Pollute, pay, repeat. That’s the governing rhythm in Wakulla County, as taxes are paid so developers can pollute. Now, locals are fighting back.
How the Scheme Works
First, the Wakulla County government takes state funding to remove high-polluting residential septic tanks, especially in zones where the groundwater is closely connected to Wakulla Springs. The Department of Environmental Protection pays millions to connect these homes to a clean public sewer system. On paper, this successfully removes nitrogen pollution and protects North Florida’s most treasured spring.
But here’s the catch: After spending millions of state dollars to remove septic tanks, Wakulla’s commissioners allow more septic tanks into the same area. That way, taxpayers, not housing developers, have to pay the steep cost of connecting to the sewer system. The cycle repeats and the water stays dirty.
A New Threat
Earlier this month, the Wakulla commissioners amended their planning rules to allow a new high-polluting subdivision. It would add 88 conventional septic tanks to the bullseye of the County’s most vulnerable groundwater zone. (Wakulla readers may be interested to know that one of the commissioners backing the proposal, Quincee Messersmith, is up for reelection this year.) A scientific group called the Wakulla Springs Alliance estimates that the development would undo about $2.6 million worth of cleanup efforts and add more than 2,000 pounds of excess nitrogen to the water annually. That’s the same as injecting 105 tons of manure into the groundwater every year, not far from Wakulla Springs.
Fighting Back
This weekend, locals are asking for help from Tallahassee residents as they seek intervention from DEP. The agency is expected to issue a recommendation on the 88-home project sometime next week. On social media, springs advocates seem to believe that they can influence the decision but fear that officials haven’t felt enough pressure. Some residents are sharing a handy letter template so you can quickly contact the right decision-makers. People in Wakulla County who have fought to protect the county’s natural environment say that it’s long overdue for residents to get more engaged in protecting their county, and say that the pollute-pay-repeat model is not sustainable for the tax base or Wakulla Springs.
7 Responses
Water quality is so important and I hope voters in Tallahassee are paying attention that the person paying the closest attention to this problem and most engaged with working on water quality issues in this election cycle is city Commissioner Jeremy Matlow.
It is time to get those Crooks OUT.
Problem is, is that we can’t get them all out at one time.
Arrest should be made, lining the pockets of a chosen few. Remove them all
Remove all of them.
For what it’s worth, there’s one commissioner opposing this: Chuck Hess.
Don’t forget that FSU has contaminated the groundwater in the Apalachicola National Forest with radioactive waste right here in Leon County. You probably don’t know about this because local media has largely covered it up. A Settlement Agreement last year between then FSU President John Thrasher representing the FSU Board of Trustees and the United States Forest Service on March 29, 2021 requiring FSU to clean up the contamination has remained largely unreported.
Edward Holifield, M.D.
850.556.1098