Rep. Steube, Sen. Moody Urge Army Corps to Preserve Charlotte County Septic-to-Sewer Authorization

WASHINGTON-Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and Senator Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) today sent a joint letter to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to preserve Charlotte County's eligibility to seek federal funding for septic-to-sewer conversion projects.

Rep. Steube worked to increase the amount in federal funding that Charlotte County could seek from $3 million to $33 million in 2022 to address nearly 2,600 failing septic systems harming water quality in the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary and the Gulf of America. Federal funds have yet to be dispersed for the project, but the lawmakers say that reflects bureaucratic delay, not a lapse in need. Charlotte County has since completed the Manasota Key Shoreline Protection Study and is now positioned to pursue a roughly $400 million wastewater conversion program, with the county planning to request Congressional support for septic-to-sewer conversions in the upcoming funding cycle.

Rep. Steube and Sen. Moody warn that removing Charlotte County's eligibility for federal support now would strip the county of its ability to seek funding for this work going forward, undoing years of Congressional effort to address failing septic systems and improve water quality throughout Southwest Florida.

The full letter is attached here.

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