Gov. Ron DeSantis and federal officials say an Everglades restoration project is accelerating and clearing a major milestone.
All federally funded contracts have been executed to finish completing the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir by 2029, five years ahead of the expected timeline, DeSantis said.
“The announcement builds on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) reached in 2025, which allows the State of Florida to take a leading role in executing federally funded components of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP),” according to a press release from the Governor’s Office.
Stakeholders celebrated the update, calling it a significant environmental project.
“The EAA Reservoir has been called ‘the crown jewel of Everglades restoration,’ as it is the single most important project to store, clean, and send water south from Lake Okeechobee into the Everglades, helping restore South Florida’s natural freshwater flow,” according to the Everglades Foundation.
The project is a partnership between the U.S. Army, State of Florida and the South Florida Water Management District.
“Together, we’ve taken on one of the most ambitious ecosystem restoration efforts in the world, and we’ve agreed to do it faster,” said Jason Kelly, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, during a Monday news conference in South Bay.
DeSantis said the state has dedicated $8 billion over the past seven years for Everglades restoration, which he called a priority of his administration. Meanwhile, DeSantis jabbed former President Joe Biden, accusing him of dragging the project along.
“During President (Donald) Trump’s first term, when I came in, he was a great partner in all of this. Biden just was not,” DeSantis said. “We had a lot of momentum going. They had moved the completion date back to 2034, which was not something that we felt was acceptable. There wasn’t a lot of good teamwork from a political perspective back during those times.”
Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Alexis Lambert also said the state and federal government were working better together to finish the restoration.
“By aligning our strengths and cutting through barriers, the state of Florida has taken on key components like pump stations and flow ways, allowing our federal partners to focus on completing the reservoir, helping accelerate completion by five years,” Lambert said.
