Subject:
Title
Petition for Administrative Hearing regarding a Florida Department of Environmental Protection Consent Agreement Order that allows excessive land application of biosolids within the watershed of the Upper St. Johns River Basin
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Fiscal Impact:
Cleanup costs for the impacts of the Consent Order are unknown but could be significant
Dept/Office:
Natural Resources Management Department / County Attorney's Office
Requested Action:
Recommendation
Authorize the County Attorney's Office and Natural Resources staff to submit a Petition for Administrative Hearing, including retroactive authorization if necessary, seeking the reversal or modification of the Consent Agreement Order issued by Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in OGC File No. 25-1282; and authorize the County Attorney's Office and County staff to participate in the administrative hearing process, including mediation, with any settlement agreement reached at mediation subject to final Board approval.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
A Consent Agreement Order entered by FDEP on July 25, 2025, would allow for excessive land application of biosolids at locations in Brevard, Osceola, Polk, Suwanee, and Taylor counties within the watershed of the St. Johns River, increasing nutrient loading into waters within Brevard County. This creates an additional burden to the Brevard County taxpayers as Brevard County is mandated to reduce the nutrient loads entering these same waters. This burden and the associated impacts to the St. Johns River run contrary to the Board's prior adoption of a moratorium on expanding the land application of biosolids within Brevard County.
This Consent Agreement Order allows the shifting of nutrient impacts and potential cleanup costs from wastewater treatment plants in South Florida to the citizens of Brevard County. The St. Johns River has been identified as being impaired for phosphorus. When surface waters are designated as impaired, stak...
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