ARTICLE REFERENCE: Central & Southern Florida (C&SF) Project

CENTRAL & SOUTHERN FLORIDA (C&SF) PROJECT
Construction General (C)
Congressional Districts: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27

1. DESCRIPTION

Congress authorized the Central and Southern Florida (C&SF) project in the Flood Control Act of 1948 and subsequent authorizations through the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016. The C&SF project is a multi-purpose project that provides flood control; water supply for municipal, industrial, and agricultural uses; prevention of saltwater intrusion; water supply for the Everglades National Park (ENP); and protection of fish and wildlife resources. The C&SF project involves an area of about 18,000 square miles, which includes all or part of 18 counties in central and southern Florida. The project is being implemented through a series of separable elements. The major separable elements are: Upper St Johns River Basin, West Palm Beach Canal (stormwater treatment area [STA]-1E/C-51), South Dade County (C-111), Manatee Protection, and the C&SF Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Other related projects that are appropriated separately are the Kissimmee River Restoration and Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park projects, and the Everglades and South Florida Ecosystem Restoration (Critical) projects.

The Water Resources Development Acts (WRDA) of 1992 and 1996 provided the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with the authority to re-evaluate the performance and impacts of the C&SF project and to recommend improvements and or modifications to the project for the purpose of restoring, preserving, and protecting the South Florida Ecosystem. The resulting Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was designed to capture, store, and redistribute fresh water previously lost to tide and to regulate the quality, quantity, timing, and distribution of water flows. The WRDA of 2000 approved the plan as an implementation framework, established a programmatic authorization, and required individual Project Implementation Reports (PIRs) for authorization. The CERP includes approximately 60 components combined into multiple projects and will take more than 30 years to construct.

The WRDA of 2007 authorized the following CERP projects: Indian River Lagoon South, Picayune Strand, and Site 1 Impoundment. In addition, new authorized project costs were provided for the Hillsboro and Lake Okeechobee Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) and the Caloosahatchee ASR pilot projects, and a provision was included establishing Section 902 limits for the Programmatic Authority projects.

The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA 2014) authorized four CERP projects for construction: (1) Caloosahatchee River (C-43) West Basin Storage Reservoir; (2) Canal 111 (C-111) Spreader Canal Western; (3) Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Phase 1; and (4) Broward County Water Preserve Areas.

The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016 (WIIN 2016) authorized the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) and a new total project cost for the Picayune Strand Restoration Project.

The Water Resources Development Act of 2018 directed the Secretary to expedite completion of the Lake Okeechobee Regulation schedule.  Section 1308 of the Act authorized the C&SF Everglades Agricultural Area, which was submitted by the SFWMD under the Section 203 process.

2. FUNDING

3. SPONSOR

South Florida Water Management District
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, Florida 33406

4. STATUS

The USACE is continuing construction of the C-111 South Dade project. Planning and design efforts are underway on many of the projects included in the CERP. Most of the effort is conducted in partnership with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), and design is proceeding according to the Design Agreement executed in May 2000. The Design Agreement was amended in August 2009 to incorporate changes per the Master Agreement. The Master Agreement was executed between the USACE and the SFWMD in August 2009 and provides the cost-share and provisions for constructing and operating CERP projects.

Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) was a positive year for CERP implementation. The Jacksonville District continued construction on the Kissimmee River Restoration and Broward County Water Preserve Areas projects. Construction continued on the following projects: Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park, C-111 South Dade, Indian River Lagoon-South, C-44 project Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area, and Picayune Strand Restoration, which included operational testing and monitoring of the Miller pump station. In FY19, USACE is continuing planning and design efforts on CERP projects, including preparation of Project Management Plans (PMPs), PIRs, and Validation Reports. Currently, the main effort is focused on completing construction of the Kissimmee River Restoration, Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park, and C-111 South Dade projects.

PROJECTS:

West Palm Beach Canal (C-51 / STA-1E): The authorized project will provide 30-year flood protection to the urbanized eastern basin and 10-year flood protection to the western basin. All features have been completed. The technical plan developed for resolution of the litigation was completed and associated construction is complete. The project has been transferred to the SFWMD for O&M and is fiscally complete.

South Dade County (C-111SD): The C-111 Project General Reevaluation Report (GRR) with integrated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was approved in 1994, and the Project Cooperation Agreement (PCA) was executed in 1995. The C-111 GRR authorized modifications to the original project as authorized by the Flood Control Acts of 1962 and 1968. The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1996 authorized 50/50 federal/sponsor cost sharing for the total project cost, which allows the sponsor to receive credit for lands needed for the project. An amendment to the 1995 PCA, to address the WRDA 1996 cost share change, was executed in August 2014. The C-111 South Dade project is moving forward, and construction on the remaining project components will be complete in FY19.

The mission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is to deliver vital public and military engineering services; partnering in peace and war to strengthen our nation’s security, energize the economy and reduce risks from disasters.

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