SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT January 11,2019 Office of Governor Ron DeSantis State of Florida The Capitol 400 S. Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL 32399?0001 Dear Gov. DeSantis: I am writing to submit my resignation from the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District, effective January 11, 2019. It has been a great honor to have served on the board since I was appointed in May of 2011. These last eight years have been historic in the progress we have made undoing decades of damage done to Florida?s environment and restoring it closer to its natural state. In the Central Florida area that represented, we worked with the US. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to bring massive Kissimmee River Restoration projects, literally decades in the making, to the brink of completion. We worked with water management districts and other partners to create the Central Florida Water Initiative planning for the water supply needs of Central Florida?s future generations. We completed several major restoration projects such as rehabilitating the Florida Bay Restoration Initiative that are already benefitting the environment. We have also made major progress restoring the water quality of Florida?s Everglades by completing components of the Restoration Strategies plan. compliment you for the spot light and urgency you have directed to the issues of blue-green algae, red tide and releases from Lake Okeechobee to the coastal estuaries. While the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and Restoration Strategies provide for the long term solutions, I agree with you that short term relief is absolutely needed. I respect your passion and dedication for protecting and improving Florida?s environment. While I did not vote for the November 8, 2018 lease amendment involving the land that will be used to build the EAA Storage Reservoir, or the motion to dismiss the 1988 federal lawsuit, I understand your desire to have your own appointees on the board. I also want to thank you for the bold environmental priorities you set this week through your Achieving More Now for Florida?s Environment executive order. The priorities you set in that order are exactly what Florida?s environment needs, such as expediting design and construction of the EAA Storage Reservoir and other restoration projects. 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, Florida 33406 0 (561) 686?8800 FL WATS 1?800?432 2045 Mailing Address: PO. Box 24680, West Palm Beach, FL 33416?4680 I look forward to continuing to serve Floridians in other volunteer capacities. Respectively submitted, Dan O'Keefe Governing Board Member