PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release: December 10, 2016
Contact: Julie Hill-Gabriel, Deputy Director, 786-246-2903, jhill-gabriel@audubon.org
Twitter: @AudubonFL @EvergladesJulie
 
MIAMI - Audubon Florida applauds the passing of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN). WINN includes provisions from the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that provide a huge boost for Everglades restoration. The U.S. Senate voted in the early morning hours today, passing the bill by a vote of 78-21. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the bill earlier this week by a vote of 360-61. The bill includes authorization of the Central Everglades Project and a needed cost adjustment for the 55,000 acre Picayune Strand restoration project. Both projects are important elements of Everglades restoration and this bill makes the projects eligible for federal construction funding. The bill will now be presented to the President.
 
“Authorizing the Central Everglades Project (CEP) in both the U.S. House and Senate is a wonderful send-off for the Everglades from the 114th Congress,” said Audubon Florida Deputy Director Julie Hill-Gabriel. “The bipartisan Everglades champions in Congress have advanced a key part of the solution to Florida’s 2016 water crises. CEP will finally begin to reestablish the historic River of Grass between Lake Okeechobee and the Southern Everglades and Florida Bay, that has been diverted to accommodate development and agriculture. The benefits of the project will be enhanced by constructing a water storage reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area.”
 
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