resulting from agricultural, industrial, or other societal activities from the land to surface or groundwater or that optimize water use.

Central and Southern Florida (C&SF) Project for Flood Control and OtherPurposes—A multipurpose project, first authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1948, to provide flood control, water supply protection, water quality protection, and natural resource protection.

Clean Water Act (CWA)—The Clean Water Act is the cornerstone of surface-water quality protection in the United States. The statute employs a variety of regulatory and nonregulatory tools to reduce direct pollutant discharges into waterways, finance municipal wastewater treatment facilities, and manage polluted runoff. These tools help to achieve the broader goal of restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters so that they can support the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water.

Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP)—The plan for the restoration of the greater Everglades ecosystem authorized by Congress in 2000.

Conceptual ecological models—Nonquantitative, verbal or diagrammatic hypotheses about the major anthropogenic and natural drivers and stressors on natural systems, the ecological effects of these stressors, and the biological attributes or indicators of these ecological responses. They are used as planning tools for research and adaptive management.

Critical Projects—Projects determined to be critical to the restoration of the South Florida ecosystem that were authorized in 1996 prior to the CERP. These projects are comparatively small and were undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and South Florida Water Management District. They are being implemented along with the CERP projects.

Decomp—Short title for Water Conservation Area 3 Decompartmentalization and Sheet Flow Enhancement—Part 1 project.

Endangered Species Act (ESA)—A U.S. law passed in 1973 to protect species listed by the federal government as threatened or endangered from extinction. It provides penalties for the taking of such species and requires any federal agency to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (or National Marine Fisheries Service for marine species) before undertaking or funding any action that could jeopardize the continued existence or recovery of listed species.