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Suit filed over sewage plant
By JULIE HAUSERMAN, Times Staff Writer TALLAHASSEE -- During the height of oyster season, flat boats dot the surface of Apalachicola Bay, south of Florida's Capitol. It is considered one of the cleanest bays in the southeastern United States, home to 90 percent of the oysters sold in Florida. But at the quaint fishing town of Apalachicola, a sewer plant dumps into a creek leading into the seafood-rich bay. The sewer plant's discharge has been an environmental problem for years. Now, it's become a federal case. An environmental group called Apalachicola Bay and River Keeper has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, saying the sewer plant is violating the Clean Water Act. "It's been a continuous, non-stop, 30-year violation," said David Guest of Earthjustice Legal Defense, the law firm representing the river keepers' group. The state has shut down oyster beds repeatedly in recent years due to Red Tide, a toxic algae bloom that infects shellfish. The group says the extra nutrients that come into the bay from the sewer plant make the Red Tide worse. "Since they are harvesting shellfish there, and obviously that's the heart of Apalachicola, it's a serious problem," said Paul Johnson, who works with an environmental group that monitors the Big Bend coast, called the Apalachee Ecological Conservancy. "One outbreak of a problem related to oysters doesn't just affect Apalachicola, it affects the whole gulf coast." Over the years, the Legislature has funneled millions into Apalachicola to upgrade its sewage treatment plant. The town, with a population of 2,500, has a new $3-million plant, said Apalachicola Mayor Alan Pierce. The city also put in new pipes and plans to buy land so it can spray treated sewage on land instead of pumping it into the water. "We feel we're being picked on," Pierce said. "We are moving with as much speed as we can, for being a small community with numerous problems. They are not happy at how fast we're moving, I guess." The environmental group also is alarmed because the state Department of Environmental Protection is considering taking the Apalachicola River and Bay off an official list of "impaired waters," making it harder to get state and federal help to protect the resources there.
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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