A proposed rock mine turned water reservoir in the Everglades has people conflicted on what is best for economics and the environment. 

The proposed public-private partnership – Southland Water Resource Project – is lauded by some as an environmental savior and by others as a detriment. Similarly, some argue it’s an economic disaster for the public while others say it’s a financial boon. 

“We need the jobs here in the area,” said Janet Taylor, founder of Clewiston-based Glades Lives Matter. “Please don’t let outside noise drown out the voices of the Glades. We are not a playground for protest politics,” she said during a public meeting with South Florida Water Management on May 29. That meeting drew several environmental groups opposed to the project. 

Among them is Captains For Clean Water, which warns the project could jeopardize the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee that will cost taxpayers approximately $4 billion to store about 78 billion gallons of water, lowering Lake Okeechobee by about six inches, according to that project’s public description.

Tennessee-based contractor Phillips and Jordan, Inc. (P&J) has numerous projects with similar functions as a contractor with the Florida government, including a $176 million contract awarded by South Florida Water Management in 2021 for a stormwater treatment area, dubbed A2 of the EAA, among others.

P&J publicly proposed the Southland Water Resource Project in the Everglades directly south of Lake Okeechobee as early as 2023.

If approved by several layers of government, the project will provide approximately 100,000 acre feet of water storage on approximately 6,077 acres of land that is owned by U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals, which is the parent company of Okeelanta Corp. in the Everglades Agricultural Area.

During the recent public presentations with the Palm Beach County Commission and then with South Florida Water Management District, Matt Eidson, vice president of P&J, said the project would lead to the creation of approximately 120 jobs. 

These are full-time jobs with benefits that last 20 years, Eidson said. “You could hire here and retire here,” he added.

The entire project will take more than 30 years to complete, according to P&J project descriptions. 

These potential economic benefits have led to support from area cities, with Mayor Steve Wilson of Belle Glade and Joe Kyles of South Bay publicly supporting the Southland project, citing dire needs for economic stimulus for their constituents with a respect for agriculture.

The Southland Project, which includes the mining and the reservoir, will require paying approximately $300,000 in environmental resource fees to Palm Beach County, Eidson said. 

Further, the project can address a critical aggregate shortage, which has led the Florida Department of Transportation to go as far as considering a radioactive fertilizer waste, phosphogypsum, as road base if and when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will allow it. Transporting aggregate to the Everglades for restoration would also come at considerable expense, and this may reduce those transportation costs, depending on the project details and coordination between the contractor and the city. 

South Florida Water Management District is among the layers of government reviewing the proposal. 

“This could take up to a year to do this type of evaluation,” said SFWMD Executive Director Drew Bartlett during the District’s most recent June 5 meeting. 

P&J paid SFWMD $83,102 for the evaluation, Bartlett said. 

On Thursday, May 22, Palm Beach County Commission approved the project unanimously, 6-0, despite pushback. Palm Beach County codes allow for mining in the Everglades if the aggregate is supplied for public roads or projects and/or water storage is provided. 

During SFWMD’s June 5 meeting, Bartlett outlined the process with SFWMD. P&J is submitting more details about 20 of the District’s specific criteria by August, he said. Then, there will be a public presentation of SFWMD’s staff findings. From there, SFWMD staff will give their recommendation to the District elected board, which will have public comment ahead of their vote as well. 

Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a letter of intent to approve the first phase of the project on May 29. Phase One includes three of the 13 cells that would be constructed in stages to allow water storage to begin more quickly, as soon as five years, according to the P&J public presentation. 

The proposal includes aspects that raise specific concerns while at the same time relieving others. For example, P&J has a long history of working with SFWMD, constructing reservoirs, and mining. Opponents say this is a conflict of interest, others say it makes them trusted to do the job well. Mining in the Everglades, which has been done for decades, is harmful to the earth, yet if the rock is needed to complete Everglades restoration, and aggregate is limited and would need to be transported in, then the project provides some environmental benefit. 

Among the public speakers at the SFWMD meeting who spoke of more environmental concern than benefit was Captains For Clean Water cofounder Capt. Chris Whitman. 

“Just a few months ago you had the sugar industry – Florida Crystals and U.S. Sugar – suing the Army Corps of Engineers over the EAA Reservoir, specifically over who had rights to the water in that reservoir. Whether that water should be available to Everglades restoration or whether ‘big sugar’ should get that water to irrigate their crops. The sugar industry lost that lawsuit both at the district level and at the appellate court,” Whitman said.

“So, why should the district, at this point, believe that U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals are all of a sudden coming to the table, offering to build a reservoir and provide that water to the Everglades? It does not add up. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t pass the smell test,” he added.

The SFWMD board is constituted of people who might be ripe for picking a particular side with board member ‘Alligator’ Ron Bergeron, who has mined in the Everglades since the late 1960s. Captains For Clean Water is also represented on the SFWMD board, including District Chairman Chauncey Goss, Treasurer of Captains For Clean Water. 

P&J described potential for not just excavating limestone and storing water in the remaining pits but also for cleaning the water, though details are limited. 

“We are also evaluating the potential for areas within the project to treat Lake Okeechobee water routed from the Miami Canal, understanding that water quality treatment of water from Lake Okeechobee is a high priority for the District,” the P&J proposal document, which is posted to SFWMD’s website and P&J’s website, read.

While the public awaits hearing the elected board’s take on the matter, citizens can voice their concerns and questions with SFWMD.

The District allows 30 days since the May 29 meeting for written comments about how to evaluate the project and questions for the District to consider. Send questions about the project, which is described on the SFWMD website under unsolicited projects, by sending an email to askus@sfwmd.gov. Previous SFWMD meetings can be viewed on YouTube.