WOW!! This is such a rare piece of news that we cannot help but push it along.
The DEP has actually fined some developers for wrongdoing.
Emboldened, perhaps, by mother-figure DEP, the Northwest Florida Water Management District also got in the act by levying fines.
Exciting news indeed.
Read the original article here in the Pensacola News Journal.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
SANTA-ROSA
The Northwest Florida Water Management District has also fined Cornelison $21,000 for failing to obtain an Environmental Resource Permit before initiating clearing of his property and also for failing to maintain appropriate erosion controls and adversely impacting a wetland area.
Hanley Holdings has been fined $15,000 by the same agency for violations of the Florida Administrative Code. The company headed by Walker had failed to obtain a required environmental resource permit before initiating development activities.
Stormwater permits for both sites have now been obtained.
Because activities at the two sites caused impacts to Mulat Bayou, the proposed consent orders also include restoration requirements. Walker and Cornelison will have 60 days following execution of the consent order to “assess all drainage paths contributing sediment to the bayou.”
“Once DEP approves the assessment, the parties will have 15 days to submit a restoration plan and 120 days to complete the required work,” the email said.
The orders also establish penalties ranging from $3,000 to $7,000 for any future turbidity violations.
