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City holds public hearing on CDBG application for wastewater treatment upgrades; staff say facility is over 50% capacity and under consent order
Summary
City staff opened a public hearing for a CDBG application to fund wastewater treatment plant improvements and told the commission the current lagoon system is over 50% capacity; staff said the city is under a DEP consent order and plans an advanced treatment facility with an estimated cost range that has been discussed publicly.
Port St. Joe — City staff opened a public hearing on the city’s application for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to support upgrades to the municipal wastewater treatment facility and outlined the larger capital and regulatory drivers for the project. City staff said the existing lagoon system dates to 1972 and that the city operates under a consent order from the state (referred to as DEP in the meeting). During public comment, staff responded to questions about capacity and timing: a staff speaker said, “10 days ago, we’re currently over 50% of our capacity” in the lagoon system and that the consent order requires expanded or advanced treatment by February 2033. City staff and the consultant team were presented to the commission as actively developing plans: the city has hired consulting engineers (Baskerville was named) and has begun geotechnical work, survey work, and phase planning for advanced treatment. Staff estimated a broad planning-level cost for a new advanced treatment facility in the transcript as “somewhere around 70 to $80,000,000.” The city signaled it is pursuing multiple grant funding sources and listed the CDBG application as one of several avenues; staff emphasized the application requires a public hearing to earn application points. Speakers from the public asked whether current capacity shortfalls would cause operational failures given local housing growth. A staff speaker said the DEP timeline requires the city to complete the work by August 2033 and that the city is working now on design and grant applications; staff said they expect design and planning work to continue while they pursue funding. Why this matters: Staff said that meeting the DEP consent order and accommodating projected development require major capital improvements. The commission opened the CDBG public hearing to gather public input required for the grant application. Staff said they will continue design, geotechnical investigation, and pursue grant funding while coordinating required reporting to state regulators.
