Construction of the Everglades Agricultural Area

1906     Formation of the Everglades Drainage District

1947     Creation of Everglades National Park (ENP)

1948     Congress approves the Central and Southern Florida Project for Flood Control and Other
            Purposes.  House document 643.

1960s    Revolution in Cuba.

            Growth of the sugar industry in the Everglades Agriculture Area (EAA)

1972      Congress guarantees minimum flows of water into ENP.

Early Development of the Phosphorus Problem

1979     Decision to pump stormwater from the EAA into Water Conservation Areas instead of into 
            Lake Okeechobee.

1983     Gov. Bob Graham starts the "save our Everglades" program

1987     Passage of the Florida Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Act.

Filing of the federal water quality lawsuit

Sp 1988     Dexter Lehtinen nominated U.S. attorney for South Florida

Oct 1988    Lawsuit filed: U.S. v. South Florida Management District.

Nov 1988   Florida Audubon intervenes; other environmental groups follow.

Dec 1988   Amended complaint filed

Litigation

Dec 1989    Judge rejects district's motion to dismiss.

Apr 1990     Federal agencies file joint comments on Everglades SWIM plan

Sep 1990    Governor Martinez announces compromise

Nov 1990    Lawton Chiles elected governor, defeating Martinez. 

                  U.S. files motion for partial summary judgment.

Settlement process in the federal lawsuit

Jan 1991       Chiles promises to settle lawsuit within six months.

Feb 1991       "Summit "ends with no progress

Mar 1991        Negotiations begin with scientists addressing water quality.

Apr 1991        Five new members join district board.

May 1991       Governor Chiles appears in court and "surrenders"

May 7, 1991    Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act signed.

July 8, 1991     Settlement agreement announced.

Dec 1991        Judge orally approves settlement.

Mar 1992         Written order accepting settlement agreement.  Judge Hoeveler enters the settlement
                       agreement as consent decree, 847 F. Supp 1567 (S.D. Fla 1992), which sets out in
                       detail the steps the State of Florida would take over the next ten years to restore and
                       preserve water quality in the Everglades.  

Aug 1994         The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the 1992 Consent
                       Decree and remanded the case to district court for further consideration in light of the
                       Everglades Forever Act (28 F.3d 1563 (11^th Cir. 1994), cert denied 115 S.C. 1956)).

State Administrative Proceedings

Mar 1992    District approves SWIM, including design of artificial wetland. 

                  Federal order approving settlement agreement has provisions allowing affected parties to
                  pursue administrative remedies under Fla Chap. 120.
                  
                  Sugar Cane League offers plan to clean phosphorus.
                  
                  Sugar Cane League, and other agricultural interests file legal challenges to SWIM in the
                  Florida Division of Administrative Hearings.

Sum 1992   Adoption of rules for on-farm best management practices (BMP's).

Dec 1992    Mediator hired.

Mar 1993    FloSun and U.S. Sugar offer new settlement proposals. 

                  Secretary Babbitt commits to making Everglades a test case.

May 1993   Technical group proposal unveiled.

Statement of Principles

Jul 1993     Secretary Babbit announces statement of principles. 

                  District announces tax increase.

Oct 1993    Details of statement of principles to be announced.

Everglades Forever Act: Settlement of Administrative Actions

1994    Florida legislature passes Everglades Forever Act.  This new law replaces Marjory
           Stoneman Douglas Act, ending all administrative proceedings.

2000    Federal lawsuit still pending.

Miccosukee lawsuits

The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida are involved in several lawsuits related to       Everglades water quality, quantity and restoration issues.  They are interveners in the      original lawsuit and in the state administrative proceedings.  Additionally they filed the
following actions:

U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit

•  95-5080  Miccosukee v. United States.    


U.S. District Court, S.D. of Florida

•  98-521-CIV-NESBITT  Miccosukee v. U. S. National Park Service 
•  98-6056-CIV-FERGUSON  Miccosukee v. SFWMD
•  95-0533-CIV-DAVIS  Miccosukee v. United States
•  94-2259-CIV-MORENO  Miccosukee v. United States
•  94-0662-CIV-HOEVELER  Miccosukee v. United States


Florida Court of Appeals, 3 DCA

•  98-1254  Miccosukee v. SFWMD,    

     

Restoration?

Credit

Some items adapted from:

Chapter 5: Leadership in the Everglades: The Politics of Restoring an Ecosystem
Table 5-1, pages 140-141;

In, DeWitt John
Civic Environmentalism:
Alternatives to Regulation in States and Communities.

Aspen Institute
and National Academy of Public Administration
A Division of Congressional Quarterly, Inc.

Washington, D.C.
1994