News-Press.com
DEP
enforcement found lacking
By Pedro Morales
pmorales@news-press.com
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080322/NEWS0105/803230357/1075
A wastewater plant on Sanibel let its five-year operating license
expire
But the Sanibel Bayous Sewage Treatment Facility continued
treating an average of 50,000 gallons of raw sewage a day for the next five
years. The plant committed a long list of violations and amassed more than
$7,000 in fines levied by the Department of Environmental Protection before
having its permit renewed
The case is an extreme example of what legislators and
environmentalists say is a widespread problem throughout the state: A weak DEP
enforcement policy that allows repeat offenders to continue handling raw
sewage.
"If they find somebody dumping high levels of pollution into
our rivers they need to immediately enforce the laws," said Mike Valiquette, founder of the
At least a quarter of Lee County's 80 domestic wastewater plants
were found at some point since 2003 with failing equipment, causing spills,
leaks and foul odors, according to DEP records.
The files show these plants have a history of malfunctioning equipment
and some were warned that an upgrade was necessary to avoid a hazardous
incident. Still, many of these plants, most of them
privately owned, continued to operate and threaten the environment and people's
health.
"It's cheaper for a polluter to pay a fine and continue to
pollute than it is to fix the problem," said Valiquette,
who lives on Sanibel.
Local lawmakers are working on bills in the House and Senate that
would require DEP to notify the public any time an infraction is found and
would also authorize DEP to find the source of beach bacteria anytime a health
advisory is issued. And at least one lawmaker wants the bills to increase the
fines imposed on violating wastewater plants.
Enforcement a challenge
"We have teeth," said Elijah Fleishauer,
the spokesman for DEP's south district office, which
regulates
Fleishauer said DEP inspectors have a good grip on
offending wastewater plants. He said teams of two carry out surprise visits on
an annual basis. Plants with a pattern of problems are visited several times a
year.
Records show that DEP inspectors do indeed identify violations and
issue warnings and ultimately fines. Some violations are minor - a discrepancy
in a log book or missing sign.
Some, however, are more serious, such as overflowing ponds of
treated water, million-gallon spills or released water, called effluent, that does not meet clean standards.
Whatever the violation, the wastewater plant has time to respond
or refute the accusation.
And this is where critics say the enforcement process becomes too
bureaucratic. The offending plant and DEP become engaged in a legal tug of war
that can take up to two months while the violations sometimes continue or are
only partially repaired.
"There is a certain progression that has to be
followed," Fleishauer said.
The system may not be perfect, but immediately closing a plant
would leave families without flushing toilets or sinks, DEP says.
"What do you do with 250 people who live in homes when you
shut down their wastewater plants?" Fleishauer
said.
It's a challenge, Fleishauer, admits,
one that doesn't get easier in a department with a high inspector turnover
rate. There are seven inspectors in the south district to examine about 600
wastewater plants in the six-county area.
Most inspectors last about a year and have a starting salary of
about $30,000. Usually, when an inspector begins to get really good, he or she
leaves, Fleishauer said.
Because the DEP relies heavily on paper files - its electronic
data is limited and not user-friendly - when inspectors leave, they also take
with them the familiarity of an ongoing case.
"There is residual knowledge" that is lost, he said.
Still, Fleishauer said the DEP has the
staff and budget to force offending wastewater plants into compliance. He added
that the department is improving its electronic record-keeping system to make
it more accessible for inspectors and the public.
A harsher stance needed
"I think (the enforcement is) weak," said Sanibel Mayor
Mick Denham, who brought the Sanibel Bayous plant infractions to the public eye
after two Sanibel beaches were closed for more than a month in October. "I
think the fines they levy are not very significant."
He is working with senators Burt Saunders, R-Naples, and Mike
Bennett, R-Bradenton, on Senate Bill 1634, the wastewater bill that's heading
to the Florida Senate. The proposal stipulates that anytime a health advisory
closes a beach - as it did on Sanibel in October - the DEP must find the source
of the bacteria. An identical bill, HB 1503, is being moved in the House by
Gary Aubuchon, R-Cape Coral.
The bills would also require public notice to all municipalities
within a five-mile radius of an offending wastewater plant. Denham hopes to
shame wastewater plants into compliance.
"I'm a firm believer that the court of public opinion is a
way of getting people's attention," said Denham, who used the media in
October to publicize Sanibel Bayou's disobedient past.
"By making it public, it means the public knows about it and
the court of public opinion can get behind resolving the issue," Denham
said. "If they find they've got a sewage system which is leaking...
they'll certainly do something about it because it becomes a public
issue."
Saunders wants to take it even further. Though not written in the
bill, Saunders said he will push to increase the fines charged for infractions.
"You have to have a bigger hammer to hit them with,"
said Saunders, who is also working on legislation to stop six
"You have to give them an opportunity to correct the problem,
but you don't have to give them forever to do that," he said. "We can
force them to do it more quickly.
"If they're going to get a $1,000-a-day fine, that may be
more persuasive," Saunders said.
The DEP said it welcomes the proposed enforcement changes. It
could make a difference.
"Those upgrades could go a long way toward helping out our compliance
and enforcement," Fleishauer said.
DEP enforcement found lacking
"It's cheaper for a polluter to pay a fine and continue to
pollute than it is to fix the problem."