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A bill to be entitled

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An act relating to the restoration of Lake Jesup;

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requiring the Department of Environmental Protection, the

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St. Johns River Water Management District, the Fish and

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Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the City of Sanford

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to develop a plan concerning the progress of the

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commission's project to restore aquatic habitats in Lake

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Jesup; requiring the commission to report to the

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Legislature concerning the development of the plan;

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providing that the acquisition of a site to dispose of

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muck from the project is a conservation and restoration

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acquisition under the Florida Forever program; encouraging

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state agencies to help fund the removal of muck from Lake

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Jesup; providing an effective date.

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     WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes the importance of

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improving water quality in surface waters having regional or

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statewide significance, and

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     WHEREAS, Lake Jesup, a lake that fluctuates with the St.

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Johns River system and encompasses between 9,150 acres at low

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water and 13,034 acres at high water, is an important natural

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resource of regional and statewide significance, an important

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economic resource, and a habitat for resident and migratory fish

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and waterfowl, and

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     WHEREAS, historically, Lake Jesup has been a primary

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destination of sport fishers, a navigable waterway, and a

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waterway capable of supporting commerce, travel, and recreation,

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and

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     WHEREAS, endangered species, such as the manatee and bald

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eagle, and species of special concern, such as the ibis, wood

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stork, and sandhill crane, use this lake and basin as habitat,

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and

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     WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of visitors are drawn to the

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area around Lake Jesup each year, and

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     WHEREAS, the water quality, fisheries, and other biological

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communities of Lake Jesup have deteriorated, and

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     WHEREAS, various state, federal, and local governmental

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agencies have been engaged in a coordinated, scientifically

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developed, approach to the restoration of Lake Jesup for some

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years, and

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     WHEREAS, governmental agencies have purchased over 8,500

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acres around the lake for purposes that include conservation and

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recreation as well as restoration of Lake Jesup, and

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     WHEREAS, a mitigation project of the Department of

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Transportation removed a 2-mile berm from Lake Jesup which

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returned a substantial amount of navigability to the lake and

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allowed an additional 300 acres of the lake's floodplain to again

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help filter particulates from the lake and absorb the lake's

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nutrient pollution while increasing the lake's ability to store

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floodwater and provide valuable habitat for plants and animals,

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and

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     WHEREAS, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has

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embarked on a plan to restore aquatic habitat in the lake in

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order to rehabilitate the lake's fishery resources, and a

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significant component of that plan requires removal of the large

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amount of muck that is now lying on the bottom of the lake and

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that is more than 9 1/2 feet thick in some areas, and

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     WHEREAS, while significant progress has been made toward

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restoring Lake Jesup by the government agencies involved in this

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restoration project, the progress of the project is stymied by

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challenges associated with obtaining necessary permits for the

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muck-removal phase of the restoration, and

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     WHEREAS, a parcel of land that the City of Sanford has

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used as a sprayfield for effluent from its wastewater treatment

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plant may be highly suitable as a muck-disposal site, NOW,

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THEREFORE,

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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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     Section 1. The Department of Environmental Protection, the

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St. Johns River Water Management District, the Fish and Wildlife

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Conservation Commission, and the City of Sanford shall work with

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diligence to develop a plan that will allow the muck removal to

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proceed which is contemplated by the commission's project for the

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restoration of the aquatic habitat in Lake Jesup. The commission

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shall report to the Legislature concerning the group's progress

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toward this goal on October 1, 2008, and on the first day of each

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3rd month thereafter until any site needed to dispose of muck has

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received all necessary state permits or it is determined that

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muck removal can proceed without a site at which to dispose of

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the muck. The acquisition of a muck-disposal site is a

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conservation and restoration acquisition under the Florida

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Forever program created in s. 259.105, Florida Statutes, the goal

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of which is to improve and sustain the ecological integrity of

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Lake Jesup. Each state agency is encouraged to expend funds to

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assist in the removal of muck from the bottom of Lake Jesup in

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Seminole County, and to employ such funds as are at its disposal

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for such purpose.

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     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.