In response to the June 23 article "Forum criticizes sugar's role in cleanup" and the June 26 letter "Cleanup timetable 'flexibility' may end up choking Everglades": If U.S. Sugar had been invited to the June 25 Marine Resources Council workshop on the Everglades, we would have pointed out that the new Everglades legislation puts in place the financing and regulatory framework to continue the cleanup with a plan based on sound science and advanced technology. A special $25 per acre Agricultural Privilege Tax was extended to help finance the small part of the $450 million project that deals with the Everglades Agricultural Area. The majority of the plan's costs deal with urban water basins that were not considered in the original Everglades legislation.

The best management practices that sugar farmers have implemented have reduced phosphorus levels in farm water by nearly 60 percent. Perhaps some of these same practices can be adapted to clean water from Lake Okeechobee, urban areas and other basins that drain into the Everglades.

As a stakeholder in the Everglades region, we strongly support the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program. We also support restoration of the Indian River Lagoon and have no interest in delaying or interfering with that project.

The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the planning and approval of each CERP project. According to the corps' Web site, the lagoon project is going through the internal review process, which apparently is quite extensive for a project in the $1 billion range. (A project status report can be found at www.evergladesplan.org on the Internet.)

Even more important, the Indian River Lagoon project is the first CERP project that is being developed, and it must be successful in order to validate the credibility of and secure financing for the entire restoration plan. We are committed to Everglades restoration and will work in partnership to ensure that all future CERP projects are successful.