{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.billnelson.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/congress-approves-major-everglades-restoration-project", "Congress approves major Everglades-restoration project", "2016-12-10", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "FL", "Bill Nelson", "N000032", "www.billnelson.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 The U.S. Senate today, by a vote of 78 \u2013 21, approved a new water bill that, among other things, authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin work on a $1.9 billion Everglades-restoration project known as the Central Everglades Planning Project.\nOnce complete, the nearly $2 billion series of engineering projects will help reduce the need for harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee by sending more water south into the Everglades instead of east and west into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers.\nU.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a long-time supporter of restoring the Everglades, was among a handful of lawmakers who pushed to get the project included in this year\u2019s water bill.\n\u201cThe toxic discharges from Lake Okeechobee are devastating our waterways and doing real damage to our local economies,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been fighting for a long time to get this project approved, and once it\u2019s complete we\u2019ll be able to send more water south as nature intended and provide more relief to the communities along the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers.\u201d\nIn addition to CEPP, the broader water bill passed today also includes several other projects important to Florida, such as:\n Port Everglades dredging \u2013 the bill authorizes $337 million to deepen the main shipping channels at Port Everglades from 42 feet to 48 feet.\n\tFlagler County Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction Project \u2013 the bill authorizes a $31.6 million beach renourishment project that will extend an existing dune in central Flagler Beach 2.6 miles to help protect State Road A1A, which is the only north-south hurricane evacuation route for communities along the coast.\n\tPicayune Strand Restoration Project \u2013 the bill authorizes an additional $121 million for the Picayune Strand Restoration Project to fund new features and improvements to the original design. This amount is on top of the funds originally approved in 2007, bringing the project\u2019s total authorized cost to $626 million.\n\tDaytona Beach Flood Protection project \u2013 the bill authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a feasibility study for the Daytona Beach Flood Protection project.\n The bill, which the House passed Thursday, now heads to the president for his signature.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.billnelson.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/congress-approves-major-everglades-restoration-project"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4128570910543203, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}