Everglades restoration deal is kept alive with contract extension in massive plan to buy land
By APThursday, March 11, 2010
Vote keeps Everglades restoration deal alive
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida water managers have approved a contract extension for a bold plan to buy land from the nation’s largest cane sugar producer for Everglades restoration.
The board of the South Florida Water Management District, which oversees restoration efforts, voted Thursday on a six-month extension. The vote keeps the proposed deal alive at least until next month, when the Florida Supreme Court decides whether to allow the sale.
The deal was proposed by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist. It calls for the state to pay $536 million for 73,000 acres of U.S. Sugar Corp. land in the Everglades.
Critics call it a waste of taxpayer money that will only slow other key restoration efforts. However, Crist says it’s an opportunity to help clean the Everglades, long polluted by fertilizers and urban runoff.
