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Glades Cost May Double

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 28, 2008

WEST PALM BEACH - WEST PALM BEACH - A planned $1.75 billion deal to buy out U.S. Sugar Corp.'s land in the Everglades could end up costing twice that much, including interest payments, water managers said Friday.

Earlier this week, Gov. Charlie Crist and U.S. Sugar Corp., the nation's largest cane sugar producer, announced a tentative deal for the state to buy the company's nearly 300 square miles in the Everglades.

However, the eventual cost to the South Florida Water Management District, which oversees Everglades restoration, based on a 5.5 percent interest rate during the proposed 30-year financing plan, would be $3.5 billion. That doesn't include money the state will have to spend preparing the land for restoration purposes.

The district plans to pay for the land, in part, through the issuance of bonds.

"The amount we'll be paying U.S. Sugar remains the same," Carol Wehle, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, said Friday.

"If we had the money, we'd write a check tomorrow, but we don't," she added.

The agency hopes to recoup some money by refinancing over the course of the deal, and by selling off some of U.S. Sugar's assets that it won't need, such as the company's sugar mill and citrus plant.

Negotiations on the deal are still ongoing. Officials hope to have final agreement by November.

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