Brooksville adopts temporary moratorium on new sewer connections amid capacity and infiltration concerns

The City of Brooksville on Sept. 16 adopted Ordinance 9-86, temporarily limiting new wastewater connections as officials work to avoid exceeding the city's permitted discharge and potential fines from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The ordinance establishes a pause on new connections while staff pursues an interconnect with Hernando County, plant design revisions and repairs to reduce infiltration and inflow.

City public works staff and the city attorney told council the plant's usable capacity is lower than earlier reported because stormwater is getting into the sewer system. "We cannot take on any more any more capacity whatsoever where we stand today," Richard Weeks, the city's public works director, said during the meeting. Weeks said staff has found infiltration points that have contributed roughly 200,000 gallons per day and that the city recently purchased a camera crawler to inspect lines and locate additional leaks.

Why it matters: exceeding the permitted discharge could expose the city to FDEP fines and environmental harm, staff said. City documents and staff testimony describe roughly 1,300 allocated equivalent residential units (ERUs) historically on the books, but after enforcing expiration clauses and accounting for infiltration staff estimates the immediately available amount is closer to 800 ERUs. That has left multiple developers and contract purchasers uncertain about projects that had previously received utility service agreements (USAs).

Developers and purchasers, including representatives of the Majestic Oaks project and Brooksville Country Club, said they relied on earlier assurances that a contractual USA would secure long-term service. "We were told we had a utility agreement," David Whisner, a principal in the project, said, asking council to preserve the project's ability to connect if capacity becomes available. Attorney Mary Ratanaruca, representing the developer, said their USA expressly provides for a 50-year enforceable term and asked that the city honor that contractual expectation.

City attorneys and staff said the municipal code contains an expiration clause that states a city's commitment under a USA may expire four years after execution if construction has not begun; staff said many old agreements have lapsed under that rule. The city attorney summarized the code: "After four years from the execution of the utility service agreement, the city's commitment to provide service shall expire as to any uncompleted portion of the project if construction or permit issuance has lapsed," the attorney explained.

What council changed: council added a clarifying amendment to Ordinance 9-86 so the moratorium would lift or permit connections when either an interconnect or plant expansion becomes operational or upon the "permanent elimination of I&I to yield additional capacity." The amendment, moved and seconded during the meeting, passed on a 4-0 roll-call vote.

Staff said two interconnect scenarios are under study with Coastal Engineering and Hernando County: one would send about 661,400 gallons per day to the county and another about 536,000 gallons per day. Weeks said Coastal is revising designs to expand permitted capacity at the Williams Smith reclamation facility from roughly 1.9 million gallons per day toward 3–4 million gallons per day, and the city has applied for a $25 million FDEP grant to cover construction costs.

Council members pressed staff on timing and fairness. Several developers and purchasers asked the city to finalize a standardized utility service agreement and to consider dry-line permitting (construct infrastructure but delay connection) if DEP allows, so projects can proceed with infrastructure work even if a hook-up is deferred.

City staff outlined next steps: continue line inspections with the new crawler, negotiate an interconnect agreement with Hernando County, finalize impact-fee work and a standardized USA, and report back to council. The ordinance as amended directs staff to manage capacity intake and preserves council discretion to approve future connections when legally and operationally feasible.

The council's action: Council amended and adopted Ordinance 9-86 on Sept. 16 (roll call 4-0). The ordinance is effective as adopted; staff said additional implementing materials (draft USA language, timelines and impact-fee work) will return to council for subsequent action.

Quotes (from the meeting): "We cannot take on any more any more capacity whatsoever where we stand today." ' Richard Weeks, Public Works Director. "It specifically states by agreement, contractual agreement, that is enforced for 50 years." ' Mary Ratanaruca, attorney for a developer, on her client's utility service agreement. "After four years from the execution of the utility service agreement, the city's commitment to provide service shall expire..." ' City attorney (paraphrased legal reading).

What comes next: Staff will continue camera-crawler inspections, pursue the Hernando County interconnect and finalize impact-fee calculations and the draft USA that council can use to allocate available capacity in a transparent, legally defensible way. Council and staff said they will return with updates and any additional ordinance or agreement language needed to implement the policy change.