Subject:
Title
Extension of Temporary Moratorium on New Applications of Biosolids to Lands within Brevard County - Public Hearing.
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Fiscal Impact:
FY 21/22: 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 moratorium on any new applications of biosolids to lands within Brevard County for 365 days.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
The moratorium was initially in response to a blue-green cyanobacteria, Dolichospermum circinale, bloom in Lake Washington in July 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. Additional blooms producing toxic mycrocystins, still below thresholds for human health concerns, were documented in September 2020, March 2021, December 2021, January 2022, and March 2022.
Based on available data at the time of the initial moratorium, largest likely contributors to harmful blooms were nutrients from the land application of biosolids and/or commercial fertilizer on agricultural lands upstream and west of the lake, state water management projects upstream of the lake, or commercial/industrial and residential development and septic systems east of the lake. Additional studies by multiple agencies after the 2019 bloom provide increased evidence that the land application of biosolids is the most significant source of increasing phosphorus concentrations and associated risk of toxic blooms in Lake Washington.
State biosolids rule revisions adopted in 2020 are expected to reduce phosphorus pollution but not prevent it. Funding was provided to the St. Johns River Water Management District for biosolids research on the continuing impacts under the new rule and to inform future rule revisions and potential mitigation measures. Thi...
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