What is the relationship between the State of Floridas Lakebelt Master Plan and the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project?
The Corps as a permitting agency is neither a proponent nor an opponent of the Lakebelt mining plan which was an agreement reached between the miners and the state. The miners filed applications for Clean Water Act permits, and the Corps evaluated those applications according to the standards and procedures established by Corps regulations and policies. Each of the applications was examined according on its own merits. Corps planners and engineers studying the future of the Everglades were aware of the pending applications, the details of the plan and state permitting and have taken those factors into account in planning the Everglades restoration. The CERP includes two reservoirs in the footprint of the Lake Belt. These reservoirs, known as the Central and Northern Lake Belt Storage Areas, are designed to store water for restoration of ecologically significant natural areas in south Florida. The engineering designs of these features include a subterranean barrier to reduce the movemen
