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Mast to McConnell: The Treasure Coast Is Dying While Southern Storage Reservoir Languishes in Senate

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Mast Calls For Immediate Senate Vote on Water Resources Development Act
Bill Already Passed House of Representatives With Bipartisan Support

U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) today urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to immediately bring up the Water Resources Development Act for a vote. The bill, which includes authorization for the EAA Southern Storage Reservoir and numerous other Treasure Coast Priorities, has passed the U.S. House of Representatives twice with enormous bipartisan support but has not yet received a vote in the Senate. [Read more…] about Mast to McConnell: The Treasure Coast Is Dying While Southern Storage Reservoir Languishes in Senate

Treasure Coast Leaders to Testify at Congressional Hearing Examining PABs used for All Aboard Florida/Brightline

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MEDIA ADVISORY

T.C. Leaders to Express Concerns over U.S.
DOT’s Decision to Issue PABs for AAF Project

Congressman Mark Meadows (R-North Carolina), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations will be examining the tax-exempt private activity bonds (PABs) used for All Aboard Florida’s Brightline passenger rail system.

The review of the PABs was made at the request of Congressman Brian Mast in a letter to Chairman Meadows.  In his letter, Congressman Mast states, “Brightline is continuing their deceptive business practices, seeking public financing for this expansion by claiming that their passenger rail train is actually a “highway” because they fail to qualify for public financing under the statutory definition of high-speed rail.”

Several leaders from the Treasure Coast region have been invited to testify and will be expressing their concerns regarding the U.S. Department of Transportation’s decision to issue PABs to finance the AAF project. Those leaders include: Dylan Reingold, Indian River County Attorney; Chief Dan Wouters, Division Chief Martin County Fire Rescue, and Bob Crandall, CARE FL Steering Committee member, former president, chairman and CEO of American Airlines.

Also attending the congressional hearing will be Senator Debbie Mayfield (R-Melbourne), Rep. Erin Grall (R-Vero Beach), Rep. MaryLynn Magar (R-Tequesta) and Brent Hanlon, Chairman of CARE FL.

**To stream the committee hearing live, click here. Please note video will not appear until the hearing begins.**

WHO: Dylan Reingold, Indian River County Attorney
Dan Wouters, Division Chief Martin County Fire Rescue
Bob Crandall, CARE FL Steering Committee Member

WHAT: Treasure Coast Leaders to Testify Before House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee

WHEN: Thursday, April 19, 2018
10:00a.m. EST

WHERE: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
45 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20515

Mast to Army Corps: No Discharges to Treasure Coast

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Letter Urges Army Corps to Exhaust All Possible Options Before Discharging Water

Mast Calls on Army Corps to Work with SFWMD on Southern Reservoir

U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) yesterday sent a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to “exhaust every possible flood-prevention option prior to considering discharging water.” The letter comes on the heels of the discovery of a massive algal bloom in Lake Okeechobee. Last summer, discharges from Lake Okeechobee resulted in harmful algal blooms on the Treasure Coast that caused a massive public health crisis and incalculable economic damage.
In the letter, Mast also urges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to “work with South Florida Water Management District on a long-term solution that includes implementing Florida State Senate Bill 10, which authorizes construction of a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee.”
The full text of the letter is included below:
July 24, 2017
The Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy
Assistant Secretary of the Army
108 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310
Dear Secretary Darcy:
The Treasure Coast of Florida is facing an environmental disaster. Last summer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to discharge polluted, nutrient-rich freshwater from Lake Okeechobee had dire consequences on the Treasure Coast. As a result of these discharges, our community faced a public health crisis and incalculable economic damage.
My office has been monitoring the situation for warning signs of a repeat disaster throughout this summer, and late last week, I became aware of a massive algae bloom growing in Lake Okeechobee. If the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were to transfer this algal bloom into the St. Lucie River through a discharge, it would again cause an unacceptable crisis on the Treasure Coast.
In a column published in the Tampa Bay Times on July 20, 2017, Colonel Jason Kirk noted that heavy rain has caused water levels in the conservation area to hit record highs, preventing water from being sent south out of Lake Okeechobee for several months. Based on information provided by the U.S. Army Corps, however, it is my understanding that the water levels in Lake Okeechobee are currently several feet below the level necessitating discharges, and I also understand that on June 27, 2017, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers took additional measures to mitigate the high water levels throughout the conservation areas.
Should these water levels rise, I am writing to urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to exhaust every possible flood-prevention option prior to considering discharging water. The transfer of algae-filled water from Lake Okeechobee onto the Treasure Coast is simply unacceptable, which is why I have introduced legislation in Congress to hold the federal government responsible for the cost of damages associated with the transfer of algal blooms from Lake Okeechobee into our community.
Understanding that this is a complex problem that will not be solved over night, I also urge you to work with South Florida Water Management District on a long-term solution that includes implementing Florida State Senate Bill 10, which authorizes construction of a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. I will do everything in my power to authorize federal support for this project as well.
Thank you in advance for your immediate attention to this potentially life-threatening situation.
Sincerely,
Brian J. Mast
Member of Congress
cc:
President Donald J. Trump
Acting Secretary of the Army Robert M. Speer
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District Commander Colonel Jason A. Kirk
Governor Rick Scott
South Florida Water Management District Executive Director Peter Antonacci

VIDEO: Mast Testifies Before Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee

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Brian Mast logo

Mast Calls For Robust Funding To Fix Treasure Coast Water Quality Issues

U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) today testified before the Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development about the pressing need to fund U.S. Army Corps of Engineers infrastructure projects impacting the Treasure Coast:

Excerpt:
Chairman, Ranking Member Kaptur, and the rest of the members here, I appreciate you letting me address you. I’m here to advocate on behalf of robust funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, basically to advance and expand their river and harbor maintenance, flood and storm damage reduction, shore protection, and environmental restoration missions.
In my Florida Congressional District which spans St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach Counties, the most pressing issue that folks face are the harmful and unnatural, massive discharges – sometimes up to 7 million gallons of freshwater per minute– directed by the Corps of Engineers out of Lake Okeechobee and into the heart of our coastal, saltwater estuary.
These discharges, imposed by the federal government, turn the nation’s most species-diverse saltwater estuary – the Indian River Lagoon – into an algae-infested toxic waterway that surrounds hundreds of thousands of residents.
And the resulting algal blooms kill beloved wildlife like manatees and dolphins.
These toxins released by the algal blooms can hurt people through the water and air – children can’t go swimming or play near the water, and elderly residents must stay really inside of their homes if they live near the toxic air.
These blooms also destroy our economy because you can’t sell a house that sits next to toxic water. Nobody wants to go on vacation near. Nobody wants to go boating or fishing or anything like that in a giant stew of algae.
As a result, local small businesses – our bars, shops, and restaurants, paddleboard and outdoor recreation stores, gas stations, and fishing charters – they’re all suffering.
…
As Vice Chair of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee you can count on it being my priority to pass a Water Resources Development Act that includes more CERP project authorizations.
And from an appropriations standpoint, I can tell you that more funding is needed to allow the Corps to quicken the pace of the rehabilitation of the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee.
Just my ask to you all: let’s fund this, get it off the books, and get Florida’s water system repaired.
More funding is needed to accelerate the construction of already-authorized CERP projects including Indian River Lagoon- South, and the Central Everglades Project, among others.
There are also a number of CERP projects that are still awaiting authorization, in part, because of funding and legal limitations on the Corps of Engineers with respect to study investigations.
I would respectfully ask the Subcommittee consider increasing the appropriations for Army Corps investigations, and to raise the cap on the number of study starts for environmental restoration projects the Secretary of the Army can greenlight each Fiscal Year – one a year simply isn’t sufficient.
Finally, I’d like to welcome the Chairman, Ranking Member, every member of this subcommittee, down to the Treasure Coast to witness firsthand the devastating impacts that we see around Lake Okeechobee discharges and harmful algal blooms.