State Officials Approve Everglades Restoration Plan

WEST PALM BEACH (CBSMiami/AP) —  The process to get federal funding for the Everglades restoration projects is underway after the state agency which oversees those projects approved the $1.9 billion plan.

This week, the South Florida Water Management District's governing board approved a resolution signing on as the local sponsor of the Central Everglades Planning Project. That's a plan to redirect more water south of Lake Okeechobee into the central Everglades and south into Everglades National Park and Florida Bay.

The vote affirms the district's ability to meet its financial responsibilities for the projects that will take more than a decade to complete. The costs are to be split evenly between the state and the federal government.

The plan is now being reviewed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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