Florida Defenders of the Environment, Inc. “Working to protect Florida’s environment since 1969” 309 SR 26 P.O. Box 357086 Melrose, Florida 32666 Gainesville, Florida 32635 www.fladefenders.org www.facebook.com/floridadefenders (352) 475-1119 April 4, 2019 Governor Ron DeSantis State of Florida The Capitol 400 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001 Subject: Restoration of the Ocklawaha River Dear Governor DeSantis, The undersigned organizations respectfully request you to move forward with the long-delayed restoration of the Ocklawaha River by breaching the Kirkpatrick Dam and letting the river flow free. The reasons to restore the river are many, both ecological and economic. A recently completed study by economists at the University of Florida1 found that restoring the river would have a beneficial economic impact for Florida. Restoration will reconnect many thousands of acres of wetlands, both upstream and downstream of the dam. These wetlands are essential for protecting clean water. Restoration will increase natural biodiversity. It will save freshwater now lost by evaporation and restore freshwater flows to the St. Johns River. A free- flowing river is vital for restoration of Silver Springs. Restoration of the Ocklawaha will provide essential cold weather refuge for many hundreds of manatees2. Cold weather refuge for manatees is an increasingly critical issue due to both the decommissioning older design power plants as well as decreasing flows at many Florida springs. 1 Borisova, Tatiana, Xiang Bi, Alan Hodges, and Stephen Holland, Nov 11, 2017, Economic Importance and Public Perceptions for Water Resource Management of the Ocklawaha River; University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. 2 Jennings, Dawn, Nicole Adimey, Carol Knox, and Kent Smith, survey date February 26, 2008, Survey of Rodman Reservoir and middle-Ocklawaha River springs during spring 2008 draw-down conditions: FWC and FWS; Survey report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Restoration of the Ocklawaha River – Page 1 of 4 Impoundment of the river is an artifact of the defunct Cross Florida Barge Canal project. The project was an environmental disaster and a wasteful economic boondoggle from the beginning. United States District Court Judge Barrington Parker issued an injunction to halt construction of the project in January 1971. President Richard Nixon ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop construction of the project that same month “to prevent potentially serious environmental damages.” In March 1971 the Florida Game & Fresh Water Fish Commission recommended that the reservoir behind the Rodman Dam be drained, and the dam be breached to restore the river. In December 1976 the Florida Department of Natural Resources issued a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of Governor Reubin Askew and the Florida Cabinet. This letter recommended that the barge canal project not be completed. The letter also requested that the U.S. Congress deauthorize the project and recommended restoration of the Ocklawaha River, including designation of the Ocklawaha River as a Wild and Scenic River. President Ronald Reagan signed legislation that deauthorized portions of the Cross Florida Barge Canal project in November 1986. President George H. W. Bush signed legislation deauthorizing the remaining portions of the project in November 1990. Governor Lawton Chiles and the Florida Cabinet signed a similar measure deauthorizing the project in January 1991. In 1995 Governor Chiles directed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in cooperation with the St. Johns River Water Management District to move forward with restoration, and to begin a phased drawdown of the Rodman Reservoir. FDEP submitted a permit application to the St. Johns River Water Management District for restoration of the river in 1997. In 1999 the District deemed the permit application to be complete. However, by then the District had identified the potential for adverse impacts to the Lower St. Johns River associated with Ocklawaha restoration. The District informed FDEP that it could not recommend approval of the permit at that time. FDEP responded by requesting the District not to take agency action on the permit application, but rather hold the application in abeyance. The District began a number of detailed studies to address the potential for adverse impacts to the Lower St. Johns River. These studies culminated with a report published by the District in 20163. This report found that the potential for adverse impacts was substantially less than had been previously thought. The report concluded that should FDEP choose to pursue restoration, and if mitigation were deemed appropriate, it would likely be achievable through a combination of treatment projects directed elsewhere in the middle St. Johns River, Lake George, or the freshwater portions of the Lower St. Johns River. Thus, the water management district essentially concluded that restoration of the Ocklawaha River is environmentally feasible and permittable. 3 Hendrickson, John, 2016, Effects on Lower St. Johns River Nutrient Supply and TMDL Target Compliance from the Restoration of a Free-Flowing Ocklawaha River; St. Johns River Water Management District, Technical Publication SJ2016-1. Restoration of the Ocklawaha River – Page 2 of 4 The undersigned organizations respectfully request that you direct the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the St. Johns River Water Management District to take the following actions: 1. Resume the permit application process for restoration of the Ocklawaha River. 2. Work collaboratively to develop an expedited plan for river restoration, including an initial phased drawdown of the reservoir. 3. Begin implementing the plan in 2019. The undersigned organizations sincerely appreciate your commitment to protecting Florida’s water resources. James T. Gross, PG, CPG Robert L. Knight, Ph.D. Executive Director Director Florida Defenders of the Environment Florida Springs Institute Laura Berkelman Philip Kushlan, M.S. President President Santa Fe Audubon Society Friends of the Everglades Alyssa Cadwalader Jen Lomberk, Esq. Chair, Executive Committee Executive Director & Riverkeeper Sierra Club Florida Chapter Matanzas Riverkeepr John Cassani Jaclyn Lopez, Esq. Calusa Waterkeeper Florida Director, Senior Staff Attorney Center for Biological Diversity Susan Carr, Ph.D. President Paul Owens Florida Native Plant Society President 1000 Friends of Florida Burt Eno, Ph.D. President Bill Richards Rainbow River Conservation, Inc. Executive Director Paddle Florida Alex Gillen Policy Director Lisa Rinaman Bullsugar Alliance St. Johns Riverkeeper Tom Kay Preston T. Robertson Executive Director President & CEO Alachua Conservation Trust Florida Wildlife Federation Amy S. Koch Michael Roth President President St. Johns County Audubon Society Our Santa Fe River, Inc. Restoration of the Ocklawaha River – Page 3 of 4 John Schaefer Katie Tripp, Ph.D. President Director of Science and Conservation Marion Audubon Society Save the Manatee Club Debra Segal Jody Wills President President Alachua Audubon Society Duval Audubon Society Ryan Smart Kent L. Wimmer, AICP Executive Director Senior Representative Florida Springs Council Defenders of Wildlife Restoration of the Ocklawaha River – Page 4 of 4 .