'Bridge to nowhere' OK'd for Everglades

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By Stephen Dinan

A provision buried inside Congress' giant spending bill would overturn a federal court order, discard part of environmental law and reject an Indian tribe's plea, forcing the government to build a bridge in Everglades National Park that a federal judge has declared "a complete waste of taxpayer dollars."

The project is being opposed by the Miccosukee tribe, and U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro called it an "environmental bridge to nowhere." She ordered the government in November to comply with federal environmental laws, which would further delay the long-controversial project.

But lawmakers inserted a provision in the 1,123-page omnibus spending bill that is pending in the Senate. It waives those laws and in sweeping language orders the Army Corps of Engineers to begin building the bridge "immediately and without further delay."

Those pushing for the bridge, which would elevate the Tamiami Trail roadway to allow water to flow freely into the Everglades, say Congress' urgency is justified.

"The project has been studied and delayed over and over again for 20 years. Meantime, one of the world's great treasures continues to die," said Dan McLaughlin, a spokesman for Sen. Bill Nelson, Florida Democrat. "The National Academy of Sciences, in a report to Congress, says the bridge is needed to allow water north of the road to flow south into the Everglades. Senator Nelson supports it. It's absolutely essential to restoring the 'Glades. No bridge - no water flow. No water - no Everglades."

But the Miccosukee, who went to court last year to stop the bridge, are crying foul, saying it's hypocritical of Congress to ignore its own environmental laws.

The tribe also said that overturning a court order smacks of the broken treaties and poor treatment Indians suffered in years past.

"You tell the tribe to follow the law, but when the tribe follows the law and wins, you throw them out of court. It's really immoral and unconscionable," said Dexter Lehtinen, an attorney for the tribe. His wife is Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican who Mr. Lehtinen said recuses herself from these matters.

The $212 million bridge is part of a complex and contentious decades-old plan to try to restore the free flow of water through the Everglades, the swamp that covers much of southern Florida and is considered critical to the state's ecosystem. Decades of development and road-building have ruined the usual water flows.

Plans to restore water flow have changed repeatedly, and parts have been caught up in litigation, including the proposal to build a one-mile-long bridge along the northern park boundary at the Tamiami Trail, or U.S. Highway 41, which backers say would help the free flow.