The historic natural Everglades was a truly spectacular and one-of-a-kind ecosystem that could not be found anywhere else on the planet. Stretching over miles and miles of Florida, water flowed through the sawgrass of the Everglades uninterrupted, moving south all the way into the Florida Bay.[i]  However, through the years of Florida’s development, the Everglades can no longer be considered its natural self anymore.  Plans devised by Florida’s early developers to drain the Everglades of the one thing it needs more than anything to survive, its water flow, led to an Everglades that is no longer comparable to its old self.[ii]  The Everglades would require the help of the very humans who destroyed it to restore it to as close to its natural glory as possible.

  One person who has made it a point to preserve the Everglades during his tenure is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (“DeSantis”).  Since his inaugural address back in 2019, DeSantis has stressed the importance of the quality of Florida’s water and environmental surroundings as being “foundational to our prosperity as a state.”[iii]  Only a few days later, to kick off his first term as Governor, DeSantis signed an executive order that would protect Florida’s environment and more precisely, Florida’s water.  With this executive order, DeSantis called for $2.5 million to be secured over four years for Everglades restoration and the protection of water resources.[iv]  Surpassing his original goal, DeSantis secured over $3.3 million in funding to be invested toward Everglades restoration and water quality during his first term.[v]  In addition to the funding for these projects, DeSantis also called for the expedition of Everglades restoration projects, which would include the Everglades Agricultural Area (“EAA”) Reservoir.  After being reelected, DeSantis showed his commitment to the Everglades and its restoration once again by signing a new executive order to kickstart his second term. However, this time, DeSantis increased his funding commitment to $3.5 million after the success he saw in his first term and continued to prioritize the expedition of completing the EAA reservoir and other Everglades restoration projects.[vi]

Under DeSantis, Florida has made historic progress in restoring the Everglades to the glory that it once was and improving the state’s water management.  Water storage capacity has tripled since DeSantis took office, seeing an increase from 57.1 billion gallons to 176.1 billion gallons, with new projects underway to raise that number to over 330 gallons.[vii]  The EAA reservoir, a project that is a part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (“CERP”) and a joint project between the federal government and Florida, will account for an increase of about 78 billion gallons in water storage capacity.[viii]

After a wave of hurricanes in the 1940s in Florida, the federal government responded by initiating the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project (“C&SF Project”).[ix]  The C&SF Project, a network of thousands of miles of canals and water control structures, handled flood control for more than fifty years.  However, the project likewise included adverse effects, which led to the creation of CERP.  Florida’s government joined the fray because of then-Florida Governor Lawton Chiles’ awareness that the state must do its part with regard to environmental concerns in South Florida.[x]  Thus, the somewhat unprecedented partnership between the federal government and the state of Florida was born to create CERP, which included the planned construction of the EAA reservoir.

The EAA reservoir will be a massive step forward for Everglades restoration as it will store excess water from Lake Okeechobee and purify it so it may be sent south to nurture the Everglades. Additionally, the reservoir will help to supply cleaner freshwater to millions in South Florida and help reduce harmful discharges of polluted Lake Okeechobee water to the east and west coasts of Florida.  Recently, DeSantis announced updates on the efforts to restore the Everglades in Florida, which included recommendations to the state’s budget for the Fiscal Year 2025–2026.  The recommendation from DeSantis would be $805 million for the restoration of the Everglades. More specifically, $670 million would be allocated to CERP, and another around $130 million would be allocated to other projects that support Everglades restoration.[xi]  Perhaps more importantly, DeSantis announced that Florida would look to work with the incoming Trump Administration to expedite the completion of certain Everglades projects like the EAA reservoir by seeking greater control and authority.

The idea behind seeking more control over CERP projects from the federal government is the elimination of delays, some of which are over a decade old.  DeSantis and his team believe that if Florida had oversight of the funding that is budgeted by the federal government for the restoration of the Everglades, then they could rapidly accelerate projects.[xii]  State projects, such as CERP, experienced delays and setbacks throughout the Biden administration.  The delays have been due to several reasons, such as inadequate federal funding, decisions on the projects by the U.S. Army Corps coming at slow speeds, and factors not in the control of the federal government, like sea level rise and global warming.[xiii]  DeSantis is hopeful that with Donald Trump now assuming office, Florida may be given more control over the projects for Everglades restoration.

DeSantis stated in a recent address that if Florida was given authority over the projects, they “will get this done and move it along very, very quickly.”[xiv]  This comes after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated the completion date for the EAA reservoir jumped from 2029 in 2020, to 2035 in late 2024.[xv]  If DeSantis and Florida are given the authority to take control of the budget and spearhead the restoration projects, then it is possible to see significant progress in the restoration of the Everglades.  This is evidenced by the fact that despite the setbacks under the Biden administration, Florida continued to complete major projects ahead of schedule, which included doubling the water flow in the Everglades.[xvi]

Even if DeSantis and Florida are given control over the budget and projects in the Everglades, there are still concerns that DeSantis may not see the expedition he hopes, for the same reasons the delays have been occurring. For one, giving Florida control over the federal government’s funding will not stop “political jockeying” from occurring amongst the states, which could affect the speed at which the federal government provides funds to Everglades restoration projects.[xvii]  Moreover, concerns outside the control of the federal government will not simply cease to exist. These include concerns over climate change, which was largely not a concern when the projects in the Everglades began, as well as sea-level rise.  Another concern that could slow the restoration process is litigation over water.

In 2021, a coalition of sugar growers brought a challenge in federal court to challenge the construction of the EAA reservoir.[xviii]  The sugar growers claim that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to comply with the Water Resources Development Act of 2000, a federal statute governing CERP and its projects.[xix]  The sugar growers believe they were entitled to certain amounts of water by the act and that the construction of the reservoir will reduce the amount of water supplies that are given to them. The case is currently before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, where the sugar growers have tried to urge the court to reverse the decision below, which favored the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and, ultimately, the construction of the reservoir. Moreover, stakeholders of the EAA reservoir project, such as the Seminole Tribe of Florida, have cautioned state officials against reserving too much water for the reservoir in fear that they could potentially cause a “human-made drought.”[xx]  All in all, DeSantis may get his wish of control over the budget and projects, but this may not solve any issues in the slow-moving restoration of the Everglades.

[i] See John J. Fumero & Keith W. Rizzardi, The Everglades Ecosystem: From Engineering to Litigation to Consensus-Based Restoration, 13 St. Thomas L. Rev. 667, 668 (2001).

[ii] See Clay Landry, Who Drained the Everglades?, PERC (Mar. 1, 2002), https://perc.org/2002/03/01/who-drained-the-everglades/ (“The Everglades today receives less than one-third of its historic water flow, the water is contaminated by fertilizer and other runoff, and the wildlife-rich wetlands are half the size they were when the federal government started its draining projects in the 1920s.”).

[iii] Anna Upton, Gov. DeSantis’ Commitment to Everglades and the Environment is Historic | Opinion, Tallahassee Democrat (Jan. 15, 2023, 1:30 PM), https://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2023/01/15/gov-desantis-commitment-to-everglades-and-the-environment-is-historic/69803735007/.

[iv] See id.

[v] See Governor Ron DeSantis Highlights Everglades Restoration, Calls for More Authority for Florida to Execute the CERP, Exec. Off. of the Governor Ron DeSantis (Jan. 9, 2025), https://www.flgov.com/eog/news/press/2025/governor-ron-desantis-highlights-everglades-restoration-calls-more-authority.

[vi] See Upton, supra note iii (“On January 3, 2023, when Governor DeSantis gave his second inaugural address, he showed that the Everglades and the environment continue to remain a priority.”).

[vii] See Governor Ron DeSantis Highlights Everglades Restoration, Calls for More Authority for Florida to Execute the CERP, supra note v.

[viii] See 8 Things to Know About The EAA Reservoir, The Everglades Found., https://www.evergladesfoundation.org/post/8-things-to-know-about-the-eaa-reservoir (last visited Jan. 24, 2025).

[ix] See Fumero & Rizzardi, supra note i.

[x] See id. at 686–87.

[xi] See Governor Ron DeSantis Highlights Everglades Restoration, Calls for More Authority for Florida to Execute the CERP, supra note v.

[xii] See Jim Turner, DeSantis Will Seek Control Over Federal Everglades Restoration Funds, WUSF (Jan. 10, 2025, 5:28 AM), https://www.wusf.org/politics-issues/2025-01-10/desantis-will-seek-control-federal-everglades-restoration-funds (providing quotations from DeSantis’ appearance at Juno Beach where he reveals that he will be asking the Trump administration for more control).

[xiii] See Restoring the Florida Everglades can Still Use Federal Help | Editorial, The Palm Beach Post (Jan. 16, 2025, 5:18 AM), https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/opinion/editorials/2025/01/16/florida-everglades-restoration-cerp-army-core-engineers-water/77698556007/.

[xiv] Scott Sutton, Gov. Ron DeSantis Visits Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, Touts Everglades Restoration, WPTV (Jan. 9, 2025, 9:41 AM), https://www.wptv.com/news/region-n-palm-beach-county/juno-beach/gov-ron-desantis-juno-beach-jan-9-2025.

[xv] See Christine Stapleton, Guess when Everglades Ag Area Reservoir Will Be Completed, The Backstory Blog (Oct. 28, 2024), https://thebackstoryblog.com/f/eaa-reservoir-original-completion-date-2035 (“In 2020, when a massive reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area first appeared on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s annual Everglades restoration update, the construction completion date was 2029. Today, the Corps estimates the completion date for the final construction project is 2035.”).

[xvi] See Governor Ron DeSantis Highlights Everglades Restoration, Calls for More Authority for Florida to Execute the CERP, supra note v.

[xvii] Restoring the Florida Everglades Can Still Use Federal Help | Editorial, supra note xiii.

[xviii] See generally Okeelanta Corp. v. United States Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. 9:21-CV-81505-DMM, 2023 WL 3600665, at *1 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 21, 2023).

[xix] Id. at *2.

[xx] David Minsky, DeSantis Vows More Money, Control Over Everglades Projects, Law360 (Jan. 10, 2025, 9:52 PM), https://www.law360.com/articles/2281991/desantis-vows-more-money-control-over-everglades-projects.