S.Amdt. 3000

SA 3000. Mr. RUBIO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2910 proposed by Mr. Shelby to the bill H.R. 5895, making
appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes;
which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title I of division A, add the following:
Sec. 1__. (a) Congress finds that--
(1) the restoration of the Everglades, as described in the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan authorized by title
VI of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (Public Law
106-541; 114 Stat. 2680) (referred to in this section as the
``Plan''), is the most ambitious environmental restoration
program in history;
(2) the overarching objectives of the Plan are the
restoration, preservation, and protection of the south
Florida ecosystem, while providing for other water-related
needs of the region, including water supply and flood
protection;
(3) the Plan should continue to be implemented as
authorized--
(A) to ensure--

[[Page S4057]]

(i) the protection of water quality in the south Florida
ecosystem;
(ii) the reduction of the loss of fresh water from the
south Florida ecosystem; and
(iii) the improvement of the environment of the south
Florida ecosystem; and
(B) to achieve and maintain the benefits to the natural
system and human environment described in the Plan; and
(4) the equal partnership between the Federal Government
and the State of Florida remains essential to accomplishing
the objectives of the Plan.
(b) It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the discharge of excess water by the Corps of Engineers
from Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee Estuary and the
Indian River Lagoon conflicts with the objectives of the
Plan;
(2) the diversion of those Lake Okeechobee discharges to
project features like the Everglades Agricultural Area
Storage Reservoir, designed to store and treat water prior to
release into the Central Everglades, is an essential source
of fresh water for meeting the objectives of the Plan;
(3) the peer-reviewed Dynamic Model for Everglades
Stormwater Treatment Areas developed by the Department of the
Interior is wholly satisfactory for demonstrating compliance
of congressionally authorized Plan projects with water
quality standards; and
(4) the Plan authorizes a 50/50 Federal-State cost share
for all aspects of congressionally authorized restoration
projects, including water quality projects.
______