“SFWMD Settles Lawsuit, Moves Forward with Infrastructure to Benefit St. Lucie Estuary.”

For more information contact Mr. Randy Smith, media relations at South Florida Water Management District* (SFWMD): 561-682-2800 (cell: 561-389-3386); email: rrsmith@sfwmd.gov

Press Release:

“Settlement gets Lake Point Restoration
public-private partnership back on track
to store water from Lake Okeechobee.”

Port Mayaca, FL — The South Florida Water Management District today approved a legal settlement with the owners of the Lake Point Restoration project in western Martin County.

“This settlement gets a solid environmental project back on track,” said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Dan O'Keefe.

     The District will receive full ownership of the mined property and will be able to build a storage project that could hold approximately 3,000 to 4,000 acre-feet of Lake Okeechobee water that would otherwise be bound for the St. Lucie Estuary. Additionally, the settlement allows the District to buy needed rock for infrastructure maintenance purposes at a fair market price.
     The Lake Point Restoration project is a public-private partnership approved by both the SFWMD in 2008 and Martin County in 2009 on land initially slated for residential development adjacent to Lake Okeechobee.

*The South Florida Water Management District is a regional governmental agency that manages the water resources in the southern part of the state. It is the oldest and largest of the state’s five water management districts. Our mission is to protect South Florida’s water resources by balancing and improving flood control, water supply, water quality and natural systems.