Everglades Restoration — Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP)

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is the largest ecosystem restoration project in U.S. history — a multi-decade, multi-billion-dollar effort to restore the natural water flows, hydroperiods, and ecological function of the Florida Everglades, a 10.5-million-acre subtropical wetland ecosystem that was dramatically altered by 20th-century flood control and agricultural development. Authorized by Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA 2000, Section 601), CERP is a joint federal-state undertaking implemented by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) as co-equal sponsors.

Legal Authority

• 33 U.S.C. § 2234 — Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA 2000), Section 601: authorizes CERP and the Pilot Projects Program; establishes the federal-state cost-sharing framework (50% federal/50% state); directs the Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District to implement CERP projects
• 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq. — Endangered Species Act: protects numerous CERP-relevant species (Florida panther, snail kite, Cape Sable seaside sparrow, wood stork); ESA consultation requirements with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service apply to CERP project designs
• 33 U.S.C. § 1311 et seq. — Clean Water Act: CERP projects involving wetland fill or modification require Section 404 permits; the restoration projects must demonstrate net improvement in water quality

Key Mechanics

CERP's central mechanism is restoring the timing, volume, and distribution of freshwater flows through south Florida — reducing the "too much, too little, too dirty, too fast" water management problems created by the Central and Southern Florida Project, the 20th-century flood control system that drained the Everglades for agriculture and development. CERP accomplishes this through approximately 68 project components including: Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) projects (injecting water underground during wet season for release during dry season), reservoir and stormwater treatment areas (STAs) to reduce phosphorus before water enters the Everglades, decompartmentalization (removing barriers between water management units), and spreader canals. Congress appropriates funds for individual CERP components through the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee; state matching funds come from Florida's Legislature and the South Florida Water Management District.

Current Rule (2026)

What This Rule Does

The Everglades was once a vast "river of grass" — sheet flow of water moving slowly south from Lake Okeechobee through the sawgrass marshes to Florida Bay. Between the 1940s and 1970s, the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project transformed this system into a heavily engineered network of 1,800 miles of canals, 720 water control structures, and 16 pump stations designed to drain land for agriculture and urban development in South Florida. The result: water flows were diverted from the natural system, half of the historic wetlands were converted to other uses, and remaining wetlands received water at the wrong times, volumes, and distribution — killing wading bird populations, damaging seagrass in Florida Bay, and eliminating habitats for dozens of threatened and endangered species.

CERP's strategy is to reconnect the plumbing: remove barriers, restore sheet flow, store more water in the natural system, improve water quality, and deliver water to the right places at the right times. The 68 component projects include structural changes (raising highway bridges to restore water flow under Tamiami Trail), water storage projects (building above-ground reservoirs to hold excess Lake Okeechobee water), decompartmentalization (removing levees and structures to reunite fragmented wetland units), and treatment marshes (constructed wetlands to reduce phosphorus concentrations before water enters the natural system).

The implementing regulations at 33 CFR Part 385 establish the procedural framework: the project delivery process, federal-state coordination requirements, adaptive management protocols, and the mechanisms for protecting the natural system and existing legal water uses from CERP implementation.

Key Provisions

• § 385.10 — Implementation responsibilities: the Corps of Engineers and SFWMD are jointly responsible; each individual CERP component project requires separate planning, design, NEPA environmental review, and congressional authorization before construction; the regulations specify the Project Delivery Team (PDT) structure — interdisciplinary teams of engineers, ecologists, economists, and agency representatives who develop each project from concept through construction
• § 385.11 — Implementation process for projects: the standard project delivery sequence runs from project initiation through reconnaissance, feasibility study, final engineering and design, NEPA compliance, and construction; CERP projects must navigate this process individually, meaning the 35-year timeline reflects the sequential nature of project delivery at enormous scale, not a single continuous construction effort
• § 385.12 — Pilot projects: the CERP included pilot projects for technologies with residual uncertainty — most notably Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR), which involves injecting treated surface water into underground aquifers during wet season and withdrawing it during dry season; ASR was intended to provide ~1.7 billion gallons per day of storage capacity; extensive testing revealed technical challenges with phosphorus and arsenic mobilization, significantly reducing the ASR program scope; the pilot project provision allowed research to inform later implementation decisions rather than building full-scale infrastructure before feasibility was confirmed
• § 385.13 — Projects under additional authority: to accelerate implementation, the Corps may initiate certain projects under pre-existing water resources authorities without waiting for individual WRDA authorization of each CERP component; this flexibility has allowed some early-action projects to proceed
• § 385.14 — NEPA integration: each CERP project must comply independently with the National Environmental Policy Act; given the ecological complexity of South Florida and the numerous threatened and endangered species present, most projects require full Environmental Impact Statements (EIS); interagency consultation under the Endangered Species Act (Section 7) is also required for projects affecting listed species including the Cape Sable seaside sparrow, wood stork, snail kite, and Florida panther; the NEPA and ESA requirements add years to each project's timeline and are a primary source of schedule delays
• § 385.15 — Florida state requirements: the State of Florida through SFWMD has independent regulatory and operational authority over South Florida water management; CERP projects must be consistent with Florida water law, South Florida Regional Water Supply Plans, and state environmental permitting requirements before SFWMD will commit co-funding and operations; the federal-state partnership is a constitutional and practical necessity, but coordination adds procedural complexity
• Subpart D — Incorporating New Information: CERP's adaptive management framework requires periodic reassessment of project designs based on monitoring results, new science, and changed conditions; the Plan is designed to be updated as implementation proceeds, not fixed in the 2000 framework; adaptive management is particularly important given the 35+ year timeline — climate change has already altered South Florida precipitation patterns and sea level, requiring adjustments to storage volumes and delivery targets
• Subpart E — Protection of Natural System and Water Supply: CERP projects may not harm the natural Everglades system or diminish existing legal water entitlements (agricultural, municipal, and environmental) — the plan must deliver both ecological restoration benefits and maintain the water supply reliability that South Florida's 9 million residents depend on; this dual mandate creates tension at the core of CERP implementation

How It Affects You

If you live in South Florida: CERP is the infrastructure project that determines how much fresh water will be available in the future and whether the aquifer recharge areas that supply drinking water will continue functioning. The project also addresses the Lake Okeechobee "death discharges" — massive releases of algae-laden lake water to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers (east and west coasts, respectively) that devastate local economies and ecosystems. Reservoir and water storage projects that reduce these discharges are among the highest-priority CERP components from a public health standpoint.

If you're in agriculture, sugar, or South Florida development: CERP creates regulatory requirements for water quality — particularly the 10 parts per billion (ppb) total phosphorus standard for Everglades water (the lowest numeric standard for phosphorus in any U.S. water body) that governs agricultural runoff treatment. Stormwater Treatment Areas (constructed wetland treatment marshes) upstream of the Everglades are funded partly through the CERP and partly through Florida's Everglades Forever Act obligations on the agricultural sector.

If you care about wildlife and conservation: CERP's progress directly determines the fate of numerous federal and state listed species. Wading bird nesting populations (white ibis, roseate spoonbill, wood stork) are sentinel indicators of Everglades health — and their numbers have declined 90% from historical baselines. Seagrass in Florida Bay, upon which manatees and sea turtles depend, responds to freshwater delivery patterns that CERP aims to restore. The Florida panther's survival in the only remaining wild population depends on connected wetland habitats that CERP decompartmentalization projects aim to restore.

Statutory Authority

This rule implements:

• WRDA 2000, § 601 (P.L. 106-541) — Congressional authorization of CERP; established the framework, authorized initial projects, set the federal-state cost-sharing (65% federal, 35% state), and created the oversight structure
• 33 U.S.C. § 1 — Army Civil Works authority; the Corps has general authority to implement authorized water resources projects
• 10 U.S.C. § 3013 — Secretary of the Army authority; administrative authority for Army civil works program

Recent Rulemakings

33 CFR Part 385 was promulgated in 2003 (68 FR 640) implementing WRDA 2000 Section 601. No significant amendments to the programmatic regulations since original promulgation. Implementation progress updates are reported annually through the CERP Program Management Plan (PMP), which is not a regulatory document but the operational guide for CERP execution.

Pending Action

As of 2026, the following CERP components have emerged as highest priorities:

• Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP): decompartmentalization of Water Conservation Area 3, improving sheet flow to the southern Everglades; authorized in WRDA 2016 and under construction
• Broward County Water Preserve Areas: reservoirs to store and treat water before release to the Everglades and water supply system; partially constructed
• Lake Okeechobee watershed restoration: reducing nutrient loading from agricultural watersheds to stop algal bloom conditions in the lake; new storage components being planned
• Southern Everglades: water delivery improvement to the southern Everglades National Park; some projects authorized, some pending congressional approval

The gap between original 35-year timeline and actual progress is significant — by 2025, roughly 25 years into implementation, less than half the authorized projects are complete, and total cost estimates have grown substantially from the 2000 baseline.