Concerns arise over Milton plan to discharge contaminants near drinking water wells

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has added its voice to those of water utilities and conservationists in expressing concerns about the level of dangerous contaminants known as forever chemicals, or PFAS , the city of Milton could potentially be discharging into the ground within the boundaries of the Santa Rosa County's Wellfield Protection District.

In a letter dated Aug. 8, FDEP Northwest Florida Director Elizabeth Orr notified City Manager Randy Jorgenson that based on the agency's calculations, when Milton begins discharging effluent at its spray fields on Jeff Ates Road, "several PFAS compounds" will be deposited onto the ground in concentrations exceeding EPA standards for drinking water.

Notification to the city followed a review of analytical data related to PFAS chemicals collected for the Naval Air Station Whiting Field lift station, the Milton Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) influent and the Milton WWTP effluent, the letter said.

One chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, would be introduced into the environment at 35 times the levels deemed safe for drinking water, FDEP research showed.

The introduction of PFAS/PFOA to the environment is a concern for many because the East Milton Wellfield Protection District was created specifically to protect the freshwater wells that supply potable water to more than half of Santa Rosa County's 200,000 citizens.

It was established in 2014 to safeguard the waters of the vulnerable Sand and Gravel Aquifer in an area bounded on the south by U.S. 90 and the west by State Road 87. Two utilities, Fairpoint Regional Utility System and East Milton Water System, operate approximately 12 wells within the Wellfield Protection District.

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In a study he titled "The Critical Importance of the Sand and Gravel Aquifer," geologist Gary Eichler discussed at length the risks facing the underground water system. He reported that the aquifer recharges itself directly from rainfall, which makes it susceptible to contamination from ground sources.

"Not only does rainfall recharge the aquifer, but any and all contamination that occurs at or near the surface also makes its way to the Sand and Gravel Aquifer," Eichler wrote. "Once introduced into the aquifer, contamination flows naturally to the south and/or is diverted and captured by a pumping well."

PFAS/PFOS are chemicals used in the manufacture of many household items, including, according to the city email, such things as dental floss, nonstick cookware and waterproof clothing. They are called forever chemicals because they take so long to break down. They are suspected to be carcinogenic and can be deadly when ingested in large quantities.

FDEP's notification that its research had turned up several PFAS compounds being transported with raw sewage or effluent directly contradicted information the city had provided in a letter drafted in April and sent to the heads of two local water utilities. That letter said there would be no dangerous levels of PFAS being released at the selected spray field sites, including the 39 acres within the boundaries of the East Milton Area Wellfield Protection District .

“No PFAS chemicals are above EPA standards, and most were undetectable, from the Whiting Field Lift Station," the city's April 30 letter to The Midway Water System and East Milton Water System boards of directors said. “We exceeded all standards with raw sewage from NAS Whiting Field, and the effluent leaving our current wastewater treatmentplant.”

FDEP, in turn, informed the city it had miscalculated in determining the water it would be sending to the spray fields was free of forever chemicals.

"We wanted to highlight a conversion error that appears to have led the city to believe that (its) data showed concentrations below the drinking water maximum contaminant level," the letter to Jorgenson said. "The concentrations of the PFAS compounds were provided by the laboratory in micrograms per liter, not nanograms per liter."

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When the concentrations are converted from micrograms to nanograms, they are above the drinking water MCL, the letter said. The drinking water MCL was exceeded for three PFAS compounds from Whiting Field and was significantly exceeded for one PFAS compound from the WWTP influent and effluent sample.

City officials, answering an inquiry from the Pensacola News Journal with an email from public information officer Bethany Anderson, termed the mathematical error on its part "technical" in nature and one that did not indicate the city had violated regulations. Nor did it confirm, the city email said, that "high levels" of PFAS are entering or are at risk of entering the ground in Santa Rosa County.

The city's first waste water treatment priority, the email said, is halting the flow of PFAS laden effluent directly into the Blackwater River, which is occurring at the existing Milton plant at rate of about 2 million gallons a day.

While the release stated "it is important to understand that any PFAS/PFOA present in our system originated before reaching our treatment facilities," it also said Milton officials are fully committed to adhering to all current regulations regarding PFAS "and will comply with any future standards for PFAS/PFOA in treated effluent once they are established and we are given a standard."

In March the city celebrated the announcement that the city had received a permit from FDEP that would allow it to proceed with the discharge of treated waste water on the spray fields.

"The DEP has thoroughly reviewed and approved the location of our spray field, confirming that it meets all applicable state regulations and standards," the city email said.

One portion of the DEP permit includes fine print notifying the city it, and not FDEP, will be liable for any harm that befalls people or the environment through operation of its spray fields.

"This permit does not relieve the permittee from liability and penalties for harm or injury to human health or welfare, animal or plant life, or property caused by the construction or operation of this permitted source," the permit states. "Nor does it allow the permittee to cause pollution in contravention of Florida Statues and Department rules."

At Tuesday's Milton City Council meeting members voted to spend $105,000 to allow the engineering firm of Baskerville Donovan to begin design work and obtain permitting for a 80 acre parcel of land just north of the land presently being developed for the spray fields so that it can build more.

The new spray field construction itself is expected to cost $1.4 million.

At the meeting, Coopers Basin resident Pamela Mitchell asked acting Milton City Manager Ed Spears if obtaining the new acreage, which is north of the Wellfield Protection District and south of the Blackwater River, would allow the city to alter its plans and build spray fields outside of the Wellfield Protection District. Spears told her no, that the entire 200 plus acres the city will own in the area will be utilized as spray fields.

"Y'all are going to be spraying PFAS and PFOA on top of the aquifer that supplies water to 51% of Santa Rosa County," Mitchell told the council.

Whatever the PFAS numbers might be when the spray fields do become operational, there is nothing technically blocking the city from moving forward with its plans to utilize the spray fields. At this time there are no existing EPA standards for PFAS amounts that can be carried in raw sewage or waste water effluent.

In a letter written ahead of the DEP notifying Milton officials of its findings, Jeff Crigler, executive director of the Fairpoint Regional Utility System, also questioned the city's determination that PFAS levels were indistinguishable in the effluent it plans to ship to its spray field sites.

The letter also seemed to question the measurement standards used to justify the city's conclusions.

"It is contrary to the intent of the Wellfield Protection Area to discharge known contaminants that are likely to affect the drinking water of a significant portion of the Santa Rosa County population ," Crigler said. "Adding what is a known, regulated contaminant at those levels should be either discouraged, or at the very least, studied in much greater detail."

Save Our Blackwater and Milton Concerned Citizens, two organizations that have long opposed the planned siting of a proposed new Milton Wastewater Treatment Plant and questioned the integrity of the city officials pushing to get it built, addressed City Council members in a letter after the FDEP findings became known.

"Save Blackwater River has been for three years asking the council to take action to protect and preserve our river.  We have now moved past just that battle and must address the future of the drinking water of Santa Rosa County," the letter said. "Your city manager has told you and the water boards repeatedly that there is nothing to fear. The city of Milton’s tests and data show nothing to worry about. As our organizations have shown over and over, this is not the truth. Now the FDEP letter proves that."

The letter calls on members to stand up and assume the responsibility given them by voters and act to halt waste water discharges within the Wellfield Protection District.

"You have the ability, the vote, the voice to make a difference. All you have to do is to direct your city manager to move the spray fields from the 39 acres to some of the land that the city has already purchased," the letter said. "This is not a political issue. This is an environmental and a public protection issue."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Concerns arise over Milton plan to discharge contaminants near drinking water wells