No Name residents await decisions, answers
County won’t support FKAA rule changes

With Mayor Sylvia Murphy calling the proposed action a proverbial “thumbing of the nose,” the Monroe Board of County Commissioners Wednesday unanimously agreed not to support the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority in its quest to eliminate one of its operating rules.

That rule currently prohibits the water utility from extending water lines into environmentally sensitive areas, including No Name Key, Middle Torch Key and Big Torch Key, as well as areas of Cudjoe Key, North Key Largo and others.

The commission agreed not to support elimination of that rule on the eve of a vote from the FKAA board on the rule itself.

The FKAA Board of Directors was set to meet Thursday morning at 10 a.m. to decide whether to eliminate the rule.

Residents from all over Monroe County have come out against repealing the rule, arguing that it would affect much more than just the 43 homeowners of No Name Key. Only one homeowner on No Name Key has thus far asked for potable water lines from the utility.

The rule was part of a set of requirements FKAA had to agree to in the early 1980s to borrow money to expand its distribution system from the Farmer’s Home Administration. The rule was required by the US Fish & Wildlife Service to prevent encouraging development in those environmentally sensitive areas.

According to FKAA Executive Director Jim Reynolds, however, their internal legal opinion is that the requirement for the rule disappeared when the loan was paid back by the utility.

USFWS has argued that the rule was meant to be in place in perpetuity for the protection of endangered species and their habitat. The state Department of Community Affairs, which is charged with land use oversight in the Keys because of the designation as an Area of Critical State Concern, has also opined that the elimination of the rule would not be in the best interests of the environment.

Reynolds told commissioners Wednesday that their legal advisors felt as though they shouldn’t be in the argument over whether water can be extended to any areas since the requirement no longer pertains to the utility.

“If a resident wants to jump through all those hoops and is willing to pay for it, why wouldn’t we supply water?” said Reynolds.

Not everyone agrees with that position, however, including the commissioners.

Under the various Interlocal Agreements the county has with FKAA, says Upper Keys activist Ron Miller, “The FKAA does have obligations to the county,” and the protective measures it has in place for environmentally sensitive areas.

He claims the utility has agreed to abide by the county’s comprehensive land use plan through those agreements.

Deb Curley, a Cudjoe Key resident and representative of environmental activist organization Last Stand told commissioners that it seemed unusual that FKAA would come to the commission with its hand out for more funding for Big Coppitt while it contemplated “redlining” all of its environmental protection policies.

FKAA officials say that the county’s land use policies have no effect on its decisions because it is an independent state agency and can run utilities on scarified, established rights-of-way without county approval.

“We must still let them (FKAA Board of Directors) know where we stand on this issue,” said County Commissioner Mario DiGennaro. “They’re going to need to deal with us again down the road.”

Commissioner George Neugent said that the plan to eradicate all of the Aqueduct’s environmental safeguards was a concern for him.

He relied, however, on USFWS to eventually shut the door on both this proposal to extend water to No Name Key and another working its way through the system to extend electricity to No Name Key. The remote island off the northeast shore of Big Pine has never had either.

“Eventually Fish and Wildlife will weigh in on this issue because it affects endangered species,” said Neugent. He has long opined that the USFWS response will ultimately be no.

Reynolds said the FKAA staff doesn’t feel USFWS has the legal authority to say no.

“In an answering letter, they told us if there was a chance to partner with Keys Energy to limit disturbance, we should look into that,” said Reynolds.

The letter also requested studies and coordination activities if the FKAA board decides to go ahead with the extension of water to No Name.

The utility can’t begin the process until the rule is eliminated. Should the board vote not to eliminate the rule, the request will be denied.

Results of the vote weren’t available by presstime Wednesday. The original vote to host a public hearing on the matter, however, passed by a 3-2 margin, and no one was sure right up to Wednesday afternoon how the board might vote on the issue.

Prior to the last vote, USFWS and DCA had not chimed in on the issue, nor had the county commission.

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