Specifications

Section 7 Environmental Effects of the Selected Plan
EAA Storage Reservoirs Revised Draft PIR and EIS February 2006
7-21
Increased water storage capacity should reduce agricultural flood damage
thereby indirectly affecting agricultural employment. Computation of flood
damages (in dollars) based on seasonality of crops within the sub-basin
containing Compartment A has not yet been completed. The additional water
storage should enhance economic values and social well-being in urban areas
near Lake Okeechobee by reducing the number of structures affected by flooding.
The storage reservoir will also increase the viability of agriculture through
maintenance of high water tables, which is thought to be a key to reducing
subsidence (Snyder, 2004).
Development of the storage reservoir will not have significant effects on
community infrastructure and services. Infrastructure in the area is limited to
roads, electric, and telephone service. Roads could be temporarily affected by
traffic from construction activities; however, effects should be minor.
Community services such as schools, public protection, and fire and emergency
management services should be essentially unchanged.
7.14 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
In accordance with Executive Order 12898, USACE has made achieving
environmental justice part of its mission. While the President’s Executive Order
on Environmental Justice made this directive explicit, it is implicit in NEPA and
in planning regulations that USACE and SFWMD planners must conduct an
objective evaluation of all project objectives in terms of their social and economic
performance. This is accomplished by identifying and addressing, as
appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or
environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority
populations and low-income populations. In public outreach efforts to date, the
following potential environmental justice problems have been identified for the
EAA Storage Reservoir project:
• Displacement of minority or low income inhabitants of land within the
footprints of land purchases required for each of the EAA Storage
Reservoir project alternatives.
• Change in conveyance of water required by the alternatives causing
flooding or related issues that would disproportionately impact minority
groups or low income class groups.
• Loss of jobs for low income and minority workers as a result of acquiring
agricultural land for the construction of reservoir(s).
The EAA Storage Reservoir project is an opportunity to address these potential
problems. By judicious selection of possible locations for the proposed
reservoir(s) displacement of minority or low-income inhabitants has been