Longboat Key commission members are expected to vote in January on a proposed order from the state setting forth penalties for spilling millions of gallons of sewage on the mainland in a mangrove forest about 350 feet from Sarasota Bay.
“The department continues to work with the town to finalize the proposed consent order,” Shannon Herbon told The Islander Dec. 9. Herbon is the public information manager for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Southwest District.
“The town’s final approval of the proposed consent order requires that it goes to the commission for a vote,” Herbon added. “However, the deadline to include the consent order on the agenda for their December commission meeting passed.”
The town requested an extension to Jan. 22, 2021, and the DEP granted the extension.
The DEP issued the proposed order in late September, saying the town should either pay a $262,652 fine or create an environmental enhancement project of greater value as compensation for the spill.
The leak from the town’s only wastewater pipeline began June 17 on the mainland and continued until June 30, when crews cleared a path through a mangrove forest on undeveloped land at Long Bar Pointe to make repairs. Developer Carlos Beruff owns the land at Long Bar Pointe where a planned development has been approved by the county.
A DEP estimate put the spill at 17 million gallons.
In its proposed order, the DEP said the town violated state rules by:
- Failing to maintain equipment;
- Discharging wastewater without authorization;
- Failing to obtain permission to alter mangroves;
- Failing to secure approval for dredge and fill activities.
As a result, the DEP said the town must pay the state $242,652.50 in a settlement or off-set the amount by implementing an in-kind environmental enhancement project valued at $362,476.75.
Also, per the order, the town must submit a sewer overflow response plan that includes procedures for sampling discharged wastewater.
The DEP proposal also said called for Longboat Key to:
- Offset the impact of the pollution by purchasing 0.3 saltwater forested mitigation credits from the Nature Coast Mitigation Bank;
- Remove any fill material and return the cleared site at the spill to “pre-fill conditions” as part of a mangrove restoration action;
- Submit a plan, including start and completion dates, to install a new force main;
- File permits for any impacts to wetlands, mangroves or waters with installing a new pipeline.
As to replacement of the decades’ old wastewater line that partly runs across the bay bottom, Longboat Key town manager Tom Harmer has said the project was in the works before the spill.
The town could sign the proposed order or reject the state’s settlement offer and seek a hearing.
Herbon said the DEP “remains committed to ensuring this enforcement matter is resolved as quickly as possible.”