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Army Corps Addresses County Concerns
Mar 2, 2006 (See attached letter from Army Corps of Engineers) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ARMY CORPS ADDRESSES COUNTY CONCERNS Contact: Tammy Hall, Chairwoman, Board of County Commissioners D.T. Minich, Executive Director, Visitor & Convention Bureau March 2, 2006---FORT MYERS, FLORIDA – The Lee County Board of Commissioners got the letter they had been waiting for. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in response to concentrated lobbying efforts by Lee County, has agreed to address County concerns regarding the need for water quality treatment in the Caloosahatchee Basin and reducing damaging Lake Okeechobee discharges. Following an initiative launched by the County's Visitor and Convention Bureau, County Commission Chairwoman Tammy Hall and a contingent of County staff including Wayne Daltry, Roland Ottolini and Tamara Pigott as well as County Consultants John Fumero and Howard Marlow have been meeting with high level officials with the Army Corps of Engineers from Washington D.C. to Jacksonville over the last six months. Current plans for construction of a massive 9,000 acre reservoir along the Caloosahatchee River fail to address critical issues relating to the improvement of the water quality in discharges from Lake Okeechobee as well the need for a Lake Okeechobee regulation schedule that is designed to reduce the catastrophic discharges of water into the River. Focusing on these critical concerns, the County delegation has been able to obtain decisive written commitments from the Corps of Engineers to develop responsive schedules, cost estimates and plans. "It is gratifying to see that the County's efforts to protect and restore our precious natural resources have yielded beneficial results. I am hopeful this commitment from the Army Corps of Engineers signals recognition that our River and Estuary is on life support and the time for action is now," commented Commissioner Hall. |