PROTECT Florida Act

This bill tells the Army Corps of Engineers to manage the Central and Southern Florida water system with public health as the guiding factor. It keeps the usual goals—like flood control, navigation, water supply, wildlife, and recreation—but makes sure decisions are made to protect people’s health first. It aims to cut toxic algae in Lake Okeechobee and stop polluted discharges into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee watersheds, protect the Herbert Hoover Dike, and ensure enough clean water reaches the Everglades, Tribal lands, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay, and the Caloosahatchee watershed to help restore natural habitats.

It requires the Army to update a single operating manual with Florida so the whole system works together for public health and Everglades restoration, and to change current operations accordingly. It orders a study with the National Academies on long‑lasting pollution and nutrient buildup, including soil treatments, and asks for solutions to protect downstream waters. It doesn’t change existing Tribal or State water rights or standards. It also bans using restoration funds for deep well injection of excess water and allows funding to carry out these steps.

• Who is affected: People and communities around Lake Okeechobee, the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee regions, Tribal lands, and the broader Everglades area, plus those who rely on the system for water supply and recreation.
• What changes: Public health becomes the top overlay for water operations; a unified operating manual is created; a pollution study is launched; deep well injection with restoration funds is prohibited.
• When: The text does not set specific dates or deadlines.