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Sugar Grower's Port Proposal May Affect Everglades Plan

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The Associated Press

Published: August 12, 2008

WEST PALM BEACH - Sugar grower Florida Crystals is lobbying for an inland port with the development of an industrial and commercial center just south of Lake Okeechobee, smack in the heart of the state's proposed pathway for Everglades restoration.

Area officials and the state Department of Transportation support the project they say would link seaside ports on Florida's coasts with roads and rail lines.

Supporters say the project could help make up for job losses in the region in the wake of the state's proposal to buy about 300 square miles of land from U.S. Sugar Corp.

Under the $1.75 billion proposal, U.S. Sugar would shut down in six years, putting 1,700 people out of work.

Opponents of the port, however, fear it could negate benefits from the land purchase touted in June by Gov. Charlie Crist as providing the "missing link" to the state's multibillion-dollar restoration efforts.

Crist and water managers said then the proposed deal, to be finalized with U.S. Sugar by Nov. 30, would remove agriculture from crucial segments of the River of Grass, allowing water to flow more freely south into the Everglades.

Florida Crystals, owned by the Fanjul family of Palm Beach, said water for restoration could still flow around the inland port at the company's Okeelanta site, where it operates a mill, refinery, rail hub and power plant.

Environmentalists, however, see the move as a betrayal that could put politics and business interests ahead of Everglades restoration.

"We really need to wait for the science," said Lisa Interlandi of the Everglades Law Center. "When development proposals come before you have the science developed, you end up with development limiting options for restoration."

Florida Crystals Vice President Danny Martel said the two projects can coexist.

"What we're trying to achieve here is, really, to create a balance between ... economic development, our sugar operation and the environment," Martel said.

The state's purchase of the U.S. Sugar property, which isn't contiguous, would likely mean water managers would have to negotiate land swaps with the Fanjuls to realize the goal of connecting Lake Okeechobee with the rest of the Everglades ecosystem.

Farming and development have for years stymied restoration efforts, blocking water flow and contributing pollutants, such as fertilizers and runoff, into the wetlands.

Communities that have long relied on U.S. Sugar's presence have expressed worry that once the company leaves, surrounding towns could face economic collapse.

Butch Jones, a Glades County commissioner and U.S. Sugar engineer, said port planning should begin immediately.

"You have 1,700 people here who are waiting for some kind, any kind, of answer," Jones said.

Florida Crystals plans a formal pitch on the port to Palm Beach County commissioners Aug. 19.

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