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Sugar soaking up water storage land, Lee County officials claim
By Julio Ochoa |
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
The state seems more interested in protecting corporate sugar cane farmers than coastal businesses, Lee County leaders said Tuesday.
The county recently learned that the state is leasing land it owns near Lake Okeechobee to farmers, rather than using it for much-needed water storage.
The state owns about 14,000 acres around the lake, much of which is being leased by corporate sugar farmers, according to state records.
Meanwhile, the South Florida Water Management District is spending millions of dollars to purchase land for reservoirs for water storage.
“It’s asinine that the district is out there spending public taxpayers’ money to buy more land for storage at the same time the state is leasing land to farmers that contributes to a reduction in storage and nutrient loading in our watershed,” said Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah.
Florida owns the land and leases it to farmers through the governor and Cabinet’s Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. The board is in charge of the purchase, management, conservation, supervision and sale of state lands.
The 14,000 acres are being used by the state to fulfill a requirement of the 1994 Everglades Forever Act, said Sarah Williams, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The act sets aside state land that can be leased by farmers who were displaced by Everglades restoration projects, Williams said.
However, records show that over the past decade, leases for much of the land went to companies owned by one of the most powerful sugar families in Florida.
The Fanjul family holds leases to thousands of acres of public land through its several companies, including the Okeelanta Corp., New Hope Sugar Co. and Closter Farms, according to state records.
If the state is compensating displaced farmers, why not show the same consideration to businesses that rely on the Caloosahatchee River and estuary to survive, Judah asked.
“What about coastal businesses displaced because of damage to the estuary?” Judah asked. “Those businesses haven’t been compensated.”
When a lack of water storage causes the water management district to open Lake Okeechobee’s flood gates, pollution flows down the Caloosahatchee River, killing precious resources along the way. The flows kill sea grasses and cause algae blooms. The effects are felt by oyster and clam farmers, fishing guides, the tourism industry and many other businesses that make their living on or around the water, Judah said.
“We get somewhat confused that apparently to make a few dollars leasing land, the state is willing to trash its estuaries,” said Wayne Daltry, director of Smart Growth for Lee County.
“When did we get to be less equal than other parts of the system?”
The state has owned much of the 14,000 acres for several decades and has held many leases with agricultural interests for just as long, according to state records.
“This land has historically been farm land,” Williams said. “It’s not like we went and found a whole bunch of land” to lease to farmers.
Lee County leaders want to know how much of the land is being used by displaced farmers and whether at least some of the land could be used for water storage and filtration, Judah said.
“There are many ways to use these lands for public purposes rather than private interests,” he said.
County staff is reviewing the lease contracts and could ask the state to turn over some of the land for storage, said Kurt Harclerode, operations manager for Lee County Natural Resources.
“The water management district is looking for every piece of land it can find,” Harclerode said. “It seems like this would be a good place to start on lands owned by the state.”
The land is set aside for farmers until the state needs it, Williams said.
“If and when we need to use that land for projects we can do that,” Williams said. “But we are looking for other ways to expand existing projects that will hopefully help with that issue.”