By JIM TURNER
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
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THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 31, 2017……… Senate President Joe Negron’s priority of creating a reservoir to protect rivers and estuaries east and west of Lake Okeechobee appears to have a murky future.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday will discuss the $2.4 billion proposal (SB 10), which would advance work on a part of planned Everglades restoration projects. The proposal to build a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee has drawn extensive resistance from Glades-area residents, politicians and landowners, including influential sugar farmers.
When asked Thursday if his chamber would take up the reservoir proposal, House Speaker Richard Corcoran said ambiguously “we’re all waiting with bated breath” for the Senate bill.
“We’re never concerned with the fact that something is not moving in the Senate,” Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, said. “We keep sending stuff to them. They should follow our lead.”
