'll

[54:13] hear next from Ernie Cox

[54:14] followed by Mark Perry.

[54:19] >> Well, good morning and

[54:20] happy New Year to everybody.

[54:21] It's good to good to see you.

[54:23] Really exciting about the the

[54:27] progress that's being made

[54:28] governor's budget. Another

[54:29] record year for conservation

[54:32] funding and Everglades

[54:35] restoration work on water

[54:36] quality throughout the state

[54:39] I'm here on behalf of filter

[54:40] Jordan and the South when

[54:41] water project on part of that

[54:44] team, it's pretty much the

[54:46] same team that did the C 51

[54:49] reservoir. And as Matt

[54:50] mentioned, same professionals

[54:52] that are doing the engineering

[54:54] and design and modeling for

[54:54] the EA Reservoir.

[54:57] >> And the E A S T a to STA

[55:01] that the folks in Jordan just

[55:02] recently constructed for the

[55:03] district. I was out there

[55:06] Tuesday. Got a chance to see

[55:08] it. And it's very exciting to

[55:09] see it completed STA. That's

[55:11] in the process of growing.

[55:15] Can't wait. 6500 acres of

[55:16] stormwater treatment area

[55:18] completed growing in new

[55:22] control structure connected to

[55:23] the Miami can now begin taken

[55:27] activated, as Matt mentioned

[55:28] to -8 and really exciting the

[55:33] construction of the EA

[55:35] Reservoir that we've all been

[55:35] working on for decades under

[55:39] construction, excavating rock

[55:41] processing the material

[55:45] beginning to build the

[55:46] foundation beginning to build

[55:47] the levees. Can't wait for

[55:47] that project to be done. But

[55:48] as we all know, sir, projects

[55:52] by themselves, don't get the

[55:55] job done. And so that's where

[55:57] the opportunity for

[55:58] complementary projects. As you

[56:00] all know, not just county

[56:03] projects, not just additional

[56:04] district nuance or projects,

[56:08] but public private

[56:08] partnerships like the C 51

[56:10] reservoir and actually like

[56:11] the L 8 flow, Equalization

[56:13] basin. And so again, as you

[56:15] all know, I've been the

[56:16] project manager for the C 51

[56:18] reservoir for seems like a

[56:19] good part of my professional

[56:20] career. And really excited to

[56:24] see that project going forward

[56:26] after the same team built the

[56:28] wait late Reservoir. And so I

[56:31] invite each of you to come out

[56:33] and tour with us to see how

[56:37] we've been able to perfect. As

[56:38] we're learning more and more

[56:39] about how to do this, how we

[56:40] can build storage in phases.

[56:43] It's great to do one big

[56:44] project and bring it all

[56:44] online at the same time 100%

[56:46] favor of that. But the ability

[56:48] to bring in storage in

[56:50] incremental pieces as we go.

[56:52] And so just very excited about

[56:53] it. I mean, C 51 is actually

[56:57] delivering benefits to the

[56:59] Lake Worth Lagoon, delivering

[56:59] benefits to the worries coast

[57:00] and water supply. And it's

[57:02] going to be delivering

[57:03] benefits to the lax. river

[57:05] restoration. So really excited

[57:07] if you guys have any

[57:08] questions. Want to talk about

[57:09] it. You know how to reach me.

[57:10] Thank you very much.

[57:13] >> Thank you, Mr. Cox will

[57:14] hear next from Mark Perry

[57:14] followed by Caitlin Newcamp.

[57:26] Perry, Florida. Oceanographic

[57:30] just want to start out by

[57:31] saying thank you to the

[57:31] district and each and every

[57:33] one of you and the staff here

[57:34] at the district for

[57:34] participating in our.

[57:37] >> Everglades Coalition

[57:37] Conference 2025, it was

[57:41] magnificent man. Of course, we

[57:42] crown the queen and king of

[57:43] the top. But we have over 460

[57:47] participants. 43 different

[57:48] panelists, 10 great panels,

[57:50] keynote speakers and

[57:51] involvement of the tribes,

[57:52] which was really, really good

[57:54] to see over recent year want

[57:59] to talk about low sum that we

[57:59] got into it after 15 years, a

[58:00] new schedule lake, as you

[58:01] know, last August. But right

[58:05] away in December, we had to go

[58:05] into Lake Okeechobee recovery

[58:07] operations that meant to

[58:09] discharge water out of the

[58:10] lake to recover the like we're

[58:11] all about. The health of the

[58:13] lake is Ben mentioned about

[58:14] losing the SA be so. Were

[58:17] taken the water to the

[58:19] estuaries, but we're not

[58:19] sending enough maximum water

[58:20] to the south. We really need

[58:24] to maximize our our flows to

[58:25] the south from the lake in

[58:27] order to get down. Right now,

[58:29] we're supplying a lot of water

[58:32] supply to through history

[58:32] outlet south by the district.

[58:33] But we need to maximize more

[58:35] flow to the south to alleviate

[58:40] this flows to the estuaries

[58:41] right now during the dry

[58:42] season, especially since the

[58:43] Everglades needs it during the

[58:45] dry season it gave years South

[58:46] Florida and para. This is a

[58:50] collection by the 62nd

[58:50] Congress. Back in 1911, in the

[58:54] Senate required the government

[58:54] printing office to put

[58:55] together all the reports,

[58:59] statements, papers and

[58:59] everything to do is Florida's

[59:00] Everglades. But to us and

[59:02] federal and then the

[59:03] reclamation of the Everglades.

[59:06] This is really a fabulous of

[59:08] history. The government

[59:10] documents of how we got there.

[59:12] There were 2 maps and they're

[59:12] one of the front cover of the

[59:15] 18 56 map. Military map. This

[59:18] shows the Everglades the way

[59:18] it was back in 1956. And then

[59:22] on the back cover is the

[59:23] drainage now the Everglades

[59:25] drainage map district map that

[59:26] was back in 2007. I mean, 19.

[59:30] 0, 7, I'm sorry. So we've had

[59:30] a long history of kind of, you

[59:32] know. Draining and filling in

[59:36] the Everglades with different

[59:38] uses, particularly agriculture

[59:40] and working with that

[59:41] agriculture now is the time we

[59:43] need to send that water south.

[59:46] And there there are a lot of

[59:47] components that were suggested

[59:48] back in 1994. 95 with the Re

[59:50] study to make up. way I'm in

[59:52] North River Canal and the

[59:54] components need to be

[59:58] restoring those Everglades.

[59:59] That agricultural area back to

[1:00:00] Everglades the way it was and

[1:00:03] not necessarily to any other

[1:00:04] land use and then to

[1:00:06] Everglades. And where do that

[1:00:07] through the STA as we do that

[1:00:08] through everything we can and

[1:00:10] we're trying to store treat

[1:00:11] water and move it south

[1:00:13] instead of east and west of

[1:00:16] these estuaries and it needs

[1:00:17] it sounds. So I encourage you

[1:00:19] to keep looking ahead to any

[1:00:21] way we can. And we did that

[1:00:22] back in 1999. With that

[1:00:23] Hausman property week did some

[1:00:25] of it in 2010 with U.S. Sugar

[1:00:30] Land purchase. So we're

[1:00:30] looking to try to continue to.

[1:00:33] Store treat that water but

[1:00:36] move it through natural

[1:00:38] processes that the Everglades

[1:00:39] back 18, 100's. So thank you

[1:00:40] for your attention. Have a

[1:00:43] good read on this. And answer

[1:00:44] and thank you, Mr. Perry.

[1:00:47] >> We'll hear next from

[1:00:48] Caitlin Newcamp followed by

[1:00:49] Yves samples.

[1:00:53] >> Morning governing remembers

[1:00:54] and thank you for the

[1:00:54] opportunity to comment.

[1:00:55] Caitlin Newcamp with Audubon

[1:00:57] Florida it's great to see some

[1:00:59] of you cold. So we just wanted

[1:01:02] to highlight and thank the

[1:01:04] governor for his continued

[1:01:05] commitment to the restoration

[1:01:06] and protection of the

[1:01:08] Everglades ecosystem. We

[1:01:10] acknowledge the significant

[1:01:11] allocation of over 1.5 billion

[1:01:12] in the proposed state budget

[1:01:14] for Everglades restoration and

[1:01:15] water quality improvements,

[1:01:18] which demonstrates the

[1:01:19] dedication to preserving this

[1:01:19] invaluable natural resource.

[1:01:21] Not only that, but 150 million

[1:01:24] is dedicated to which is vital

[1:01:26] to ensure projects continue to

[1:01:27] function into the future. The

[1:01:29] Everglades is a national

[1:01:31] treasure crucial not only to

[1:01:33] Florida's environmental

[1:01:33] health, but also to its

[1:01:36] economic prosperity. The

[1:01:37] proposed funding is an

[1:01:38] essential step towards

[1:01:39] restoring this vital

[1:01:40] ecosystem, ensuring clean

[1:01:41] water and securing a

[1:01:42] sustainable few. Sure for

[1:01:44] South Floridians. We cannot

[1:01:45] call out every allocation

[1:01:47] because so many are important.

[1:01:49] But we want to highlight 2

[1:01:49] particular items. First, the

[1:01:52] Kissimmee Basin STA has

[1:01:53] 80 million in the proposed

[1:01:55] budget. A project Audubon has

[1:01:57] supported from the beginning

[1:01:58] to reduce high phosphorus

[1:02:00] levels. And in one of the most

[1:02:01] played watersheds of the

[1:02:03] region. So we're looking

[1:02:05] forward to this project moving

[1:02:05] forward and attending some up.

[1:02:07] Coming up, workshops in the

[1:02:07] spring. In addition, we are

[1:02:11] very happy to see funds

[1:02:12] dedicated, expediting the

[1:02:13] Tamiami Trail project, a

[1:02:16] crucial collaboration between

[1:02:17] the district, the Coran FDOT

[1:02:19] to bridge this road that has

[1:02:20] essentially plug fresh water

[1:02:22] flow from reaching Florida Bay

[1:02:23] for many years. Building these

[1:02:25] next 6 bridges ensures that

[1:02:27] many northern projects will

[1:02:27] reach their full benefits. So

[1:02:30] we commend the governor's

[1:02:32] foresight and prioritizing

[1:02:33] Everglades. And we believe

[1:02:33] that this investment will

[1:02:34] yield long-term benefits for

[1:02:36] wildlife communities and

[1:02:37] industries that depend on it.

[1:02:40] We think the district for

[1:02:41] their leadership in restoring

[1:02:41] the Everglades. Thank you.

[1:02:42] Thank you. Miss Newcamp. We'll

[1:02:46] hear next from eve samples

[1:02:47] followed by.

[1:02:47] >> Kris Whitman.

[1:02:56] >> Good morning. Chairman gas

[1:02:57] governing board members,

[1:02:57] Director Bartlett, I samples,

[1:02:59] executive director of Friends

[1:03:00] of the Everglades. We were

[1:03:01] founded by Marjorie Stoneman

[1:03:01] Douglas in 1969. And since

[1:03:05] Marjorie is founding, we've

[1:03:06] had a deep commitment to water

[1:03:07] quality because there is no

[1:03:09] Everglades restoration without

[1:03:11] water quality. I'm here today

[1:03:12] to talk about the Southland

[1:03:13] Rock Mine and the lack of

[1:03:15] water quality and also the

[1:03:16] process by which this has been

[1:03:19] brought forward. This has been

[1:03:21] discussed behind the scenes

[1:03:22] for more than a year without

[1:03:23] do public input. So almost 6

[1:03:27] years of ago, most of you were

[1:03:29] appointed to this governing

[1:03:30] board because something did

[1:03:30] not smell right in the

[1:03:31] Everglades agricultural area.

[1:03:34] Back then it was the midnight

[1:03:35] LAN Lee says that Florida

[1:03:37] crystals tried to push through

[1:03:38] in a shadowy maneuver

[1:03:39] conducted outside the public

[1:03:40] eye. Your predecessors, where

[1:03:42] else did and you all join the

[1:03:44] governing board, sending a

[1:03:45] signal to the sugar industry

[1:03:46] that they don't call the shots

[1:03:48] on land owned by taxpayers

[1:03:49] needed for restoration. Now

[1:03:53] something else is rotten in

[1:03:53] the South and rock mine. This

[1:03:57] proposal to extract limestone

[1:03:58] from about 8600 acres south of

[1:04:00] Lake Okeechobee has been

[1:04:02] advance in a matter that a

[1:04:03] manner that has shut out the

[1:04:04] public on Christmas Eve, the

[1:04:07] South Lawn applicants sent a

[1:04:08] letter to your executive

[1:04:10] director seeking a quote,

[1:04:12] Letter of project

[1:04:13] identification needed to

[1:04:14] advance the application Beach

[1:04:16] County. 7 days later, a New

[1:04:18] Year's Eve Mr. Bartlett

[1:04:18] responded on behalf of the

[1:04:20] district. His response was

[1:04:22] issued without public

[1:04:23] discussion during the peak of

[1:04:25] holiday season. When something

[1:04:27] stinks, it's not always

[1:04:28] possible to eliminate the

[1:04:28] source of the rot but airing

[1:04:30] things out certainly helps.

[1:04:33] Today we ask you to air this

[1:04:35] out, have a public discussion

[1:04:36] about the massive rock mine

[1:04:38] proposal and the alarming

[1:04:39] impacts it would have on

[1:04:41] Everglades restoration. We're

[1:04:43] glad to hear it brought to

[1:04:44] light today. All that was not

[1:04:45] notices. Chairman Goss

[1:04:46] mentioned and we hope that

[1:04:47] there's a more robust public

[1:04:49] discussion last week. The

[1:04:52] Everglades Coalition with

[1:04:53] which represents about 60

[1:04:54] Everglades organizations sent

[1:04:54] a letter to Director Bartlett

[1:04:56] copping you all asking for a

[1:05:00] public discussion to ensure

[1:05:00] transparency and allow for

[1:05:01] adequate stakeholder input. We

[1:05:03] are awaiting a response. You

[1:05:06] all are astute observers of

[1:05:08] Everglades restoration. You

[1:05:10] know that what happens in will

[1:05:11] determine the survival of the

[1:05:13] Everglades, its the single

[1:05:15] greatest factor in the success

[1:05:15] of everything's restoration.

[1:05:18] The future use of these

[1:05:18] 400,000 or so acres that are

[1:05:21] currently insured and

[1:05:23] cultivation will dictate our

[1:05:24] success or failure its the

[1:05:27] missing link of the river of

[1:05:28] grass. Well, this land, the

[1:05:29] mines piece meal the sugar

[1:05:33] industry be granted favors

[1:05:34] approvals to maximize their

[1:05:35] already handsome profits. Will

[1:05:37] taxpayers be asked to foot the

[1:05:38] bill yet again? The sugar cane

[1:05:41] industry has already caused

[1:05:42] South Florida taxpayers. Well

[1:05:45] over 2 billion dollars and

[1:05:45] pollution cleanup costs or

[1:05:48] will this land be used for

[1:05:50] true restoration to safeguard

[1:05:51] our health, our economy and

[1:05:53] access to clean water in south

[1:05:55] Florida. That's certainly our

[1:05:55] preference. Thank you.

[1:05:56] >> Thank Samples. We'll hear

[1:05:59] next from Chris Whitman

[1:06:00] followed by Alex Larson. Good

[1:06:08] morning. Governing board.

[1:06:10] >> And This agency has done so

[1:06:16] much for Everglades

[1:06:16] restoration. Made so much

[1:06:20] progress and has expedited and

[1:06:22] move forward with restoration

[1:06:23] projects. Carefully with

[1:06:26] deliver it vetting and

[1:06:27] analysis. I saw a news article

[1:06:32] Drew, I think referenced

[1:06:33] recently that said that the

[1:06:35] the governing board approved

[1:06:37] the Southland Water Resource

[1:06:38] Project. I I was not aware

[1:06:43] that don't think that's what

[1:06:44] happened. I came before you to

[1:06:48] respectfully ask that you

[1:06:50] bring this before the

[1:06:51] governing board for

[1:06:51] discussion. For a thorough

[1:06:54] analysis before the district

[1:06:55] takes any position on it. I

[1:07:00] you know, I think some

[1:07:01] questions to be asked what was

[1:07:02] the governing board aware that

[1:07:04] a letter was going to be sent

[1:07:05] on New Year's Eve? Did you

[1:07:10] recognize the implications of

[1:07:12] sending the site letter to

[1:07:13] Palm Beach County. It seems

[1:07:15] like maybe the intent of the

[1:07:19] letter by the district and how

[1:07:20] the letters being utilized by

[1:07:23] the applicant to Palm Beach

[1:07:24] might not be one in the same.

[1:07:30] We should ask, are we setting

[1:07:31] the precedent that any other

[1:07:35] mining project that classifies

[1:07:35] itself as a resource project.

[1:07:39] We'll get site identification

[1:07:40] letter which basically gives

[1:07:42] them the exception that that

[1:07:46] and did they need to go to

[1:07:46] Palm Beach County to get the

[1:07:48] green light to do mining

[1:07:49] without our own analysis? I

[1:07:52] don't think that is what you

[1:07:53] meant. I think the letter is

[1:07:56] to veg and I want I would like

[1:07:57] to seek some clarity in those

[1:07:57] comments. In the letter said

[1:08:00] that we understand that is not

[1:08:01] what was the intent. The

[1:08:05] proposed project is set to be

[1:08:07] built. You know, Jason, to the

[1:08:09] EA Reservoir, which as we all

[1:08:11] know is the crown jewel of

[1:08:13] Everglades restoration. And

[1:08:16] something that you all have

[1:08:18] staunchly defended in an

[1:08:19] expedited and move forward and

[1:08:22] we would like to make sure

[1:08:23] that this project or any other

[1:08:24] project does not jeopardize

[1:08:25] that in any way. We

[1:08:30] respectfully request that you

[1:08:31] re send the letter until the

[1:08:33] matter can be brought before

[1:08:34] the board for a full analysis

[1:08:35] and discussion with the board.

[1:08:39] Under the direction of this

[1:08:41] governing board. The bar has

[1:08:42] been set to which all other

[1:08:45] restoration projects will be

[1:08:46] measured and under the

[1:08:46] leadership of this board. This

[1:08:49] agency has become to be known

[1:08:51] for its transparency and its

[1:08:53] integrity. And I think that it

[1:08:55] is critical to to recognize

[1:08:56] going forward. This project or

[1:09:00] projects like it processes

[1:09:03] around them may set the

[1:09:04] trajectory in the future for

[1:09:06] what the future of is is that

[1:09:08] one of of rock minds with

[1:09:12] possible benefits. 30, 40 are

[1:09:15] about or is it one of of true

[1:09:16] restoration? Thank you. Thank

[1:09:17] you. Captain Women.

[1:09:20] >> We'll hear next from Alex

[1:09:21] Larson followed by Lisa Inter

[1:09:22] Landy.

[1:09:31] >> I don't even want to come

[1:09:34] here. I stopped for a while.

[1:09:35] My husband passed away, but I

[1:09:37] was called out to come here

[1:09:37] today. Because I am an unpaid

[1:09:40] lobbyist. I am I played for

[1:09:44] everybody and I don't get

[1:09:46] paid. And I remember when we

[1:09:47] were doing the Palm Beach

[1:09:50] aggregates pay 200 million

[1:09:51] dollars for a hole in the

[1:09:52] ground and that day, Andy Kerr

[1:09:55] foot of water in Colorado is

[1:09:58] 100 bucks and in a car for

[1:09:59] here was $5500. I thought

[1:10:02] Colorado has some really good

[1:10:02] water because they had course

[1:10:03] Bieber. I know I I when I hear

[1:10:07] public private partnership

[1:10:09] public is U.S.. The taxpayers

[1:10:12] private is the guy who's got

[1:10:13] his hand out for 200 million

[1:10:14] bucks. pop. Because that's

[1:10:17] what I see. And I get phone

[1:10:17] calls. Some of you to me. Some

[1:10:22] of you don't. But I'm telling

[1:10:23] you, I get phone calls from

[1:10:24] 10, 30 at night, one 30 in the

[1:10:25] morning. I'm tired because

[1:10:27] I've been in meetings for the

[1:10:28] last 3 days. I was it county.

[1:10:32] Somewhere else. And then I'm

[1:10:32] here today and I I just died

[1:10:33] because a S or does it work?

[1:10:36] It didn't work. 20 years ago

[1:10:37] they stood up said doesn't

[1:10:39] work. We're going to try it

[1:10:40] again way some more money when

[1:10:43] you shoot water down into the

[1:10:44] ground and pull it back out,

[1:10:46] it isn't clean. I can show you

[1:10:47] some dish water. That will not

[1:10:48] back up when you pour more

[1:10:49] water into it. It doesn't

[1:10:51] separate like Moses in the

[1:10:52] desert. There's so many things

[1:10:55] wrong with our thought

[1:10:56] processes. And we do great

[1:10:59] science and we need a lot of

[1:11:01] great things here, Florida,

[1:11:02] because the rocket lining

[1:11:03] think really sticks its we're

[1:11:05] at Lindbergh or were doubts

[1:11:06] tilt and it stinks. It does

[1:11:10] not pass the smell test and I

[1:11:10] don't know what to do about it

[1:11:12] because I'm not the Queen Rock

[1:11:13] mining, not the queen of

[1:11:15] anything.

[1:11:15] >> But I know rock mining is

[1:11:16] not good for us. I know Benzie

[1:11:18] gets in the water. I know they

[1:11:21] got blasting permit to right.

[1:11:23] Western me Till 2034 the cows

[1:11:25] run like puzzles. I've never

[1:11:27] seen anything like it. It's

[1:11:29] amazing and I hope you guys is

[1:11:32] aboard. We'll step back and

[1:11:33] hold everybody bay because

[1:11:36] I've watched appear there was

[1:11:37] a guy up here said the reason

[1:11:38] we have shortages of water is

[1:11:40] women with long hair. The guy

[1:11:41] was bald I've seen so much

[1:11:44] here at this district. My

[1:11:46] memory and it's stuck in my

[1:11:47] memory. Commissioners. I'm

[1:11:49] telling ya, it's a rolodex up

[1:11:50] there that just won't stop.

[1:11:53] And this is something they

[1:11:54] need to start. We need to step

[1:11:55] back and look at Everglades

[1:11:57] restoration because in the old

[1:11:59] days, the 1911, that's what

[1:12:01] was like. It was like a hand

[1:12:04] and there were tributaries

[1:12:04] that went down and we close

[1:12:05] them off the Kissimmee for

[1:12:07] Disney. We shut it off. We had

[1:12:08] to redo it. Why do we have to

[1:12:11] make mistakes and redo it

[1:12:12] again? Let's not make mistakes

[1:12:15] and do it right. The first

[1:12:17] time because that Iran from I

[1:12:19] would've got fired from my

[1:12:20] job. If I could screw it up.

[1:12:20] So here we are. Please, please

[1:12:24] look at these rock mining

[1:12:25] operations. They are not good

[1:12:27] for us. And Lake Okeechobee

[1:12:29] has 9 feet of silt. as of

[1:12:31] 2004, they said it out there.

[1:12:35] So how many feet is really in

[1:12:36] Lake Okeechobee up your thank

[1:12:37] you. Thank you. Miss Larson.

[1:12:40] We'll hear next from Lisa

[1:12:42] Inter Landy followed by Nyla

[1:12:43] pipes on Zoom.

[1:13:01] >> Everyone. I'm Lisa inner

[1:13:01] lining of the policy director

[1:13:02] of Law Center. I would just

[1:13:04] ask if we could please get

[1:13:05] some clarification today on

[1:13:08] whether or not the district

[1:13:09] did in time for Its

[1:13:11] correspondents to serve as the

[1:13:12] letter of Project

[1:13:14] identification. That is a core

[1:13:15] about Palm Beach County's

[1:13:17] comprehensive plan because the

[1:13:18] plan requires out in order for

[1:13:19] them to move forward. And the

[1:13:20] district's letter had a lot of

[1:13:22] has that and kind of language

[1:13:23] like it could possibly or it

[1:13:26] might or if it provides water

[1:13:28] storage or other things. But

[1:13:31] what given you some comments,

[1:13:31] this is from the county's

[1:13:33] review process. Is there

[1:13:38] comments? It's basically like

[1:13:39] staff comments and applicants

[1:13:39] response. You can see in the

[1:13:41] second lower a paragraph that

[1:13:45] I highlighted for you where

[1:13:45] they are characterizing this

[1:13:46] letter your correspondents was

[1:13:49] a letter that they need right

[1:13:50] now to get their approval from

[1:13:51] Palm Beach County. So if you

[1:13:53] guys don't clarify whether or

[1:13:54] not you intended to identify

[1:14:00] this project as a viable water

[1:14:01] resource project. It is very

[1:14:06] likely that this project could

[1:14:06] get its approval from Palm

[1:14:08] Beach County and the already

[1:14:11] mining before a year from now

[1:14:13] that you guys actually

[1:14:14] determine whether or not it's

[1:14:14] viable. Because they are

[1:14:16] characterizing this letter as

[1:14:20] the correspondence that is

[1:14:21] needed for them to move

[1:14:22] forward. Under Palm Beach

[1:14:22] County's plan. Palm Beach

[1:14:25] County's plan basically

[1:14:26] prohibits mining in the

[1:14:27] Everglades agricultural area

[1:14:29] only allows it for water

[1:14:30] resources and for a public

[1:14:31] road building projects. And

[1:14:33] that has been that has been

[1:14:35] tested legally, Mr. Version. I

[1:14:36] can tell you that this has

[1:14:39] this project. Okay, whether or

[1:14:42] not this project is viable.

[1:14:44] You guys have not determined

[1:14:45] yet. We just heard that today.

[1:14:47] Yet Palm Beach County is being

[1:14:48] told that you have determined

[1:14:49] that. So that is the problem.

[1:14:52] So that is why we're here

[1:14:53] today asking you, I understand

[1:14:55] the prepared comments, but I

[1:14:56] ask you to please clarify a

[1:14:58] yes or no. Did you intend to

[1:15:01] identify this as a viable

[1:15:01] water resource project? The

[1:15:03] county needs to know whether

[1:15:05] or not they should allow this

[1:15:06] project to move forward. The

[1:15:09] county when they adopted this

[1:15:10] provision in back in 2000,

[1:15:14] they did it to allow

[1:15:14] Everglades restoration, viable

[1:15:15] Everglades restoration

[1:15:16] projects to move forward. They

[1:15:19] didn't want to every with

[1:15:21] restoration, but they didn't

[1:15:22] want to allow commercial

[1:15:22] mining in the Everglades

[1:15:24] agricultural area. You know, I

[1:15:25] heard a comment that more

[1:15:26] storage. It's always

[1:15:28] beneficial. I disagree with

[1:15:31] that. More storage is

[1:15:32] beneficial. If it doesn't harm

[1:15:33] the existing projects that we

[1:15:35] are spending, billions of

[1:15:35] taxpayer dollars to promote.

[1:15:38] The other thing is up to 51. I

[1:15:41] support that project. It's

[1:15:42] doing a lot of good for Lake

[1:15:43] Worth Lagoon and it will do

[1:15:44] good, hopefully for Loche that

[1:15:45] you're ever in the future. It

[1:15:47] has not come without taxpayer

[1:15:49] expense. It has received

[1:15:50] almost 300 million dollars in

[1:15:52] funding from the legislature

[1:15:53] in the last 4 years. Okay.

[1:15:57] These are these are projects

[1:15:57] that have to be vetted. And

[1:15:58] I'm just asking you to please

[1:16:00] do that. And please clarify

[1:16:02] today, what is the status of

[1:16:04] this project? It's not fair to

[1:16:05] lease for Palm Beach counties.

[1:16:06] Palm Beach County will

[1:16:08] possibly approve this project

[1:16:09] NB. They will be digging a

[1:16:09] hole before you guys.

[1:16:11] Determine whether or not its

[1:16:12] final. So please, if you could

[1:16:13] clarify today, we would

[1:16:15] receive. Thank center Landy.

[1:16:17] We'll hear next from Nyla

[1:16:19] pipes followed by Ben Olsen.

[1:16:22] >> Miss pipes, please unmute

[1:16:22] your mic. My check. We hear

[1:16:28] you. And has tick.

[1:16:32] >> Nyla pipes. One Florida

[1:16:33] Foundation. I know that this

[1:16:36] was not on the agenda today

[1:16:39] and I suspect that you guys

[1:16:40] did not necessarily want to

[1:16:41] spend as much time on as we

[1:16:44] are. But since we have, I,

[1:16:46] too, would like to speak on

[1:16:46] the Southland Project. I hear

[1:16:51] that we are in the process of

[1:16:51] vetting. I hear that this is a

[1:16:58] lot of upset. Ms for no reason

[1:17:01] at this point. And I know that

[1:17:05] that's going to be a

[1:17:07] controversial statement. But

[1:17:07] public private partnerships

[1:17:09] have been an important part

[1:17:13] complimenting seed for a

[1:17:13] very long time. Now. For

[1:17:17] decades, environmental groups

[1:17:18] have called for ye farmers.

[1:17:19] Just water on their own plan.

[1:17:22] And now that they're

[1:17:23] attempting to do We have all

[1:17:24] of this up for in advance in

[1:17:28] advance of us even figuring

[1:17:30] out is a viable project or

[1:17:31] not. Every drop does count.

[1:17:35] Does that have to be done in

[1:17:36] the correct way? Absolutely.

[1:17:39] But we've seen with the C 51

[1:17:41] with other projects that these

[1:17:45] things once they go through

[1:17:45] the process and are vetted can

[1:17:48] be very viable and very

[1:17:49] helpful. I find all of this

[1:17:52] uproar, quite frankly,

[1:17:54] disingenuous. And I think it

[1:17:55] stems more from the fact the

[1:17:57] date is on Sugar land. Then it

[1:18:01] does people actually being

[1:18:01] certain about the project.

[1:18:03] Another point that I want to

[1:18:04] make. We are in a worldwide

[1:18:09] aggregate shortage. Do you

[1:18:09] know what we need for surf

[1:18:10] projects? I think that there

[1:18:15] is potential for this to be a

[1:18:16] win-win. I think that we are

[1:18:18] all worried about this

[1:18:22] prematurely. And do think that

[1:18:23] the district is going to go

[1:18:24] through the right process to

[1:18:26] get it there or to say, yeah,

[1:18:29] you know, at this time this

[1:18:30] place, it doesn't work. Either

[1:18:34] way. I do think that we need

[1:18:35] to back the uproar and work

[1:18:36] together. Thank you. Miss

[1:18:40] Pipes. We'll hear next from

[1:18:42] Ben Olsen, Mr. Olsen, please

[1:18:44] unmute your mic.

[1:18:46] >> Good morning to hear me.

[1:18:47] Okay. We hear you.

[1:18:51] >> All right. Thank you. Well,

[1:18:52] as one of those legacy,

[1:18:55] landowners, Mr. Bartlett. But

[1:18:56] I felt it was appropriate to

[1:18:58] speak up and call in and

[1:18:59] recognition of the work to

[1:19:00] myself. And I too want to

[1:19:00] thank the working throughout

[1:19:03] the past few years, water

[1:19:07] management staff have

[1:19:07] seemingly the only government

[1:19:08] employees willing to listen to

[1:19:10] and engage with the landowners

[1:19:10] inside of the project.

[1:19:11] Footprint is all well. We got

[1:19:13] off to a bit of a rocky start.

[1:19:16] Your staff for the agency

[1:19:16] employees to actually consider

[1:19:18] our positions and defense of

[1:19:19] the endangered animals that

[1:19:19] call our properties home. We

[1:19:22] reached out to federal

[1:19:24] agencies, other state

[1:19:25] agencies, nonprofits Audubon,

[1:19:26] Florida, Everglades

[1:19:28] Foundation. No one was really

[1:19:29] interested in the landowner

[1:19:30] perspective on. Even if that

[1:19:32] perspective founded in both

[1:19:34] environmental protection and

[1:19:34] private property rights. So I

[1:19:36] really just want to call in to

[1:19:38] thank the work staff. I know

[1:19:39] they're busier than ever

[1:19:40] working with the Federal Canal

[1:19:41] Basin, Water Quality Program,

[1:19:43] staff to fix what the federal

[1:19:45] work design left out got wrong

[1:19:48] as well as expediting work on

[1:19:49] the Tamiami trail, which is

[1:19:50] something I think everyone

[1:19:50] agrees is absolutely

[1:19:53] essential. I'm looking forward

[1:19:54] to working with staff

[1:19:54] personally. I know we should

[1:19:55] have a meeting on the book

[1:19:56] shortly to go over the

[1:19:58] modeling south of Wingate

[1:19:58] myself and my neighbors. But

[1:20:01] there was one thing I wanted

[1:20:02] to point out. And that was the

[1:20:04] public face of America's of

[1:20:05] warmth currently to be blunt

[1:20:08] since its passing nonprofits,

[1:20:09] who lobbied so hard for work

[1:20:12] as it was designed, have now

[1:20:13] started pushing this narrative

[1:20:14] that were pushed stores,

[1:20:15] panthers and wood stork Lance.

[1:20:16] They're raising funds on that

[1:20:17] narrative. I think it's

[1:20:19] imperative we all remind the

[1:20:21] public and nonprofit at large

[1:20:23] that what was early authorized

[1:20:24] would have significantly

[1:20:25] damaged. And store glance so

[1:20:28] much so that water management

[1:20:29] would not implement region to

[1:20:29] have work plans for the

[1:20:31] future. Bateson says that were

[1:20:32] designed. The project is the

[1:20:35] size of Rhode Island. And

[1:20:38] while regions, 1, 3, 4, are

[1:20:38] seemingly solid region to

[1:20:39] certainly wasn't the water

[1:20:42] management work team is

[1:20:44] absolutely deserving of team

[1:20:44] of the month because they

[1:20:45] recognize this and they're

[1:20:46] actively working to remedy it

[1:20:46] with us. But I believe it's

[1:20:47] crucial. We acknowledged, but

[1:20:50] this project needs a lot of

[1:20:51] work in region to make it

[1:20:53] viable. We're only going to

[1:20:54] get there through a

[1:20:55] transparent process, engaging

[1:20:58] the experts of their own land

[1:20:58] without closed across the book

[1:21:00] next, Water management staff

[1:21:01] have been the vanguard of this

[1:21:04] process and I can't be more

[1:21:06] appreciative. Unfortunately,

[1:21:07] this process now includes

[1:21:09] ensuring the nonprofits don't

[1:21:10] raise funds off a misguided

[1:21:11] merits. They don't listen to

[1:21:13] the landowners, but they do

[1:21:13] listen to the agency. So your

[1:21:17] voices will once again have to

[1:21:18] be the vanguard's and getting

[1:21:20] this project fixed and keeping

[1:21:22] to, quote, must paddy power's

[1:21:23] loud voices spreading

[1:21:23] misinformation on both at

[1:21:24] that. So again, I just want to

[1:21:27] thank you guys. Miss Reynolds

[1:21:29] said this is just the

[1:21:31] beginning for work and I look

[1:21:31] forward to fixing authorized

[1:21:34] blunt with you guys to ensure

[1:21:35] that was actually restore

[1:21:35] pampered. One start lands

[1:21:38] without flooding. There

[1:21:38] already bursting habitat this

[1:21:41] past week. We have dozens of

[1:21:42] wood storks and our pond right

[1:21:43] outside our house out there.

[1:21:45] It's a beautiful sight to see

[1:21:46] that. I'm going to continue to

[1:21:47] fight for. Thank you very

[1:21:48] much.

[1:21:48] >> Thank you, Mr. Olsen, Mr.

[1:21:51] Chairman, we have no

[1:21:52] additional general public

[1:21:52] comment. Thankfully, thank you

[1:21:56] all for your comments.

[1:22:01] >> Going out for comment. I

[1:22:05] think it's only appropriate

[1:22:05] the Swan Queen start she wants

[1:22:07] to. Well, that's a first that

[1:22:11] I get to go. The first

[1:22:14] speaker. Thank you so much.

[1:22:15] Mister Chair. Quite an honor.

[1:22:17] You're probably wondering why

[1:22:21] I brought this cake in today.

[1:22:22] That's at least what Charlie

[1:22:26] was asking.

[1:22:27] >> Well, then was kind of

[1:22:28] chuckle in over there because

[1:22:29] he knew it wasn't going to be

[1:22:30] a cake this time. So I wanted

[1:22:33] to share this valuable crown

[1:22:35] that I received. That was

[1:22:39] created by. Michelle Arquette

[1:22:43] Palermo from the conservancy

[1:22:43] of Southwest Florida. And as

[1:22:46] you can tell this, crown is

[1:22:48] very and but the front of the

[1:22:53] crown for the embellishment is

[1:22:56] the vertebrae of a python that

[1:22:58] was captured in southwest

[1:23:00] Florida. So how appropriate?

[1:23:03] So as you can imagine, I was

[1:23:04] thrilled. To be surprised at

[1:23:09] the of Co conference with this

[1:23:10] WABC coins stuff and honored

[1:23:14] to share the throne with the

[1:23:16] swamp. Kidding. Dr. Paul Gray.

[1:23:19] I who doesn't want a swamp

[1:23:21] king like that? I mean, talk

[1:23:22] about an awesome guy South.

[1:23:25] I'm going to do on my crown.

[1:23:28] So that you can see it in full

[1:23:31] Splendor.

[1:23:32] >> And thank court for the

[1:23:32] honor. I didn't want. To go

[1:23:38] without. Giving a nod to

[1:23:43] alligator. Ron. So in my new

[1:23:44] placard. I have little

[1:23:49] Alligator. Ron, chilling in

[1:23:51] this wall with the swab queen

[1:23:53] for 2020. 25 thank you so

[1:23:58] much, everyone for the

[1:24:00] recognition. And it so much

[1:24:01] fun and I'll just put my

[1:24:02] little placard right there so

[1:24:04] that, you know, that this my

[1:24:08] new era, which is the swamp,

[1:24:09] Kuwait. I don't know if it's a

[1:24:13] lower wrong or a higher rod,

[1:24:14] but thank you, drew for the

[1:24:15] shout out and thank you all

[1:24:16] for for that. All right. I

[1:24:18] have several things here. I

[1:24:21] think I've already started

[1:24:24] with the EV Co comments. What

[1:24:25] a great conference. I spent 3

[1:24:29] days with the conference and

[1:24:32] all the people that I had a

[1:24:32] chance to have conversations

[1:24:33] with. And I got to tell you

[1:24:36] that that was some of the

[1:24:39] greatest dialogue that I've

[1:24:41] I've really experienced at the

[1:24:43] conference and I've been going

[1:24:45] since I've been on the board

[1:24:47] for 6 years and having those

[1:24:49] conversations. But the

[1:24:51] indigenous knowledge panel was

[1:24:51] very, very enlightening. And I

[1:24:55] thought the other panel that

[1:24:56] talked about the on serve in

[1:24:57] the next 40 years was also

[1:25:03] really valuable along with all

[1:25:04] of the panel's. Everything was

[1:25:05] great. So hats off to coach.

[1:25:07] Here's Mark Perry and Kelli

[1:25:08] Cox. I know it's a lot of

[1:25:09] work, but it was really,

[1:25:11] really a wonderful conference.

[1:25:12] The first one on tribal land.

[1:25:14] So I really appreciated that.

[1:25:19] Also, I visited the C 43 water

[1:25:22] quality treatment and testing

[1:25:22] project that the site the

[1:25:27] governing board members. If

[1:25:28] you haven't had a chance to

[1:25:29] see what we have done as a

[1:25:31] district with the boneless I I

[1:25:32] strongly recommend it. We've

[1:25:36] done several things that I

[1:25:36] thought were really positive.

[1:25:40] First of all, the cells that

[1:25:41] are there for the science it's

[1:25:47] going to be a test cell study

[1:25:49] to remove nitrogen to look at

[1:25:50] ways to remove nitrogen from

[1:25:54] the water. it's cutting edge

[1:25:57] science. And I want to thank

[1:25:58] Casandra Armstrong for for

[1:26:01] talking me through through the

[1:26:02] weeds as she likes to say it

[1:26:05] was great staff. And on the

[1:26:05] day that I visited, the

[1:26:07] project was being turned over.

[1:26:11] And so there were a lot of

[1:26:12] people on site that we're

[1:26:15] looking at the project. And I

[1:26:17] just was so impressed with

[1:26:17] what we have done there

[1:26:21] because we partnered with

[1:26:22] another project right on site,

[1:26:24] which is the a flow,

[1:26:25] Equalization basin. So we

[1:26:27] looked for an opportunity as

[1:26:28] the district to say, how can

[1:26:29] we use this site? Well, we

[1:26:32] could use the test cells and

[1:26:34] do some experiments. Some

[1:26:35] studies on removing nitrogen

[1:26:36] from the water, we could also

[1:26:39] berm it nfp be there. And in

[1:26:44] partnership used that

[1:26:44] property. So I thought that

[1:26:45] was really great jury. Drew,

[1:26:47] you and your team put that

[1:26:48] together and I want to thank

[1:26:50] Anthony Betts, Lori, when Kurt

[1:26:54] the J Mishra Natasha Warrick,

[1:26:56] Jennifer Reynolds, Megan

[1:26:56] Jacoby and Jose Otero for Your

[1:26:59] your time that day because it

[1:27:00] was a whole full court press

[1:27:01] out there. And I really

[1:27:02] appreciate it. Also, speaking

[1:27:09] of conservation that it's come

[1:27:10] up earlier in the meeting, I

[1:27:12] had the chance yesterday

[1:27:15] evening to visit Eagle Haven

[1:27:17] Ranch. This was my second

[1:27:20] visit with a totally different

[1:27:20] focus. This time when I

[1:27:25] visited Eagle Haven Ranch, the

[1:27:27] focus was on conservation and

[1:27:33] the view the view of all of

[1:27:33] the eagle nesting habitat.

[1:27:37] >> That is out on Eagle Haven

[1:27:38] Ranch in the various stages of

[1:27:38] the chicks in the nest.

[1:27:39] >> That were out there. It was

[1:27:42] a great, great visit. That's

[1:27:46] 3300 acres in the northern

[1:27:48] Everglades. That is put under

[1:27:51] a conservation easement and

[1:27:53] now the Cyprus chapter of the

[1:27:56] Isaac Walton League of America

[1:27:59] is going to do some projects

[1:28:03] out there concert with the

[1:28:05] landowner there. And it was

[1:28:06] just a great visit. Plenty of

[1:28:07] eagles were on display at the

[1:28:09] site. And the last comment

[1:28:13] that I have is about some of

[1:28:16] the public comment today on

[1:28:18] South I think that that this

[1:28:20] board is set a high bar in the

[1:28:23] past 6 years for transparency

[1:28:29] and getting getting public

[1:28:30] employee and I feel strongly

[1:28:32] and I saw I know, Drew, does

[1:28:35] that in this case with this

[1:28:37] project? That's that's

[1:28:38] something that I I want to

[1:28:38] continue to do with with the

[1:28:41] public that that always gives

[1:28:44] us input to consider before

[1:28:45] making a decision. That's all

[1:28:47] I have. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[1:28:49] Thank you starting U.S.. Comes

[1:28:52] to Mr. Butler.

[1:28:58] >> Thank you, Mr. Chair

[1:28:59] congratulations. Want Queen.

[1:29:03] got that on Snapchat. By the

[1:29:05] way.

[1:29:07] >> was I

[1:29:13] >> Want to say congratulations

[1:29:14] once again to the district low

[1:29:17] cars, law of the land. low car

[1:29:21] and work but look are being

[1:29:27] law of the land. That's heavy

[1:29:28] lift. And that was 2 years. 2

[1:29:29] years, right? One? Well, okay.

[1:29:34] Yeah. One year from the

[1:29:36] district and then another year

[1:29:36] through the federal process.

[1:29:39] while that that was

[1:29:40] impressive. Look forward to 26

[1:29:44] and drew look forward to

[1:29:45] hearing the plans and what

[1:29:47] we're going. Join us on the

[1:29:48] core. What's going to be an

[1:29:50] were 26. Hopefully it will

[1:29:50] include. Some of these other

[1:29:54] northern features and so also

[1:29:56] look forward to to your update

[1:29:58] there on that. Also since our

[1:30:02] board meeting, I December

[1:30:06] right afterwards we did the

[1:30:07] ribbon cutting Maximo look

[1:30:12] forward to when we get in the

[1:30:12] race season to see in that

[1:30:13] project in full full effect be

[1:30:16] 7,000 acres, water storage

[1:30:19] there. Well, north of Lake

[1:30:23] Okeechobee picking up like a

[1:30:24] bay like a semi. So look

[1:30:25] forward to seeing that

[1:30:26] appreciate Garcia family and

[1:30:27] Fpnl for being our partners in

[1:30:28] that. Finally, let's say, a

[1:30:37] divisive We've all got to the

[1:30:38] lives. yeah, I had. I had

[1:30:42] spent some time with my family

[1:30:44] in lieu of bit of code this

[1:30:46] year. So I hate to miss that

[1:30:48] Tuesday. 2 days ago. The

[1:30:52] Florida Agricultural Hall of

[1:30:54] Fame. The Florida State Fair

[1:30:56] might actually go building

[1:30:57] dedicated to the Florida

[1:30:57] Culture Hall of Fame, but

[1:30:59] inducted 3 new members into

[1:31:01] it. And I want to recognize

[1:31:02] recognized 2 members. It all

[1:31:05] come from the South Florida

[1:31:06] area. One being Jim

[1:31:07] Strickland. He's a cattle

[1:31:10] rancher for over Manatee

[1:31:10] County Black Beard Ranch. But

[1:31:14] a long history of

[1:31:15] conservation. And he has been

[1:31:19] an advocate for advocate for

[1:31:21] conservation easements for as

[1:31:22] long as I can remember, he is

[1:31:25] on the he was on the cusp of

[1:31:28] getting that program going in

[1:31:29] Florida and it's become such

[1:31:30] an Aunt Horton program for

[1:31:32] preservation of our open

[1:31:34] spaces he was recognized as an

[1:31:37] inductee in the Florida poll

[1:31:38] of Fame. another one that

[1:31:44] another couple. But you'll

[1:31:45] recognize its Kerry and

[1:31:46] Marshall White Sea. They were

[1:31:49] inducted to the Agriculture

[1:31:49] Hall of Fame. If you would

[1:31:53] hear him, Chairman, I just it.

[1:31:54] Just 3 paragraphs here. Real

[1:31:55] quick bio Mr. Lightsey. And as

[1:31:56] Marcia. Carry Lights a 6

[1:32:01] generation. Florida cattle

[1:32:02] rancher who married his high

[1:32:04] school sweetheart. Marcia in

[1:32:05] 1973, together. They not only

[1:32:08] save the family ranch during

[1:32:09] hard economic times. They also

[1:32:11] expanded and diversified the

[1:32:13] operations and became leaders

[1:32:14] in the conservation arena. The

[1:32:18] Lightsey strongly believe that

[1:32:19] landowners participating in

[1:32:20] strategies that benefit all of

[1:32:22] society. They strive to

[1:32:24] highlight the stewardship.

[1:32:25] Ranchers provide for wildlife

[1:32:27] and water. They've committed

[1:32:29] 80% of their land to

[1:32:31] conservation easements in

[1:32:33] doing so. preserve thousands

[1:32:34] of environmentally sensitive

[1:32:36] acres, wetlands and areas

[1:32:38] populated by endangered plant

[1:32:39] and animal species creating a

[1:32:41] vast holding of lands that

[1:32:44] will allow generations of

[1:32:45] Floridians to see landscapes

[1:32:47] much like those of centuries

[1:32:47] ago. This includes the notable

[1:32:52] Brahma island home, the bald

[1:32:54] Eagles. Kara Cares snail kites

[1:32:56] and dozens of other rare and

[1:32:57] endangered species. The light

[1:33:01] Cesar also passionate about

[1:33:02] sharing their conservation

[1:33:02] story. They have been featured

[1:33:06] in several documentaries,

[1:33:07] media pieces and social media

[1:33:08] posts throughout the years.

[1:33:10] Their latest focus is working

[1:33:11] in the Florida wildlife

[1:33:13] Corridor Foundation and its

[1:33:14] path to the Panther Project.

[1:33:16] They have also hosted numerous

[1:33:17] tours of the ranch's

[1:33:19] ecological sites to allow

[1:33:21] students and other groups to

[1:33:23] see the operations first hand

[1:33:25] and for a better appreciation

[1:33:26] of their impacts.

[1:33:28] Congratulations to Carrie and

[1:33:30] Marshall Lightsey Jim Strick

[1:33:32] shunned for their induction

[1:33:33] into the Florida Culture Hall

[1:33:33] of Thank you, Mr. Chairman,

[1:33:34] thank you, Mr. Butler. Mr.

[1:33:36] Tiley.

[1:33:42] >> We did not have general

[1:33:45] board meeting in January, but

[1:33:47] we but we all I think most of

[1:33:50] us and event by Governor

[1:33:53] DeSantis worry requested the

[1:33:54] state be allowed to leave more

[1:33:57] of the Everglades restoration

[1:34:00] projects in order to do things

[1:34:02] more quickly at a lower cost

[1:34:05] to taxpayers. As we all know,

[1:34:07] structures of cost share

[1:34:09] between the federal government

[1:34:11] and state of Florida where the

[1:34:12] Army Corps the federal side

[1:34:14] and district, it leads the

[1:34:15] state side. And just to be

[1:34:20] clear as well, sensor was

[1:34:22] adopted. We've had incredibly

[1:34:25] strong partnership with the

[1:34:25] court a and share a common

[1:34:30] commitment to projects large

[1:34:31] and small. That will help and

[1:34:32] Everglades restoration.

[1:34:37] However, as of as a federal

[1:34:38] agency, the course subject to

[1:34:40] greater bureaucracy, red tape,

[1:34:43] lengthy legislative process

[1:34:45] season political

[1:34:45] considerations that

[1:34:46] significantly slow the

[1:34:47] progress. And drive up costs

[1:34:50] in excess of what we do, what

[1:34:51] we've been able to achieve at

[1:34:52] the state level. So what I

[1:34:53] wanted to do was share some of

[1:34:56] this has been posted. But I

[1:34:57] thought was important to share

[1:35:00] 3 examples of the difference

[1:35:03] in speed and cost between the

[1:35:08] agencies. The first is called

[1:35:09] her as we all know, culverts

[1:35:11] or water to pass on dirt

[1:35:11] roads, an embankment. The

[1:35:15] district recently broke ground

[1:35:17] last year in 24 3 culverts in

[1:35:19] the Big Cypress Preserve

[1:35:21] Acosta. 47 Million. course,

[1:35:25] started 3 called for a colder

[1:35:28] project, different to move

[1:35:30] water into Everglades National

[1:35:32] Park in Twenty-twenty at a

[1:35:33] cost of 65 Million. So the

[1:35:36] district's costs for 3

[1:35:38] culverts is 28% less or an

[1:35:42] 18 million dollar difference.

[1:35:42] Both projects are expected to

[1:35:44] be closed completed at the

[1:35:44] same time, the beginning of

[1:35:45] 27. So that would mean that

[1:35:47] the core we take 7 years to

[1:35:49] complete projects. The

[1:35:50] district 3 years. Pretty good

[1:35:56] example of significant cost

[1:35:57] savings and a double the speed

[1:35:58] efficiency. A pump station

[1:36:03] comparison. The court just a

[1:36:04] word, a contract for 650 CFS

[1:36:06] Pump Station for the C 23. 24

[1:36:09] for 193 Million. The district

[1:36:13] completed a similar size pump

[1:36:15] 690 CFS, a slightly larger for

[1:36:19] the C one. 39 for 80 million

[1:36:21] dollars. So that's 11 she was

[1:36:27] 11113 million or 60% cost

[1:36:29] difference. Obviously a

[1:36:30] meaningful number. And then

[1:36:33] last example is canal

[1:36:35] Construction district recently

[1:36:37] completed construction of an

[1:36:39] inflow outflow canal as part

[1:36:41] of STA to cost of 5.7 Mile.

[1:36:45] The Corps constructing inflow

[1:36:47] outflow for the EA Reservoir

[1:36:48] at a cost of 9.7 dollars a

[1:36:51] mile 9.7 million dollars a

[1:36:55] mile. The district's work

[1:36:56] moved 30 feet to 40% faster

[1:36:58] than the courts can now work

[1:36:59] and cost 42% less than the

[1:37:01] core show. I'm sure there's a

[1:37:04] number of other examples. But

[1:37:06] the I think, you know, the

[1:37:07] experience is clear and I

[1:37:07] think it makes sense for what

[1:37:10] government Governor DeSantis

[1:37:11] asked for. We can avoid much

[1:37:13] of the bureaucracy and the

[1:37:14] delays that the federal

[1:37:15] government cannot. And make

[1:37:19] progress quicker while using

[1:37:20] fewer taxpayer dollars. Not to

[1:37:24] say that there are clearly

[1:37:29] areas where we where the Corps

[1:37:33] has expertise, but seems like

[1:37:34] a smart Pat Toomey to explore

[1:37:38] inappropriate giving given the

[1:37:39] focus at the federal level

[1:37:43] spotlighting efficiencies and

[1:37:43] spin and spending. So I just

[1:37:47] thought that was important to

[1:37:49] mention since we have not

[1:37:50] talked about it, put I think

[1:37:51] it I a legitimate ask of of

[1:38:01] the governor for for reasons

[1:38:02] that can help us achieve all

[1:38:05] of our goals sooner at a lot

[1:38:05] of lesser cost to taxpayers.

[1:38:06] Thanks. Thank you, Mr. Silent,

[1:38:10] Mr. Bergeron. Thank you, Mr.

[1:38:12] Chairman. But first all, happy

[1:38:16] New Year, too. My board

[1:38:20] members, our staff. All of our

[1:38:25] stakeholders. I'm excited

[1:38:25] about to. 2025, a lot of

[1:38:29] things going on let me talk a

[1:38:34] little bit about Everglades.

[1:38:37] Western Everglades

[1:38:37] restoration. That's moving

[1:38:41] forward. And I have written

[1:38:45] when we're talking about

[1:38:47] Western. We're a portion of

[1:38:49] that from a property owner. I

[1:38:52] will be abstaining from any

[1:38:54] voting and that. Western we're

[1:38:58] portion of Western Everglades.

[1:39:01] But I reserve the right under

[1:39:03] the statues. I'm allowed to

[1:39:06] voice my opinion which I think

[1:39:10] is important try. Lived in

[1:39:14] that environment for 3

[1:39:15] quarters of a century. We'll

[1:39:19] be following that stretches

[1:39:19] from I do want to compliment

[1:39:26] the Everglades Coalition, all

[1:39:30] the environmental groups, the

[1:39:32] conservation groups coming

[1:39:34] together and discussing. The

[1:39:38] largest environmental

[1:39:39] restoration ever attempted in

[1:39:40] the history of the world.

[1:39:43] Coming up with solutions with.

[1:39:48] State and federal agencies.

[1:39:52] The environmentalists,

[1:39:52] conservationists. The hunters.

[1:39:55] The fishermen. So important. I

[1:40:01] thought it was extremely

[1:40:03] productive and it's just a

[1:40:08] great group of people as we

[1:40:08] continue to go forward. The

[1:40:11] one thing I you hear me all

[1:40:14] the time and I know sound like

[1:40:14] a broken record. But but I do

[1:40:18] this because I keep hearing.

[1:40:20] All the stakeholders. Move

[1:40:22] water South. We have the

[1:40:26] opportunity to do that. We're

[1:40:28] on the threshold. Huge

[1:40:31] benefits. And being able to

[1:40:37] move water South. 10 years

[1:40:41] ago, we built all these

[1:40:42] bridges. Or where elevating

[1:40:46] the road and with discussions

[1:40:52] with DOT and the critical path

[1:40:53] schedules that that I've

[1:40:53] looked at. The road could be

[1:40:57] completed as early as March of

[1:40:58] next year. That could slip.

[1:41:05] But what are the other option

[1:41:06] to calls that we have to

[1:41:07] address? We're shooting there

[1:41:11] with 3 miles of Bridges, 6

[1:41:13] additional bridge is going.

[1:41:17] Lined up woodridge and sluice

[1:41:19] the part of the highway

[1:41:20] construction. So I think it's

[1:41:22] important. That we're looking

[1:41:24] at. Any obstacle or any

[1:41:27] barrier. When we complete that

[1:41:32] road that we can move water

[1:41:33] south and what is that? We

[1:41:37] have to address the Osceola

[1:41:38] camp that has to be elevated

[1:41:41] we have to address and make

[1:41:42] sure that the park service all

[1:41:46] of the airboat concessions.

[1:41:48] They're on the south side of

[1:41:49] the road. That were funded to

[1:41:54] elevate docks, elevate to be

[1:41:55] compatible. With raising Neil

[1:41:59] 29 and getting the benefit of

[1:42:03] up to 2.5 million acre feet of

[1:42:05] water under the plan. We

[1:42:09] started with 25 years ago.

[1:42:14] Extremely important where 60%

[1:42:14] of that water flows too. The

[1:42:17] eastern side of Shark River

[1:42:19] slew and 40% on the western

[1:42:22] side into last month's Lou and

[1:42:22] onto the 10,000 islands.

[1:42:27] Between our federal partners

[1:42:30] and our our staff South

[1:42:31] Florida, water management. We

[1:42:32] have done a lot. Removing

[1:42:35] these barriers. Like the

[1:42:38] seepage wall. Like removing

[1:42:41] the old Tamiami trail.

[1:42:45] Installing the 3 new called

[1:42:46] Virgin Deal. 28. And our staff

[1:42:49] as they proceed forward.

[1:42:53] Modeling the Tamiami trail

[1:42:55] west of the L 28, our Red

[1:42:57] Cross. Modeling Lube Road. In

[1:43:02] order to have water flowing by

[1:43:06] gravity based upon the

[1:43:07] science. We started with 25

[1:43:07] years ago. I'm looking drew

[1:43:13] working with. Our staff and

[1:43:17] you and our federal partners,

[1:43:19] the core Department of

[1:43:20] Interior, the Park service

[1:43:23] that we're all on the same

[1:43:24] page. And that we're

[1:43:27] addressing any barriers. I

[1:43:30] don't want to be sitting here

[1:43:31] a year from now. March of next

[1:43:34] year. The roads done and we

[1:43:35] still can't move water. If we

[1:43:39] have to have a. Workshops with

[1:43:46] our federal partners. Once a

[1:43:49] month for the next year to

[1:43:52] make sure that everybody's on

[1:43:53] the same page. I I want to do

[1:43:57] that. It would be a shame to

[1:44:00] be sitting here. And the

[1:44:06] bridges are there. The roads

[1:44:07] elevated the seepage walls and

[1:44:08] the Tamiami trail old trailer

[1:44:11] removed all of these barriers.

[1:44:15] And we're not being able to

[1:44:16] move water. I'm excited. I

[1:44:21] apologize for talking so much.

[1:44:24] This is critical. We have.

[1:44:27] Billions of dollars. We've

[1:44:29] already spent. The day we can

[1:44:35] let that water flowing

[1:44:36] naturally by gravity. Will be

[1:44:38] the biggest benefit. So if we

[1:44:41] started 25 years and it will

[1:44:46] benefit Central Everglades,

[1:44:47] big Cypress Fakahatchee

[1:44:48] Picayune Panther Refuge. It

[1:44:53] will benefit the

[1:44:54] Caloosahatchee, the Port St.

[1:44:55] Lucie, the Indian River

[1:44:55] Lagoon. The lake. Because just

[1:45:01] cumulative backup. Affects the

[1:45:04] whole system all the way up to

[1:45:05] Orlando. On the bottom end of.

[1:45:12] What very close to completing

[1:45:16] it will hugely globally

[1:45:18] benefit the global ever

[1:45:18] pledge. I always look at the

[1:45:21] global. From the Kissimmee

[1:45:27] River floodplain just to all

[1:45:29] our rivers to the lake to

[1:45:30] heart to the central all the

[1:45:33] way across and Everglades

[1:45:35] National Park, Florida Bay,

[1:45:35] 10,000 Islands. We have to get

[1:45:39] this water moving south. And

[1:45:41] fortunately. 95% the

[1:45:44] infrastructure is there.

[1:45:49] Whatever it takes to make

[1:45:51] sure. All of these little

[1:45:55] barriers. That that we haven't

[1:45:58] resolved. Sea water moving

[1:46:04] south. Wait. Under. The

[1:46:08] modified water delivery, the 2

[1:46:11] and a half million acre feet

[1:46:12] of water. So important to

[1:46:17] Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay

[1:46:19] and the 10,000 Islands stop

[1:46:22] seagrass from Diane. Like in

[1:46:26] 2015, 50,000 Acres, 5,000

[1:46:27] animals drowned on the north

[1:46:29] side on the miccosukee and are

[1:46:32] our public Central Everglades.

[1:46:35] This will be a great day. And

[1:46:38] I I just think it can be.

[1:46:40] Connected. In 2025. And we

[1:46:46] will be getting beneficial.

[1:46:49] Projects we built. 25 years

[1:46:49] ago. I apologize for talking

[1:46:54] so much. But but I just think

[1:46:55] this is extremely important.

[1:47:00] As we move forward. The new at

[1:47:05] this new rock pit thing. I

[1:47:06] think we need to do an awful

[1:47:07] lot of studying him. One thing

[1:47:13] that we have to be concerned

[1:47:16] about when you're talking

[1:47:17] about storing water. Once you

[1:47:20] drill and blast excavator. Can

[1:47:24] we retain storage? Without

[1:47:27] having led rule. She pitched

[1:47:32] 200 pressure. There's got to

[1:47:36] be a lot of determination is

[1:47:38] on the geology of soil at the

[1:47:41] bottom and the lateral

[1:47:42] movements to see if there.

[1:47:45] That you can store water. I

[1:47:50] would suggest would be very

[1:47:51] careful that project. I think

[1:47:58] it's very sensitive in

[1:48:00] geographical area that it's an

[1:48:01] to start And there has to be

[1:48:04] tremendous benefits. To

[1:48:08] Everglades restoration and

[1:48:14] storage for anything like that

[1:48:15] ever occur. So thank you,

[1:48:19] Paula Judge, for talking too

[1:48:20] much. But redneck cowboy

[1:48:23] alligator wrestlers like talk.

[1:48:27] You never have to apologize.

[1:48:28] someone once said, you paid

[1:48:29] for that microphone. it's

[1:48:31] yours. As long as you're

[1:48:31] sitting to a point. Thank you,

[1:48:34] Mister Chairman Ms Meads.

[1:48:40] >> Charlotte, I want you to

[1:48:41] know that you are so well

[1:48:43] deserving of being the swamp I

[1:48:49] know you're with that group

[1:48:49] people who know how lovely

[1:48:55] swaps what what a great thing

[1:48:56] it is. I will say that your

[1:48:58] crown looks a little bit tiny

[1:49:02] bit And it reminded me 70's,

[1:49:04] which which wasn't a bad

[1:49:08] thing. Chairman Goss, happy

[1:49:11] birthday to you. Next Tuesday.

[1:49:13] I think bright the 18th. We

[1:49:14] don't do anymore. Yeah. Happy

[1:49:17] birthday to you. And I you

[1:49:20] know, my only comment is I

[1:49:21] want to address Lisa or I want

[1:49:25] to chairman conversation is

[1:49:27] with you that I haven't Lisa

[1:49:29] in a land. These question

[1:49:32] seems to me to be a fair one.

[1:49:36] If there is a process such

[1:49:37] that Palm Beach County cannot

[1:49:38] move forward without our

[1:49:42] approval. In a letter. Is it

[1:49:47] appropriate to have some

[1:49:51] discussion about that process

[1:49:53] and the intent of the letter

[1:49:55] and not of that letter was

[1:49:56] that tent of that letter

[1:49:59] before the governing board had

[1:50:01] an opportunity to discuss

[1:50:02] that. And I'll just leave that

[1:50:03] question with you whether to

[1:50:07] take that forward or not. But

[1:50:08] it seems it's a fair thing to

[1:50:09] answer. My comments. I want

[1:50:17] first of all, start by

[1:50:18] thanking the governor for the

[1:50:19] budget. It's it's amazing to

[1:50:20] be able to have a governor

[1:50:22] who's?

[1:50:23] >> This is focused on this

[1:50:24] issue and has remained that

[1:50:26] way for Not one term, but the

[1:50:26] term and a half. And I

[1:50:30] encourage the legislature to

[1:50:31] follow his lead as they have

[1:50:33] done in the past and keep it

[1:50:33] working because those funds

[1:50:34] are giving us incredible

[1:50:37] success. And so want thank you

[1:50:38] for all of that. I also like

[1:50:40] to think of Co for putting

[1:50:41] together another great, great

[1:50:45] conference. It's, you know,

[1:50:45] some people wonder of

[1:50:46] conferences are worth it or

[1:50:47] not. I I might be one of those

[1:50:48] people every now and then. But

[1:50:51] they are, it is is wonderful

[1:50:54] to be able to get together

[1:50:55] with so many people don't

[1:50:56] always and some of its

[1:50:57] unsolicited and some of its

[1:50:59] just impromptu. And it's just

[1:51:00] nice. Bill will have those

[1:51:01] conversations because we have

[1:51:02] so many partners and so many

[1:51:04] stakeholders in the business

[1:51:05] we're doing it. It's a good

[1:51:05] way to do that. So I

[1:51:08] appreciate that as 6 years we

[1:51:12] I guess, 6 years ago about

[1:51:13] this time we were all asked to

[1:51:14] to do this job and the first

[1:51:17] thing we had to do was to find

[1:51:18] an executive director. And so

[1:51:22] we searched around high and

[1:51:24] low and found someone who was

[1:51:24] a consensus builder because

[1:51:27] that's something we really

[1:51:28] needed at the time was to

[1:51:28] rebuild trust and that

[1:51:32] person's Drew Bartlett and

[1:51:33] I've watched over the last 6

[1:51:35] years as Drew has gone out and

[1:51:36] build consensus and he's been

[1:51:37] phenomenal with stakeholders

[1:51:39] and phenomenal with the

[1:51:41] scientific community. He's

[1:51:43] been phenomenal with dealing

[1:51:44] with the bureaucratic process

[1:51:44] like nobody I've ever met. I

[1:51:47] thought I was patient. He's

[1:51:48] he's incredibly patient and

[1:51:49] work through it. So just want

[1:51:51] to say my lead up to say I

[1:51:52] trust Drew Bartlett. When

[1:51:56] people are calling and saying

[1:51:57] why on Earth that you guys

[1:51:58] signed this letter, is this

[1:51:59] all about that? My first

[1:52:01] instinct is I trust regard

[1:52:03] right because Drew didn't do

[1:52:07] anything that he wouldn't have

[1:52:08] done if he didn't think it was

[1:52:10] appropriate for this

[1:52:13] organization or appropriate

[1:52:14] for the 9 million people who

[1:52:14] live in South Florida. And I

[1:52:16] believe strongly. I look at

[1:52:20] The 2 pieces of paper AF

[1:52:21] sitting here. One is an

[1:52:22] unsolicited proposal process

[1:52:24] and the other is the Palm

[1:52:25] Beach code and it's a chicken

[1:52:27] and egg problem because one

[1:52:28] can't be done without the

[1:52:28] other. But they are both

[1:52:29] waiting for someone to go

[1:52:30] first. But it's hasn't been

[1:52:33] thought through very well. I

[1:52:34] don't think procedurally. So I

[1:52:37] think Drew's letter, I don't

[1:52:37] know what the answer to Lisa's

[1:52:39] question is. But in my mind,

[1:52:41] it troost answer was yes, this

[1:52:43] could be a project. We haven't

[1:52:46] looked at it yet. We don't

[1:52:47] know if it's a project. We've

[1:52:49] got a long way to go. This is

[1:52:50] a marathon. The gun is maybe

[1:52:51] not even been shot yet. We're

[1:52:52] all sliding up on the starting

[1:52:53] line. And so that's the way I

[1:52:55] look at this. And we've got a

[1:52:56] long way to go. So I'm not I'm

[1:52:59] not terribly worried because I

[1:53:00] know that we as a governing

[1:53:02] board are going to hear all

[1:53:03] the arguments. And I know that

[1:53:04] we as a governing board not

[1:53:05] gonna make a decision that's

[1:53:05] going to harm all that

[1:53:08] process, progress that we've

[1:53:10] to date. So I drew, I don't

[1:53:11] know if you have anything you

[1:53:12] want to address specifically

[1:53:13] there. You don't have to. But

[1:53:14] it Not good. fine. So we will

[1:53:22] move on and in and the agenda

[1:53:22] and I'm going to go to. Mr.

[1:53:27] Chairman can say one of the

[1:53:27] things I want to congratulate

[1:53:31] to the Queen. Africa that and

[1:53:38] I did Did you see the little

[1:53:41] alligator I have on think it.

[1:53:42] That's the not alligator. Ron.

[1:53:45] >> he's totally Everglades. So

[1:53:45] I'm the king. alligator

[1:53:51] >> and I want I want to

[1:53:55] Colonel Rentals and all our

[1:53:55] staff for all the hard work

[1:53:58] they're doing in Western

[1:54:00] Everglades. Especially in the

[1:54:02] Western wear section to make

[1:54:05] sure at the end of the day,

[1:54:07] we're truly restoring and

[1:54:08] we're respecting the the the

[1:54:13] tribes and we're respecting

[1:54:14] the private property owners in

[1:54:15] where we're coming up with

[1:54:17] solutions that we're truly

[1:54:19] restoring. And I want everyone

[1:54:24] Realize. But at the end of the

[1:54:24] day. It's so important that

[1:54:28] we're truly restoring. we've

[1:54:34] been so blast for the kind of

[1:54:36] money that's been funded for

[1:54:39] continue to move forward. So I

[1:54:40] want I want to thank all our

[1:54:42] staff for working with. The

[1:54:47] someone else to make a keys.

[1:54:48] The private property owners

[1:54:49] and the number one stakeholder

[1:54:51] is the environment as we

[1:54:53] continue to. To go for the

[1:54:57] other thing, I would. want to

[1:54:59] say is that I think. Projects

[1:55:03] that are. Extremely.

[1:55:08] Important. Moving water south.

[1:55:12] And to benefit. The global

[1:55:17] system like the Blues Channing

[1:55:21] that's the last piece of the

[1:55:21] puzzle. That will let water

[1:55:25] moves south. Projects like

[1:55:31] that. And Western Everglades

[1:55:35] I'm recommending that these

[1:55:37] projects are. Move forward

[1:55:40] with. South Florida water

[1:55:43] management. And the reason why

[1:55:47] I'm saying that the core. The

[1:55:53] greatest, builders across the

[1:55:54] world. And there. We've got to

[1:55:58] do this together. But the

[1:56:00] projects that are critical to

[1:56:02] get the benefit or what

[1:56:04] started building. 25 years

[1:56:06] ago, the state's process, I

[1:56:07] think A little bit quicker.

[1:56:12] And those projects. I would

[1:56:13] hope we can work. With the

[1:56:14] core. Which is just as capable

[1:56:19] as South Florida water

[1:56:20] management. But our processes

[1:56:23] so much quicker. These high

[1:56:28] priority projects like the

[1:56:30] Bush and the Western

[1:56:31] Everglades I hope we can.

[1:56:35] Workout too, for. Since our

[1:56:38] processes faster. And they

[1:56:44] allow us to get the benefit of

[1:56:44] what we've developed. Some

[1:56:47] projects 25 years ago that we

[1:56:51] shift those projects, too.

[1:56:54] Continues a 50, 50. Ship,

[1:56:59] those high priority projects

[1:57:01] just South Florida. Thank you,

[1:57:04] Mr. Chairman. Thank you. As

[1:57:08] Versed on, we're going to move

[1:57:09] now to consent agenda. Is any

[1:57:10] board member want to move any

[1:57:11] item to accent?

[1:57:13] >> Are there any public

[1:57:13] comments on consent? Yes,

[1:57:18] Mister chairman.

[1:57:19] >> We'll begin with Mark Perry

[1:57:19] followed by Caitlin Newcamp.

[1:57:26] >> Morning governing board

[1:57:28] Mark Perry, Florida,

[1:57:29] oceanographic just 2 items on

[1:57:30] the consent. Real quick up

[1:57:30] item. 16 obviously is dealing

[1:57:34] with Sepp South and the

[1:57:36] Tamiami trail. A very small

[1:57:37] acreage in can Vance, but

[1:57:40] relates to Mr. Bergeron is

[1:57:41] comments definitely about

[1:57:42] Tamiami Trail and lifting at

[1:57:45] trail up working with DOT FDOT

[1:57:46] has a partner. appreciate

[1:57:50] going forward with that.

[1:57:51] Obviously, too, everything we

[1:57:53] can to get that Trey lifted

[1:57:55] and the bridge is opened up so

[1:57:57] we can move that 2.5 million

[1:58:00] acre feet the number 19 to 10

[1:58:01] Mile Creek Water Preserve

[1:58:04] areas 7725 Acre empowerment

[1:58:10] 143 STA. The designation is

[1:58:14] basically to get the water

[1:58:14] preserve very STA and and the

[1:58:18] empowerment area so that it

[1:58:20] can be managed for public use

[1:58:20] and recreation and it's a

[1:58:23] beautiful area up in the upper

[1:58:24] North Fork of the Port St.

[1:58:25] Lucie. Preserve. It helps too

[1:58:28] Storen treat that water that

[1:58:29] normally would run directly

[1:58:30] off through the cordon road

[1:58:30] structure into the. Into North

[1:58:35] Fork. So appreciate appreciate

[1:58:36] approving both Thank

[1:58:39] >> Thank you, Mr. rry will

[1:58:40] hear next from Caitlin Newcamp

[1:58:41] followed by Alex Larson.

[1:58:47] >> Warning governing board

[1:58:48] members. Thank you for the

[1:58:49] opportunity to comment.

[1:58:50] Caitlin, with and you can't

[1:58:51] with Audubon Florida. This is

[1:58:54] in regards to number 16 on the

[1:58:55] consent agenda. Audubon

[1:58:59] appreciates the ongoing

[1:59:00] efforts of the district and

[1:59:01] its partners, including the

[1:59:02] court in advancing the Central

[1:59:05] Everglades Planning project

[1:59:07] south fees, the construction

[1:59:09] of the S 3.56 pump station is

[1:59:12] a significant component for

[1:59:12] restoring the natural

[1:59:13] hydrology of the Everglades,

[1:59:16] which benefits but the

[1:59:16] ecosystem in the communities

[1:59:17] that depend on clean water

[1:59:20] last fall, Audubon and others

[1:59:21] noticed delays on the IDs for

[1:59:23] several sub south features,

[1:59:24] including this one. And upon

[1:59:25] further research to stop

[1:59:28] discovered some real estate

[1:59:29] issues are unresolved. We

[1:59:32] recognize the necessity of

[1:59:33] acquiring the required

[1:59:34] easements inland rates to

[1:59:35] facilitate the construction of

[1:59:37] this project and the

[1:59:38] importance of the proposed

[1:59:39] exchange between the district

[1:59:39] and DOT. we support the

[1:59:43] proposed actions and we're

[1:59:44] very happy to see this is back

[1:59:46] on track. So thank you for

[1:59:47] getting this pump station back

[1:59:47] on track as south features

[1:59:51] contain critical components,

[1:59:53] critical conveyance necessary

[1:59:54] for moving water south and

[1:59:55] ensuring the right balance of

[1:59:56] water is in proper location.

[1:59:57] Thank you. Thank you. Miss

[2:00:01] Newcamp.

[2:00:01] >> We'll hear next from Alex

[2:00:02] Larson followed by Newton

[2:00:03] Cook.

[2:00:14] >> I am always said when I see

[2:00:15] the wave and slip. Everybody

[2:00:19] leaves us with one hand and

[2:00:20] then slaps the c*** out of the

[2:00:21] taxpayers and ratepayers in

[2:00:22] the world. I don't want that

[2:00:25] to happen. I hope that we will

[2:00:26] deal with. The rock by the

[2:00:30] situation inhat letter that

[2:00:31] went out Christmastime. I

[2:00:32] think it should be pulled or

[2:00:34] rescinded if the county is

[2:00:34] going to OK, which they will.

[2:00:37] I am concerned about that.

[2:00:37] Lease is right. Anyway. I'm

[2:00:40] gonna go to my issue number.

[2:00:41] 24. The North County Airport

[2:00:45] is a really better place for a

[2:00:47] heliport for the South Florida

[2:00:48] Water Management district. You

[2:00:50] want to put a heliport for

[2:00:54] your guys at flying Howard and

[2:00:55] State Road 7, you know, 80

[2:00:58] Southern Boulevard. It doesn't

[2:00:58] belong there. Because to the

[2:01:02] South is the author. Marshall

[2:01:04] 147,000 Acres to the North JW

[2:01:05] Corbett. 60,000, 388 Acres. We

[2:01:09] don't need any more poison out

[2:01:11] there. The Marshall doesn't

[2:01:12] need that. everything goes

[2:01:14] downhill. All I want, I don't

[2:01:18] say the word that what flows

[2:01:20] downhill, but we all know what

[2:01:20] that word is. And I do. This

[2:01:23] is something that doesn't

[2:01:25] belong there because even it,

[2:01:27] you know, it's going to be

[2:01:28] taken off 7, 8 times a day,

[2:01:31] even hit and a little bit the

[2:01:32] way because they say they will

[2:01:34] fly 1800 hours. Okay. So you

[2:01:38] can up. However, you days off

[2:01:40] weekends, whatever, but we

[2:01:41] don't need that. We already

[2:01:43] have people violating the air

[2:01:43] space out there flying lower

[2:01:45] than 500 feet. That's

[2:01:48] happening all over. But I

[2:01:50] think the water management

[2:01:50] district to find a better

[2:01:52] place. The North County

[2:01:53] airport would be a nice place

[2:01:54] because it's airport. I know

[2:01:57] you got a problem with Palm

[2:01:58] Beach International. God help

[2:01:59] us. We got a lot of problems

[2:02:01] with Palm Beach International

[2:02:02] for the next 4 years. But we

[2:02:05] do not need any more problems

[2:02:05] out where we live. I don't

[2:02:08] want any more poison out where

[2:02:09] I live. We've got a power

[2:02:11] plant. It was supposed to use

[2:02:13] reclaimed water. Now it has 5

[2:02:14] permits to just take water

[2:02:17] because those reclaimed water

[2:02:17] splurges up their c***. So

[2:02:19] 21 million gallons a day is be

[2:02:21] s***** out of my area for that

[2:02:25] power plant and then they

[2:02:27] shoot it down into the ground.

[2:02:29] proprietary says we don't need

[2:02:29] to know what's going into the

[2:02:30] ground. Elevate it will

[2:02:35] elevate it will come Vertical

[2:02:36] migration does happen. It was

[2:02:40] I forget actor's name, Buddy.

[2:02:41] 3 of them did a study on it

[2:02:42] and we've got too much poison.

[2:02:45] And Florida's to susceptible.

[2:02:49] We fight phosphorus and

[2:02:50] nitrogen. And then we got

[2:02:50] mosaic on the other side of

[2:02:51] the state. Its an oxymoron

[2:02:54] every day of my life. I'm so

[2:02:55] tired. I'm sick of it. After

[2:02:58] 25 years, I'm sick of all of

[2:03:01] the smoke and mirrors and

[2:03:02] we're doing this over here

[2:03:03] would It's not our fault. They

[2:03:06] did well, they the days are

[2:03:08] are really destroying Florida.

[2:03:12] And I I wish and I hope Mother

[2:03:13] Nature gets bays because we

[2:03:18] are going to get another flood

[2:03:18] situations because your

[2:03:19] comments, I want to do a quick

[2:03:22] 3 floods. 95 2012 and go

[2:03:24] outside and look at where the

[2:03:25] answer planning themselves up.

[2:03:27] We're going to get flooded

[2:03:29] again. Just talk to the dance.

[2:03:34] that think you missed one

[2:03:35] missed. Larson will hear next

[2:03:36] from Newton Cook. New Coke.

[2:03:45] And I want follow Florida.

[2:03:49] >> I just want to support a

[2:03:50] couple items on consent

[2:03:51] agenda. involved a lot of

[2:03:54] incredible recreation. wide

[2:03:56] variety of people. And item

[2:04:02] number 19. And this is best 10

[2:04:04] Mile Creek. Project as an STA

[2:04:08] which opens the door. district

[2:04:12] aligned public access. a lot

[2:04:15] of appropriate. Recreation out

[2:04:18] there. I'm not so sure, sir.

[2:04:20] Big kind of area, but we get a

[2:04:24] lot of folks out. I think

[2:04:26] you've heard me say a dozen

[2:04:27] times. All right. This moment

[2:04:30] where we're standing here,

[2:04:31] those thousands and thousands

[2:04:32] of people on district land

[2:04:32] recreated right now. And it's

[2:04:35] very much appreciated. The

[2:04:39] item is item. 23 that

[2:04:42] corkscrew regional ecosystem.

[2:04:47] Watershed Bird Rookery

[2:04:48] boardwalk. Now this boardwalk

[2:04:49] at 1400 feet. understand a big

[2:04:52] project to replace for 200

[2:04:53] feet aboard. Well. Here is the

[2:04:56] part. The boardwalk leads to a

[2:05:02] 12 mile Road Trail. And I do

[2:05:04] is for the people who are

[2:05:06] watching frequently used by

[2:05:08] the public for outdoor

[2:05:09] recreation activities, such as

[2:05:10] hiking. Running, biking,

[2:05:14] nature photography, Geale

[2:05:16] catching All these activities.

[2:05:22] All these people. And it's

[2:05:25] very much appreciate it.

[2:05:29] >> Thank you, Mr. Cook, we

[2:05:32] have no hands raised on Zoom,

[2:05:34] Mr. Chairman that public

[2:05:35] comment on this item.

[2:05:39] >> members on what you know,

[2:05:40] the consent item. 6 teen

[2:05:41] requires a two-thirds majority

[2:05:44] vote. Kind of a motion, a

[2:05:45] second to approve consent

[2:05:46] approve consent motion motion

[2:05:48] a second, Mr. Butler, Mr.

[2:05:49] Martinez. Any further

[2:05:53] discussion hearing none. We'll

[2:05:54] call that question, Mr.

[2:05:55] Bergeron. Yes, I'm gonna vote.

[2:05:59] Yes, Caron. yes, Mr. Butler,

[2:06:02] states. Yes. Thank you. That

[2:06:04] passes unanimously go now

[2:06:08] discussion agenda, which is

[2:06:09] the Central Everglades

[2:06:10] Planning Project update with

[2:06:10] U.S..

[2:06:27] >> Good morning, Mr. Chair and

[2:06:28] fellow board members. I'm

[2:06:31] gonna provide an update on the

[2:06:33] Central Everglades Planning

[2:06:34] Project known as as you know,

[2:06:37] we like or acronyms. So I'll

[2:06:38] be saying sap often. I will

[2:06:41] have 3 resolutions for you to

[2:06:44] consider. One is for the

[2:06:46] construction of us. 27 bridges

[2:06:47] associated with the CEP

[2:06:49] Everglades, Agricultural area

[2:06:50] phase. And to our for the

[2:06:53] construction or features on

[2:06:54] the set north face. As a

[2:06:59] reminder, this slide shows an

[2:07:00] overview of sept. And how it's

[2:07:03] broken down into 4 phases. So

[2:07:06] the overarching goal of step

[2:07:07] is to provide improve the

[2:07:10] quantity quality timing and

[2:07:12] distribution to help restore

[2:07:14] flow from Lake Okeechobee

[2:07:17] south to the central and

[2:07:18] southern Everglades. From

[2:07:20] north to south said Pa. And

[2:07:25] improves the can band storage

[2:07:26] and treatment capacities by

[2:07:29] improving north New River

[2:07:31] Canal. The Miami Canal.

[2:07:34] Delivering that storage to to

[2:07:37] reservoir and then treating it

[2:07:39] in to STA, which is already

[2:07:40] constructed complete. The next

[2:07:45] phase, the sept north, which

[2:07:47] distributes additional flow

[2:07:49] from the east to the west

[2:07:50] along the northern boundary of

[2:07:51] 3, a and this is done by

[2:07:54] improvements to. Canal

[2:07:58] improvements. New structures.

[2:08:02] And then the backfill of the

[2:08:02] Miami can now. This allows

[2:08:06] sheet flow again to flow

[2:08:07] through here instead of

[2:08:07] discharging straight down a

[2:08:08] canal. So as we move that flow

[2:08:11] in sheet flow South. We sub

[2:08:14] south. Opens up the southern

[2:08:17] system, moving water from 3 a

[2:08:20] into Everglades National Park

[2:08:23] and then the estuaries, the

[2:08:23] southern estuaries. And then

[2:08:25] the last component is SEP new

[2:08:29] water phase of which is

[2:08:31] complete. So it includes 5

[2:08:33] miles seepage wall as well as

[2:08:37] 2.3 miles of a state and a

[2:08:38] half square mile seepage wall.

[2:08:42] This work is complete and it's

[2:08:43] already working and keeping

[2:08:44] water in the park, which we

[2:08:46] think is amazing. Before I get

[2:08:50] to the first project for your

[2:08:52] consideration, I'm going to

[2:08:53] walk through some updates on

[2:08:55] Sept PA starting with the

[2:08:56] stormwater treatment area.

[2:08:58] This work is complete. This

[2:09:02] picture shows the plantings

[2:09:05] and growing phase of this STA

[2:09:06] and how it's working. And and

[2:09:09] it's it's it's working. we're

[2:09:10] very excited about that. To

[2:09:16] describe as a reminder This

[2:09:20] portion of the project

[2:09:21] includes an additional 200 CFS

[2:09:24] flow being added to the north

[2:09:25] river to be able to pull that

[2:09:26] water in. Contract. The north

[2:09:30] new River dredging project is

[2:09:31] under construction. Then on

[2:09:33] the West side. Improvements on

[2:09:37] the order of an additional

[2:09:40] 1001 1000 CFS will constructed

[2:09:42] to bring water from the west.

[2:09:46] So that work is being done in

[2:09:47] 2 north and South package, the

[2:09:51] North package is currently out

[2:09:53] to bid and we intend to bring

[2:09:55] that back to the April

[2:09:55] governing board for your

[2:09:56] consideration. So the South

[2:10:01] package degn will be

[2:10:02] complete this year and its

[2:10:04] construction timeline will be

[2:10:04] based on future your budgets.

[2:10:07] So these 2 canal improvements

[2:10:10] support moving the additional

[2:10:11] flows south from Lake

[2:10:12] Okeechobee to store in tree.

[2:10:15] And to bring this flow into

[2:10:16] the reservoir requires this

[2:10:18] inflow outflow canals,

[2:10:18] approximately. 12 miles long.

[2:10:24] So the portion adjacent to the

[2:10:25] STA, as you know, stays

[2:10:25] complete, that's complete. It

[2:10:27] includes an inflow pump

[2:10:28] station. That's allows us to

[2:10:31] pull water in from the Miami

[2:10:31] Canal. And then the Corps

[2:10:33] completed. A good portion of

[2:10:37] its 7.3 miles. Minus the

[2:10:42] additional segment through

[2:10:45] here. And plus or minus. There

[2:10:49] is a construction village that

[2:10:51] blocks the the balance of this

[2:10:54] construction and traffic for

[2:10:54] construction of the different

[2:10:55] reservoir packages. So and

[2:10:59] then the balance of inflow

[2:11:00] outflow canal will be with the

[2:11:02] U.S. 27 package. That's an

[2:11:05] item on this agenda for the

[2:11:09] bridge crossings that brings

[2:11:09] that North New River flow in

[2:11:10] 2. Into the project. A big

[2:11:19] step forward for the yea. At

[2:11:22] the at the reservoir component

[2:11:26] was awarded by the Corps

[2:11:27] Jacksonville District. It's

[2:11:28] their largest construction

[2:11:29] contract ever. We participated

[2:11:32] in their pre construction

[2:11:33] partner, partnering meeting

[2:11:35] here with the Corps and their

[2:11:37] contractor in this auditorium

[2:11:38] in January. That's pretty

[2:11:39] exciting for us. So the

[2:11:42] existing construction village

[2:11:43] here. Like I is in the way of

[2:11:47] the inflow outflow canal. And

[2:11:51] required to be moved to this

[2:11:52] new location, which will house

[2:11:56] the reservoir contractor as

[2:11:57] well as the other contractors.

[2:12:00] So we took this work on. It's

[2:12:04] complete. It sits on about 70

[2:12:04] acres of district property.

[2:12:08] ready to mobilize for the

[2:12:09] reservoir contractor. Right

[2:12:14] here. You can see this is the

[2:12:15] fpnl Roadrunner substation

[2:12:16] that we. Contracted to bring

[2:12:19] power to the site. So moving

[2:12:24] to the agenda. Item U.S. 27

[2:12:27] runs along North New River

[2:12:29] here it is a major highway. So

[2:12:31] these bridges are necessary

[2:12:33] because the inflow outflow can

[2:12:34] now design. Brings it under

[2:12:37] under the roadway and didn't,

[2:12:40] you know, connecting to canal.

[2:12:41] So the green as the limits of

[2:12:43] the court construction and the

[2:12:45] blue is. DOT portion of the

[2:12:49] project. So we've been. We

[2:12:53] this project is going to move

[2:12:56] the reservoir and STwill

[2:12:58] move additional 370,000 acre

[2:13:00] feet. That's an average annual

[2:13:00] number. And through this

[2:13:05] connection. So you can see how

[2:13:07] important this small little

[2:13:09] project is in the scheme of

[2:13:09] the whole big project. We've

[2:13:13] been working closely with dot

[2:13:14] on the design of this feature

[2:13:15] to sequence work. So that's

[2:13:16] compatible. Various other

[2:13:20] construction contracts as well

[2:13:21] as traffic control for

[2:13:22] producers and other other

[2:13:24] industries. Use highway 27So

[2:13:28] under our existing local

[2:13:28] funding agreement with DOT.

[2:13:32] The board approved in 2021

[2:13:32] completing the design. This

[2:13:37] agreement. The second

[2:13:40] agreement will support the

[2:13:41] construction component of that

[2:13:42] work. To this agreement. Funds

[2:13:53] that allows th to if

[2:13:54] approved move forward contract

[2:13:58] out the work, go out to bid

[2:13:59] and contract out the work

[2:13:59] which builds. To mention 2 new

[2:14:03] bridge crossings and the canal

[2:14:04] connection. For 3,000 CFS

[2:14:08] flow. So that's not small. And

[2:14:13] it also supports the related

[2:14:15] services such as engineering

[2:14:18] during construction

[2:14:19] constructioninspection and

[2:14:20] management services as well as

[2:14:21] contingency. This money will

[2:14:22] be placed in escrow. That

[2:14:28] whatever balances left comes

[2:14:29] back to us that the end of the

[2:14:29] project. So now I move on to

[2:14:33] set north, which I have 2

[2:14:37] resolutions, one for the. For

[2:14:40] the repurposing of the U.S. a

[2:14:41] pump station and the second

[2:14:42] contract. To make canal

[2:14:46] improvements. Conveyance

[2:14:47] improvements to 5 remnant can

[2:14:47] now. Starting from the east.

[2:14:52] You see this picture here.

[2:14:53] This is our first contract out

[2:14:54] the door for Sept north, the

[2:14:58] Essex 20 to 500 CFS gated

[2:15:00] culvert that moves water from

[2:15:00] the L 6 canal to the west.

[2:15:03] Replacing a previous. But that

[2:15:04] was in the system. This

[2:15:06] project will be completed this

[2:15:07] year. So to describe why SEP

[2:15:11] north is important. In this

[2:15:14] graphic you can see over time.

[2:15:17] How projects we've completed

[2:15:20] starting to provide

[2:15:23] improvements and Shark River

[2:15:24] slew as well as Taylor Slew.

[2:15:26] So the blue areas mean more

[2:15:28] water, depth and hydration.

[2:15:30] And benefit to the system. But

[2:15:31] we still need to work on

[2:15:35] moving water to the north end

[2:15:36] of water. Conservation area.

[2:15:39] 3, a and help with hydration

[2:15:40] and she flow. This will help

[2:15:42] us get closer to attempting to

[2:15:45] recreate the river. A dress.

[2:15:50] So set north phase helps us do

[2:15:50] that by distributing water.

[2:15:54] Moving water and distributing

[2:15:54] to it that this north end.

[2:15:58] This by moving this water east

[2:16:00] through the canal

[2:16:01] modifications, new structures

[2:16:02] and backfilling the Miami can

[2:16:03] now it promotes. She flow

[2:16:06] across the in the higher

[2:16:07] topography in the north to the

[2:16:08] lower areas in the South. The

[2:16:11] components of Sepp north on

[2:16:13] the slide or an order.

[2:16:15] Construction packages. And

[2:16:16] we're almost complete with a

[2:16:17] 6.20, located right here. The

[2:16:19] Elf 5 Remnant Canal. Runs from

[2:16:23] the junction of North New

[2:16:25] River to a new structure that

[2:16:27] will will be built at 6.22, it

[2:16:29] has conveyance improvements

[2:16:31] included in that package. The

[2:16:34] has 8. Station modification.

[2:16:37] Also an agenda item is

[2:16:40] repurposing that structure to

[2:16:42] move 3,000 CFS. Into the L for

[2:16:46] Canal System and then south to

[2:16:47] sheet flow. The Essex, 22

[2:16:52] gated culvert is out for bid

[2:16:55] now for a bit. And we will be

[2:16:56] bringing that back to you in

[2:16:58] the March governing board for

[2:17:00] your consideration. So we have

[2:17:00] a lot moving. That's moving to

[2:17:04] construction in construction

[2:17:06] and then in designed. So the

[2:17:11] in order of how we reconstruct

[2:17:12] for would go next. Connecting

[2:17:17] the pump station to deliver

[2:17:17] that 3,000 CFS. And then the

[2:17:21] balance of the work the '05,

[2:17:23] its design is complete, but we

[2:17:26] but we would be tied into the

[2:17:27] Miami Canal backfill to be

[2:17:30] able to make sure we have the

[2:17:32] capacity on the West. And

[2:17:32] before we backfield the mind

[2:17:34] can now. Reasons why we're

[2:17:42] doing step north and why it's

[2:17:43] important. 7 north step

[2:17:45] overall, the elevation

[2:17:48] difference to the north across

[2:17:50] 3, a has a higher is higher in

[2:17:51] the north end and tends to dry

[2:17:53] down under our current

[2:17:55] hydrologic conditions and

[2:17:56] ponding occurs in the south

[2:17:57] end. And the greatest

[2:18:02] ecological threaten north

[2:18:02] under these dry conditions is

[2:18:04] soil. Last 3 wildfires and

[2:18:05] oxidation leading to habitat

[2:18:06] loss. So this model shows that

[2:18:11] SEP north features, combined

[2:18:12] with increased flow from that

[2:18:15] EA Reservoir. Most significant

[2:18:17] significantly increase hydra

[2:18:18] periods for reducing fire risk

[2:18:22] and allowing the return of

[2:18:22] historic Everglades vegetation

[2:18:24] across the region. As you can

[2:18:27] see, the blues in the Cy and

[2:18:29] mean more days that are hard,

[2:18:30] hydrated. So when to keep

[2:18:36] moving SEP north forward, the

[2:18:38] Elf 5 Remnant Canal Project

[2:18:40] will enlarge and improve

[2:18:41] approximately 5.8 miles of the

[2:18:43] canal to convey 500 CFS of

[2:18:45] Sept lows from the past 6.20.

[2:18:47] That's almost complete to the

[2:18:51] Essex. 22, that will be coming

[2:18:51] to you shortly. This work

[2:18:55] provide that operational

[2:18:58] flexibility and 500 additional

[2:18:58] CFS of new water moving to the

[2:18:59] West. The essay Pump station

[2:19:02] modification. Built back in

[2:19:06] 1962 by the Corps 3 purposes

[2:19:08] for 1160 CFS capacity to flow

[2:19:11] 3,000 CFS to the West with the

[2:19:14] balance flowing south for

[2:19:14] flood control. This work is

[2:19:17] broken out into 2 phases. The

[2:19:19] first construction package

[2:19:21] west for the Crane for

[2:19:22] Richmond project that you're

[2:19:23] approved and it's it will be

[2:19:26] substantially complete in

[2:19:29] March. The secondhase is for

[2:19:30] the balance of the work needed

[2:19:31] to repurpose and bring that

[2:19:32] station into current.

[2:19:35] Standards and current code. As

[2:19:38] you can see, there's a lot

[2:19:39] here that needs to be done. I

[2:19:39] won't read through it. So

[2:19:44] moving to the west portion of

[2:19:46] Seth North, for Canal, as I

[2:19:48] described, needs Includes

[2:19:51] features from the essay all

[2:19:53] the way up to this junction

[2:19:54] here. And the project

[2:19:57] implementation report, meaning

[2:19:58] the planning phase of this

[2:19:59] work. It included degrading

[2:20:01] this Southern Levy. Between

[2:20:05] the canal and water

[2:20:05] conservation area. 3, a so

[2:20:07] when we moved into design, we

[2:20:08] determined. he detailed

[2:20:11] modeling determined that

[2:20:12] degrading this levee found it

[2:20:15] to be an effective in

[2:20:16] delivering the uniform flow

[2:20:16] needed to meet restoration

[2:20:18] goals. So instead of him.

[2:20:22] Instead we're improving the

[2:20:23] ELF or Canal by increasing its

[2:20:25] capacity to 3,000 CFS. We will

[2:20:29] be constructing. We're

[2:20:30] designing new structures. And

[2:20:31] I spreader can now. And what

[2:20:35] this design allows is staging

[2:20:35] up for can now instead of a

[2:20:39] pump station, we will now be

[2:20:41] designing a covert to gravity

[2:20:43] flow for the tribes. Water

[2:20:44] supply needs. In addition, the

[2:20:49] which has that 4,160 C Fs

[2:20:53] capacity, we will design.

[2:20:54] We're designing a connecting

[2:20:55] can now to deliver that

[2:20:56] Theresa 1000 CFS. The

[2:21:00] structure in the Mighty Canal

[2:21:02] to flow the balance going

[2:21:03] South. So moving back to the

[2:21:10] east between asked 8 and has

[2:21:13] 6.22. is the L 5 canal

[2:21:13] expansion. Section commands

[2:21:20] section would be improved to

[2:21:21] fly 3,000 CFS. Allowing us to

[2:21:23] move that water. To the West.

[2:21:28] And like, like I mentioned

[2:21:29] before, we will be combining

[2:21:30] these 2 packages to move

[2:21:31] together. We want to be able

[2:21:34] to excavate. Process the

[2:21:36] material and truck the

[2:21:38] material South to it to

[2:21:41] backfill from the south to the

[2:21:42] North. So to minimize or

[2:21:46] handling of materials. That is

[2:21:47] why combining those 2

[2:21:48] packages. In addition, the

[2:21:51] reason why we went to for

[2:21:51] first. Is because we want to

[2:21:55] make sure we have that

[2:21:56] capacity to move the water for

[2:21:58] flood control before we

[2:21:59] backfill the Miami can now.

[2:22:02] And this will be the last

[2:22:03] component of Sept North.

[2:22:09] Seppi. A has a partnership.

[2:22:13] key partnership crediting

[2:22:15] agreement but set has the PPA.

[2:22:19] Sept north has that PRE

[2:22:22] Partnership crediting

[2:22:25] agreement. So some of the

[2:22:26] changes I now for. Are not in

[2:22:30] that the I R and what that

[2:22:31] required was a validation

[2:22:33] report. And so with that

[2:22:34] validation report. We'll be

[2:22:36] able to. Move on for Canal

[2:22:42] improvements. And that will be

[2:22:42] complete in 2025. But moving

[2:22:46] back to our 2 items on the

[2:22:47] agenda were hoping for our

[2:22:51] permits 4, 0, 8, 4, for

[2:22:52] permits. This march. Moving on

[2:22:56] to the 6.22, we're hoping for

[2:22:58] the amendment to the agreement

[2:23:01] in April with our permits in

[2:23:01] March. Be able to move out on

[2:23:05] those 3 construction

[2:23:05] contracts. All of the futures

[2:23:09] are part of the are covered

[2:23:12] under existing agreements. And

[2:23:17] I will asked for questions

[2:23:18] first. Before moving on to

[2:23:20] resolution. We have public

[2:23:22] comment. Yes, Mr. Chairman, we

[2:23:29] will hear first from Mark

[2:23:30] Perry followed by Caitlin

[2:23:31] Newcamp.

[2:23:37] >> Governing board and just a

[2:23:38] comment that the serve. You

[2:23:40] know, critical components of

[2:23:40] that. Sept in all the set

[2:23:45] features inside. So anxiously

[2:23:49] wanting to go ahead.

[2:23:51] Obviously, was completion of

[2:23:51] all these kind of components.

[2:23:54] And we remember the times

[2:23:55] everything was combined into

[2:23:59] sept north-south and it's

[2:24:00] critical that we get going and

[2:24:02] move these components forward

[2:24:03] so we can get that water

[2:24:03] moving in the right place at

[2:24:04] the right time, right?

[2:24:06] Quantity quality distribution.

[2:24:07] Thank you.

[2:24:08] >> Thank you, Mr. Perry next

[2:24:10] is Caitlin Newcamp.

[2:24:18] >> Good afternoon. Governing

[2:24:19] board members, Caitlin Newcamp

[2:24:20] with Audubon Florida. It was

[2:24:23] just like to commend the

[2:24:26] district's efforts continue to

[2:24:27] work on PA project. We

[2:24:28] recognize the importance of

[2:24:29] the U.S. 27 bridges as a vital

[2:24:31] component of Everglades

[2:24:32] restoration and water

[2:24:34] management, particularly for

[2:24:36] reducing harmful discharges

[2:24:36] from Lake Okeechobee to the

[2:24:39] northern estuaries and

[2:24:40] providing much-needed storage

[2:24:41] treatment and conveys to the

[2:24:43] southern Everglades. It is

[2:24:44] essential that the designing

[2:24:45] conveyance of these bridges as

[2:24:47] well as the canal segment,

[2:24:49] maximize hydrologic

[2:24:50] connectivity and contribute to

[2:24:51] the natural flow of water in

[2:24:52] the southern Everglades. In

[2:24:54] addition, we support the

[2:24:55] continued advancement of the 7

[2:24:56] north features, including the

[2:25:00] L 5 from the canal

[2:25:00] improvements and the S a pump

[2:25:02] station modification, which

[2:25:03] are vital to restoring the

[2:25:04] hydrology of the northern

[2:25:06] Everglades and enhancing water

[2:25:08] management and water

[2:25:08] conservation area. 3, a 7

[2:25:12] north is critical to improving

[2:25:13] water flow, quality and

[2:25:13] habitat in the northern

[2:25:15] Everglades while supporting

[2:25:17] flood protection, wildlife

[2:25:19] conservation and long-term

[2:25:20] ecological health in South

[2:25:21] Florida. It is a key part of

[2:25:23] ongoing efforts to restore the

[2:25:25] Everglades and ensure a

[2:25:26] balanced and viable water

[2:25:27] management system for future

[2:25:28] generations. So overall, out

[2:25:31] of on Florida supports the

[2:25:32] approval of all of these SEP

[2:25:35] projects. And we urge the

[2:25:36] district to continue

[2:25:38] prioritizing environmental

[2:25:39] protection, adaptive

[2:25:40] management and long-term

[2:25:42] restoration goals. As these

[2:25:42] projects move forward. Thank

[2:25:44] you. Thank you. Miss Newcamp.

[2:25:47] We'll hear next from Eric

[2:25:47] Eichenberg on Zoom.

[2:25:51] >> Mr. Eichenberg please

[2:25:52] Unmute your mic.

[2:25:56] >> morning, Mr. Chairman, I

[2:25:58] logged in see the beginning of

[2:26:00] this presentation. was

[2:26:02] excellent. I love hearing

[2:26:03] these wonderful SEP updates

[2:26:05] soon to be on a monthly basis.

[2:26:08] This project, as you all know,

[2:26:09] is so critical to the

[2:26:11] reconnection of Lake

[2:26:12] Okeechobee down the floor

[2:26:14] debates. All of these features

[2:26:15] from Sepp north-central south.

[2:26:15] So critical I want compliment

[2:26:19] ruin his team for the great

[2:26:19] work. They're doing We've got

[2:26:23] to get that blue shanty figure

[2:26:24] it out. We've got to raise the

[2:26:26] Osceola camp. We want to make

[2:26:27] sure all that water is flowing

[2:26:29] and the bridges that desiring

[2:26:32] to see into the park and floor

[2:26:33] debates. thank you all for the

[2:26:34] great work you're doing on

[2:26:34] Sept and good to be with the

[2:26:35] office.

[2:26:36] >> Thank you, Mr. Eichenberg.

[2:26:39] Mr. Chairman, we have no

[2:26:40] additional public comments on

[2:26:41] this item. Thank you. Thank

[2:26:42] you all for your comments.

[2:26:44] Attorney board members

[2:26:45] questions or comments for the

[2:26:46] snake. Mr. Trump, I. think

[2:26:50] this is great. od movement.

[2:26:56] Times right in 2. What I

[2:26:59] talked about for 15 minutes.

[2:27:03] Tamiami trail. All these

[2:27:08] projects we're building that

[2:27:09] are so important north of the

[2:27:11] Tamiami trail and it just

[2:27:15] shows how important the blue

[2:27:17] shunning. Getting that

[2:27:20] completed and all of these

[2:27:23] projects. That we need to do

[2:27:27] it. The trail to where the

[2:27:30] water doesn't cool to flee.

[2:27:31] Back up in the Central

[2:27:32] Everglades. So these are great

[2:27:35] projects. But it just shows us

[2:27:40] how important the Tamiami

[2:27:40] trail. We need continue to

[2:27:44] make sure. That the water's

[2:27:48] moving beyond the trail. And

[2:27:52] very important. Thank you. Mr.

[2:27:59] To Mr. Chair like to make a

[2:28:01] motion to approve the first

[2:28:01] resolution. All second. And

[2:28:05] just resolution. Number 2025,

[2:28:07] Dash, 0, 2, 1, 3, A motion and

[2:28:10] a second. there further

[2:28:11] discussion on that? It's

[2:28:12] called question spectrum. Mr.

[2:28:17] Stanley, Yes, I'm gonna vote.

[2:28:19] yes. MR. T S? Yes, Mr. Butler.

[2:28:23] MS meads. Yes. Thank you.

[2:28:27] Resolution 2025, 0, 2, 1, 3,

[2:28:30] passes unanimously kind. A

[2:28:30] motion on 2025, 0, 2, 1, 4,

[2:28:35] >> So moved second, a motion

[2:28:36] and a second further

[2:28:36] discussion. Hearing none.

[2:28:38] We'll call that question, Mr.

[2:28:40] Bergeron. Yes, Mr. Stanley.

[2:28:42] Yes, I'm gonna vote. Yes,

[2:28:44] Carol. Yes, Martinez, Mr.

[2:28:45] Butler. Yes, this Yes. Thank

[2:28:48] you. That passes unanimously

[2:28:50] resolution 2025, 0, 2, 1, 5,

[2:28:52] Is there a motion? Make a

[2:28:55] motion have a motion and a

[2:28:55] second. Is there further

[2:28:56] discussion? Hearing on call

[2:29:00] that question? Mr. Bergeron.

[2:29:01] Yes, Mr. Stanley. Yes, I'm

[2:29:04] gonna vote. Yes. Colonel

[2:29:05] Roman. Yes, Martinez. Yes, Mr.

[2:29:06] Butler. Yes, this means. Yes.

[2:29:10] Thank That passes unanimously.

[2:29:20] Okay. We're going to break now

[2:29:21] for lunch will be around 12,

[2:29:23] 15 ish.

[3:18:41] Good afternoon. We'll

[3:18:42] go ahead and call the

[3:18:43] governing board meeting back

[3:18:43] to order and will move into

[3:18:45] item number. 28, which is a

[3:18:47] technical reports with Mister

[3:18:47] Mitnick and Mister Glenn.

[3:18:49] >> Thank you, Mr. Chair

[3:18:51] starting off where we always

[3:18:54] do.

[3:18:55] >> looking at the rainfall.

[3:18:56] You can see the month of

[3:18:57] February, there hasn't been

[3:18:58] any ring. At least

[3:19:02] district-wide. So the way this

[3:19:04] graphic is put together, a

[3:19:05] meeting counts for entire

[3:19:06] district. So pretty much over

[3:19:07] the 16 counties so far this

[3:19:09] month, 12 days into it or 13

[3:19:11] days into it. Excuse me.

[3:19:15] really hasn't been a whole lot

[3:19:16] of rain over those 16

[3:19:17] counties, but I will say it

[3:19:18] the green at my house 2 days

[3:19:20] ago. So that was good for the

[3:19:21] dress. That's why you see a

[3:19:24] bunch of red all over this

[3:19:27] graphic. So looking there over

[3:19:30] on the right hand side, pretty

[3:19:32] much for the dry season to

[3:19:33] date with started back in

[3:19:35] October, we've only gotten

[3:19:36] about 40% of the rain that we

[3:19:39] typically get during the dry

[3:19:40] season to date. So it's well

[3:19:42] below average rainfall. What

[3:19:46] we've experienced so far and

[3:19:47] anybody who has a nice crispy

[3:19:48] long can the verify that. So

[3:19:52] as we walk through the rest of

[3:19:53] the system between Lawrence

[3:19:55] and I, you'll start to see the

[3:19:56] effects of that deficit and

[3:19:59] rainfall starting up there in

[3:20:00] the upper right hand corner

[3:20:01] with East Lake Toho. Those

[3:20:05] levels are falling. We're

[3:20:06] bringing beginning to draw

[3:20:07] down and continuing to draw

[3:20:09] down that lake in accordance

[3:20:11] with the fish and Wildlife

[3:20:13] Recession lines trying to get

[3:20:14] back down to the summer pool,

[3:20:18] getting ready for those

[3:20:20] anticipated rains that

[3:20:21] typically happen at the

[3:20:21] beginning of the wet season,

[3:20:23] but doing it in a manner that

[3:20:25] is conducive to fish and

[3:20:27] wildlife not have to steep

[3:20:28] recession. Would occur if we

[3:20:32] had followed the regulation

[3:20:33] schedule all the way there to

[3:20:35] the right to where sharp

[3:20:35] inflection starts heading

[3:20:38] down. Similar stories. You go

[3:20:39] over to West Lake. Continuing

[3:20:42] to draw down Westlake a move

[3:20:43] that water through the system

[3:20:44] down into Kissimmee, Cypress

[3:20:47] and Hatchineha again accords

[3:20:48] with the fish and Wildlife

[3:20:48] Recession. Up in the upper

[3:20:53] left-hand I will say that

[3:20:56] graphic looks a little

[3:20:56] different this time is because

[3:20:58] there's an error in it that I

[3:20:58] did not catch before this

[3:21:00] morning. I just noticed it

[3:21:01] earlier during some of the

[3:21:02] other presentations as I was

[3:21:04] looking ahead. So I apologize

[3:21:07] for that. The air itself is

[3:21:09] the this red line here, which

[3:21:11] is the old regulation

[3:21:13] schedule. He's still plotted

[3:21:15] there on that graphic over top

[3:21:16] of the current increment, one

[3:21:19] regulation schedule. So we'll

[3:21:20] get that fixed for next month

[3:21:23] have it's even get it fixed

[3:21:24] prior to the final publication

[3:21:25] on the website of the meeting

[3:21:27] materials. Similar story

[3:21:31] continuing to draw down Lake

[3:21:35] Kissimmee as we step down

[3:21:37] through the new regulation

[3:21:38] schedule. Increment one.

[3:21:39] There's been the reductions

[3:21:40] inflows. I think we talked a

[3:21:40] little bit about that back in

[3:21:42] December when we last Mr.

[3:21:45] Butler and ask the questions

[3:21:46] when those flows would start

[3:21:47] being reduced. And as we've

[3:21:48] stepped down through the

[3:21:51] different zones in the

[3:21:52] regulation schedule, we sort

[3:21:53] of backed off of the flows

[3:21:54] coming out of Kissimmee,

[3:21:55] accordance with the schedule.

[3:21:58] The was that slight bit of

[3:21:58] rain up there. As you can see

[3:21:59] from the blue bars there at

[3:22:00] the top. Where lake stage came

[3:22:05] up some. once again resume

[3:22:06] that recession. For the most

[3:22:09] part, continuing to manage

[3:22:11] those flows coming out of the

[3:22:13] lake in accordance with the

[3:22:15] new regulation. Increment, one

[3:22:15] scheduled. Similar story there

[3:22:19] and Eastlake is to pump sorry

[3:22:20] in Lake Istokpoga just and

[3:22:23] flat with the regulation

[3:22:23] schedule eventually will start

[3:22:25] coming down as we get deeper

[3:22:27] into the dry season. And with

[3:22:29] that large.

[3:22:36] >> Back

[3:22:36] >> quickly, John's talking

[3:22:37] about this recession line,

[3:22:40] which is right over here. It's

[3:22:42] especially important for snail

[3:22:42] kites. And we got our first

[3:22:44] snow kite nest in Lake Toho.

[3:22:46] So that's the first nest for

[3:22:47] the season across the state.

[3:22:52] Coming down the Kissimmee PC a

[3:22:54] year ago a month ago. And the

[3:22:56] current conditions. So

[3:22:57] currently there's 880 CFS

[3:22:58] coming down the Kissimmee

[3:23:00] River. It's not enough to push

[3:23:02] water up and down into the

[3:23:04] flood plain. So that

[3:23:05] floodplain is starting dry

[3:23:05] down. And then in this

[3:23:10] graphic, this is a new graphic

[3:23:12] in the top. And I wanted to

[3:23:12] really be able to convey the

[3:23:16] range of of discharge

[3:23:18] necessary to begin inundation

[3:23:18] of the floodplain and then to,

[3:23:19] you know, fully inundate the

[3:23:20] floodplain without rainfall.

[3:23:23] So in this graphic at the top,

[3:23:24] I've talked about 1400 CFS

[3:23:28] quite often. And that is the

[3:23:30] discharge that is required for

[3:23:31] this stage. Discharge As you

[3:23:34] start approaching 1400, the

[3:23:36] River Channel is filling up.

[3:23:37] And then when you get to

[3:23:39] starts going over bank the

[3:23:40] dating the floodplain. But it

[3:23:43] doesn't in the entire

[3:23:44] floodplain at 1400. So it's a

[3:23:45] range between 1403,000 without

[3:23:49] rainfall. That is required for

[3:23:51] that. That relationship to

[3:23:52] happen and to get floodplain

[3:23:52] inundation. The graphic on the

[3:23:56] bottom is showing you what the

[3:23:59] seven-day mean. Dissolved

[3:23:59] oxygen level is at 7.3

[3:24:00] milligrams per liter. This is

[3:24:04] well above those limits down

[3:24:06] at the bottom that we start

[3:24:08] being concerned about for

[3:24:08] organisms are acquiring

[3:24:09] option. It's a looking at how

[3:24:16] waters moved around the

[3:24:17] northern parcel portion of the

[3:24:18] system. You can see.

[3:24:21] >> Read about there's been

[3:24:22] about 1.4 million acre feet

[3:24:24] has flowed into Lake

[3:24:24] Okeechobee from the northern

[3:24:25] watershed, but hardly any of

[3:24:27] that. I'm sorry. The majority

[3:24:30] of that was prior to this last

[3:24:32] month because of the month of

[3:24:34] January early hasn't been a

[3:24:35] whole lot of rain. There has

[3:24:35] been a lot of flow.

[3:24:37] >> As indicated by those

[3:24:40] previous graphics over on the

[3:24:41] West Coast, you can see about

[3:24:42] 1.6 million acre feet has been

[3:24:46] moved towards the

[3:24:47] Caloosahatchee estuary with

[3:24:49] about 440,000 acre feet.

[3:24:50] Having originated back in Lake

[3:24:51] Okeechobee. Over on the East

[3:24:55] Coast. Now with the recovery

[3:24:56] operations under way, you can

[3:24:59] see there's been about 253,000

[3:25:01] acre feet of water come out of

[3:25:02] the C 44 basin. Inclusive of

[3:25:07] Lake Okeechobee, adding for

[3:25:09] contributing about 116,000

[3:25:09] acre feet of water from Lake

[3:25:13] Okeechobee through the C 44

[3:25:14] canal, to the Port St. Lucie

[3:25:17] Estuary, looking at other 2

[3:25:20] inputs c, 23. 24, you've got

[3:25:22] about 200 and just shy of

[3:25:23] 250,000 acre feet of runoff

[3:25:25] for the water year to date

[3:25:30] going to the Port St. Lucie

[3:25:31] Estuary and then about 111 or

[3:25:35] so I'm going out. See 25 into

[3:25:36] the Indian River Lagoon up in

[3:25:37] the Fort Pierce area. kind of

[3:25:41] takes us to Lake Okeechobee

[3:25:45] and what there's been a fair

[3:25:46] amount of discussion as you're

[3:25:47] well aware over the forecast

[3:25:50] in the projections of recovery

[3:25:50] operations and where the and

[3:25:53] up. So analysis is that

[3:25:57] conditional position, analysis

[3:25:58] that we switch to a number of

[3:26:00] months ago. It is inclusive of

[3:26:03] recovery operations as

[3:26:05] described in Lowsome and also

[3:26:06] takes into account the climate

[3:26:07] projections for the next

[3:26:09] couple months through rest of

[3:26:10] the dry season that big gray

[3:26:13] box. There's just a meant to

[3:26:14] cover up the wet season

[3:26:15] because the tool that we are

[3:26:19] using does not predict

[3:26:21] reliable results out into the

[3:26:23] wet season. So it's good for

[3:26:25] the application of the dry

[3:26:26] season over from now until

[3:26:26] about June. 1st. But once you

[3:26:29] get past that and sort of

[3:26:32] there's other things that need

[3:26:32] to be taken into

[3:26:33] consideration. So right now

[3:26:37] you can see based on the

[3:26:38] different percentiles. This

[3:26:40] red line here is the 50th

[3:26:44] percentile. So coming down.

[3:26:47] But that should tell you by

[3:26:48] June first, you've got roughly

[3:26:51] 50% chance or probability

[3:26:54] actually that the lake will

[3:26:55] just below 12 feet by June

[3:26:56] first and then 25 percent

[3:27:01] probability the lake has a

[3:27:03] chance of getting down to just

[3:27:04] below 11 and a half feet. So

[3:27:07] that's the tool that the water

[3:27:08] management district has been

[3:27:10] doing using in combination

[3:27:11] with the traditional dynamic

[3:27:13] position. Analysis. Again, all

[3:27:14] of that is posted out the

[3:27:17] district's web page for

[3:27:18] everybody to go view and

[3:27:19] peruse at your leisure. I will

[3:27:23] also share with you. This is

[3:27:25] the forecast that the Corps of

[3:27:28] Engineers presented at the

[3:27:29] public meeting just earlier

[3:27:29] this week. This tool is a

[3:27:34] little bit different than the

[3:27:36] one that we use. It has some

[3:27:38] assumptions built into it. You

[3:27:39] can see up there up in the

[3:27:41] upper right-hand corner. What

[3:27:41] those assumptions are on the

[3:27:44] different scenarios. So

[3:27:45] there's 3 scenarios and the 3

[3:27:46] dotted lines that you can see.

[3:27:48] And then down at the bottom of

[3:27:50] the graphic in the table is

[3:27:54] what the forecasted low and

[3:27:56] the very given day based on

[3:27:57] each one of those scenarios,

[3:27:59] scenarios run. If you continue

[3:28:02] recovery operations through

[3:28:03] May 1st or you stop and

[3:28:07] curtail those recovery

[3:28:08] operations, March 15th or

[3:28:10] versus if you're done it

[3:28:11] earlier in the beginning of

[3:28:11] February and the likely

[3:28:14] outcome given and 80%. I would

[3:28:20] say 80% probability for

[3:28:21] precipitation. So the

[3:28:26] district's tool we take into

[3:28:26] the climate forecast based on

[3:28:27] the Climate Prediction Center,

[3:28:29] this tool just assumes if you

[3:28:30] get 80% average rainfall from

[3:28:34] now through June first. And

[3:28:36] that's inputs into the lake.

[3:28:38] And then you would have these

[3:28:39] protected lake stages. Right

[3:28:42] now we have been tracking

[3:28:43] about 40%. Average rainfall.

[3:28:46] So that's sort of the

[3:28:47] difference between the 2 tools

[3:28:48] as you go. One is in better

[3:28:52] than the other. They're just

[3:28:53] different approaches and more

[3:28:55] information 4 decision makers

[3:28:57] to evaluating as they reach

[3:29:00] their conclusions in the

[3:29:01] operations. are asking a

[3:29:02] question certainly Zeke. So I

[3:29:04] think you said in in November

[3:29:09] average about you think about

[3:29:10] a foot a month that you lose

[3:29:10] off the lake.

[3:29:14] >> Charlies. Yeah. Generally

[3:29:15] speaking over the course of a

[3:29:16] dry normal dry season, you

[3:29:17] lose about 3 feet.

[3:29:21] >> You can generally break

[3:29:22] that up into one foot for

[3:29:25] Operation Transporation one

[3:29:26] foot for water supply and one

[3:29:27] foot for other uses flowing

[3:29:29] water south.

[3:29:33] >> Its February 15th and work

[3:29:33] 14 feet right. And June, first

[3:29:37] 3 and a half months away. So

[3:29:40] my simple math is taking his

[3:29:41] way below 12 feet.

[3:29:44] >> Yeah, that's that's what

[3:29:45] everybody's been evaluating

[3:29:46] right now. There's still a

[3:29:48] likelihood, a high likelihood

[3:29:49] of achieving success in with

[3:29:53] the recovery operations. And

[3:29:54] Lawrence can talk a little bit

[3:29:55] more about what that means to

[3:29:57] the lake and every day below

[3:29:58] 12 feet is a good thing. So

[3:30:04] there's still a likelihood of

[3:30:05] success. Now, having just said

[3:30:06] that there are other

[3:30:08] considerations. And Lawrence,

[3:30:10] we'll talk some about this

[3:30:11] when he talks about the

[3:30:12] estuaries. There's other

[3:30:13] considerations that go into

[3:30:14] recovery operations such as

[3:30:15] the estuary, extreme

[3:30:17] conditions and what impact

[3:30:19] those operations are having on

[3:30:20] the estuaries. If any, as well

[3:30:23] as the impending spawning

[3:30:24] season and the estuaries and

[3:30:27] that reproductive time frame

[3:30:29] that the estuaries go through.

[3:30:30] We don't want to limit that

[3:30:31] any way, shape or form either.

[3:30:33] So right now what we're

[3:30:35] signaling in our weekly

[3:30:40] recommendations that Drews

[3:30:40] talked about with the

[3:30:41] commander is that? For

[3:30:45] recommending that recovery

[3:30:48] operations continue monitoring

[3:30:51] the extreme conditions, but

[3:30:52] with the mindset to start

[3:30:53] implementing reductions in the

[3:30:53] beginning of March. So that's

[3:30:56] sort of the district is

[3:31:00] recommending at this time and

[3:31:00] that we reassess tt

[3:31:01] recommendation every week.

[3:31:03] Chairman forth.

[3:31:09] >> The core forecast. At the

[3:31:12] beginning of the dry season.

[3:31:17] Wouldn't it higher for a

[3:31:18] higher like than what the

[3:31:20] district forecast. And here we

[3:31:20] are now the corps forecasting

[3:31:23] lower. Yes, it was. it is that

[3:31:25] because the recovery mode

[3:31:26] wouldn't put into their

[3:31:28] forecast for what's So they

[3:31:30] did also present that slide

[3:31:31] that you're talking about.

[3:31:32] They had a December forecast

[3:31:34] in the public meeting. I did

[3:31:36] not included in my slide deck,

[3:31:36] but you are correct. The

[3:31:38] December forecast.

[3:31:39] >> Based on the same tool that

[3:31:40] the Corps had predicted a

[3:31:43] higher stage at that point in

[3:31:44] time. The difference between

[3:31:45] then and now is the lack of

[3:31:46] rainfall. We've been tracking

[3:31:48] 40% of precipitation instead

[3:31:49] of an assumed 80%. So that's

[3:31:52] why this forecast has come out

[3:31:56] lower and increase the

[3:31:57] likelihood or the chance of

[3:31:58] achieving success. Because

[3:31:59] Mother Nature simply dried up

[3:31:59] the skies. One more quick

[3:32:02] question on down here.

[3:32:06] >> The gold under recovery as

[3:32:07] part of Lowsome. Was under 11

[3:32:10] for 60 days, 11 and a half

[3:32:13] under 11, a half or 60 days or

[3:32:14] under 12 for 90 days, correct.

[3:32:17] And I see I was to hear doubt

[3:32:20] having to do math in my head.

[3:32:21] Look at the Blue Line

[3:32:22] countdown and get in the days

[3:32:23] of the camera want.

[3:32:27] >> It's already calculated

[3:32:28] down here. bottom, Jenna?

[3:32:31] Dewan, go ahead. Careful.

[3:32:33] That's what saw was 97 days on

[3:32:34] scenario one and 69 days on

[3:32:34] scenario, 2, again, lowsome

[3:32:38] and vision for recovery. 90

[3:32:40] days.

[3:32:43] >> 12 and a or 12 at 12 for

[3:32:46] success. Correct. I will

[3:32:51] follow up after all. I want to

[3:32:52] hear after the estuary

[3:32:54] conditions and the follow-up

[3:32:55] of discussion, maybe at the

[3:32:56] end of this whole

[3:32:57] presentation.

[3:32:57] >> Sounds like you're up arms

[3:33:00] to short.

[3:33:00] >> So what we're seeing here

[3:33:03] is mean the big take home

[3:33:04] message is the graphic on the

[3:33:05] right-hand side where oranges

[3:33:06] combined inflows and the green

[3:33:08] and the blue is combined

[3:33:09] outflows. So they're out

[3:33:11] flowing a lot more than is

[3:33:11] coming into the lake

[3:33:13] currently, you go over to the

[3:33:14] left hand side and you see

[3:33:15] what's coming in at 900.

[3:33:18] Basically 1900 going 77 and

[3:33:21] 740 going out as Now, this is

[3:33:24] a pretty interesting little

[3:33:28] data figure going. You've got

[3:33:28] to 38 CFS going South. You

[3:33:32] have to 35 going out east and

[3:33:34] west and you have 2.39 or 239

[3:33:41] going out 2,390 going up

[3:33:43] through of Apple Transporation

[3:33:44] say have 3 different processes

[3:33:45] there that are taking water

[3:33:45] off of the lake and basically

[3:33:47] the same rate and from this

[3:33:51] point forward Transporation

[3:33:53] starts really picking up.

[3:33:55] We'll get into the next month

[3:33:55] where that will be. I mean, we

[3:33:57] see 3400 so Transporation.

[3:34:01] John has talked about it

[3:34:05] before in the beginning of the

[3:34:07] the dry season is kind of

[3:34:08] operations and then it moves

[3:34:09] how water is moving out. And

[3:34:12] the 2nd half is of Apple

[3:34:13] Transporation water supplies.

[3:34:13] So we're kind of teetering on

[3:34:16] that to that point right now

[3:34:17] we're going to see of Apple

[3:34:17] Transporation really pick up

[3:34:21] do the more than what we're

[3:34:23] doing on either of the other

[3:34:24] outlets. So where are we in

[3:34:28] terms of the different

[3:34:30] ecological out Lopes? If this

[3:34:32] was a regular year, we would

[3:34:32] be at the bottom and of the

[3:34:34] standard ecological envelope.

[3:34:36] But we are in recovery. So

[3:34:40] we're just probably today

[3:34:41] because we're a little lower

[3:34:42] than the number of their 14

[3:34:43] point. 1, 8, ngv where we are

[3:34:49] in the recovery envelope. And

[3:34:50] we're definitely following

[3:34:51] that trajectory. Dow. I had

[3:34:55] those numbers for you here.

[3:34:56] We've already discussed them,

[3:34:57] but it's 90 days that are

[3:35:00] below 12 feet and 60 days at

[3:35:03] or below 11 fee and what that

[3:35:04] looks like. Here's your

[3:35:05] targets stages down in the

[3:35:07] bottom and how long the period

[3:35:10] of time that you lot

[3:35:11] ecological envelope allows for

[3:35:12] those if we were to hit in May

[3:35:16] and that be 135 days, the 12

[3:35:18] foot target. If you hit it

[3:35:20] then or it would be if you had

[3:35:22] 11 point 5 that allows for 105

[3:35:25] days. So you look at the blue

[3:35:26] trace of 2019. You see that it

[3:35:30] hits below are hits levels

[3:35:32] below 11.5 in May. And then it

[3:35:34] starts coming back up in

[3:35:38] August and the same thing for

[3:35:39] 12 feet. It meets both of

[3:35:40] those criteria of the 60 in

[3:35:44] the 90 days. So if we were to

[3:35:46] follow something like that

[3:35:47] because rainfall still, you

[3:35:48] know, usually starts happening

[3:35:49] in July and August. It lets

[3:35:52] you know, likely would have a

[3:35:54] pretty good chance of meeting

[3:35:55] these recovery criteria. And

[3:35:58] one thing I want to kind not

[3:36:02] dismiss, but talk about these

[3:36:03] criteria. Is. 90 days at 12

[3:36:08] feet is 85 days. Not good

[3:36:09] enough. You know, if we go

[3:36:14] even 92 days, is that too

[3:36:14] much? You know, so and as John

[3:36:18] said it and then stole my

[3:36:19] thunder. But it was great that

[3:36:19] he cause, you know, the

[3:36:22] benefits that you get even at

[3:36:24] 70 days. But pretty

[3:36:24] incredible. So 90 days our

[3:36:28] target does what really like

[3:36:29] to see because that's it's

[3:36:32] really based on that. How how

[3:36:34] expansive a nation can be on

[3:36:36] the lake. You know how much

[3:36:38] city that's going to create

[3:36:39] from Anchorage perspective

[3:36:40] across the lake. But

[3:36:42] absolutely getting to 12 for a

[3:36:44] period of time is extremely

[3:36:46] beneficial. And here's some

[3:36:50] more good news. So our crews

[3:36:52] have been out looking at the

[3:36:54] lake and we have found SA V

[3:36:57] numerous areas along Indian

[3:36:59] Prairie shoreline is or 2 to 3

[3:37:01] inch tall plants. And we found

[3:37:02] them up to 6 to 8 inches. So

[3:37:04] even if we didn't get to, you

[3:37:07] know, say we got to 12.5 and

[3:37:09] we didn't get to 12 and we

[3:37:10] weren't getting a lot of new

[3:37:12] germination. We have pockets

[3:37:14] of sat out there that are

[3:37:15] going to benefit greatly and

[3:37:17] become more dense and be able

[3:37:18] to carry themselves through

[3:37:19] time. And that's habitat,

[3:37:21] especially for the bass

[3:37:24] fishery that that, you know,

[3:37:24] people are really concerned

[3:37:26] about. So the operations that

[3:37:29] we're doing, I think are going

[3:37:30] to be very beneficial for as a

[3:37:32] be on the lake this coming

[3:37:33] year. Looking at a sign

[3:37:39] bacterial bloom, potential and

[3:37:41] intensity. So we start to see

[3:37:42] uptick in the pixels that this

[3:37:46] is a NOAA satellite. It's

[3:37:47] looking down at the lake and

[3:37:48] is picking up signatures of of

[3:37:50] photosynthetic pigment on the

[3:37:51] surface of the water. So what

[3:37:53] type of phytoplankton are out

[3:37:54] there that are photo

[3:37:55] synthesizing or the algae or

[3:37:56] they blue green algae. This

[3:37:57] doesn't tell you what they

[3:37:59] are. It just says that there's

[3:38:00] if you look over on the

[3:38:02] right-hand side that there's a

[3:38:04] low probability that there's

[3:38:05] an out algae bloom, a current.

[3:38:08] So we have monitoring that. We

[3:38:11] do. You know, during the bloom

[3:38:12] season, we're out there twice

[3:38:14] a month, looking at 32

[3:38:16] different stations and the

[3:38:18] winter. We have 9 stations

[3:38:19] that we're looking at monthly

[3:38:20] and that sampling occurred

[3:38:22] last week. And really the

[3:38:23] take-home message here is

[3:38:27] there are algal bloom, not how

[3:38:28] come there are Al Ghul species

[3:38:31] out there present. There are

[3:38:32] always present in fresh water,

[3:38:35] but we don't dominant species

[3:38:37] occurring. We get concerned

[3:38:39] when blue green microcystis

[3:38:39] becomes most dominant and that

[3:38:42] is a toxin producer. So you

[3:38:44] see there is no dominant taxa

[3:38:47] and there are no toxins being

[3:38:52] produced currently. We also

[3:38:53] suggested to the Army Corps

[3:38:54] that they initiate early this

[3:38:56] year. There. Daily reporting

[3:38:59] at the structures. So as 308,

[3:39:02] as 80 and the Port St. Lucie

[3:39:05] side at 77, 78 79 in the

[3:39:08] Caloosahatchee side. So every

[3:39:09] day they do a visual

[3:39:09] inspection. Take photos that

[3:39:10] comes to us. We kind of

[3:39:14] package and send it out as a

[3:39:16] report so that the public has

[3:39:17] that data as well. And there

[3:39:18] have been no visual nothing

[3:39:25] has been positive. It's all

[3:39:25] been zeros. They had seen no

[3:39:26] blue green algae at any of the

[3:39:27] structures. We are beginning

[3:39:31] waiting bird season. And so

[3:39:34] we've had 2 samples to date in

[3:39:36] the February. One you see is

[3:39:38] along that just smack dab in

[3:39:39] the middle of the inner core

[3:39:40] Tower range and on the 5 year

[3:39:41] average. That's about 1500

[3:39:44] wading birds using the lake

[3:39:46] currently wading bird use is

[3:39:49] going to really begin to

[3:39:49] increase when we hit 14 feet.

[3:39:53] So I expect to come back next

[3:39:54] month and tell you that wading

[3:39:56] bird foraging has increased

[3:39:56] pretty dramatically. Now

[3:39:59] looking at inflows and

[3:40:00] sanity conditions over in

[3:40:02] this and the Port St. Lucie,

[3:40:05] these blue areas right here

[3:40:06] show and we are Army Corps is

[3:40:11] pulse, releasing water to the

[3:40:13] Port St. Lucie and then you're

[3:40:14] also going to see what the

[3:40:17] difference is in the salinity

[3:40:18] set up between last month and

[3:40:20] this month. And so the forks

[3:40:22] right now are between 0, 5,

[3:40:25] and that's called The Lego

[3:40:26] Hailing zone. And then when

[3:40:29] you start getting to pass the

[3:40:30] forks in the mid estuary

[3:40:31] through here year 5 to 18.

[3:40:37] That's the meso hailing zone.

[3:40:38] And that's the area and the

[3:40:40] salinity condition that is

[3:40:40] referenced over here between

[3:40:42] 10. And 25, which is the

[3:40:47] optimal range for adult

[3:40:49] oysters. And you see that that

[3:40:50] we're in, that we're at the

[3:40:50] bottom, but we're at the end.

[3:40:52] John alluded to it. March

[3:40:56] begins. Reproduction and the

[3:40:58] estuaries. So you have the

[3:40:59] fish beginning. This bond. You

[3:41:00] have the oysters that are

[3:41:00] beginning to spawn. have photo

[3:41:03] phytoplankton and zooplankton

[3:41:04] that are starting to produce

[3:41:05] and that's the base of the

[3:41:07] food that's the extreme food

[3:41:09] lab that is really important

[3:41:10] for sustaining and maintaining

[3:41:12] all of the life in the

[3:41:13] estuary. So I show you on this

[3:41:17] right hand side that that is

[3:41:19] the optimal threshold range

[3:41:20] for adult oysters spat like

[3:41:24] higher salinity than 10. So

[3:41:27] they're more like the 12, 15,

[3:41:28] probably the 15 range that

[3:41:31] that they prefer in order for

[3:41:33] their survivorship. So that's

[3:41:36] where we talked about. And

[3:41:37] John said that we're

[3:41:38] considering ramping down so

[3:41:40] that we can allow those

[3:41:43] salinity ranges to elevate. So

[3:41:45] that newly released that would

[3:41:46] have a greater chance for

[3:41:47] survivor ship. Going over the

[3:41:53] Caloosahatchee. Same sort of

[3:41:54] thing. Here is a pulse

[3:41:54] releases that we're seeing.

[3:41:57] You're seeing the salinity

[3:41:58] gradient through the system,

[3:42:00] which is actually a really

[3:42:01] great salinity gradient. When

[3:42:04] you look at adult oysters for

[3:42:06] both Cape Coral Shell Point,

[3:42:06] you're right in smack dab that

[3:42:10] preferred range. Sanibel is

[3:42:11] always a little salt here. But

[3:42:15] the same thing for this site,

[3:42:16] reproduction occurs just

[3:42:16] similarly as it does in the

[3:42:19] Port St. Lucie side, the

[3:42:20] Caloosahatchee a little bit

[3:42:21] different in its base flow.

[3:42:25] The restoration target is a

[3:42:26] base of 7.50. So this estuary

[3:42:29] is just has a different

[3:42:31] configuration and hydro

[3:42:31] dynamics and the Port St.

[3:42:32] Lucie Side does so. It's

[3:42:34] always looking for 750 and

[3:42:36] above in order to keep this

[3:42:39] salinity and in range with the

[3:42:40] needs of the organisms in it.

[3:42:46] All right. So looking at how

[3:42:47] waters moved around the

[3:42:48] southern portion of the

[3:42:50] system.

[3:42:51] >> You can see the outflows

[3:42:52] from Lake Okeechobee this past

[3:42:53] month with those drier

[3:42:55] weathers, inclusive of all

[3:42:57] destinations flowing water,

[3:42:58] South water supply. Everything

[3:43:01] included just shy of 300,000

[3:43:02] acre feet in the last month.

[3:43:05] So you anticipate seeing those

[3:43:06] numbers continuing to increase

[3:43:07] as we go deeper into the dry

[3:43:08] season. There's been about and

[3:43:13] total just shy of 1.7 million

[3:43:17] acre feet of moved into the

[3:43:17] water conservation areas.

[3:43:21] Currently the S Ten's the

[3:43:22] Corps of Engineers has those

[3:43:24] closed as well as the S

[3:43:26] elevens going from area to

[3:43:28] area 3. Those are also closed.

[3:43:32] However, we are in cooperation

[3:43:33] with the Corps of Engineers

[3:43:34] moving some water out of area.

[3:43:37] 2 through 7 pump station to a

[3:43:39] gravity gate that is OK to

[3:43:41] that station and moving it

[3:43:43] just on the other side of us.

[3:43:44] 27 and trying to put it right

[3:43:46] in here through the S one, 50

[3:43:48] structure to be able to

[3:43:50] hydrate that combat bird

[3:43:50] colony. That is right there

[3:43:52] and maintain some water levels

[3:43:53] around the colonies. So

[3:43:56] continue those operations. The

[3:43:56] best we can. Moving farther

[3:43:58] down in the system. You can

[3:44:00] see in total there's been a

[3:44:04] significant volume of water

[3:44:05] has been moved down into

[3:44:07] Everglades National Park just

[3:44:09] shy of 1.5 million acre feet

[3:44:10] inclusive of some of that

[3:44:12] return seepage and the

[3:44:13] detention cells over here on

[3:44:14] the eastern side along the

[3:44:16] lower East coast from

[3:44:20] Miami-Dade Palm Beach County.

[3:44:21] There's been just shy of 2 and

[3:44:21] a half million acre feet. He's

[3:44:24] been moved off the lower East

[3:44:25] Coast urbanized areas. the

[3:44:31] Intercoastal Waterway with

[3:44:33] about a million and a half of

[3:44:33] that 2 and a half million

[3:44:35] actually being directed

[3:44:36] towards Biscayne Bay. So with

[3:44:42] that looking at the stormwater

[3:44:43] treatment areas you can see so

[3:44:44] far this year, the stormwater

[3:44:47] treatment areas have treated

[3:44:49] just over a million acre feet

[3:44:50] of water and process that

[3:44:51] million acre feet of water

[3:44:53] through them since going back

[3:44:54] to May. 1st of last year, what

[3:44:58] you'll notice different this

[3:45:00] month and when we met in

[3:45:01] December, is this bar down

[3:45:03] here at the bottom is getting

[3:45:04] a lot larger. You can see with

[3:45:08] the drier weather that I've

[3:45:09] already talked about. The

[3:45:12] moving water south. We're

[3:45:13] continuing to process that

[3:45:14] water through the stormwater

[3:45:16] treatment areas and that

[3:45:19] 153,000 acre feet is what

[3:45:20] we've been able to do so far.

[3:45:23] This dry season just coming

[3:45:24] from Lake Okeechobee. And

[3:45:25] you'll notice if you look back

[3:45:26] across the years, that's the

[3:45:30] highest total since 2019 that

[3:45:31] we've been able to process

[3:45:32] through the stormwater

[3:45:33] treatment areas during the dry

[3:45:34] season from Lake Okeechobee.

[3:45:38] Is mainly attributed to the

[3:45:39] drier conditions. When it's

[3:45:43] not raining, then we can move

[3:45:44] a lot more water as evidence

[3:45:45] back here in 2015 when there

[3:45:47] is a sizable amount of water

[3:45:49] moved during the dry season

[3:45:51] that 586,000 acre feet was

[3:45:55] able to be processed through

[3:45:56] the stormwater treatment areas

[3:45:57] because there was a lack of

[3:45:57] rainfall south of the lake. So

[3:45:58] we're on track this year to

[3:46:01] continue to see more water

[3:46:04] moving south right now are

[3:46:04] doing about 1100. 1100 cubic

[3:46:09] feet per second solely

[3:46:11] attributed to moving water

[3:46:12] south through the stormwater

[3:46:13] treatment areas in total

[3:46:15] outflows from the lake this

[3:46:16] morning. We're just over 2000

[3:46:19] CFS with the balance being for

[3:46:21] water supply. But 1100 of that

[3:46:22] 2000 is going to the St Ays

[3:46:24] and down into the Central

[3:46:25] Everglades. With that,

[3:46:27] Lawrence. So John's already

[3:46:31] talked about the numbers and

[3:46:34] we have a substantial amount

[3:46:35] coming from the

[3:46:37] >> always want to keep in mind

[3:46:39] that the dry season is the

[3:46:41] time. Are we going to help?

[3:46:45] Education has been stressed

[3:46:46] through the wet season because

[3:46:47] it cuts deep for long time.

[3:46:48] They're doing their job.

[3:46:49] They're doing their job very

[3:46:51] well. But this is our

[3:46:53] opportunity to go in and do

[3:46:54] that. But we always are

[3:46:55] looking for opportunity to

[3:46:55] move this lake water through.

[3:46:58] So most of the treatment

[3:46:59] cells, as you see in the

[3:47:00] bottom graph, most of the St

[3:47:01] Ays are at their target stages

[3:47:05] except for STA 5, 6, That one

[3:47:08] tends to drive down. But

[3:47:10] that's what the one to c one.

[3:47:11] 39 at the be is gonna come in

[3:47:12] and help ameliorate that

[3:47:14] condition. But you see John

[3:47:16] talked about flows that we've

[3:47:17] been sending through the St

[3:47:19] Ays and in the last week that

[3:47:20] gives you the volumes of where

[3:47:21] they're going. We try to send

[3:47:23] it through 2, 3 for that's a

[3:47:24] central flow. A and these

[3:47:28] numbers what we're putting in

[3:47:30] is is almost exactly what's

[3:47:31] going out. Some state cells

[3:47:33] were actually holding water

[3:47:33] and for different tests. And

[3:47:35] I'll get into that in this

[3:47:37] next slide. So when we look

[3:47:39] for taking lake water, the

[3:47:41] preferred flow path is the

[3:47:42] central flow path. And that is

[3:47:44] STA 3, 4, which is on the

[3:47:46] left-hand side and STA 2 on

[3:47:47] the right hand side. So are

[3:47:50] currently taking 600 CFS into

[3:47:55] STA 3, 4, And that is 200 CFS

[3:47:55] per each flow. A in STA 2.

[3:47:59] We're taking 100 CFS each in

[3:48:02] the for which is this one up

[3:48:03] in the top and flow a 5 at the

[3:48:05] bottom. This. So our is

[3:48:09] offline. Currently has as a V

[3:48:11] recovery is going on in there.

[3:48:15] These to flow ways are not

[3:48:16] being used currently because

[3:48:20] upstream nuisance vegetation

[3:48:22] is being treated that we do

[3:48:23] not want to come into the STA

[3:48:26] is this is vegetation. That's

[3:48:28] not helpful in reducing

[3:48:29] phosphorus. And it's also

[3:48:30] harmful to that plants that

[3:48:31] are in there. So we do a

[3:48:32] really good job of making sure

[3:48:34] to the best of our ability

[3:48:35] that we can keep this type of

[3:48:36] vegetation out. Then we have

[3:48:41] STA One West and one east

[3:48:42] where we actually have found

[3:48:44] capacity. We have 150 CFS

[3:48:48] going through this northern

[3:48:50] here. There's another 50 CFS

[3:48:54] is working Has we still start

[3:48:55] up operations for expansion to

[3:48:59] that is necessary? Then off of

[3:49:00] the slide that I don't have a

[3:49:02] 5 on here today, but we're

[3:49:03] taking 105. And then as you go

[3:49:06] over into the STA One West,

[3:49:07] you see that we're not pushing

[3:49:11] water through here because of

[3:49:11] post-construction vegetation

[3:49:13] grow in. We're leveling in

[3:49:16] this cell and we're keeping

[3:49:17] this one open for any type of

[3:49:20] runoff that we might have. We

[3:49:22] have some rains potentially

[3:49:23] coming up at the end of the

[3:49:24] week at the weekend. All

[3:49:29] right. On that call like

[3:49:31] water, the STA. We're in Lake

[3:49:33] Okeechobee recovery mode.

[3:49:35] >> Which calls for? Maximum

[3:49:40] practical releases to the

[3:49:43] First as a standard year, Lake

[3:49:46] Okeechobee releases to the STA

[3:49:47] Center Dry season. Where are

[3:49:51] Are we maximum practical? We

[3:49:53] are based on what I just saw

[3:49:56] pushing the envelope year and

[3:49:56] we normally would.

[3:49:59] >> We have we're doing what we

[3:50:01] believe for the health of the

[3:50:03] STA to go through the dry

[3:50:05] season to be able to do their

[3:50:07] jobs in the wet season.

[3:50:10] >> We're pushing the maximum

[3:50:11] practicable we can put through

[3:50:14] as we are also doing the work

[3:50:16] that we need to do to get them

[3:50:18] ready you, Bill and current

[3:50:19] all that comfortable. So

[3:50:22] correct. Okay. So you would

[3:50:23] say that we are putting more

[3:50:25] water through the new really

[3:50:26] would like to do in a normal

[3:50:27] year given Q Bell, right?

[3:50:28] Correct. I guess a legend

[3:50:33] didn't really need to know

[3:50:35] that. That's what Pot and we

[3:50:37] need. Our team meets weekly. I

[3:50:39] mean, we are looking at

[3:50:41] conditions and there were

[3:50:42] determining, you know, where

[3:50:43] are we? Where are we with our

[3:50:44] ability to to get where we're

[3:50:45] going to go? We're bringing

[3:50:48] some water and one east right

[3:50:48] now because we're on the cusp

[3:50:49] of meeting 19.

[3:50:51] >> And we did an analysis and

[3:50:52] said, hey, if we can put this

[3:50:53] much water through by the end

[3:50:54] of the year, that is at this

[3:50:57] concentration, we think we can

[3:50:58] meet that number. So, you

[3:51:01] know, we're bringing water and

[3:51:02] therefore one for the ability

[3:51:03] to try to meet Q Bell and then

[3:51:05] we don't put water through

[3:51:06] other places for the same

[3:51:07] reason because we think that

[3:51:09] if we put too much water

[3:51:10] through there and we go

[3:51:11] through a lot of different

[3:51:12] things that we check off to

[3:51:13] make sure that we're not.

[3:51:17] Overly stressing them during

[3:51:18] the time that they are

[3:51:19] supposed to be recovering from

[3:51:22] the brunt of the work that

[3:51:23] they do in the summer season.

[3:51:24] Okay. So looking at the water

[3:51:30] conservation area start in the

[3:51:31] upper right-hand side. There

[3:51:34] >> for conservation area, one

[3:51:34] you can see it's gone flat

[3:51:40] with the lack of outflows

[3:51:41] among the core of engineers

[3:51:42] close the s 10's. So now it is

[3:51:45] sort of stabilizing. Is

[3:51:46] Lawrence talked about removing

[3:51:47] some water into area one which

[3:51:50] is help maintain it. And just.

[3:51:53] Parallel to the regulation

[3:51:54] schedule now is getting back

[3:51:55] close to the regulation

[3:51:57] schedule water levels continue

[3:52:02] to meet and go to the right

[3:52:04] there when they intersect with

[3:52:06] the regulation schedule that

[3:52:06] I'm sure will implement some

[3:52:07] operations to be able to bring

[3:52:09] down area one a little bit and

[3:52:11] coordination with the refuge

[3:52:12] and their input as well as the

[3:52:14] Corps of Engineers. Looking at

[3:52:18] area 2. It's going through a

[3:52:20] nice recession. Lawrence,

[3:52:21] we'll talk about the ecology

[3:52:22] in area 2 here shortly. But

[3:52:24] it's going down through a nice

[3:52:25] recession and was still above

[3:52:29] its regulation schedule. But

[3:52:30] it's sitting in a good place

[3:52:31] for this time of year, given

[3:52:32] the balance of the dry season.

[3:52:33] And we still yet to go

[3:52:33] through. Area 3. Now, as you

[3:52:37] can tell, he's been below

[3:52:39] scheduled for sometime now.

[3:52:39] Its continuing to recede.

[3:52:41] Outflows from area 3 are going

[3:52:45] through s 12 C and e and then

[3:52:47] through the 3, 3, 3,

[3:52:47] structures into the L 29.

[3:52:50] We're continuing to meet the

[3:52:51] Tamiami trail flow formula,

[3:52:52] which is just under 1000 cubic

[3:52:53] feet per second. So we're

[3:52:56] continuing to move water out

[3:52:57] of area 3 in accordance with

[3:53:00] the flow formula. one last

[3:53:06] thing down the South Dade

[3:53:09] conveyance system. We have

[3:53:10] ceased pumping operations at

[3:53:12] 3.56. And instead we're now

[3:53:12] allowing that water to move

[3:53:15] down the South Dade conveyance

[3:53:18] system to the 3, 3, 2 pump

[3:53:19] stations and then effort sort

[3:53:21] of maintain the hydrologic

[3:53:23] courage that sets up by

[3:53:25] putting water in those

[3:53:26] detention cells and therefore

[3:53:28] limiting the amount of seepage

[3:53:29] that comes out of Everglades

[3:53:31] National Park and holding that

[3:53:32] water back in park. You take a

[3:53:39] look at these 3 figures and

[3:53:41] it's going from December

[3:53:42] January and

[3:53:42] >> end of February. And

[3:53:45] there's some circles on here

[3:53:46] to help guide you as we look

[3:53:47] and you see it that top end of

[3:53:51] a water conservation area. 3,

[3:53:52] the northern end, that water

[3:53:55] level has declined comment

[3:53:57] starting to approach soil

[3:53:59] surface. You heard loose in a

[3:54:02] talk about how the and

[3:54:03] significance and the

[3:54:04] importance of Sepp North isn't

[3:54:04] keeping that area hydrated. So

[3:54:08] we get concerned when it does

[3:54:09] dry down completely that soil.

[3:54:13] That's where we've had the

[3:54:15] most soil loss through time in

[3:54:17] the Everglades and see they're

[3:54:19] gonna oxidize and blow away or

[3:54:20] you can have forced, you know,

[3:54:22] fires, wildfires that common

[3:54:23] and Burnet away and member

[3:54:24] that that that peat layer.

[3:54:26] That's there. It took

[3:54:28] thousands of years to to

[3:54:32] buildup and fire can take out,

[3:54:33] you know, several inches of

[3:54:33] that. Very quickly. So that's

[3:54:36] that's a concern. But one

[3:54:40] thing we do know is that the

[3:54:41] operations that we're doing

[3:54:42] and I'll get to this and the

[3:54:44] next one, the operations of

[3:54:46] keeping this area hydrated in

[3:54:47] the water that we are putting

[3:54:50] through the St Ays is keeping

[3:54:51] the recession rate in this

[3:54:53] area. pretty nice. But I'll

[3:54:54] get to that in a minute. The

[3:54:57] pond, that condition that

[3:54:58] occurs down here in the bottom

[3:55:00] of of the system. Has

[3:55:04] definitely diminished. You see

[3:55:06] the greens and compared to

[3:55:07] what that is on the scale

[3:55:09] right here pounded we're

[3:55:10] thinking 2 feet and above that

[3:55:11] is now absent. Big cypress is

[3:55:16] very dry. Currently. Then you

[3:55:19] go down further. And so you

[3:55:21] have a and slow. You have

[3:55:22] Shark River slew and you have

[3:55:24] Taylor Slew that hydrologic

[3:55:26] conductivity is starting to

[3:55:28] manage, but it's still there.

[3:55:29] So it has waters coming down.

[3:55:30] That connectivity is still

[3:55:31] there, especially over on the

[3:55:34] Taylor Riverside to provide

[3:55:34] water to Florida Bay. Now,

[3:55:38] here's where we get into the

[3:55:40] left-hand table are recession

[3:55:42] rates. They have minuses in

[3:55:43] front of the numbers that

[3:55:44] saying how fast water is

[3:55:45] starting to decline and on the

[3:55:49] right hand table is what our

[3:55:51] water depths. So something to

[3:55:52] note right here is that the

[3:55:54] bottom and of 3, a is

[3:55:58] receiving a lot more quickly.

[3:56:02] Then the northern and the So

[3:56:03] the operations that we're

[3:56:05] doing at the northern end are

[3:56:07] definitely beneficial to that

[3:56:09] area. And that's where the Ali

[3:56:10] North colony is an have more

[3:56:11] discussion about that in a

[3:56:12] minute. But that area also is

[3:56:17] the driest. So we're doing I

[3:56:19] think a really great job of

[3:56:22] bringing water through the STA

[3:56:23] is and that operation from

[3:56:24] water Conservation area. 2 to

[3:56:25] keep this area hydrated. We

[3:56:31] had a bird flight this week

[3:56:33] through the Everglades. You'll

[3:56:34] see it's very foggy in the

[3:56:37] morning. At the beginning,

[3:56:38] there was a lot of data that

[3:56:39] came in and water conservation

[3:56:39] areas, one and 2. But for in

[3:56:43] the park, there was good data

[3:56:44] that came What we're seeing is

[3:56:47] that there are still

[3:56:48] relatively large numbers down

[3:56:49] along the coast, right in

[3:56:55] here, forging all of these

[3:56:56] stars are would start nests or

[3:56:57] would start colonies. And so

[3:57:00] there are colonies that are

[3:57:01] out there. There's there's 4

[3:57:03] different there with pears

[3:57:03] ranging from 50 up to 180

[3:57:04] pairs that are nesting Knesset

[3:57:07] a little early this year. One

[3:57:10] of the things that you'll

[3:57:14] notice is this green. So this

[3:57:15] is the optimal water depth for

[3:57:18] foraging. So if it's too deep,

[3:57:22] you don't have a 3 foot leg

[3:57:23] feet water into a wading bird.

[3:57:25] This is too dry as more of

[3:57:28] these greens come in as a

[3:57:30] concession, you know,

[3:57:32] continues through the dry

[3:57:32] season. Those will get larger.

[3:57:36] We normally don't see green

[3:57:37] this much green this early in

[3:57:39] the season. So, you know,

[3:57:40] water levels have come down

[3:57:42] pretty quickly. So for those

[3:57:44] birds that that nested and

[3:57:48] especially wood storks that

[3:57:49] require the longest nesting

[3:57:52] period they that takes and the

[3:57:53] longest time to fledge their

[3:57:55] younger, younger, quite I'll

[3:57:57] get more to that in the next

[3:57:58] one. But there's there's a

[3:57:59] concern that for wood storks

[3:58:03] of can they write out the

[3:58:05] remainder of the dry season

[3:58:06] and still be able to fledge

[3:58:07] their young? So there's 2

[3:58:11] different gauges that we look

[3:58:13] at relative to different

[3:58:14] companies that we have of

[3:58:15] wading birds out and asked.

[3:58:16] And the Everglades, particular

[3:58:20] gauges in the north. And it

[3:58:21] has to do with the Ali North

[3:58:24] colony and for the Ali North

[3:58:25] colony. We like to see. Water

[3:58:29] depths at 9.5 feet or above on

[3:58:31] the 15th of March. And that's

[3:58:35] just data-driven date and and

[3:58:38] water depth that we have seen.

[3:58:39] If it's not 9.5, we do not

[3:58:41] have substantial nesting at

[3:58:42] that's greater than 9.5. We

[3:58:44] have nesting in a successful.

[3:58:46] So it's the ability of having

[3:58:47] the water there and then have

[3:58:51] the recession as the young are

[3:58:53] are hatched and the parents

[3:58:54] can go find food for their

[3:58:55] babies. That's what that

[3:58:55] really relates to. And we're

[3:58:56] seeing currently. We are

[3:58:59] online to to staying on that

[3:59:02] target. So we think we'll have

[3:59:04] a good or an average, at least

[3:59:07] weaving bird nesting season at

[3:59:08] the Ali North. Now further

[3:59:11] south, where stars were and

[3:59:14] the stark mask and water

[3:59:15] conservation area. 3, we would

[3:59:15] like to see water depths of a

[3:59:19] foot and a half at the

[3:59:21] beginning of March, declining

[3:59:23] to about a half a foot at the

[3:59:24] end of the season. difference

[3:59:25] being here. Storks our. The

[3:59:32] spray based. So they're

[3:59:32] looking for fish to feed their

[3:59:34] young. They're not looking for

[3:59:36] anything else like this can go

[3:59:38] and moist soils. You'll see

[3:59:39] him in their yard. Nothing can

[3:59:40] find whatever they need.

[3:59:41] Starks want fish. So if the

[3:59:45] water depth isn't there to

[3:59:47] sustain the fish, you know,

[3:59:48] that's an issue. So what we're

[3:59:49] seeing in this graphic here is

[3:59:50] this is the observed data, the

[3:59:52] blue line and this all

[3:59:54] connected and then stashed

[3:59:56] line is basically the average

[3:59:57] of this recession and how it

[3:59:58] would play out to the end of

[4:00:00] the season. The green boxes,

[4:00:04] in between these 2 deaths that

[4:00:04] are necessary for foraging. So

[4:00:08] we would want that blue line

[4:00:10] to spend a lot of time in this

[4:00:11] green box for nesting to be

[4:00:15] successful in 4 pledging to be

[4:00:17] successful. But it's only

[4:00:19] going through a small part. So

[4:00:20] that's where we're going to

[4:00:21] keep monitoring to see how

[4:00:23] this plays out for wood storks

[4:00:26] a season, whereas I this we

[4:00:27] think we'll have a good

[4:00:27] nesting year. Coming down into

[4:00:32] Biscayne Bay. Salinity ask a

[4:00:33] question for you. Move out of

[4:00:35] the conservation areas. Yes,

[4:00:36] sir. For a foot above schedule

[4:00:39] in 2. And below schedule in 3.

[4:00:45] I know the s eleven's your

[4:00:46] clothes. you have water

[4:00:49] flowing on the the north

[4:00:52] boundary over into. 3 a taking

[4:00:57] water out of to bring it back

[4:01:00] up and bringing it down into

[4:01:01] the tap, into the northeast.

[4:01:03] Yes. What do you got out of 2

[4:01:06] to 3. You know that number

[4:01:06] Jen? Johns, looking for that

[4:01:09] number, OK? It's better

[4:01:15] obviously be at the farther

[4:01:15] north. And as you what water

[4:01:18] to flow across the whole face

[4:01:21] of correct 3, especially where

[4:01:22] these colonies are. But we

[4:01:27] have just over 200 CFS going

[4:01:28] through one 50 right now. Is

[4:01:30] that all you could put through

[4:01:32] there based on the headwater

[4:01:33] and Taylor conditions? But I

[4:01:38] mean, Lawrence can correct me

[4:01:39] if I'm wrong, that is

[4:01:39] sufficient right now to be

[4:01:41] able to maintain the hydrology

[4:01:42] around the super colony.

[4:01:45] >> It is. we would like to

[4:01:46] instead of like opening the

[4:01:48] elevens and trying to bring

[4:01:49] all that volume of water out

[4:01:50] the volume of water that's in

[4:01:51] there. Now, if we can have

[4:01:55] that to maintain this

[4:01:55] operation as long as possible

[4:01:57] as what we think is most

[4:01:57] beneficial. So if you are a

[4:02:02] little larger volume out of 2

[4:02:03] because to a small in

[4:02:03] comparison to 3 having that

[4:02:07] water there least maintain

[4:02:11] this operation is what we

[4:02:12] think would just seem like we

[4:02:13] would be trying to get 2.

[4:02:16] Obviously, you want. 200. Up

[4:02:23] to the north, but it seemed

[4:02:25] like would be trying to get

[4:02:25] too down To Its schedule and 3

[4:02:33] is below schedule. And and

[4:02:39] they're they're. So there is

[4:02:39] some issue with 2.

[4:02:43] >> And and where you are

[4:02:44] relative to schedule because

[4:02:45] it's based on what gauge are

[4:02:46] looking at. 2 is is has a lot

[4:02:49] of tope a graphic difference

[4:02:51] across a very small region.

[4:02:54] And if we were to come down to

[4:02:57] schedule the top end of 2 is

[4:02:58] going to be very, very dry.

[4:03:03] And so what they're looking

[4:03:03] and SEP one point. Oh, and

[4:03:05] we'd be. Thrilled to come down

[4:03:08] and go through you through

[4:03:09] this with you. Is there

[4:03:12] looking at changing how the

[4:03:14] operations for water

[4:03:14] conservation area, 2? And

[4:03:18] water conservation area 2

[4:03:19] because of that hope a graphic

[4:03:21] difference. Really the key to

[4:03:22] getting hydrology right in

[4:03:23] there is to have a more

[4:03:25] constant level of flow because

[4:03:29] the flows going to be coming

[4:03:30] in is if put water in and then

[4:03:32] you don't at a club rates over

[4:03:32] that that difference. And so

[4:03:33] it ponds in the bottom and it

[4:03:34] drives at the top. to really

[4:03:38] needs more consistent flow

[4:03:39] rather than on off switch to

[4:03:41] keep that that more

[4:03:45] meaningful. If all and stage

[4:03:47] that's that's compatible with

[4:03:48] fish and wildlife rather than

[4:03:51] having that on off and then in

[4:03:54] a rates of one and is to try

[4:03:54] and One is too deep. So that's

[4:03:58] what we're going through. And

[4:03:58] the SEP one point. Oh,

[4:04:01] reevaluation. And that's what

[4:04:02] our scientists are saying is

[4:04:06] the best method for that

[4:04:07] particular water conservation

[4:04:08] area. I think Being a foot

[4:04:14] above schedule. Going into the

[4:04:20] rainy season. not not good for

[4:04:20] that area. We have. I'm very

[4:04:26] familiar with it. We've always

[4:04:30] had obviously on the north and

[4:04:30] dry and ponding on the south.

[4:04:34] And we got the same thing in

[4:04:35] area 3. On the south and But

[4:04:39] how do we get the ridge and

[4:04:40] slurs? In 2 A and 2 B? And

[4:04:47] with the proper water flow.

[4:04:51] And stay as much as we can

[4:04:53] within the compatible water

[4:04:57] gaps with the wildlife from

[4:04:57] the plant communities. It's

[4:05:00] always been a concern of mine.

[4:05:01] And I just think that. We had

[4:05:12] some discussions about

[4:05:14] changing the the depth 2, I

[4:05:16] think yes, Are we? Talking to

[4:05:21] the FWC about? These changes.

[4:05:25] Water Dept. Yes. After the

[4:05:31] season partner, the team that

[4:05:32] is evaluating the regulation

[4:05:33] schedule for area too. And

[4:05:35] what changes?

[4:05:36] >> That can be made as part of

[4:05:37] step. One point note in order

[4:05:39] facilitate a bter ecology

[4:05:39] within area too.

[4:05:45] >> Yeah, well, I definitely

[4:05:45] want to be a part of those

[4:05:47] discussions when you all go

[4:05:47] forward because we've

[4:05:50] tremendous devastation to the

[4:05:51] wildlife fund. 2, A and 2 B.

[4:05:58] Duke has the depth of the

[4:05:58] water. I think there's a we

[4:06:04] have to make sure we get it

[4:06:05] right. Absolutely. We'll make

[4:06:08] surehat you know anything

[4:06:09] that progress. Once you get

[4:06:13] over to for water and those

[4:06:13] flows, you're really Started

[4:06:17] to affect the fur bearing

[4:06:18] animals. But fewer left there.

[4:06:21] But I would hope in the future

[4:06:25] as water continues to flow

[4:06:25] south and we get pinch point

[4:06:28] out of our way down the trai

[4:06:29] that. We can have Moore flow,

[4:06:35] not flow, stopped low flow.

[4:06:38] Shut. The cage start again,

[4:06:41] you know, let this moose river

[4:06:43] of grass. She could sway. To

[4:06:46] Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay.

[4:06:52] I'm really concerned about

[4:06:54] area too. And to be. On how

[4:06:56] we're going to. Connect that

[4:06:59] flow. So we keep the ridge and

[4:07:02] slew of facts and up with the

[4:07:07] a depth, the water, this

[4:07:08] compatible to food chain. And

[4:07:10] the plant communities.

[4:07:13] Including for bearing animals.

[4:07:17] It's quite a balance. Quite a

[4:07:18] challenge. I know that. But

[4:07:21] but I think I think we can

[4:07:21] achieve it. Yes, Looking at

[4:07:29] Florida Bay salinity, it's on

[4:07:30] a decline which is great.

[4:07:33] >> So for Florida Bay and like

[4:07:35] any other as 2 area that we're

[4:07:37] looking at the restoration

[4:07:39] target for BBC here was not

[4:07:42] it's not in place at tween 15

[4:07:44] 18. And you see that bottom

[4:07:45] number is trending down

[4:07:48] towards that. So the salinity

[4:07:49] and within Florida Bay right

[4:07:52] now is not really of great

[4:07:54] concern. And as those projects

[4:07:56] come on, we'll see that start

[4:07:57] to be ameliorated. And I'm

[4:08:00] going down at the bottom of

[4:08:01] the system with the Florida

[4:08:04] Bay. So here we on this side,

[4:08:09] the salinities like in the

[4:08:10] eastern and the central and

[4:08:12] Western. You have the hyper

[4:08:12] salinity value of 40. You have

[4:08:16] this gold dotted line down the

[4:08:17] bottom. This is that 1900

[4:08:20] reference period. It's not a

[4:08:21] target. Just saying this is

[4:08:22] where it was in the 1900's.

[4:08:23] And if you're you know, we

[4:08:26] look at the blue and a court

[4:08:27] all range that if we're in

[4:08:29] that range, we think we're

[4:08:30] doing great from a salinity

[4:08:30] standpoint. If we're in

[4:08:34] between that dotted gold line

[4:08:36] and inner core Tower range,

[4:08:36] you're doing even better which

[4:08:37] is occurring right here. So

[4:08:40] going into, you know, the rest

[4:08:41] of the dry season. We're in a

[4:08:45] pretty good, good condition.

[4:08:46] If you look at that, you

[4:08:47] compare it to other dry

[4:08:48] seasons. That was a la Nina.

[4:08:51] This one was a little bit

[4:08:52] lower as it went through over

[4:08:54] here. We are concerned as is

[4:08:59] Taylor Creek is starting to,

[4:09:00] you know, kind of slow down a

[4:09:01] little bit with deliveries.

[4:09:05] But overall where we are with

[4:09:06] with salinity in Florida Bay.

[4:09:10] We're in a really good set up

[4:09:11] for the remainder of the

[4:09:12] season and no concern reaching

[4:09:14] hyper salinity. So you don't

[4:09:21] usually see this graphic. It's

[4:09:23] been a while. Usually the

[4:09:25] island bring this one forward

[4:09:26] when we're in the dry season.

[4:09:27] guess what? We're in the dry

[4:09:29] season.

[4:09:30] >> So here we are talking

[4:09:31] about groundwater conditions.

[4:09:31] What I call your attention to

[4:09:35] is that little red Asterix

[4:09:37] right there over there on the

[4:09:39] lower West Coast that's around

[4:09:40] the Cape Coral area. So that's

[4:09:40] a groundwater. Well, obviously

[4:09:44] monitors groundwater levels.

[4:09:45] So over the past week, water

[4:09:48] levels within that well fell

[4:09:49] about 7 tenths of a foot.

[4:09:54] We've talked about this area

[4:09:55] in the past specifically last

[4:09:56] year, probably right around

[4:09:57] the same time last year. So

[4:09:59] it's back at the forefront

[4:10:01] again. So with 7 tenths of a

[4:10:03] foot drop in the aquifer that

[4:10:07] puts it only about a half a

[4:10:08] foot above its record low. So

[4:10:12] far, which also means that is

[4:10:13] about 12 feet above the

[4:10:15] minimum flowing level for that

[4:10:17] particular aquifer. And about

[4:10:21] 2 feet above a line that we

[4:10:22] sort of refer to as the Joint

[4:10:23] Action plan so that joint

[4:10:27] action plan relates actions

[4:10:29] that would have to be put in

[4:10:30] place to curtail usage from

[4:10:32] the aquifer while the utility

[4:10:37] authority in that area goes

[4:10:37] completing their project over

[4:10:38] the next several years for the

[4:10:40] utility extensions. Currently

[4:10:42] that areas on what we call a

[4:10:43] modified phase 3 restrictions,

[4:10:46] which is one day a week

[4:10:47] watering should the aquifer

[4:10:49] levels continue to fall? we'll

[4:10:52] have to look what actions

[4:10:53] under that joint action plan

[4:10:53] trips that threshold that will

[4:10:55] need to be considering. But

[4:11:00] that's kind of the situation

[4:11:01] that we're dealing with over

[4:11:02] there with the groundwater in

[4:11:03] the lower West Coast. But as

[4:11:03] far as the forecast goes for

[4:11:07] rainfall, you can see from the

[4:11:09] Climate Protection Prediction

[4:11:11] Center that we're still

[4:11:13] forecasting are they are still

[4:11:14] forecasting below average. Try

[4:11:16] season as we move forward in

[4:11:20] time. Then once we get out

[4:11:21] into the wet season, it's the

[4:11:23] typical response that all bets

[4:11:24] are off and we'll see as we

[4:11:26] get closer. And right now

[4:11:27] we're in what's called a

[4:11:29] spring predictability. When do

[4:11:31] when you're not sure what the

[4:11:32] wet season will come out,

[4:11:33] looking like get a little bit

[4:11:33] farther ahead in time. But for

[4:11:37] right now, you can see how it

[4:11:38] switches to equal chances. And

[4:11:41] then to above average

[4:11:43] scenarios, you get into wet

[4:11:44] season, but we'll continue to

[4:11:44] monitor that as we go forward.

[4:11:45] In the meantime, just over the

[4:11:49] next 2 weeks likely to persist

[4:11:49] with the below normal. And in

[4:11:53] this current week and then

[4:11:56] looking out into the second

[4:11:58] week, probably closer to

[4:11:58] normal rainfall with some of

[4:12:00] those fronts moving across

[4:12:02] peninsula. But we'll take that

[4:12:02] as it goes. And with that,

[4:12:06] Lawrence be happy to answer

[4:12:07] any additional questions you

[4:12:08] may have. Thanks any more

[4:12:09] questions as Butler.

[4:12:11] >> All right. things real You

[4:12:15] don't go back life. I was just

[4:12:18] good illustration. I missed

[4:12:19] major bell being here. John,

[4:12:22] as a still haven't seen

[4:12:22] anything. This charge is out

[4:12:27] at need to match the

[4:12:28] operations of Headwater to 65

[4:12:30] date. The court had a pdt

[4:12:31] meeting the other day and they

[4:12:34] didn't talk about operations

[4:12:35] of this 65 as part of

[4:12:36] headwaters. Are we going to

[4:12:38] get that correct?

[4:12:44] >> Yes, we're working with the

[4:12:46] Corps to gauge on that issue

[4:12:49] see how those operations can

[4:12:50] be improved as we learn more

[4:12:51] and more from a criminal one.

[4:12:54] And we carry that forward into

[4:12:55] the future planning stories

[4:12:58] for what sorry, planning

[4:12:59] studies, not stories. That

[4:13:01] will be for headwaters.

[4:13:04] >> Lows coming in to tap into

[4:13:05] that graph need to match the

[4:13:08] way the water is maintained at

[4:13:09] the bottom that picture.

[4:13:10] Simple as that message

[4:13:13] received, serve. All right.

[4:13:15] Secondly, real quick back on

[4:13:18] recovery mode. As low some

[4:13:25] states recovery mode triggers.

[4:13:28] As recovery mode officially

[4:13:31] been triggered. Are we past

[4:13:32] the point no return recovery

[4:13:33] mode? There's a certain calls.

[4:13:37] The mayor says, you know,

[4:13:38] recovery mode once every so

[4:13:38] many years.

[4:13:41] >> So yes, in low sum, there's

[4:13:44] 3 criteria that trigger

[4:13:45] recovery mode operations. And

[4:13:46] then there's 3 criteria that

[4:13:47] you have to consider as you

[4:13:49] implement move forward. So

[4:13:50] that triggers to sort of turn

[4:13:52] it on. So to speak. They yes,

[4:13:53] they have absolutely been

[4:13:54] triggered. They were triggered

[4:13:55] several months back. So.

[4:13:59] >> Okay. So it's been

[4:14:00] triggered. We cannot do a

[4:14:01] recovery mode for how many

[4:14:02] years after we've done. You

[4:14:04] remember what that is and

[4:14:06] lowsome in that criteria, you

[4:14:07] know, as carrier, I think I'm

[4:14:09] not like we can't we can't go

[4:14:10] recovery mode every year.

[4:14:13] >> I don't believe so. But I

[4:14:14] need to go back and refresh my

[4:14:15] memory of what the extra is

[4:14:17] because one of them is have

[4:14:19] have you exceeded, you know,

[4:14:21] is a 16 half or 17 feet. And

[4:14:21] then one is have you reached a

[4:14:25] low, OK? So by going through

[4:14:26] recovery mode, you are

[4:14:27] reaching that low. So you've

[4:14:28] turned to that one off the

[4:14:31] next year. You know, saying

[4:14:31] the year previous you are you

[4:14:33] are there. So you're not going

[4:14:34] to go through recovery mode.

[4:14:39] >> point is we've got okay.

[4:14:40] I'll get to that point here.

[4:14:48] Te'o Facebook could go to

[4:14:49] sleep last night. Ngo made a

[4:14:50] post. Recovery mode is ending

[4:14:54] March. 15th may be. So, John,

[4:14:59] you're casually late this

[4:15:00] morning. So I'd be lying to

[4:15:01] Drew and major bell and said,

[4:15:04] what is this about? it looks

[4:15:09] like the Corps is considering

[4:15:11] a ramp down. Of east

[4:15:13] discharges. Beginning in

[4:15:17] March. And I understand

[4:15:18] through the oyster spawning. I

[4:15:21] see where a ramp down make

[4:15:21] sense. As it looks today. Who

[4:15:26] knows what conditions look

[4:15:27] like when that decision needs

[4:15:27] to be made. I go through all

[4:15:33] that just leave you with

[4:15:34] channel. My inner redhead, my

[4:15:37] inner Reba McEntire. You've

[4:15:38] got one shot, fancy. Don't let

[4:15:39] me down. Okay. So we've got

[4:15:43] one shot at this recovery

[4:15:43] mode. I don't think that we're

[4:15:47] not going to be able to

[4:15:48] tolerate recovery mode every

[4:15:49] year. Work that line. Let's

[4:15:54] get it done. Okay. I'll leave

[4:15:56] it at that.

[4:16:04] >> John, do do all the flows

[4:16:05] are coming into the Central

[4:16:06] Everglades. Do we have the

[4:16:10] volumes on all the flows like

[4:16:11] this? The C 11 yes, 9 pump and

[4:16:18] then we got the L 28 in the L

[4:16:21] 28 interceptor. I know you've

[4:16:23] got the measurements going

[4:16:23] through the STA is. Flows

[4:16:27] outside of that. Do we have

[4:16:32] any measurement on entering

[4:16:33] the central Everglades from?

[4:16:36] >> Yes, absolutely. I mean, I

[4:16:37] have to call it up. I don't

[4:16:38] have it here off the top of my

[4:16:39] head, but I can definitely get

[4:16:41] to that number of the total

[4:16:42] inflows to each of the

[4:16:43] conservation areas separately.

[4:16:44] And then cumulative together.

[4:16:48] >> Thank you show you have the

[4:16:48] flows that's coming into the.

[4:16:50] S 9 pump. Yes, And the flows.

[4:16:56] I don't ever see those flows

[4:16:57] on charge isn't it? In that

[4:17:01] flow chart for the Central

[4:17:02] Everglades in your slides,

[4:17:04] John?

[4:17:05] >> It is. It's for the

[4:17:05] cumulative for the whole water

[4:17:07] year. I mean, if you're asking

[4:17:07] about with that Aaron right

[4:17:08] now, one with the arrows.

[4:17:14] >> You know, the reason why

[4:17:15] I'm asking that question at

[4:17:17] some point in time. When we've

[4:17:19] got tough. The bottleneck at

[4:17:21] the Tamiami trail. And were

[4:17:25] able to match the inflows.

[4:17:27] Because the outflows. That's

[4:17:31] going to A great day when we

[4:17:35] can do that. think I seen the

[4:17:44] inflows into.

[4:17:45] >> So if you're looking if

[4:17:46] that this is again, the

[4:17:48] cumulative inflows going back

[4:17:49] to May first of 2024, and

[4:17:53] total into the conservation

[4:17:54] areas. Just shy of 1.7 million

[4:17:56] acre feet right there. If

[4:18:01] you're looking for the

[4:18:02] outflows, it's inclusive of

[4:18:03] 100. And 25 here. Roughly. 850

[4:18:09] here and these 2 numbers are

[4:18:13] the sea but returns and 3. 56

[4:18:13] coming in. These 2 are the

[4:18:18] majority of the outflows. And

[4:18:20] then again, you have the

[4:18:21] cumulative inflows. They're

[4:18:22] the 1.7. If you're asking

[4:18:27] what's happening currently

[4:18:27] right now in the dry season, S

[4:18:28] 9 is not pumping dry no need

[4:18:32] to pump. So there's nothing

[4:18:33] coming in over here on the

[4:18:33] eastern side. As point. And

[4:18:38] I've already talked about,

[4:18:39] we're still moving water

[4:18:40] through the stormwater

[4:18:41] treatment areas from Lake

[4:18:44] Okeechobee into the central

[4:18:45] Everglades there at the top of

[4:18:46] conservation area 3 and over

[4:18:47] here in area 2. And we're

[4:18:50] meeting the flow formula,

[4:18:52] which is about 1000 CFS coming

[4:18:54] out of area 3 down here at the

[4:18:55] bottom. Okay. With that.

[4:19:00] >> important. We know the

[4:19:03] volumes of all inflows as well

[4:19:04] as outflows. Some point time

[4:19:08] when we get. Tamiami trail

[4:19:10] done that Outflows matching

[4:19:16] the inflows. That then we're

[4:19:20] at a point where we can have

[4:19:22] water that are compatible with

[4:19:26] the Wildlife Fund. All of our

[4:19:29] plant communities South. And

[4:19:32] that's why it's so important.

[4:19:34] said twice today. But all and

[4:19:37] saying that one more time we

[4:19:39] get we've got Tamiami trail. I

[4:19:43] think we're moving in, Drew

[4:19:45] and myself and that with the

[4:19:52] park Service, Pedro Larry

[4:19:54] Williams regarding. The

[4:19:59] operations condition

[4:20:01] operations of of the S

[4:20:03] twelves. And I think if we

[4:20:04] follow. The science. And we

[4:20:09] follow endangered and

[4:20:14] threatened wildlife plants.

[4:20:19] Critical habitat review design

[4:20:20] for the cape samples barrel.

[4:20:21] If we follow, there's science

[4:20:25] that was established in 2007.

[4:20:30] That'll be a great day for the

[4:20:30] Everglades. That will allow

[4:20:34] 40% of 2, 2.5 million acre

[4:20:39] feet. Comprehensive

[4:20:45] Everglades, modified water

[4:20:46] delivery flowing. To Florida

[4:20:51] And Drew, I think we should

[4:20:54] have. Meetings as with our

[4:20:59] federal partners and get a

[4:21:01] timeline on when we can.

[4:21:07] Operate the S twelves in the

[4:21:08] 3.43. a and B. On a condition

[4:21:17] To match flows coming in and

[4:21:17] the flows going out. And I

[4:21:21] think all we got to do is

[4:21:22] follow the science. Follow the

[4:21:25] rules and regulations. That

[4:21:28] were established and 2007.

[4:21:31] Which actually took zone a

[4:21:34] units, one and 2 out of

[4:21:36] critical habitat. 18 years

[4:21:38] ago. Be able to for the

[4:21:43] benefit of the global system.

[4:21:46] Be able to move water. Through

[4:21:49] this oozing river of grass

[4:21:53] that benefits. All of our

[4:21:57] endangered species. And this

[4:22:00] report actually says removing

[4:22:04] that would benefit the Cape

[4:22:04] Label Sparrow overall. And in

[4:22:08] 2007, there was less than 4%

[4:22:10] of the population at that

[4:22:11] point in time this is a

[4:22:17] comprehensive report. It is

[4:22:22] the rules. It is the

[4:22:22] regulations. And I think we

[4:22:25] need to. A meeting to continue

[4:22:29] to make sure we we funded the

[4:22:34] labels barrel. Relocation.

[4:22:40] Captive breeding and I think

[4:22:44] this is extremely important.

[4:22:49] Anyone else have questions

[4:22:50] for. We will move on. Thank

[4:22:54] you both. Good afternoon.

[4:23:07] Governing board members.

[4:23:11] >> The monthly financial

[4:23:12] report that's in your packet

[4:23:12] and post on the website is

[4:23:13] through December of 2024. So

[4:23:15] few highlights there. We've

[4:23:18] collected 563 million dollars

[4:23:21] in new revenue through the

[4:23:22] month of December and expended

[4:23:23] 235 million dollars. Compared

[4:23:26] to December of site comparing

[4:23:30] December 2024 to December

[4:23:31] 2023, we've collected

[4:23:34] 152 million more and expended.

[4:23:36] 51 million more. Then last

[4:23:36] year. The 563 million in

[4:23:41] revenue collections is mainly

[4:23:42] comprised of 259 million

[4:23:45] dollars from state

[4:23:45] appropriated funds, mostly for

[4:23:48] Everglades restoration and

[4:23:50] 288 million from ad valorem.

[4:23:51] The remaining 16 million is

[4:23:53] from investment earnings

[4:23:53] license plate permits and

[4:23:56] fees. Lee says Salem District

[4:23:57] property and self-insurance.

[4:24:00] We have expended and obligated

[4:24:01] 48% of our budget. That's all

[4:24:04] I have for you on the

[4:24:04] financial report. Moving on.

[4:24:08] gonna this month. Also provide

[4:24:10] some highlights of our annual

[4:24:11] work plan. So in your packets

[4:24:14] is the fiscal year. 23. 24

[4:24:16] annual work plan performance

[4:24:18] staff compiled. This is a

[4:24:20] draft for your review. Prior

[4:24:21] to the official posting in the

[4:24:24] South Florida environmental

[4:24:25] report on March first 2025. So

[4:24:29] the work plan against for

[4:24:30] 2024. begins October first, 23

[4:24:33] through September. 29th 2024.

[4:24:36] the work plan measures annual

[4:24:37] achievement towards the

[4:24:37] boards. Strategic goals,

[4:24:40] priorities and projects

[4:24:41] scheduling. And it is chapter

[4:24:44] 2 of volume. 2 of the support

[4:24:45] of our men to report. So just

[4:24:46] a couple highlights for you.

[4:24:49] There's 57, metrics and that

[4:24:51] plan. We met all of the

[4:24:51] metrics except for 2. These

[4:24:53] are related to our

[4:24:55] infrastructure maintenance

[4:24:55] where the goal was no more

[4:24:56] than 20% of field maintenance

[4:24:58] work was to be unplanned and

[4:25:00] they had 23% on plant. And the

[4:25:03] other was no more than 20% of

[4:25:04] field maintenance funds for

[4:25:06] unplanned work. And it was

[4:25:07] that we're at 25%. So in

[4:25:10] response to that, we're

[4:25:11] anticipating to see

[4:25:11] improvements during the 2025

[4:25:14] fiscal year due to the

[4:25:16] additional funding that the

[4:25:18] governor and legislature

[4:25:18] provided us nm of our critical

[4:25:21] infrastructure to allow us to

[4:25:22] get caught up on some of our

[4:25:23] backlog needs. Our project per

[4:25:27] portfolio comprised of 132

[4:25:29] active projects. And we

[4:25:30] completed 25. So all in all,

[4:25:31] it was a good year. If you

[4:25:35] have any questions on specific

[4:25:36] metrics, please feel free to

[4:25:37] reach out to myself or candy.

[4:25:38] And we can set up a meeting

[4:25:39] with the appropriate staff.

[4:25:43] That's all I have for Thanks

[4:25:43] that I found that really,

[4:25:46] really interesting reading

[4:25:46] just nice lay everything out.

[4:25:50] So I have to keep calling and

[4:25:51] asking when things are going

[4:25:51] to be done. no staff does a

[4:25:53] great job, putting together.

[4:25:53] Thank you. Anyone have any

[4:25:55] questions or comments. Is

[4:25:59] there a general public

[4:26:00] comment? Yes, Mr. Chairman.

[4:26:04] >> We'll begin with Mark Perry

[4:26:05] followed by Newton Cook.

[4:26:15] >> Thank you. Governing Mark

[4:26:16] Perry just to kind indicate. I

[4:26:17] mean, we are with Lake

[4:26:20] Okeechobee recovery

[4:26:21] operations, like we said

[4:26:24] earlier the estuaries are

[4:26:26] getting hit pretty hard during

[4:26:27] this particular dry season.

[4:26:28] You saw the comparison and the

[4:26:31] slides at Lawrence just showed

[4:26:34] you about, you know,

[4:26:35] Salinities being about 5 to 10

[4:26:37] parts per 1000, the estuary

[4:26:39] versus last December about 18

[4:26:40] to 30 parts per 1000. So those

[4:26:44] low salinities in the over

[4:26:47] long durations definitely

[4:26:48] affect oyster reefs in

[4:26:50] Worcester spawning that begins

[4:26:51] to happen later on this

[4:26:53] season. If we look at current

[4:26:56] rate of, you know, the

[4:26:57] including a map of

[4:26:58] transporation that you had and

[4:26:59] the numbers that they showed

[4:27:01] up in about 7350 CFS out of

[4:27:02] the lake. That's about

[4:27:07] 1414,500 acre feet per day. So

[4:27:11] if you look at that

[4:27:12] extrapolated out, it probably

[4:27:14] take about 2 months or 64 days

[4:27:14] to get down to 2 feet lower.

[4:27:18] So we're in the in April and

[4:27:21] that's really not going to be

[4:27:22] acceptable. spawning season.

[4:27:25] The the estuaries don't get

[4:27:25] any recovery. I know the STA

[4:27:29] is are under recovery. I know

[4:27:30] that their sand, we got to

[4:27:33] recover the lake and

[4:27:34] definitely got to do that.

[4:27:34] We've got to get this water

[4:27:36] moving south. Can we move it

[4:27:38] at the maximum practical razon

[4:27:39] just 1100 CFS we've got to get

[4:27:42] that move more south to the

[4:27:44] Everglades. It needs are right

[4:27:45] now. Actually end not to the

[4:27:47] statue areas for right now. So

[4:27:51] let's try to work on that.

[4:27:52] Maximum practical. What's

[4:27:52] happened we've taking up a lot

[4:27:54] of that capacity to the bar

[4:27:58] graph that you see from John

[4:27:59] when presents that with you

[4:28:02] know, over a million acre

[4:28:04] through the water to the St

[4:28:05] Ays into the water

[4:28:07] conservation areas and only

[4:28:07] about, you know, to that

[4:28:10] 200,000 acre feet of that is

[4:28:11] from the lake. All the other

[4:28:14] 800 plus 1000 is from basin

[4:28:16] runoff. And every year we

[4:28:18] supply and water were

[4:28:20] happening now, water supplies

[4:28:22] coming out of the lake going

[4:28:23] to probably may. But then and

[4:28:26] they're worried about the lake

[4:28:27] into well. Because of they

[4:28:30] need that water supply. And

[4:28:31] then every sweat season we

[4:28:35] over drain that that whole

[4:28:35] basin. And with over a million

[4:28:38] acre feet practically only a

[4:28:39] little bit of capacity left

[4:28:42] for getting like water through

[4:28:43] the St Ays and into the water

[4:28:45] conservation ERs. So we need

[4:28:46] to do a better job. Managing

[4:28:48] that water and and try to work

[4:28:50] on those permits that they

[4:28:52] have to over drain and

[4:28:52] oversupply. That basin. that's

[4:28:55] all I can say. I mean, we're

[4:28:56] really need to recover the

[4:29:00] lake. But at the same time,

[4:29:02] understand the damage it does

[4:29:04] to the estuaries, which are

[4:29:04] struggling to recover as well.

[4:29:05] Thank Thank you, Mr. Perry.

[4:29:08] >> Next we'll hear from Newton

[4:29:10] Cook followed by Diamond

[4:29:10] Bergeron.

[4:29:17] >> afternoon. Newton Cook,

[4:29:20] United Waterfowlers. And

[4:29:24] sometimes we get fixated on.

[4:29:25] The lake in the Everglades

[4:29:28] South. A round of speed just a

[4:29:33] few minutes about. The other

[4:29:37] part, what this district

[4:29:38] managers and that's hold down.

[4:29:44] I deal with the Saint Johns

[4:29:44] River, Water Management

[4:29:45] District and I stood right in

[4:29:46] front of governing board about

[4:29:49] a year ago year and a half ago

[4:29:51] and explain them what they

[4:29:52] were getting ready to do to

[4:29:52] Lake Apopka. When they decided

[4:29:55] to spread out 8,000 acres, a

[4:29:58] B, which happen to be had to

[4:29:59] go up that like. You know,

[4:30:04] you're doing the same thing.

[4:30:04] The Lake Toho. As I stand

[4:30:06] here. ran out. A large

[4:30:10] portion. Happens to be had

[4:30:16] real up could be was

[4:30:16] pondering. Who cares? say You

[4:30:20] know what happened Lake

[4:30:20] Apopka. Didn't make the TV

[4:30:24] down. Here are some people

[4:30:25] know. We just had a massive

[4:30:29] fish kill it, kill 10's

[4:30:29] hundreds of thousands of

[4:30:31] beach, a pound bass floating.

[4:30:34] And the waters for, as you can

[4:30:35] see how You know, why? Because

[4:30:41] after we explained to him that

[4:30:42] you kill out, beat it. Claims

[4:30:44] the water. Foster's level goes

[4:30:47] Well. Foster's level went up.

[4:30:52] You know what happens when the

[4:30:53] fosters level goes up, get out

[4:30:58] now that doesn't kill the

[4:30:59] fish. Spray doesn't kill the

[4:31:01] fish. And blue green algae.

[4:31:04] Not a big fish kill. But what

[4:31:07] does kill the fish? If you

[4:31:08] have a cold snap. And all the

[4:31:10] options s***** out of water.

[4:31:13] And a fish die by the

[4:31:13] thousands. And that's just

[4:31:16] what happened. The last cold

[4:31:17] snap. And this district. This

[4:31:21] spring out. as a stand. We

[4:31:29] probably won't get a cold

[4:31:29] snap. We probably won't have a

[4:31:34] fish kill. Why do make

[4:31:36] Disneyland out of these lakes?

[4:31:39] These lakes are supposed to be

[4:31:40] wearing a summit tropical

[4:31:41] zone. There's supposed to be

[4:31:43] vegetated a lot. Not just a

[4:31:45] little. And we spend millions

[4:31:49] of dollars in this case,

[4:31:51] 7 million sold a pop-up think

[4:31:51] a couple of million Making

[4:31:53] Disney lands out of people can

[4:31:57] run around. I never bass

[4:31:57] boats. And the shoreline

[4:31:59] people can. Not seeing any

[4:32:02] vegetation along the

[4:32:04] shoreline. Totally unnatural.

[4:32:08] Read it to Cuesta fouls when

[4:32:09] the people that came down the

[4:32:10] Kissimmee and the 18 million

[4:32:12] teen hundreds to Lake

[4:32:14] Okeechobee and read. But they

[4:32:15] had to fight through lakes and

[4:32:17] the rivers. The natural.

[4:32:21] Everglades. Vegetated. Please

[4:32:26] Think you thank you, Mr. Cook.

[4:32:30] >> We'll hear next from

[4:32:31] Diamond Bertram, followed by

[4:32:32] Michele are kept Palermo on

[4:32:41] Good afternoon.

[4:32:45] >> Di numbers are on with the

[4:32:46] Bergeron Everglades

[4:32:46] Foundation. We're probably

[4:32:50] outside of the happy New Year

[4:32:51] window. But I want to wish

[4:32:52] everyone a happy new year. We

[4:32:53] didn't have a meeting in

[4:32:54] January. So I think that's

[4:32:54] appropriate. And a very happy

[4:32:58] birthday. Early birthday to

[4:32:59] chairman I'd also like to

[4:33:04] congratulate Colonel Roman are

[4:33:06] swamped queen. There's no one

[4:33:07] more deserving of a crown than

[4:33:08] you. And if you were in

[4:33:11] attendance, you all have to

[4:33:13] know that she won by an

[4:33:15] absolute landslide and not

[4:33:16] only that, but there was a

[4:33:18] line out the door of people

[4:33:19] wanting to get photos with the

[4:33:20] clean the entire night. is

[4:33:23] very exciting. The swamp is

[4:33:24] lucky to have you. And so are

[4:33:24] we. A big congratulations to

[4:33:30] Everglades coalition co-chair

[4:33:31] as Kelli Cox and Mark Perry on

[4:33:32] another outstanding conference

[4:33:34] and a heartfelt thank you to

[4:33:36] the Miccosukee tribe for their

[4:33:37] generosity in hosting the

[4:33:37] event. It was wonderful to see

[4:33:40] so many of you there. I want

[4:33:44] to echo my neighbor Bennell

[4:33:45] since comments that were made

[4:33:47] earlier today and extend my

[4:33:49] appreciation to the district

[4:33:51] to John Madden and the

[4:33:52] modeling team for prioritizing

[4:33:53] holding meetings with the

[4:33:55] private landowners within the

[4:33:56] West, Peter Basin, footprint

[4:33:56] of work. If anyone can get

[4:34:00] this right and ensure that all

[4:34:01] stakeholders are heard, it's

[4:34:02] this district. All of my hope

[4:34:04] is in all of you. I'm hopeful

[4:34:10] that you'll continue working

[4:34:10] with us so that we can get

[4:34:11] this right for all

[4:34:12] stakeholders, private

[4:34:14] landowners, the Miccosukee

[4:34:15] tribe, the Seminole tribe. And

[4:34:15] most importantly, the

[4:34:16] environment. As a private land

[4:34:19] owner. I can assure you that

[4:34:20] we're showing up to ensure the

[4:34:21] protection of the wildlife and

[4:34:25] their home that we are lucky

[4:34:25] enough to steward much more

[4:34:26] than we're showing up for

[4:34:27] ourselves. I look forward to

[4:34:29] our next landowner meeting.

[4:34:30] And on that note, then I'd

[4:34:33] also like to channel my inner

[4:34:34] Reba. Here's your one chance.

[4:34:37] Fancy. Don't let me down

[4:34:39] district. Please don't let us

[4:34:39] down. Thank you so much. Thank

[4:34:41] you. Miss Byrd Ron. We'll hear

[4:34:44] next from Michelle are kept

[4:34:45] Palermo. She just put her head

[4:34:48] down. Mr. the midst Palermo

[4:34:54] please unmute your mic.

[4:34:59] >> Here we go. Sorry about

[4:35:00] that. Good afternoon at 2 gas

[4:35:08] in report I am sorry that I

[4:35:13] was unable to be this morning

[4:35:15] missed the See month we. Never

[4:35:19] in my career when I imagined

[4:35:20] that I would be working. It

[4:35:24] leads and my mentors, we the

[4:35:27] means blocking imports out

[4:35:28] Iran. It was our pleasure to

[4:35:37] around the Muslim mean. I just

[4:35:38] want to say congratulations

[4:35:40] from You are to and so

[4:35:43] grateful that I got to know

[4:35:43] you over the ports like we're

[4:35:45] now seeing 100 kids. Thank

[4:35:47] you, everyone. For all you do

[4:35:48] every single day. in the words

[4:35:52] about Iran, along with

[4:35:55] >> Thank Marquette Palermo,

[4:35:58] Mr. Chairman that concludes

[4:35:59] General public comment.

[4:36:01] >> Thanks. We'll move now to

[4:36:02] board comment. start with Mr.

[4:36:03] Butler.

[4:36:08] >> One quick on the pup date

[4:36:12] talks fdacs portion talks

[4:36:14] about the bmp manuals. And

[4:36:15] that's Rebecca. Projected

[4:36:18] February 3rd, I think that

[4:36:20] Mister Wess said they're out

[4:36:21] right?

[4:36:27] >> Okay. All right. And right

[4:36:28] down to the small farm. Manual

[4:36:31] is out. So. So that was good

[4:36:35] cfx. Get those manuals The

[4:36:36] updated map. Thanks, and happy

[4:36:41] birthday, Thank

[4:36:44] >> Goss. I hope you have a

[4:36:45] great birthday you can

[4:36:47] celebrate in style. Nothing

[4:36:49] else. Thanks.

[4:36:54] >> I want to embarrass of

[4:36:55] thank you. progressed. Lo live

[4:37:03] the Everglades.

[4:37:04] >> right.

[4:37:05] >> Well said Ms Meads you on.

[4:37:07] >> I don't have anything else.

[4:37:08] Cameron, thank you. All right.

[4:37:10] >> Thanks for being hanging in

[4:37:11] there with us. I look forward

[4:37:13] to seeing you all in March and

[4:37:15] April in those meetings will

[4:37:17] be here and it looks like in

[4:37:18] they were going down to

February 2025 Governing Board Meeting

Transcript