Paul Steele, a resident speaking during public comments at the Bradford County Board of County Commissioners meeting Aug. 5, 2025, urged the board to require an updated operational plan from Chemours for its Trail Ridge South mine and asked the county to investigate wastewater discharges into Alligator Creek.

Steele said the county-approved operational plan was drafted in 2019 and “there's been many changes in that operation since then,” including, he said, “some unpermitted discharges of wastewater” and movement of a discharge point so part of the mine’s wastewater now flows to Alligator Creek rather than toward Hampton. He warned that company testing has “exceeded the radium limit” in discharge water and that radium “is a radioactive element” with the potential to contaminate nearby homes, naming Country Club Estates and downstream areas such as the city of Starke as places at risk.

“Those changes have included some unpermitted discharges of wastewater,” Steele said, and he recommended the county “ask Chemours to revise this plan and update it.” He also urged county officials to seek clarification specifically on the radium issue.

Steele also raised broader flood-preparedness concerns, saying he does not believe the county is ready for a major rain event because “the waterways are significantly blocked by trees and debris.” He cited a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers–style water management effort he identified as the Edwards Bottom Line project in Sampson City as slowing flows down Alligator Creek and increasing trapped debris risk. Steele warned that trapped debris can lead to severe blockages during storms, referencing past problems during Hurricane Irma.

No county staff or commissioner response addressing Chemours' permit, the radium testing, or any planned follow-up was made on the record at that time. The transcript contains no statement from county environmental staff, the county’s permitting office, or the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in response to Steele’s remarks.

The county’s next steps on this item were not specified during the meeting. Steele requested an updated operational plan and clarification on discharge testing and radium limits; the board did not record a formal direction or vote on the matter during the Aug. 5 meeting.