No Name sewer project back to begining with vote
By Steve EstesResidents of No Name Key are no closer today than they were a year ago to having solid knowledge of what the state’s wastewater mandate means to them in terms of dollars.
Prior to the elections last year, the then-seated county commission rushed through a series of actions that placed No Name Key in a hot-spot designation that would receive central sewer systems, although the type of that system was unknown.
Along with that designation, the previous commission also rushed through a series of land use changes that would have allowed for the electrification of the island. Currently, every home on No Name Key is powered by either a solar array or a generator, or combination of both.
The state Department of Community Affairs rejected a land development regulation change last month that would have allowed electrification of the island in preparation for a central sewer system and the county agreed not to challenge that rejection.
Monday, the Board of County Commissioners tabled an item that would have changed the comprehensive land use plan until at least July to allow development of central sewer systems and electrification.
The BOCC tabled the item because members said they didn’t have enough information about what type of wastewater collection system would be the most cost effective for No Name Key, and aren’t willing to commit to a system that might cost double what other areas cost while those areas pay the same amount in development fees.
And Wednesday, the BOCC took the final step and told the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority to pull No Name Key from the hot-spot designation in the updated master plan until they have that additional information.
What that does is return No Name Key to the status it enjoyed a year ago—not knowing what would happen with the future of wastewater collection on the island.
The battle over wastewater and the concurrent battle to electrify the island as a result have split the small island community off the northeast shore of Big Pine, with 15 property owners vowing not to support electrification of the island, and all but four of the other 28 coming down on the side of both central sewers and electrification.
Alicia Putney, one of the leaders of the Solar Community of No Name Key, has been particularly vocal in her opposition to electrification.
“Our group supports meeting the state mandate for upgraded wastewater treatment,” said Putney. “We do not support the extension of commercial power and will not financially support it.”
“We can make this (upgraded wastewater treatment standards) work within the parameters of the current regulations in existence on No Name Key,” said Putney. “And we should. It saddens me that we have continued to push this issue in the face of science that doesn’t support it, and based on information that we all know now is not accurate.”
The proponents of power and central systems have consistently told the BOCC that No Name Key was a hotspot for water quality degradation in an Environmental Protection Agency report in the mid 1990s, and said that made it a hotspot for wastewater upgrades as well that was just overlooked by the county when it adopted the original wastewater master plan in 2000.
“The criteria for a sewer hotspot was completely different,” said Putney. “The sewer master plan took into account the distance of the area from a collector pipe, the density of the subdivision and the cost to do the project, among other things.”
Jim Newton, president of the No Name Key Property Owners Association, said his group, which has championed central sewers and electrification, said the mission statement of the organization is simple.
“We support central sewer systems for No Name Key,” said Newton. “We want the county to provide the most cost-effective sewer treatment system for No Name Key that is possible. Our goal is to meet the 2010 state mandate.”
“This (No Name Key) is a decision that can’t be made until we have the facts. We don’t have those facts yet,” said Mayor George Neugent.
District Three Commissioner Heather Carruthers asked Newton if the county found, during the course of studies over the next few months, that on-site systems were indeed the best solution for No Name Key, would the association support those, and Newton referred back to the group’s mission statement.
“Whether we support the land use change or not, we are still waiting for the results of the FKAA study,” said Carruthers.
FKAA has said they will be researching No Name Key options in the next few months, and will try to host a public workshop on the question before the seasonal residents leave.
“It is my opinion that we as a collective body have spent far too much time and money to do the nearly impossible—bring central sewers to NO Name Key,” said District Five Commissioner Sylvia Murphy. “What I would like to do is ask the Department of Protection and DCA to push back the No Name Key deadline for the mandate until we have everything else finished, and then we look hard at that one. Those 43 homes will make no difference in the long run to our near-shore water quality.”
The courts have opined several times that the county has no constitutional duty to provide power to No Name Key, said Neugent, “But we have an obligation to work with those folks to provide upgraded wastewater systems.”
FKAA Executive Director Jim Reynolds said the agency is “Not assuming any longer that No Name Key will automatically be part of the regional system. For one thing, the power cost has gone way up, and who pays for it has to be resolved.”
“We intend to look at all options for No Name Key, including those that don’t require power or require little power,” said Reynolds.
Reynolds said he has also been told by the Department of Health, which regulates residential wastewater treatment, that they wish the FKAA to focus on the other 9,500 properties that need to meet 2010 standards before they focus so much time and effort on No Name Key.
Before Wednesday’s vote that approved the updated sewer master plan, areas that were labeled cold spots, or those that wouldn’t get central pipes, could rely on that information to install an on-site system that meets the DOH guidelines and be done with it, according to county officials. There was no one available to ask whether Wednesday’s vote changed that option as of presstime.
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Dear Commission:
We can provide an evaluation for power supply options and full complement of onsite or central treatment options. Please e-mail me. We are very familar with Big Pine and No Name Keys and would appreciate an opportunity to offer help based on over 35 years in onsite ww and central design.
Sincerely,
Doug Warnat, PE
Florida PE Reg. No. 37692
Give No Name Key central sewers and utilities.
Why all this insanity over giving them what everyone else has or will have soon. Time to move No Name Key into the 21st century! What happened to fair representation? Commissioner Murphy should not hold public office. She insulted every property owner when she said the folks of No Name Key do not count, they were wasting to much of staff and Board time asking for central sewers. Taxpayers should not have to plead for the Commissioners to do what the State has already mandated they do. Isn’t Monroe County part of America anymore?
Heather
I have been a registered voter in Monroe County and a resident of No Name Key for over 15 years. The residents of NNK deserve the same public entitlements (ie. clean water, clean air etc.) that the rest of Monroe County residents enjoy. We are taxpayers too. The majority of NNK residents are willing to pay for this public service. Not at the over inflated guess-timates provided by Mayor Neugent et al., but at the scientifically based estimates (including systems in operation within the State of Florida) paid for by proponents of the central sewer project. The apathy exhibited by certain county politicians for this public works project is apparently based on a future claim to have saved the taxpayers money at re-election time. It’s time these people are voted out. Remember, the residents that are opponents of central sewers are in the minority.
We would have been chilling in the A/C flushing our brand new toilets and in front of our TV’s drinking our favorite brew if I got elected. Now you’ve got four idiots and one man with his hands tied at the BOCC. I guess every body listened to Becker and Mr. Estes. OH WELL!!!!