Stuart, FL – U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) and Governor-Elect Ron DeSantis tonight issued the following statement after learning that the South Florida Water Management District plans to hold a vote tomorrow, November 8, 2018, on extending the land lease with New Hope Sugar Company, a subsidiary of Florida Crystals, for land authorized to be used for the EAA Southern Storage Reservoir:

“Given that the current lease does not expire until March and because we did not receive enough advance notice on this proposed vote to ensure that this extension would not delay construction of the EAA Southern Storage Reservoir, we urge the South Florida Water Management District to delay their planned vote tomorrow. The EAA Southern Storage Reservoir is a critical component of Everglades Restoration and our joint efforts to prevent harmful algal blooms. We will not support any lease extension that could delay the construction of the reservoir in direct contradiction of the intention of both the United States Congress and Florida Legislature.”

BACKGROUND:

The South Florida Water Management District Meeting agenda can be found here. The proposed lease extension can be found here.

###