The newly-proposed and approved “Alternative CC” plan the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be implementing to manage the toxic algae waters of Lake Okeechobee, could have a negative impact on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' election efforts, and could be political in nature to help his potential general election opponent. Rep. Charlie Crist.
The new plan would release almost double the toxic water from Lake Okeechobee into the estuaries west, not the waterways to the east.
Senator Marco Rubio recently told The Floridian that he was concerned over the newly-proposed and approved “Alternative CC” plan, echoing what many South Florida lawmakers have been saying about the unbalanced water discharge, in that the Corps’ plan did not have any consideration or “regard for its economic or human impact.”
Is sending double the toxic water west fair to residents in Southwest Florida?
Not according to State Rep. Mike Giallombardo (R), who recently posted his disapproval of the plan and stated that the water release plan was a political play “supported by the Everglades Foundation” that would negatively affect Florida’s first “Green Governor,” Ron DeSantis.
Rep. Giallombado contends that the amount of proposed nutrient-filled water that would flow would cause a “water crisis” into the predominantly Republican voter and DeSantis-supporting coastal region of Lee, Charlotte, and Collier Counties would hurt Gov. DeSantis 2022 reelection efforts.
‘It’s a fact that Plan CC, that was supported by the Everglades Foundation, will vastly INCREASE Lake O discharges starting as soon as next year, which will without a doubt bring us more blue-green algae. Who does that hurt? Our great Governor, Ron DeSantis, who has spent the last 2 years prioritizing water quality,” stated Rep. Giallombardo on his campaign Facebook page.
Giallombardo went on to question the Foundation’s motives or the motives of its CEO Eric Eikenberg, who served as for Florida Governor current Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Charlie Crist’s chief of staff.
The Foundation has always pushed a very progressive, pro-environment agenda, so when it supported DeSantis during the 2018 gubernatorial race, many Republicans around the state took a pause, saying that the honeymoon between then-gubernatorial candidate DeSantis and his “Green thumb” and the state’s environmental groups, would be short-lived.
If a toxic algae “water crisis” were to arise (very good chance it will) if and when the Corps follows through with their lopsided water release plan into Southwest Florida, will Rep. Crist, who is considered the frontrunner in the 2022 Democratic gubernatorial primary, be the beneficiary of the move?
Giallombardo believes that the plan helps Crist, and posed the question, ”Why would the Everglades Foundation be pushing for a plan that hurts DeSantis while helping Crist?
"The Foundation CEO is Eric Eikenberg, who served as Charlie Crist’s Chief of Staff as Governor. Wouldn’t it benefit his old boss if a water crisis popped up next summer in Lee County? That makes sense to me as why Eikenberg’s Everglades Foundation is pushing for a plan that would be most damaging to where Governor DeSantis’s base is strongest. We cannot allow those that are playing politics with our water to negatively impact the politics of our state,” continued Giallombardo.
The Everglades Foundation for years has supported many liberal environmental causes in Florida, including the Sierra Club, which earlier this year gave DeSantis a “D” for his record on climate change and in May referred to the voting rights bill he signed into law as “Jim Crow-style Voting Suppression Tactics.”
The Foundation was founded by billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones, who recently made news for his $100,000 in support for Democratic Virginia Governor Candidate Terry McAuliffe despite Jones’ connections to disgraced Hollywood pervert Harvey Weinstein.
“The Everglades Foundation’s true agenda is a liberal one, and they are led by Crist’s former right-hand man,” said one Southwest Florida Republican source. “While their focus always seems to be attacking ‘Big Sugar,’ trying to increase Southwest Florida discharges before an election year is politically stupid and could ensure Ron DeSantis could become collateral damage.”
Has the expected Florida-enviro “full bloom” turn against DeSantis begun?
Crist is the frontrunner against Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, but Commissioner Fried is pressing all the right buttons to keep herself relevant and afloat in the primary race.
Just this past week, Fried kicked off her 3-day clean water initiative tour in Southwest Florida with several environmental groups, including arguably the most anti-Republican, anti-Donald Trump, and anti-Ron DeSantis, environmental groups in the state and around the country— The Center for Biological Diversity.
The group has boasted about suing the Trump administration over 200 times, and recently filed suit against DeSantis blaming him for the “mismanaging toxic waste at Piney Point” after 480 million gallons of wastewater from the facility was released into Tampa Bay.
The George Soros-funded Center for Biological Diversity, like The Everglades Foundation and aforementionedSierra Club, is part of the Everglades Coalition.
The Everglades Coalition is an alliance of like-minded environmental groups that says its “dedicated to full restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem.”
Jones also recently offered political support for disgraced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, despite the ongoing investigation into claims of sexual harassment by several women. According to Bloomberg, Jones provided Cuomo with a “five figure donation” in 2020 as the sexual harassment claims began to mount.
In addition to Senator Rubio, Reps. Byron Donalds, Kat Cammack, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Greg Steube have expressed their disapproval of the water release plan by signing a letter outlining their concerns.
In a letter dated July 22, 2021, Florida Republicans Greg Stuebe, Daniel Webster, Mario Diaz-Balart, Byron Donalds, and Kat Cammack raised concerns to Colonel Kelly that, “related to the [Kelly] plan’s ability to meet the Congressionally-authorized Lake Okeechobee project purposes for water supply and the Lake’s ecology.
These project purposes were mandated by Congress to ensure the availability of water for all of the necessary uses for water from Lake Okeechobee. While Army Corps Plan CC appears to meet certain project purposes including flood control, navigation, and recreation, it falls short on other purposes.”
Additionally, the Republican members took issue with the Lake Okeechobee plan’s shift in sending additional Lake Okeechobee water to the Caloosahatchee River and ultimately Southwest Florida. Instead, the members noted the plan was changed “in favor of fewer discharges to the St. Lucie River Basin,” an area represented by Congressman Brian Mast.
