Burger King in Mary Esther cited for sewage spill
MARY ESTHER — Two warning notices have been issued to a Burger King in Mary Esther following the discovery of an on-site sewage leak.
A report filed with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection stated it appeared the sewage had been seeping into a storm drain “for some time” and there was some concern a wetland area may have been impacted.
The city has issued a violation notice and a notice of illicit discharge to Burger King management, according to Robert Herbstreith, Mary Esther’s code compliance officer.
City officials were notified of the spill about 8 a.m., Tuesday and arrived at the restaurant at approximately 8:15 a.m., said Roger Batts of Jacobs Engineering, whose name was listed on the report.
Clean up was done at the impacted storm drain and others nearby, Herbstreith said. The investigation into the leak was conducted in conjunction with DEP and the Okaloosa County branch of the Florida Department of Health.
Analysis of tests taken to determine whether any of the raw sewage had run into the wetland area between Christobal Road and Mary Esther cutoff was expected to be completed between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday, officials said.
The leak occurred after a lateral line running from the Burger King bathrooms to an outdoor holding tank backed up. It escaped to the outdoors through a “clean out” pipe and ran into the storm drain, the report said.
Though the report to DEP said “staff opened up the clean out” instead of calling a plumber, Herbstreith said no compelling evidence has been found indicating Burger King officials knew the leak was occurring.
The cap covering the clean out valve had not been removed, but had a hole in it that allowed the sewage to escape, he said.
“This is not the first time this has happened there in the last couple of years,” Herbstreith said.
Burger King has been ordered to have the sewage system repaired and could face fines for failing to do so, Herbstreith said.