Nobody's-Friends Environmental Group Slows Everglades Restoration, Lobbies for Higher Taxes

Friends, my foot.

For those who thought it wasn't possible, the glacial pace of Everglades restoration just got slower thanks to an environmental group that ironically bills itself as "Friends of the Everglades."

According to Newsmax, a federal court filing this week by Friends of the Everglades has had adverse effects on the restoration process. The filing asks a federal judge to reject the Environmental Protection Agency's restoration plan announced in early September.The South Florida Water Management District, which is responsible for Everglades restoration, says the actions being pushed by these environmentalists will cost a stunning $1.5 billion.Who will pay for it? The state? ... No. The Feds? ... As if! No, no, Florida taxpayers and businesses are the lucky recipients of this tab.

But, as usual, that's OK with environmentalists. According to the Florida Independent, environmental lawyer Alan Slap has a bright idea for how to get that money -- raise taxes to the MAXIMUM level. That's brilliant! In these economic times, Floridians are screaming for higher taxes.What about the businesses that will be affected? No problem, Slap says, they can just go out of business.

"I understand that businesses are scared of being shut down and people are scared of losing work, but you cant pollute the water," relates Slap. "If a business has to shut down and regroup, they have to shut down ... The Water District [SFWMD] has said they cant afford the funding, but they arent even at their maximum millage rate. If they were they could generate enough revenue to fix these problems."

These "friends" are probably somebody's friends, but they're no friends of the Everglades -- or of the people who live around them.

Who cares how much taxes rise to pay for the EPA plan?

Who cares that its $1.5 billion cost will still leave the Everglades billions -- perhaps tens of billions -- of dollars short of real restoration?

As the saying goes, with "friends" like these ...