Bulldozers may soon be pushing dirt in the Everglades following the issuance Sept. 3 of new marching orders from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the State of Florida to improve the quality of water entering the Everglades Protection Area. The agency was acting in response to pressure from an April U.S. District Court decision ordering EPA and the state to begin enforcing the water quality standards mandated by Florida’s 1994 Everglades Forever Act and the Federal Clean Water Act.
Work is under way on the 2,000-acre Lakeside Ranch Stormwater Treatment Area, but EPA has ordered Florida to create 42,000 acres more south of Lake Okeechobee.