(from Captains for Clean Water)
CAPTAINS FOR CLEAN WATER
SITUATION BRIEF
May 1, 2020
SITUATION
Special interests are using the Coronacrisis as political cover to push their agenda while attention is diverted.
In the midst of a world-wide human health crisis, policymakers have proposed an extremely harmful addition to the 2020 water bill (WRDA). This move is an attempt by special interests to reconfigure the Lake Okeechobee regulation schedule to their benefit and the environment’s detriment.
If this passes, it would mean more toxic algae, more discharges, less water to the Everglades and Florida Bay, and Lake Okeechobee managed to benefit special interests without taking into account human health and safety. This would undo decades of progress and hinder the ability to protect Florida’s waters and economy in the future. Florida’s economy, public well-being, and environment are at risk.
COURSE OF ACTION
MOBILIZE SUPPORTERS + DISARM SPECIAL INTERESTS ATTEMPTS
Rally everyone to contact their Congress members and urge them to REJECT this effort. Launch a full-scale counterattack campaign to expose this political scheme and mobilize action from the public. Align conservation partners, supporters, outdoor brands, businesses, media—to stand together, raise awareness, and take action that will ultimately hold our policymakers feet to the fire. Through our collective efforts, our objective is to neutralize this threat
immediately.
MESSAGE
URGENT: TAKE ACTION NOW!
Supporters will be able to take action using a call-to-action tool on CaptainsForCleanWater.org, easily allowing them to send a pre-written email to their Senators and Representatives and urging them to reject this effort.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
AMPLIFY THIS MESSAGE
Share, repost, rally your readers, customers, supporters, and communities to take action. Your voice matters in affecting change and preventing political schemes from flying in under the radar. By taking action on this, we are collectively voicing public interests and holding policymakers accountable to make the right decision for human health and safety, our economy, and our environment. Thank you for standing with us in this fight!
Find additional context and details below
CONTACTS: Daniel Andrews at [email protected] or (239) 989-9352
or Alycia Downs [email protected] or (863) 244-7898
THE DETAILS
Reject efforts to undermine Lake Okeechobee regulation schedule for benefit of special interests
Certain members of Congress are attempting to connect the new Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS) to the “savings clause” within the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).
The “savings clause” analysis applies to projects authorized under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) within the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2000. The analysis is designed to ensure that as Everglades restoration projects are activated and ecosystem benefits are delivered to the Everglades, water users are protected. They are attempting to slide this proposed language into WRDA 2020, taking advantage of public distraction due to a global human health crisis. The new language would undo decades of Everglades restoration progress and ensure that the needs of special interests are the primary consideration of Lake Okeechobee management. It would prioritize irrigation supply for corporate agriculture over drinking water supply, human health and safety, and the environment, resulting in more polluted discharges, more toxic algae blooms, and less water to the already-suffering Everglades and Florida Bay.
This proposed rule would:
• Threaten drinking water supply for millions of Floridians.
• Force the Corps to potentially put human life and property at risk to guarantee water supply by raising the lake to levels that could compromise the integrity of the dike.
• Disable the Corps from exercising its duty to protect human health, safety, and the environment.
• Lock in an antiquated regulation schedule from twenty years ago, ignoring evolving environmental factors such as climate change and the impact they have on water scarcity.
• Seriously jeopardize progress toward managing toxic discharges from Lake Okeechobee and greater ecosystem restoration.
• Undermine federal and state investments made to date.
Take action at CaptainsForCleanWater.org. Email your members of Congress and
demand that they REJECT these efforts!