Rep. Brian Mast to file new legislation to end Lake O discharges to coastal estuaries
STUART — The Treasure Coast's congressman will file a bill Wednesday requiring a “comprehensive roadmap” to end Lake Okeechobee discharges, his office announced.
If Congress approves the Northern Estuaries Restoration Plan Act (NERP), it would require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build more infrastructure to stop Lake O discharges to coastal estuaries, including the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers and the Indian River and Lake Worth lagoons, according to a news release issued Tuesday [Apr. 12th].
NERP would be a “first-of-its-kind concentrated effort to fix the remaining issues in the northern estuaries, including toxic discharges from Lake Okeechobee and harmful algal blooms,” U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, a Palm City Republican, said in the release.
Mast will introduce the legislation at a news conference scheduled for 10 a.m. April 13 at his Stuart office, 171 S.W. Flagler Ave. No other information was immediately available. TCPalm will update this story after the news conference, so check back for details.