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NRAC asks staff to modernize county pollution-control standard written in 1971
Summary
Committee instructed staff to update an outdated county pollution-control minimum standard so enforcement uses modern code-enforcement processes rather than convening the county council as a Pollution Control Board.
NRAC on Aug. 5 directed staff to modernize Volusia County’s pollution-control minimum standard, a separate county code provision that staff said dates from 1971 and is not part of the Chapter 50 land-development environmental minimum standards.
"This was written in 1971," said Ginger Adair, a staff presenter, describing the pollution-control language and noting its procedural antiquity. Adair said the ordinance currently authorizes the environmental management director to convene the county council as a Pollution Control Board for pollution incidents, a requirement staff said has not been used in practice.
Adair described the practical enforcement uses of the standard: inspecting private wastewater-treatment plants, responding to complaints about illicit discharges or solid-waste handling, and taking initial local action when state response times are slow. "We do often get a complaint about somebody dumping paint down a stormwater grate...this pollution control ordinance gives us the authority to investigate and potentially take an enforcement action," she said.
NRAC unanimously approved a motion from Wendy Anderson asking staff to prepare updated language that reflects modern enforcement procedures (noting it is not tied to development permits and therefore not subject to SB 180 in the same way as land-development standards).
Ending: Staff will prepare draft revisions that modernize references and process steps and will present those drafts to NRAC for review.
