Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Florida Power and Light would swap land deep inside the Everglades for a transmission line corridor along the edge of the park. - Sun Sentinel

FPL is looking to do a land swap for land it owns inside the national park for land along its edge to run powerlines and other transmission equipment. FPL seeks less land than it has now in exchange. The land that they control now is deep within the Everglades and turning it over may allow for improvement of water flow. But not all are convinced. Click title for link. From the article:
"We anticipate that the need for electricity is going to increase in South Florida, and the need for these transmission lines, poles and wires is part of that," said Bill Orlove, spokesman for FPL.
The park has not yet taken a position on the proposal. An environmental analysis by the park found the proposal would result in the destruction of 260 acres of wetlands, a "direct, long-term, major adverse impact." This would be mitigated by the enhancement of wetlands elsewhere, and the transaction would result in a net gain of 60 acres under the park's control.