HomeMy WebLinkAbout13-025RESOLUTION NO. 13-025
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA, SUPPORTING THE PRIORITIES OF
THE 16 COUNTY ECOSYSTEM SUMMIT
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida, has made the
following determinations:
St. Lucie County recently participated in the 16 County Ecosystem Summit (hereafter known as
the 16 County Summit), an annual summit for all 16 counties that comprise the South Florida
Water Management District and an initiative of the 9 County Coalition for Responsible
Management of Lake Okeechobee - St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Estuaries and Lake Worth
Lagoon which is committed to the protection and restoration of its water resources.
The 16 County Summit represented over 8 million residents of Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie,
Okeechobee, Osceola, Glades, Polk, Highlands, Lee, Hendry, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Miami-
Dade, Monroe and Orange Counties who are impacted by the restoration of America's
Everglades, its estuaries and Lake Okeechobee.
3. The 9 County Coalition is a multiple County-based advisory group organized primarily for the
purpose of providing the general public, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD),
the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection (FDEP), the Florida legislature, and various groups and committees with a body which
will present a variety of issues dealing with the health and welfare of the lakes, estuaries, and
riverine systems consisting of Lake Okeechobee, the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Estuaries, and
the Lake Worth Lagoon, and all of the water bodies connected thereto.
4. The representatives of the 16 counties determined the following legislative priorities, in order
of importance: 1) Restoration of the Herbert Hoover Dike, increasing the annual appropriation
for rehabilitation ofthe Herbert Hoover Dike to accelerate project completion; 2) Restoration of
the Kissimmee River, continuing appropriations to complete restoration; and 3) other important
priorities, including providing the funding necessary to complete St. Lucie C-44
reservoirs/Stormwater Treatment Area complex; requesting Congressional authorization of the
Caloosahatchee River, C-43 West Reservoir; and requesting an updated Water Resources
Development Act to include authorization for other crucial elements of ecosystem restoration.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County,
Florida:
1. This Board does hereby proclaim its support to the 16 County Summit's mutual federal
legislative priorities set forth above and extends its support towards accomplishing these priorities in
2013.
2. The County Administrator is hereby directed to forward a scanned copy ofthis resolution
to Kate Parmelee, Intergovernmental & Grants Coordinator, County Coalition Staff at
koarmeleC~martin.fl.us.
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 19`h day of February, 2013.
ATTEST:
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BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA
BY: ~~
CHAIRMAN I~
APPROVED TO LEGAL FORM AND
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COUNTY ATT NEY