Local News

• Feb 17, 2008 12:00 pm US/Eastern
• Digg | Facebook | E-mail

  Close WindowE-mail This Page

  State May Ban Dumping Waste Water In Ocean

  Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

  ---

  • Recipient E-mail:* 
  • • Your Name:* 
    • Your E-mail:* 
  • Add a Message:
  •   Send me a copy of this e-mail.

  • Type the characters in this picture:* Click here to refresh with new letters

  ---

  The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

  Send E-mail

  | Print

State May Ban Dumping Waste Water In Ocean

TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) ― Looking to the future, state lawmakers will consider a proposal this week that would ban cities or counties from dumping millions of gallons of treated sewage a day into the Atlantic Ocean.

Currently, Miami Dade, Broward and south Palm Beach counties are the only municipalities in the state that pump treated waste water into the ocean; collectively about 300 million gallons a day.

Tuesday, the state Senate's environmental committee will review draft legislation that would give the three counties a decade to upgrade their treatment facilities from minimal to advanced treatment. If the measure is approved, CBS4 news partners at the Miami Herald report it would end ocean discharges by 2025.

Governor Charlie Crist and state regulators applaud the push and side with environmentalists, divers and some scientists who believe that treated sewage has already damaged reefs, marine life and beaches.

Miami Dade and Broward counties have obstinately opposed earlier proposals to end ocean dumping saying it would be too costly and there is no hard evidence that the treated sewage has had an ill effect on either the marine life or coral reefs.

The proposal, which will undergo debate this week, bans any new ocean outfall pipes statewide, caps ocean dumping at its current levels and establishes a 2018 deadline to install advanced treatment systems. In the following 7 years, the pipes would be shutdown for regular use and could only be used as emergency back ups for a limited time basis.

Miami-Dade is already committed to $1.4 billion in projects that would recycle and reuse 40 percent of its wastewater over the next 20 years. The county's Water and Sewage Department said the proposal is approved, they would have to spend more than $2 billion more to meet the states demand, the cost of which would be passed on to customers who could see their water bills double.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)