WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Representative Patrick E. Murphy (FL-18) made the following statement on yesterday’s report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finding “no significant impact” in transferring authority of the Ten Mile Creek water preserve area from the federal government to the state. Since his first days in office,Murphy has been working with state and federal officials to allow for this transfer so that the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) can turn it into a functional water storage and treatment facility. With this report, the deauthorization moves one step closer to completion, as the SFWMD must now approve the transfer agreement before June 15, 2016.
“While the ultimate goal is sending more clean water south, we cannot afford to have available water storage and treatment facilities sitting idle while discharges continue to inundate our waterways,” said Murphy. “That is why I have been working with state and federal officials to come to an agreement so that Ten Mile Creek can help reduce the polluted runoff reaching our waterways. I applaud the Corps for their commitment to this resolution and urge the state to act quickly to keep this transfer on track.”
One of the first bills Murphy introduced in the 114th Congress was bipartisan legislation with Congressman Tom Rooney (FL-17) to deauthorize the Ten Mile Creek project to allow its utilization by the state. After leading a bipartisan delegation of Florida members in calling for the inclusion of this language in the end-of-year omnibus appropriations bill, Murphy’s provision was included in the final package that was signed into law at the end of 2015. The Ten Mile Creek Project has the capacity to store up to 170 million gallons of water to provide both seasonal and temporary storage of stormwater, treating this water before it reaches the St. Lucie Estuary. Last summer, Murphy joined U.S. Army Corps and South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) officials as they began an operational test of this facility. The finding of no significant impact reportwas the next step in this process for the SFWMD to continue operating this project. Now, the transfer agreement will be considered by the SFWMD Governing Board for approval at their May meeting to meet a June 15th deadline to keep this transfer moving forward.
Contact
Erin Moffet (202-225-3026)
Source: U.S. Representative Patrick E. Murphy
