COMPREHENSIVE EVERGLADES RESTORATION PLAN
ASSURANCE OF PROJECT BENEFITS AGREEMENT
WHEREAS, the Everglades
ecological system is unique in the world and
one of the Nation's great treasures;
WHEREAS, the Central and
Southern Florida Project as originally
authorized in 1948 has had unintended consequences on the
Everglades and
South Florida Ecosystem;
WHEREAS, the Water
Resources Development Act of 1992 authorized a
Comprehensive Review Study (Restudy) of the Central and South
Florida
Project;
WHEREAS, as required by
the Water Resources Development Act of 1996,
the Restudy was submitted to the Congress of the United States on
July 1,
1999;
WHEREAS, the Restudy,
renamed the Comprehensive Everglades
Restoration Plan, was authorized by the Congress in the Water
Resources
Development Act of 2000
WHEREAS, the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan ("the Plan")
will restore, preserve, and protect the more than 2.4 million
acres of the
Everglades and the South Florida Ecosystem;
WHEREAS, implementation
of the Plan will require a collaborative
effort among Federal and State partners, and the Seminole Tribe
of Florida
and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, acting under
Federal and
State law, to achieve the shared goal of restoration of the
Everglades and
the South Florida Ecosystem;
WHEREAS, as the ecosystem
is restored, all interests seek a level of
assurance that they wil receive the anticipated benefits from the
Plan;
WHEREAS, the Federal
interest in restoration flows largely from the
substantial Federal resources in the ecosystem, including
Everglades
National Park and other National Parks, National Wildlife
Refuges, and
National Marine Sanctuaries, which comprise a significant portion
of the
natural system;
WHEREAS, in recognition
of this interest, the Congress established
that the overarching objective of the Plan is the restoration,
preservation,
and protection of the South Florida Ecosystem, while providing
for other
water-related needs of the region, including water supply and
flood
protection;
WHEREAS, section
601(h)(2) of the Water Resources Development Act of
2000 (the "Act"), requires that the President of the
United States and the
Governor of Florida enter into a binding agreement that ensures
that water
from the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan will be made
available
for the restoration of the natural system;
WHEREAS, sectoin (h)(3)
of the Act further requires that the
Secretary of the Army, with the concurrence of the Governor and
the
Secretary of the Interior, and in consultation with the Seminole
Tribe of
Florida, the Miccosukee Tribe fo Indians of Florida, the
Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Commerce,
and other
Federal, State, and local agencies, promulgate programmatic
regulations to
ensure that the goals and the purposes of the Plan are achieved;
WHEREAS, section
601(h)(4)(A)(iii) of the Act requires that a Project
Implementation Report (PIR) identify the amount of water to ber
reserved or
allocated for the natural system under State law;
WHEREAS, section
601(h)(4)(B)(ii) of the Act requires that the
Secretary of the Amry shall not execute a Project Cooperation
Agreement
until any reservation or allocation of water for the natural
system identied
in the PIR is executed under State law;
WHEREAS, the State of
Florida has the authority to reserve water for
the natural system pursuant to Chapter 373, Florida Statues;
The signatories to this agreement hereby affirm that:
As required by the Water Resources Development Act of 2000,
water made
available by each project in the Comprehensive Everglades
Restoration Paln
will not be permitted for a consumptive use or otherwise made
unavailable by
the State of Flroida until such time as sufficient reservations
of water for
the restoration of the natural system are made by regulation or
other
appropriate meanuse pursuant to Chapter 373, Florida Statues, and
in
accordance with the project implementation report for the project
and
consistent with the Comprehensive Everlgades Restoration Plan.
The effectuate this agreement, the Federal party agrees:
- To include with the
President's budget submissions to the Congress
requests for Federal
appropriates in the amount the President deems
necessary to implement the
Federal share of the Plan's
implementation;
- To initiate authorized project planning and design;
- To work with the State of
Florida on developing information jointly
to support the adaptive
assessment component of the Plan;
- To use the planning process to
supply information for both Federal
and State legislative
oversight requirements;
To effectuate this agreement, the State party agrees:
- To include within the
Governor's budget submissions to the
Legislature requests for
State appropriations in the amount the
Governor deems necessary to
implement the State share of the Plan's
implementation.
- To undertake reservations of
water for the natural system upon
completion of each PIR, and
to ensure that reservations of water
for the natural system will
be consistent with information developed
in the PIR, indicating
appropriate timing, distribution, and flow
requirements sufficient for
the restoration of the natural system.
- To manage its water resource
allocation process to ensure that water
made available by each
project in the Comprehensive Everglades
Restoration Paln will not be
permitted for a consumptive use or
otherwise made unavailable
for restoration of the natural system,
consistent with the PIR and
the provisions of the Water Resources
Development Acto fo 2000.
- To monitor and assess the
continuing effectiveness of reservations
as long as the project is
authorized to achieve the goals and
objectives of the Plan.
//s// George W. Bush
//s// Jeb Bush
PRESIDENT OF
GOVERNOR OF THE
THE UNITED STATES
STATE OF FLORIDA
Dated: January 9, 2002