U.S. Rep. Brian Mast said South Florida Water Management District board members should resign, but it's unclear what Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis plans to do, if anything.

Mast said board members "have been derelict in their duties, and I think they should be replaced" because they agreed to lease land for the EAA reservoir to cut Lake Okeechobee discharges to a Florida Crystals subsidiary.

The Palm City Republican congressman made the statement Sunday on the Miami CBS news program "Facing South Florida."

It's unclear whether Mast, chairman of DeSantis' 40-member environmental advisory committee, will or has already urged the governor-elect to take action.

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In a Nov. 8 meeting, the board agreed to lease land for the reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area south of the lake for up to for eight years while the project is designed and built.

More: Water district board OKs lease of EAA reservoir land pending construction

The decision came after the lease was added to the board agenda about 9 p.m. Nov. 7, 12 hours before the meeting began at 9:30 a.m. the next day.

Mast, DeSantis request briefing

Mast told board members during the meeting he and DeSantis wanted to be briefed on the proposal before its approval "to make sure we're not adding additional hurdles to the project."

District staff and board members countered that the lease would speed up, not hinder, construction of the reservoir because it would allow preliminary work at the site to begin immediately. They pointed to predictions of a wetter-than-normal winter dry season and the need to move tons of rock to a staging area at the site.

Under the new lease, the district took immediate possession of about 560 acres of the more than 16,000-acre site. And on Nov. 14, the district began clearing sugar cane fields for the staging area.

More: Preliminary work begins at reservoir site

In sunshine; other violation possible

The district didn't break state sunshine laws by inserting the lease agreement into the agenda the night before approving it, Barbara Petersen of the First Amendment Foundation told TCPalm.

The law requires "reasonable notice of the board’s meetings," Petersen said, but there's "no prohibition on the board taking action on items not included in the notice, or on the agenda."

But the board may have violated another state law specifically requiring the district to publish three notices of an "intention to lease" before the meeting.

More:Board didn't break sunshine law, but may have violated state lease requirement

District General Counsel Brian Accardo told board members lease agreements "mandated" by law didn't have to be advertised, and the reservoir land lease was "mandated" by the legislation allocating money for the project.

For the board to act without public input, Mast said, showed a "huge level of arrogance" and that members "couldn't give a rat's caboose what everybody else thinks."

More: Who's on the South Florida Water Management District board?

The state and federal government each are to pay half of the project's expected $1.8 billion cost. State funding is in place. Congress and President Donald Trump have approved the project, but money for it hasn't been appropriated.

Convincing his fellow members of Congress to fund the project could be more difficult because of the lease, Mast told TCPalm.

"I could be out there fighting for this appropriation," Mast said, "and someone will say, 'That land is still being used (for farming); let's wait and get to it next year.' "

Other calls for resignations

Environmental organizations calling for the board and district Executive Director Ernie Marks to resign include:

The Everglades Foundation: "They violated state statutes. This is a post-election double-cross," said Executive Director Eric Eikenberg.

The Everglades Trust: The group backed DeSantis in his gubernatorial bid.

The Everglades Law Center: "Their actions on the lease were an absolute violation of the public trust," said Executive Director Lisa Interlandi.

In its Dec. 6 newsletter, the environmental group Bullsugar.org called for board members to be "investigated for conflict of interest and ethics violations, and potentially removed and replaced by qualified, ethical, representative nominees who will manage Florida’s water in the public interest."

Audubon Florida is "concerned about the secret sugar deal" and "watching it closely," said spokesman Sean Cooley.

On Nov. 28, the Florida Wildlife Federation and Indian Riverkeeper Marty Baum requested a formal hearing before a state administrative judge to challenge the lease. Federation attorney Terrell K. Arline said Monday he's not received a reply from the district.

More: Florida Wildlife Federation, Indian Riverkeeper challenge lease