Updated September 17, 2001

SOUTH FLORIDA ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION TASK FORCE

Greater Lake Okeechobee Project Coordination Team  (GLOPCOT) Directive

May 6, 1997

BACKGROUND: Sub-region #2 includes the Lake Okeechobee, Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA), Upper East Coast, and Caloosahatchee River sub-basins. Currently, a number of serious problems affect the sub-region, including:

*eutrophication of the lake,

*a regulation schedule and water supply and flood control demands which produce environmentally damaging lake levels,

*unnatural freshwater discharges to the estuaries,

*unnatural quality, quantity and timing of discharges to the Everglades Protection Area,

*conversion of natural areas to other uses and

*EAA soil oxidation.

Lake Okeechobee is the heart of the South Florida ecosystem. Water flows from the Kissimmee River system and other basins into the lake and then out to the Everglades and Florida Bay and to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Estuaries. In its own right, the lake is a complex system of inter-related habitats which are of great ecological value. Regionally, its storage capability is vital to the sustainability of the rest of the ecosystem to the south, east and west. A key challenge for restoration efforts in South Florida will be to achieve a balance between water management practices that provide flood protection, maintain urban and agricultural water supply, optimize storage for the downstream natural system and practices that provide for the health of the lake and the down stream estuaries. The Conceptual Plan for the C&SF Restudy identified potential water storage opportunities in all the sub-basins of the region, combining surface storage and where appropriate aquifer storage and recovery as key components. This added storage capacity would reduce estuarine damaging discharges to the Caloosahatchee River and St. Lucie Canal, reduce damaging high water levels and allow more natural water level fluctuations in Lake Okeechobee, and provide water for urban and agricultural use and the southern parts of the ecosystem.

PURPOSE: The team will coordinate the development of plans, programs, projects and activities within Sub-basin #2 that address the restoration, preservation and protection of the South Florida ecosystem while promoting a sustainable Sub-region.

MEMBERS:

Herb Zebuth, DEP, Co-Chair

Barry Rosen, SFWMD, Co-Chair

Bob Pace, USFWS

Lorraine Heisler, FG&FWFC

Kim Brooks-Hall, COE

Jim Piper, USDA/NRCS

Barry Glaz, USDA/ARS

Joe Kippenberger, Seminole Tribe

Linda McCarthy, FL. Dept. of Agriculture

Alan Steinman, SFWMD

xx, Local govt. reps.

xx, USEPA

Carole Goodyear, Natonal Marine Fisheries Service

Rebecca Jetton, FDCA

Missie Barletto, Public Affairs representative, SFWMD

Chuck Aller, WG Advisor

Any Working Group member may appoint a representative to the team by notifying Herb Zebuth at (561) 681-6665 or Barry Rosen at (561) 687-6348.

GUIDANCE:

A. The goal of the team is to develop and maintain a process to ensure integration of projects that are within the Greater Lake Okeechobee sub-region.

B. The team should initially identify and assemble information on the projects and develop an initial course of action that will lead to an integrated sub-region project coordination plan (PCP). This PCP will include the Greater Lake Okeechobee Sub-region portion of the Working Group's Integrated Financial Plan.

C. The team should plan to meet as often as needed. The team co-chairs should coordinate with the Working Group Chair or the Office of the Executive Director (OED) to arrange briefings at appropriate Working Group meetings.

D. As issues that impede project integration and the restoration effort are identified, they should be presented to the Working Group for assistance. The presentation of these issues will normally be included in one of the Working Group's regularly scheduled meetings.

E. All team meetings will be open to the public and will include opportunity for public comment.

F. The team will provide assistance to the Total System team, Restoration Plan team and the Cross-cut budget team as needed.

G. Deliverables:

1.The team will revise the appropriate sections of the May, 1997 edition of the Integrated Financial Plan and present the proposed revision to the Working Group by November 1997. Future annual updates will also be provided as required.

2.The team will review and approve proposed restoration project sheets and notify the Working Group of these approvals.

3.The team will prepare the draft Greater Lake Okeechobee section of the Annual Report and present it to the Working Group in November 1997. Future annual updates will also be provided as required.

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES

A. The science member of the team should coordinate with the Chair of the Science Team, to support the technical needs of the GLOPCOT.

B. The public affairs member of the team will be responsible for providing public affairs support to the team, including: adequate public notice of team meetings, facilitating public comment and providing a summary of all meetings to the OED and co-chairs of all other project coordination teams. Meeting summaries should be suitable for publication on the Task Force Home Page. Activities should be coordinated with the OED.

C. Team activities and arrangements for needed team support should be coordinated by the team co-chairs with Sandy Soto OED) at (305) 348-1665.

For more information about the Greater Lake Okeechobee Project Coordination Team, their meeting schedule, and/or to be added to their mailing list, please contact the team's Public Affairs Lead.

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