SFWMD mulls Sunbreak permit to spread human waste on farm connected to Indian River Lagoon

The South Florida Water Management District has more questions about how Sunbreak Farms would keep partially treated human waste out of canals leading to the Indian River Lagoon, once again delaying a ruling on the company's permit request.

Noting the "high pollutant potential" from spreading so-called "biosolids" on cornfields, the SFWMD asked Sunbreak engineers for more assurances heavy rains won't flush polluted stormwater into nearby canals, according to a Jan. 11 letter.

The district also asked for a better sewage-sludge monitoring system to show "pollution abatement practices proposed in the design are functioning properly."

Sunbreak, a New York-based company, has 90 days to answer the district's questions.

The farm, which is 90 percent in St. Lucie County and 10 percent in Indian River County, needs a district permit to place 80,000 tons of compost on 6,580 acres each year. 

Sunbreak says it wants to fertilize its crops with the compost mixture — 60,000 tons of yard and agricultural waste and 20,000 tons of Class B biosolids. The partially treated sewage sludge can contain high levels of bacteria, heavy metals and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which can spark toxic algae blooms.

But some large-tract owners dump massive and unnecessary amounts to collect disposal fees from municipal wastewater facilities.

More: 'It was like walking on raw sewage,' inspectors said of farm

A primary concern is whether heavy rains would cause sewage-tainted stormwater to run into the adjacent C-25 Canal, which drains 10 miles downstream into Taylor Creek and the Indian River Lagoon in northern Fort Pierce.

"This facility does not discharge to surface waters," Dennis G. Corrick, an attorney representing Sunbreak, wrote in a Dec. 10 letter to the district.

More: Sunbreak would dump biosolids near canal leading to lagoon

Two-foot-tall berms would "provide 100 percent containment" of rain, Corrick wrote, and a system of canals and ditches would send excess water into a 1-square-mile, on-site reservoir.

The district, however, asked for "sufficient analysis" to show the system will work as promised.

DEP permit in hand

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection already has granted a permit to Sunbreak Farms. 

Sunbreak applied for an environmental resource permit from the SFWMD on June 13. The Jan. 11 letter is the third time the district has asked for more information about the company's plans.

More:Two SFWMD board members resign at Gov. Ron DeSantis' request, leaving six holdouts

State law prohibits spreading Class B biosolids on farmland in the Lake Okeechobee and St. Lucie River watersheds, which includes St. Lucie and Martin counties. That shifted the practice north.

Sunbreak contends blending the sludge with composting material and allowing the mixture to "cure" removes all toxins and turns the material into Class AA biosolids, which the state doesn't regulate or track.

More: TCPalm's award-winning "Laying Waste" investigation into biosolids

Class AA biosolids still contain high levels of algae-feeding nitrogen and phosphorus.

Indian River County has imposed a moratorium on the use of Class B biosolids because they're suspected of polluting Blue Cypress Lake, the headwaters of the St. Johns River in western Indian River County.

More: Is Blue Cypress Lake phosphorus pollution from ranch's biosolids?