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Brevard commissioners ask FDEP for public meeting on Blue Origin wastewater permit after sustained public opposition
Summary
After hours of public testimony raising environmental and water-quality concerns, the Brevard County commission voted unanimously to request that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection hold a public meeting on Blue Origin's draft permit to discharge to the Indian River Lagoon and to send copies of the request to the legislative delegation and governor.
Brevard County commissioners voted unanimously on Dec. 2 to request that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection hold a public meeting on a draft permit for Blue Origin LLC to discharge industrial/process wastewater to the Indian River Lagoon.
The county introduced the agenda item by reading the published notice for a draft FDEP permit and stressing the county’s limited jurisdiction: "the county has no jurisdiction over the final permitting decision... This first step is...to vote whether we want to ask for a public hearing so many of the people here tonight can also...participate in a public hearing," the chair told the room. The agenda packet language referenced a draft permit permitting discharge described in the packet as 490,000 gallons per day; public testimony noted different figures and raised consistency concerns.
More than two dozen residents, scientists and local advocates testified in opposition, citing consent orders, prior exceedances, PFAS (so-called "forever chemicals"), and the lagoon's ecological sensitivity. "That wastewater should really be called industrial chemicals," Julio Torres said, urging the county to encourage DEP to deny the renewal. Michael Majek of the Indian River Lagoon Roundtable said the county should ask DEP to deny the permit and pressed for stronger management of industrial wash water and water reuse.
Commissioners debated the limits of county authority but largely supported pressing DEP for a public meeting and amplifying public comment. Commissioner Fautner proposed sending the request to the legislative delegation and the governor and suggested the county help identify a large venue (the Simpkins Center in Cocoa) to make it easier for DEP to host the meeting; the board agreed and also instructed staff to post the published notice on the county's Facebook page and to submit the meeting request and compilation of public comments to DEP.
The motion carried unanimously. County staff noted that individual written comments can still be submitted to DEP using instructions in the posted notice; the packet listed the public-comment deadline and submission address.
Next steps: the county will formally submit a request to FDEP asking for a public meeting, send copies to the legislative delegation and governor as directed, include the public comments collected at the Dec. 2 meeting, and post the published notice to the county Facebook page. If DEP denies the request, commissioners discussed potential follow-up options including legislative outreach and further briefings on authorities available under the Indian River Lagoon Act and other applicable statutes.
