PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump is expected to make a visit to Lake Okeechobee Friday to address infrastructure repairs along with environmental concerns, CBS affiliate WFOR reports.
Trump is set to announce federal funding to fix the Herbert Hoover Dike. He's also expected to discuss building a reservoir to help limit the harmful discharges from Okeechobee to nearby waterways.
The Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir would work to store and filter runoff from the lake which some argue has caused some of the toxic algae blooms.
The visit comes after nearby Caloosahatchee River dealt with a lingering, toxic blue-green algae bloom last summer that had spread from Okeechobee in June, News-Press reports. The Army Corps of Engineers has been working to lower the Okeechobee's water levels from 12 to 10 feet in hopes of solving algae concerns, according to WPTV.
The sunshine state also dealt with a devastating outbreak of red tide at a local level last year. High concentrations were found on coasts in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, and Sarasota counties back in October.
Governor Ron DeSantis and Senator Marco Rubio are expected to meet with Trump during his visit to Lake Okeechobee.
Governor DeSantis and Sen. Rubio are hoping for $200 million a year to go towards the Everglades Restoration Project.
"The critical infrastructure that will be built as a result of sustained annual budget requests to Congress of $200 million in construction funding for SFER would be a tremendous part of your legacy in Florida. We stand ready to help execute any action you take to fulfill long overdue federal commitments to restore the Everglades," the political colleagues wrote in a letter to the president.
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