U.S. Rep. Brian Mast ‘highly skeptical’ as new Lake Okeechobee water release schedule drags on

By Meghan McRoberts

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    STUART, Florida (WPTV) — As South Florida heads into another rainy season, there is still no change to the water release schedule from Lake Okeechobee.

Residents and environmentalists were hopeful that the changes would nearly stop all harmful releases into the St. Lucie Estuary.

The Army Corps of Engineers said a new water release schedule, called LOSOM, could now be delayed by about six months to sometime next year.

The Army Corps came under pressure Thursday at a Rivers Coalition meeting. The Corps explained they are performing a review of the water release schedule at the request of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

It wants more info on the impacts of red tide on swimming turtles and LOSOM’s possible effect.

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., was “highly skeptical” about the last-minute delay and questioned where this request came from after years of open debate.

Mark Perry, the executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society, shared his concerns about this sudden request and the motives.

“Well, are big question is, why now? Why not before when we were doing all this review?” Perry asked. “Now this is going to delay the implementation of this new schedule for the lake.”

The Army Corps said they are working with the National Marine Fisheries Service to expedite the review.

The service was invited to comment at Thursday’s meeting but did not provide a speaker.

LOSOM stands for Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual.

LOSOM will replace the Lake Okeechobee Release Schedule from 2008 and serve as the guideline for the Army Corps to determine where, when, and how much water it releases to the east, west and south of Lake Okeechobee during the dry and wet season.

WPTV reported in August that the new water release would likely take effect this month, lasting for 10 years.

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