Wakulla needs water, not a gas station
Clean water should be an unquestioned priority, and our county officials should be staunch defenders of our water resources. They should unequivocally oppose developments, such as the S.W. Ga. Oil Sunstop/Inland 16-pump gas station and car wash, which pose threats to our water.
As taxpayers, we deserve officials who prioritize our interests rather than impeding our efforts to protect our water resources.
Wakulla County has a very unique geology. Underground rivers run throughout the county often undetected until they connect with the surface as karst features and springs. Unseen and sometimes unmapped they are everywhere, right under our feet, under our homes and our roadways, just below a layer of porous lime rock and unconfined sand. Many, if not all of these underground rivers find their way to Wakulla Springs and Spring Creek and eventually the Gulf. These underground rivers are the life blood of Wakulla County providing drinking water, along with water for recreation, commercial fishing, and our abundant wildlife. This is the backdrop for a group of scientists and citizens determined to protect it, and County Administrator David Edwards directing staff and an engineering firm to write minimal new springs protection regulations. Regulations that offer some protection but are still weak enough to allow S.W. Ga Oil Co. to build a Sunstop/Inland 16-pump gas station and car wash with in-ground fuel tanks atop a well-documented cave system that leads directly to Wakulla Springs.
Let’s look back a couple of years to see a pattern. The county wanted everyone to think that a proposed new wastewater treatment facility built in a flood zone, with wetlands and karst features such as sinkholes, was also a good idea. It would have discharged into Spring Creek and Wakulla Springs. Using their “experts” they tried to justify the project that was started with a misrepresented purchase, using taxpayer dollars, from a former commissioner. It seemed that some county officials were so eager to keep up with the booming housing market and desperately needed more sewer capacity and it had to go somewhere, anywhere. With backlash from citizens, that poorly conceived plan was finally stopped.
Now, the county has spent about a year drafting these new springs protection regulations along with their hand-picked engineering firm, Terracon. Behind closed doors and with no outside input, they drafted their minimal new springs protection regulations. Terracon primarily mimicked existing state regulations for gas stations, adding a few more stringent requirements but still without any real protections for the cave systems that provide water to the springs. Their first draft looked like a manual for gas stations and never once even mentioned “caves” much less setbacks. Amazingly, they say that their new regulations were written to “protect our springs” but would still allow the S.W. Ga. Oil Sunstop/Inland 16 pump gas station and car wash with in-ground fuel tanks atop Chips Hole Cave at Bloxham Cutoff.
Then, at the June 5 Board of County Commission meeting, County Administrator David Edwards dropped the bombshell news that their new springs protection regulations were basically worthless. It turns out that apparently nobody, not Edwards, not county staff, not the Terracon experts, knew about state preemptions. Preemptions, according to Edwards interpretation, meant that our new regulations must basically mirror state regulations and cannot be more stringent. So now it seems that the plan is to throw everything out on July 17, their next meeting, and have virtually nothing but the state’s minimal regulations to protect our caves and springs and drinking water.
Since that June 5 BOCC meeting and after a great deal of research, with members of Wakulla Springs Alliance, Friends of Wakulla Springs and Clean Water Wakulla, (the three groups that were initially told would help draft the new regulations- but were then not included) with help from state Department of Environmental Protection and Florida Geological Survey, a completely different picture of state preemptions has emerged. State preemptions, as it turns out only apply to the part of the regulations that have already been addressed by the state. For example, the state regs don’t address setbacks, so county regulations can include setbacks, according to DEP. The preemption only applies to storage tank design, registration, financial assurance, inspection and reporting requirements not location. Setting setbacks from karst features (sinkholes, swallets, etc.) and/or caves are location/land use requirements and are not preempted. FGS also provided a list of counties that currently have setbacks from springs and caves in their regulations. Setbacks, like how far to put a gas station from a spring or cave are critical to protecting our drinking water. Edwards publicly stated that he supports setbacks, his consistent efforts to avoid them seem to tell another story.
Numerous requests for a community forum to discuss springs regulations have been ignored by the county. On Wednesday, June 14 the first community forum took place anyway. It was not sponsored by the county, it was sponsored by Wakulla Springs Alliance, Friends of Wakulla Springs and Clean Water Wakulla. About 60 citizens showed up and were finally heard. It was a productive meeting providing direction and new ideas.
As a result of that meeting, members of Wakulla Springs Alliance, Friends of Wakulla Springs and Clean Water Wakulla, and citizen volunteers, have joined forces to rewrite the Wakulla County Springs Protection Regulations. This committee is made up of experts, real experts, citizen volunteers, scientists, academics, a retired DEP official and retired attorneys. These new springs protection regulations should meet the guidelines set forth by DEP, avoid preemptions, and will include protections for our springs.
It’s clear to everyone watching this drama unfold that some Wakulla County officials care more about full throttle development without red tape that includes having another mega gas station and car wash, than they do about protecting our drinking water and Wakulla Springs. Gas stations contaminate their surroundings, it can’t be helped. Gas stations can be relocated, Wakulla Springs cannot. Why would anyone, much less county officials, be willing to risk fuel and daily runoff getting into our drinking water or risk destroying Wakulla Springs, one of the greatest natural treasures on earth? It’s completely irresponsible. Clean water should not be something citizens have to fight for. Instead, our county officials should be fighting to stop developments like S.W. Ga. Oil has planned, that threaten our water, instead of fighting the citizens (taxpayers) trying to protect our water. The same taxpayers that pay their salaries.
If you care about Wakulla Springs and your drinking water, join the Wakulla Springs Alliance, Friends of Wakulla Springs, and Clean Water Wakulla who are hosting a second workshop on July 11 at the Wakulla Environment Institute from 6 to 8 p.m. Then, on July 17, during the Board of County Commission meeting at 5 p.m., the commissioners will decide whether or not to prioritize the protection of our water resources. They will have the completed citizen-drafted regulations and their own version to consider before voting.
This is their opportunity to genuinely protect “Wakulla County, the natural place to be,” as they often promote it. Alternatively, they can once again make excuses and cater to the wishes of developers, disregarding the interests of everyone else. Be sure to attend the July 17 BOCC meeting to see where their priorities lie.
David Damon
Crawfordville