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Board Extends Deadline for Everglades Land Deal

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — Facing legal challenges and growing deficits, South Florida water officials on Thursday gave themselves six more months to finance a controversial $536 million purchase of land from United States Sugar for the Everglades.

The unanimous vote by the nine-member board of the South Florida Water Management District will keep the deal alive, but officials said they continued to struggle with whether the agency could afford it.

“From an economic point of view, these are unpleasant times,” said Charles Dauray, a board member from southwest Florida. “And from an environmental point of view, these are very unique opportunities.”

Cost has been the main challenge ever since Gov. Charlie Crist unveiled a proposed $1.75 billion purchase of United States Sugar in its entirety almost two years ago. The deal has been downsized twice since then. It now includes 72,800 acres, plus an option to buy the company’s remaining 107,000 acres at a later date.

But even as the total cost has been reduced, the price has come under greater scrutiny.

Independent appraisers have said that the district is paying United States Sugar at least twice the going rate for agricultural land. (The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments next month in lawsuits questioning the public purpose of the expense.)

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Gov. Charlie Crist proposed the Everglades deal in 2008. It has been downsized twice.Credit...Pool photo by Andrew Harrer

At the same time, district revenues from property taxes in the 16 counties that support the agency have dropped from a peak of $553 million in 2007 to $460 million this year, with further decreases expected, according to district projections.

The proposed acquisition has already led to the suspension of more than a dozen restoration projects, internal district documents show, and more cuts would be necessary.

An auditor warned last month that without “significant decreases” in the district’s budget, the acquisition would lead to deficits of $89 million in 2011 and $110 million in 2012.

Board members said Thursday that they were increasingly aware of the financial challenges posed by the purchase. They repeatedly questioned district lawyers about a line in the contract relating to a $5 million penalty for abandoning the deal if they determine the agency cannot afford it without harming core operations, like flood control.

But they also said they hoped to complete the acquisition because it holds enormous potential for the Everglades and for estuaries on the east and west coasts of Florida that have been damaged by polluted water that could be stored and treated on land bought from United States Sugar.

Governor Crist, who appoints the board, strongly supports the deal, and environmentalists wearing stickers that said “seal the deal” clapped when the members agreed to delay the deadline for financing.

“It needs to be extended,” said Eric Buermann, the chairman. “Otherwise, we’re sort of at the end of the story.”

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 17 of the New York edition with the headline: Board Extends Deadline For Everglades Land Deal. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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