HM 1131

1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3	Congress to fully fund the implementation of the Indian
4	River Lagoon South Restoration Project as authorized in
5	the Water Resources Development Act of 2007.
6
7	WHEREAS, the Indian River Lagoon and the St. Lucie Estuary
8	encompass the most biologically diverse estuary in North
9	America, which is recognized for national significance in the
10	National Estuary Program, and
11	WHEREAS, the State of Florida has a long history of
12	supporting local, state, and federal programs to improve the
13	environmental health of the Indian River Lagoon and the St.
14	Lucie Estuary, the health of which is critical to the economic
15	and social environment of the State of Florida and the nation,
16	and
17	WHEREAS, the support of the State of Florida includes
18	forming and funding the St. Lucie River Issues Team and the
19	Indian River Lagoon Restoration Task Force and fully funding the
20	state's share of the cost of the Comprehensive Everglades
21	Restoration Plan projects, and
22	WHEREAS, local government partners, including the Ten
23	County Coalition for the Responsible Management of Lake
24	Okeechobee and St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Estuaries, are
25	implementing urban stormwater quality retrofit projects, funding
26	over $100 million to restore the Indian River Lagoon and the St.
27	Lucie Estuary, and
28	WHEREAS, local voters in Martin County approved a special
29	sales tax referendum for healthy rivers that raised over $50
30	million to assist in the purchase of the land necessary to
31	implement the Indian River Lagoon Restoration Project, and
32	WHEREAS, the Indian River Lagoon South Restoration Project
33	was authorized by Congress in the Water Resources Development
34	Act of 2007, and
35	WHEREAS, the people of the United States, and the
36	generations of Americans to follow, deserve the environmental
37	and economic benefits of the restoration of America's Everglades
38	that will be derived from the implementation of the entire
39	Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, NOW, THEREFORE,
40
41	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
42
43	That the United States Congress is urged to fully fund the
44	implementation of the Indian River Lagoon South Restoration
45	Project as authorized in the Water Resources Development Act of
46	2007.
47	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
48	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
49	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
50	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
51	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.