Hey, remember that proposal to build a rock mine… er, “water resource project” — in the Everglades Agricultural Area?

Sure you do. Phillips & Jordan, the prime contractor for several massive reservoir projects in the region, is pitching (unsolicited) plans to take 8,600 acres now in sugarcane production and turn it into a rock mine… er, “water resource project.”

The land, owned by U.S. Sugar and Okeelanta Corp. (parent company of Florida Crystals), would be donated — how magnanimous! — dug out, the rock sold to support state road-building, the profits accruing to the sugar companies. The resulting hole, called the Southland Water Resource Project, would be turned into storage for up to 120,000 acre-feet of water.

And that would be good, right? Because we need more water storage, and here it is!

But concerns about this proposed “public-private partnership” could fill the proposed reservoir, and then some.

Big Sugar plays a big role

This week investigative reporter Jason Garcia documented how Big Sugar is hard at work on the proposal, even “helping” Drew Bartlett, Executive Director of the South Florida Water Management District, to write a letter that allows the project to clear a key regulatory hurdle.

That “letter of project identification,” addressed to Phillips & Jordan, contained similar language to a draft letter previously provided to Bartlett by the company. But Garcia reported that “electronic metadata on that draft show the original author was an executive at U.S. Sugar Corp. — which, along with fellow sugar producer Florida Crystals, owns the limestone that would be strip-mined from the land, crushed into aggregate, and sold as construction material.”

It’s like a throwback to the bad old days when Big Sugar called the tune and the SFWMD obediently tap-danced.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

More than 9 million tons of sand and limestone could be mined from the site annually for 30 years. Once this is completed, decades down the line, the 8,600-acre hole then be used for water storage. It would then be managed by the District, according to the proposal; and because this would provide such a public benefit, reported Garcia, backers are talking about public subsidies for the project.

Because if there’s one thing Big Sugar knows a lot about, it’s public subsidies.

Apparently there are ‘willing sellers’

But wait! Remember when Florida was looking for land in the EAA to build the EAA reservoir, there were no willing sellers? Not only that, the sugar industry and other EAA producers told us that taking additional land out of production would have “devastating economic effects on our farming communities.” Indeed, it could close sugar mills!

But here it’s just fine to take 8,600 acres out of production. What changed? Does aggregate simply fetch a higher price than sugarcane? Has soil subsidence gotten so bad it’s becoming more economical for Big Sugar to find other uses for its cropland?

And what “other uses” might also be in the works?

To be sure, the 8,600 acre-site is in Palm Beach County, and the county Comprehensive Plan does allow for mining where the rock is needed to “support public roadway projects or agricultural activities, or water management projects associated with ecosystem restoration, regional water supply or flood protection, on sites identified by the South Florida Water Management District or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers where such uses provide viable alternative technologies for water management.”

Florida’s road construction needs are significant; indeed, some estimates suggest the value of the rock alone could be $800 million.

Lots of other questions

There are myriad other questions and potential issues. This would be in-ground storage, as opposed to above-ground storage like the EAA reservoir now being built — is that good? Bad? Better? Worse?

Is this the best location for both mining and water storage? How well would it integrate not just with existing CERP plans, but post-CERP needs?

Everglades restoration is supposed to be a carefully considered process, not one driven by an immediate opportunity for profit.

And then there’s the greasing of the skids. Garcia reports that lobbyists for the project have been cozying up to aides to Gov. Ron DeSantis himself, courting favor for the project.

Phillips & Jordan spreads around quite a bit of “dirty money” in campaign donations — as, of course, does Big Sugar.  Campaign finance data shows that since 2018, Phillips & Jordan has given at least $3.27 million to state politicians and PACs. As our “Dirty Money Project” has documented, Big Sugar gave more than 10 times that amount to Florida politicians and PACs over the same span.

Sneaky process

But it’s the furtive process which underscores all the other concerns. The proposal initially flew beneath the radar as P&J submitted its initial proposal in 2023, then sought its “letter of project identification,” from the SFWMD to allow the plan to move forward at the county level, then withdrew their request this past summer.

Then, lo and behold — on Christmas Eve! — Phillips & Jordan submitted an updated proposal to the district. District Executive Director Drew Bartlett replied — on New Year’s Eve! — with a letter stating that the project looked like it could be viable if it met a laundry list of requirements. That’s the letter that contained language very similar to the draft provided by Phillips & Jordan, and apparently written by Big Sugar.

Bottom line: this for-profit project is being pitched as a public benefit, but there are more red flags than a matador convention. It looks like a Big Sugar money grab on land we were told wasn’t available, except now it is.

But not to worry, it’ll all be turned into water storage — long after most of us have gone.

This proposal has a long way to go, which will include public hearings. We’ll be there with something to say, and we certainly hope you will consider joining us.

We’ll keep you in the looo — so stay tuned.