{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.rubio.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A66A0A1A-C6EF-46AA-8270-C7C6EED45A5E", "Rubio Secures Record Everglades Funding, Critical Water Projects in Spending Bill", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "FL", "Marco Rubio", "R000595", "www.rubio.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released the following statement after Congress agreed to appropriate $250 million for South Florida Ecosystem Restoration, which funds a suite of Everglades projects, including the Central Everglades Planning Project, in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 omnibus appropriations bill. Rubio, a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, previously secured $200 million in FY 2020 federal appropriations for Everglades restoration, a three-fold increase from the previous fiscal year.    After decades of delays and underfunding, it is clear there is now an overwhelming bipartisan commitment to restoring our nation's Everglades, Rubio said. I am grateful to the President, the Governor, and all my colleagues in the House and Senate for their tireless efforts, and I look forward to working to further advance restoration efforts in the months and years to come so we can finally deliver on these long overdue promises of a healthy, thriving ecosystem in Florida.    The FY 2021 omnibus appropriations bill also includes the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). Rubio secured numerous key provisions in WRDA 2020, including authorization and funding for critical U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects related to Everglades restoration, beach renourishment, flood control, and environmental protection.    Not only does this bill authorize a number of projects that will benefit Florida, but it includes language to fix the bureaucratic mess that has caused unnecessary delays to the construction of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir, Rubio continued. The EAA reservoir is a critical piece of infrastructure that will move Everglades restoration forward and reduce the threat that harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee pose to our coastal communities. Overall, the Water Resources Development Act takes significant steps to improve Florida's ecosystems, ports, flood-prevention infrastructure, reservoirs, and water systems.    A detailed list of Florida-related WRDA 2020 authorization is below:  \r\nProject Modifications\r\n \r\nEAA Reservoir  Clarifies that the EAA Reservoir is part of Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) and authorizes the Secretary to carry out the project at the full amount of $4,362,091,000.\r\nCharlotte County, Florida  Authorizes the Secretary to review Charlotte County's proposed modification of the wastewater infrastructure.\r\n \r\nProject Authorizations\r\n \r\nCERP, Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Project, Martin and Palm Beach Counties  ecosystem restoration\r\nCaloosahatchee River West Basin Storage Reservoir (C-43 WBSR)  ecosystem restoration\r\nC-111 South Dade  flood risk management and ecosystem restoration\r\nFort Pierce, St. Lucie County  hurricane and storm damage reduction\r\nHarmful Algal Bloom Demonstration Program  Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a $25 million demonstration program to determine causes and develop effective monitoring, prevention, and response actions related to HABs associated with Corps projects in eight regions, including Lake Okeechobee.\r\nShingle Creek and Kissimmee River, Osceola County  Authorizes a feasibility study for a project for ecosystem restoration and water storage.\r\nSt. Johns River and Lake Jesup  Authorizes a feasibility study for a project for ecosystem restoration.\r\nLake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule  Directs the Corps to evaluate the implications of prohibiting releases to the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon on the operation of the Lake.\r\nMiami River  Deauthorizes 1,000 linear feet at the upstream end of the project for navigation.\r\nJulian Keen, Jr. Lock and Dam, Moore Haven  Renames the lock and dam at Moore Haven, Florida, as the Julian Keen, Jr. Lock and Dam in honor of a fallen FWC officer.\r\n \r\nPolicy Improvements\r\n \r\nSouth Atlantic Coastal Study  Requires annual state-by-state reporting on the South Atlantic Coastal Study to Congress. Senator Rubio authored this study in 2016, with full funding in 2018, which requires the Army Corps of Engineers to study Florida's coast and offer recommendations to better protect our coasts.\r\nCERP Project Deauthorization Exclusion  Excludes eligibility of CERP projects from inclusion on the Secretary's proposed deauthorization list to protect them from premature deauthorization.\r\nNon-Federal Project Implementation Pilot Program  Reauthorizes the pilot program for non-Federal project implementation and clarifies the eligibility of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan projects for the pilot program, which is an important step toward allowing Florida's outstanding local sponsors of projects to assume responsibility for a wider range of work.\r\nHarbor Maintenance Trust Fund  Unlocks the appropriation of additional funds for harbor maintenance needs from the current $10 billion balance in Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF), as well as makes changes to better meet the needs of donor and energy-transfer ports like Port Miami and Port Everglades.\r\n \r\nProject Deauthorizations\r\n \r\nBig Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation  Deauthorizes the Big Cypress Critical Project.\r\nTaylor Creek Reservoir and Levee L-73 (Section 1), Upper St. Johns River Basin  Deauthorizes the Taylor Creek Reservoir and Section 1 of the L-73 Levee within the Upper St. Johns River Basin, Florida.\r\n \r\nExpedited Project Documents  Congress urges the expedited completion of ongoing feasibility studies for:\r\n \r\nLake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project (LOWRP)\r\nWestern Everglades Restoration Project (WERP)", 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.rubio.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A66A0A1A-C6EF-46AA-8270-C7C6EED45A5E"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 12.801903998479247, "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"}