St. Petersburg Facing Sewage-Related Lawsuit

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The City of St. Petersburg’s sewage woes may soon get worse. Several environmental groups have announced their intention to sue under the federal Clean Water Act. The 60-day notice of intent comes on the heels of the city releasing about 150 million gallons of sewage into Tampa Bay following Hurricane Hermine’s pass through the area.

The notice, filed Thursday, Sept. 29 comes from several environmental groups: Suncoast Waterkeeper, Our Children’s Earth Foundation and the Ecological Rights Foundation.

“St. Petersburg’s recent extraordinarily large sewage discharges to Tampa Bay have caused serious human health risks and environmental damage,” a media release issued by the organizations alleges.

St. Petersburg has faced issues with its wastewater treatment plants being unable to keep up with heavy rain events for some time. The capacity issues have drawn heavy fire as has the city's decision to close down a treatment plant without first increasing capacity elsewhere. A whistleblower came forward saying a recent spill from the Northwest treatment plant, also related to Hurricane Hermine, was not as clean as city officials said. That spill involved 58 million gallons of sewage, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

“Public safety and the environment is suspected to be possibly in danger due to the sewer (sic) spills produced by the Albert Whitted … and Northwest spills,” the Times quoted Askew as saying.

The three environmental groups are seeking action, not monetary damages, Justin Bloom, executive director of Suncoast Waterkeeper told Patch.

“We are not seeking to penalize the city nor would we be seeking financial damages; however, in addition to repairing and upgrading their sewage system, we may press for the city to fund environmental mitigation projects to offset some of the damage done by the discharges and we want residents to have a hand in ensuring these projects are well designed, meet community needs, and are implemented.”

Suncoast Waterkeeper is a nonprofit organization that draws members from all over Tampa Bay. The organization is dedicated to protecting and restoring Florida’s waterways.

The impending lawsuit will be filed in the U.S. federal court system, Bloom said.

Other communities in Pinellas County experienced similar sewage spills following Hermine’s pass by the area. St. Petersburg, however, has a problem that is “particularly acute,” Bloom said. “Hence, we are focusing first on St. Pete, but hope to stimulate improvements throughout the region.”

The city of St. Petersburg did not respond to a request for comment.

Read the full press release here.

Photo via the city of St. Petersburg’s Facebook page