WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) today urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie. Over the past month, 35 billion gallons of water have been discharged into the St. Lucie by the Army Corps. These high-volume discharges have continued despite the Army Corps claiming that they would stop once they stabilized the level on Lake Okeechobee, which has been accomplished.

Lake Okeechobee is lower today than it was a week ago, and earlier this week, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service determined that “for all intents and purposes the rainy season is over and dry season is here.”

“Your decision to continue discharges despite these facts is akin to Lucy pulling the football out from underneath Charlie Brown,” Rep. Mast wrote in a letter to the Army Corps. “To be clear, our Treasure Coast community has been Charlie Brown for too long. We will not continue to tolerate the abuse. With the lake level stabilized and the wet season over, it is time to stop discharges before the Army Corps causes even more long-term, irreversible damage to our estuary.”

The full letter is attached.

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