More than 8,600 mangroves may be planted near Sarasota Bay but not as part of any eco-celebration.
The trees — 4,404 red, 3,485 black and 774 white mangrove trees — would be planted as part of an effort to remedy the destruction resulting from sewage that spilled from a line connected to service Longboat Key in June 2020.
About 14.7 million gallons of raw sewage seeped for days from Longboat Key’s only wastewater line, which runs from the key across the bottom of Sarasota Bay to the mainland and ends at a county treatment facility in Bradenton.
Finding and stopping the leak involved constructing a makeshift road through a mangrove forest on property owned by Long Bar Pointe LLLP development.
A subsequent report identified long-term corrosion as the likely reason for the rupture in the pipeline.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection reviewed the incident and prepared a proposed consent order with penalties and actions for the town.
After months of consideration, on Feb. 22, Longboat Key commissioners voted unanimously to accept a negotiated order and authorized town manager Tom Harmer to implement its provisions.
The town sent the order back to the DEP that day.
The order states how the leak occurred, the damage caused by the leak and the actions Longboat Key should take to mitigate the impact and restore nature.
In a news release Feb. 23, the town stated, “The FDEP found in the order that repeated surface water sampling conducted following the leak ‘yielded no evidence of impact from the (leak) on bacterial levels in Sarasota Bay.’”
But there was a clear impact on land.
“The most significant impact associated with this event was the mortality of mangroves caused by the sewer leak itself,” states an assessment report included in the negotiated consent order. Trees died and others showed stress.
Hauling fill to create the road and clear-cutting for access also impacted the forest.
The negotiated consent order contains a series of actions, including developing long-term and short-term plans to ensure the safe transmission of wastewater, taking restoration action at the spill site and monitoring the fix.
The town also must either pay a $188,382 settlement for civil penalties or take on an in-kind project — subject to DEP approval — that involves an environmental enhancement, environmental restoration, environmental land donation or capital improvement.