USA: Authorities Issue South Florida Environmental Report

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) have released the 2014 South Florida Environmental Report detailing a year of science, engineering and environmental restoration progress to improve the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, the Kissimmee Basin and South Florida coastal areas.

The 2014 report marks the 16th year of unified, streamlined environmental reporting by the two agencies.

“With the support of Governor Rick Scott and his landmark $880 million Everglades water quality plan, we have accelerated projects designed to improve water quality and flow to the River of Grass,” said DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr.

“That commitment continues in 2014, with Governor Scott’s $130 million recommendation to further Everglades restoration.”

Spanning three volumes, the 2014 South Florida Environmental Report unifies more than 75 individual documents.

The volumes, plus a 27-page executive summary, provide extensive peer-reviewed research summaries, data analyses, financial updates and a searchable database of environmental projects.

“We continued to make progress during the last year to construct projects that improve Everglades water quality and increase water storage while also managing record rainfall,” said SFWMD Executive Director Blake Guillory. “The 2014 South Florida Environmental Report documents these efforts and our plans to move forward with the state’s Restoration Strategies initiative to benefit the entire South Florida environment.”

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Press Release, March 4, 2014