Overview
- A Florida DEP draft renewal would authorize up to 0.467 million gallons per day of treated wastewater and 0.015 million gallons per day of untreated wastewater to a stormwater pond that ultimately drains to the Indian River Lagoon.
- County commissioners voted unanimously to examine legal avenues under the Indian River Lagoon Act rather than immediately request a DEP public meeting on the proposal.
- DEP said the facility uses city drinking water for pressure testing and cooling, that the wastewater does not touch fuel or hazardous materials, and that discharges go to a 9.25-acre retention pond with overflow to a drainage ditch before reaching the lagoon.
- The authorized maximum flow is 490,000 gallons per day, with Blue Origin currently discharging about 40,000 gallons daily, and DEP indicates it plans to issue the permit as drafted unless public comments prompt changes.
- Opposition has grown with roughly 5,000 petition signatures, the permit sits just below a 500,000-gallon-per-day threshold for stricter treatment rules, and DEP previously fined Blue Origin $5,450 for failing to collect required samples.