A hotly debated environmental project up in the air for decades could finally be moving forward, as an Ocklawaha River restoration bill is ready for the Senate floor.

With a 17-1 vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced Sen. Jason Brodeur’s legislation (SB 1066) that would breach the Kirkpatrick Dam and decommission the Buckman Lock. 

“The Kirkpatrick Dam was built in 1968 and today serves no water supply, flood control or hydroelectric power purpose. However, it continues to block the river, harm water quality and disconnect important natural resources between Silver Springs, the Okeechobee and the St. Johns, impacting millions of Floridians,” said Brodeur, a Lake Mary Republican.

“With this dam being nearly 70 years old and being classified by the state as a high hazard, this bill is a measured first step in reducing long-term safety risk while improving water quality.”

SB 1066 would order the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to develop a plan to restore the Ocklawaha River by Jan. 1, 2027, and complete the work by Dec. 31, 2032.

In addition, the bill would invest in outdoor recreational activities in Putnam, Marion, Clay and St. Johns counties. The outdoor recreational plan would be funded by state grants and overseen by a newly created council, with local representatives serving on it.

“One of the hardest things to do with the community is to really envision what it can look like when the river is restored,” said Sarah Lockhart, a research assistant at the University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning.

UF students and faculty brainstormed manatee viewing, paddling tours, driving tours and repurposing the Kirkpatrick site as they presented a proposal to stakeholders, which included government groups, anglers and environmentalists, Lockhart told the committee Thursday.

The Ocklawaha is of great importance to Florida lawmakers because it stretches across 78 miles and is the main tributary to the St Johns River, the longest river in Florida.

Restoring the river affects 12 counties and could bring back hidden springs as well as wildlife, proponents said.

“Ecotourism is a key driver in Marion County. Marion County has almost the same acreage on the Rodman Reservoir as Putnam County. Marion has a major stake in this decision,” said Jo Layman, treasurer of the Great Florida Riverway Trust and a founding member of the Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership. “The return of fish, wildlife, and more manatees would help bring back our visitors.”

The Kirkpatrick Dam, originally known as the Rodman Dam, was built in 1968 while the ill-fated Cross Florida Barge Canal was still being developed.

Because of the environmental damage it would have caused, President Richard Nixon stopped the canal in 1971 that would have linked Florida Gulf to the Atlantic with a series of rivers, lakes, waterways and locks and dams, according to the Florida Historical Society.

“I can tell you that’s probably the biggest mistake that was ever made to our environment in the state of Florida, other than the straightening of the Kissimmee River,” said Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell.

The canceled canal project sparked a long legal fight and legislation about what to do with the land from the unfinished canal project.

“In 1993, the Florida Legislature allocated $900,000 for future planning for the Rodman Dam. And there were four scenarios to be considered: full restoration, partial restoration, full retention, partial retention,” said environmental lawyer Gail Hankinson, who gave an oral history Thursday.

“Two years later, that report came back to the Legislature and concluded that the partial restoration, which is what is described in the bill that is before you today, was the best way to move forward.”

But the project continued to be debated and delayed over the next 25 years.

Brodeur filed appropriation bills in 2024 and 2025 to restore the river. Both were vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis as local anglers opposed getting rid of the dam.

“We got some informal feedback that … the bill needed to go through the Committee process. So here we are. We’ve gone through the Committee process with relatively little opposition,” Hankinson said. “After 55 years, please restore the river.”

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