State moving ahead with Lake O water plan, without feds

The state appears to be moving forward with deep injection well sites north of Lake Okeechobee, but it's doing so without support from the federal government or environmental groups.

The idea is to send water from high rain events and hurricanes down to 3,000 feet or more below the surface to cut back on Lake Okeechobee releases, which often blow out coastal estuaries in the Fort Myers and Stuart areas.

"Last month the board was very enthusiastic about the option of deep injection wells, and I trust that staff is moving forward with this so that we will be able to implement this ASAP," South Florida Water Management District governing board member Jim Moran said at a recent public meeting.

"We are making progress," said Ernie Marks, the district's top staffer.