Subject:
Title
Public Hearing Re: Extension of Temporary Moratorium on New Applications of Biosolids to Lands within Brevard County.
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Fiscal Impact:
FY 20/21: Advertising Costs
Dept/Office:
Natural Resources Management
Requested Action:
Recommendation
It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners conduct a public hearing on adopting an extension of the 180-day moratorium on any new applications of biosolids to lands within Brevard County.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
On October 8, 2019, in regular session, the Brevard County Commission approved Ordinance 19-20, a 180-day moratorium on any new permits that would expand the application of biosolids to lands in Brevard County. The moratorium was in response to a blue-green cyanobacteria, Dolichospermum circinale, bloom in Lake Washington in the summer of 2019, which generated questions about the safety of a primary drinking water supply for Brevard County. Toxin levels measured during the 2019 bloom were low and did not indicate human health concerns, but to ensure public safety, the Board directed staff to sample potential causes or contributing factors of lake pollution and report back to the Board in six months.
County staff collaborated with the University of Florida, United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, Brevard Soil and Water Conservation District, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and St. Johns River Water Management District to develop a sampling plan. A multi-agency team collaborated to collect 50 soil samples from the ranch while Applied Ecology, Inc., with supervision from county and University of Florida staff, collected 11 water samples, and 3 grass tissue samples. Samples were tested for multiple forms of nitrogen and phosphorus, and other contaminants of emerging concern at Deer Park Ranch, upstream of and within Lake Washington, and in residential drainage canals entering Lake Washington from the east.
The so...
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