City bargains for service instead of fines from DEP

City bargains for service instead of fines from DEP



By KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 08/13/08

The city of St. Augustine staff wants to form an in-kind project with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in lieu of paying fines for allowing a pipeline to leak treated waste water into marshland.

Although a final agreement has not been reached between the city and DEP, the department has looked at fining the city $31,000. John Regan, city chief operations officer, said the city hopes to forgo the fine by having an environmental project that would block restaurants' and businesses' grease from going into the sewer system.

"Just like our arteries, the grease clogs pipelines in the city," Regan said. "Most of our line breaks and sewer problems are because of grease."

"(The city) spends quite a bit of money on cleaning up grease."

The city would hire someone to ensure restaurants pump out their grease trap systems regularly.

Jodi Conway, DEP spokeswoman, said the Department is still in discussion with the city, and she could not give details. But, she said, DEP allows cities to do in-kind projects instead of fines if "there is a significant environmental benefit."

Regan said that, under the state's rules, the benefit must be 1.5 times the amount of the fine. And St. Augustine's proposed project would do just that, he said.

"The city would start to save money from the program over one to two years time," he said. "It's a way for us to do something positive for the community instead of paying a fine," he said.

In July, the city determined it will have to spend about $1 million to replace the 1,600-foot pipeline behind its Waste Water Treatment Plant off Riberia Street. The pipe has been leaking for a couple years. The city has done several repairs on it, but the city manager did not replace it in 2005 because the estimated cost -- roughly $3 million -- was too high.

The treated fresh water dumped into the salt water marsh has disrupted the ecosystem and caused the area to become a vibrant green compared to the surrounding brown marsh, according to DEP.

The DEP has said the quality of the water from the pipeline is in compliance.

Regan said he expects to reach an agreement with DEP in the next week.

"We're optimistic to have this resolved soon," Conway said.

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