Milton, FL has been enduring pollution from its wastewater plant for decades. Wastewater goes through the city’s treatment plant, which removes solids, chemicals and other impurities, leaving effluent that is discharged directly into the Blackwater River, one of the only remaining pristine sand bottom rivers in the U.S. The mission of Milton’s Concerned Citizens is to push for a more sophisticated treatment plant solution, in a different location to keep the Blackwater River safe and provide reusable water for the fastest-growing county in Florida, Santa Rosa. Milton faces two problems. The first is complying with a consent decree by the Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection to remove the effluent from the river by 2025, which has been ignored. The second is the location of a new plant that is ill-conceived and puts Cooper’s Basin equally at risk as the Blackwater River.
The location of the sewage plant also affects more than the Blackwater by being in a FEMA flood zone. It flooded in Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and again in 2014. Despite the risks and urgency, by early 2024 a former administrator with a criminal record had been reinstated, there were several unfavorable replacements in city council, and it was learned that total city council salaries were more than their budget, likely explaining the lack of sewer funds. Nothing had been done to meet the 2025 deadline to remove effluent. In a move that initially seemed good, the city developed a new sewage disposal plan, but it included an unacceptable storage tank and open storage pond on the slopes of the Blackwater. In a clear step backward, the city proclaimed that the budget would need to be cut. The way forward has been difficult, but Milton’s Concerned Citizens have the support of Milton’s mayor, the Save Blackwater River! organization, and their own 2,000+ members, and they are keeping up the fight.
For more information:
Proposed sewer treatment plant near Blackwater River ignites heated debate – WEAR-TV, October 2022
City of Milton addresses concerns over new wastewater treatment facility – 3WEAR-TV, May 2021
Contact
Pam Mitchell
Social Media
Climate Impacts
Air Pollution, Erosion-Subsidence, Flooding, Heat, Hurricanes/Tropical Storms, Sea Level Rise, Water Contamination, Wildfires
Strategies
Community Farm/Gardens, Community Land Trusts/Land Conservation, Fighting Industrial Contamination, Halting Bad Development, Policy Reform
501c3 Tax Deductible
No
Accepting Donations
No