Hoping to correct the Wakulla County Commission’s refusal to provide citizens the opportunity to engage with experts and county staff in formulating a stronger Wakulla Springs Protection Ordinance, members of three advocacy groups, The Wakulla Springs Alliance, Clean Water Wakulla, and the Friends of Wakulla Springs, are convening a public forum, of their own, to craft a vision for water quality in Wakulla County and recommendations for improving the proposed ordinance.
The Community Forum on Economic Growth and Groundwater Protection will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 14, at the Wakulla Environmental Institute, 170 Preservation Way, in Crawfordville.
County commissioners directed staff to revise the current Springs Protection Ordinance in response to strong citizen opposition to a proposed zoning change that would allow a large gas station on a site underlain by the Chips Hole cave system.
That proposed ordinance, as drafted, fails to provide stringent, enforceable standards for storage of petroleum products, including gasoline, the very pollutant that motivated the initiative. The public forum with many subject matter experts in attendance, will consider options for regulatory boundaries, applicability, geotechnical assessments (caves, sinkholes, karst features, etc.), storage tank design criteria and more. Recommendations from the workshop will be provided to the Wakulla County Commission.
Wakulla County Administrator David Edwards made a claim, at the most recent commission meeting, that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection General Counsel has told him that any Wakulla County ordinance more stringent than state law would be disallowed. Wakulla Springs Alliance board members, with extensive regulatory backgrounds, have reviewed the relevant statute and believe that there are avenues still available for strengthening groundwater regulations.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection needs to understand the unique karst and cave geology of Wakulla County that requires unique and special protections that may not be necessary in other parts of the state with different geological configurations.
The forum will give the community an opportunity to shape a shared vision for economic vitality and water protection in Wakulla County, and to develop recommendations for improving the draft Springs Protection Ordinance amendment primarily focused on storage of hazardous waste. The goals are to better protect the springs, aquifer and everyone’s drinking water, to minimize the risk of economic disasters from spills and to minimize the permitting and operating costs to those who use and store regulated substances.
Clean water is central to the quality of life, culture, and economy of Wakulla County. This includes drinking water from the aquifer, recreation on its springs and spring-fed rivers, fishing, and oyster farming. This is threatened by the use and storage of petroleum and other regulated substances.
The forum sponsors encourage everyone concerned about protecting our water and economic vitality in Wakulla to attend.
Anthony Gaudio is chair of The Wakulla Springs Alliance and a retired septic and underground utility contractor.
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