Talquin Plans to Continue Using Sewage Treatment Facility at Oyster Bay

Wakulla County has been meeting with Talquin since August 2006 concerning the sewage treatment facility on Cut-Off Road (the dirt road that connects Shell Point Road to Spring Creek Highway).  Talquin had agreed to discontinue the use of this treatment facility and to connect to the Wakulla County Sewage Treatment System.

However, I recently received a copy of a letter from DEP to Talquin concerning their application to expand and upgrade the existing system at Oyster Bay (on Cut-Off Road), rather than working with Wakulla County to connect to their Sewage Treatment System.  This came as a surprise to the Wakulla County Government and those of us who were under the impression that Talquin was going to close this facility.

I have sent the a letter (SEE COPY BELOW) to the General Manager of Talquin and all of the Board Members.   I have also attached the incoming letter from DEP which discusses this application.  (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LETTER FROM DEP.)

I have also attached a list of the Talquin Officers (SEE BELOW).

I think we need to get all the community support and media coverage to stop this expansion.  We all want to protect the precious coastal waters and the last thing we need is for a Sewage Treatment Facility in the middle of the Refuge and also adjoining wetlands.

If you have a neighborhood association, please see if they will send in letters to Talquin, the County Administrator, and DEP, the Wakulla News, Wakulla.com, and the Tallahassee Democrat.

If you belong to an association, such as the Chamber of Commerce, CCOW, Wakulla Watershed Coalition, Garden Club, Rotary Club, Board of Realtors, etc, please also see if they will join in with us on this effort.

Please forward copies of any of your correspondence so I know what we are sending in.

I thank you all for your assistance.

Ron Piasecki
Shell Point, FL

LETTER FROM RON PIASECKI TO TALQUIN

January 23, 2008

Mr. John D. Hewa
General Manager
Talquin Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Post Office Box 1679
Quincy, FL 32353-1679

Ref:  DEP Application FLA010237-004-DW2P/NR  Oyster Bay Estates Sewage Treatment Facility

Dear Mr. Hewa,

I am writing this letter as a resident of Shell Point, Florida and also a member of the Talquin Coop.

I am also a member of the Wakulla Watershed Coalition Board of Directors and for the residents of Shell Point and Wakulla County.

Wakulla County has made great strides in the last few years on improving the quality of life and protection of our very valuable environmental assets.  We are blessed with Wakulla Springs and the Ochlockonee River state parks, the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, and several federal and state forests.  One of the most important assets is Apalachee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.  Not only do we depend on this water body to support our economy, but to provide enjoyment to the many visitors and residents who rely on this great asset for tourism, fishing, swimming, and overall recreational uses.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTO GALLERY OF SEWAGE PLANT AND NEARBY WATER.  

To protect all of the above assets the Wakulla County citizens and the County and State Governments have passed restrictive ordinances and policies.  In the most recent years the Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners passed:  Water quality ordinances requiring the use of Advanced Treatment Septic Systems for all new construction in the county, and a Wetlands Ordinance providing for strict setback building requirements from wetlands.

Water within a few hundred feet of plant.		Water within a few hundred feet of plant.

In addition, Wakulla County joined with several organizations, including the State Attorney General, in a lawsuit against the City of Tallahassee to have them make major improvements in their sewage treatment system and operation of their major sprayfield on Tram Road.  The main thrust of this action was to stop the high levels of nitrates that were entering the Wakulla Watershed, degrading the water quality at Wakulla Spring.  This lawsuit was very successful in that the City of Tallahassee has agreed to spend over $160 million in improvements to its system.

As a result of all of these efforts, the Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners in 2006 decided that Wakulla County must also upgrade its own sewage treatment system to meet the highest treatment levels available.  All of this is to protect the very valuable resources mentioned above.

It was with this in mind that in the summer of 2006, as Chairman of the Wakulla County Citizens Infrastructure Committee, I met with Acting County Administrator Joe Blanchard and discussed the problems of Live Oak Island, Shell Point, Oyster Bay and Spring Creek.  These are all Coastal locations, many which are still on basic septic systems.  The State Dept. of Health has repeatedly indicated that the beaches of Shell Point are frequently recommended for closing because of high levels of fecal material in the water.

This has been determined to be of both avian and human sources.  During wet times, the tests have indicated this to be human fecal material caused either by high water levels or heavy rains.  During Hurricane Dennis in 2005, this whole coastal area was covered by 6-12 feet of water.  The septic systems overflowed and the Talquin Oyster Bay Sewage Treatment Facility suffered from this storm.

In the meeting with Administrator Blanchard, it was agreed that I would contact Talquin Electric and arrange a meeting between that company and the Wakulla County staff.

The first meeting was held in August 2006.  At this meeting it was made very clear by me and the County that we would require all Sewage Treatment Providers in Wakulla County to meet the highest levels of treatment possible.  In addition, we also indicated that we must change all of the coastal communities mentioned above that remain on septic systems to a sewer system.

We also pointed out how concerned we were with Talquin having its sewage treatment facility located within the St. Marks National Refuge and adjoining very sensitive wetlands.  (I have attached a picture from Google Earth which shows the exact location of this facility.)

Representing Talquin at this meeting was Mark Stamps and Tim Waddle.

Both indicated that Talquin had no intention of remaining at the current location. They assured us that Talquin planned to construct a new facility farther north in Wakulla County.  As the discussion moved on, Wakulla County staff recommended the following two choices to your representatives:

1.  That Talquin could connect to the Wakulla County Sewage System and either become a “Wholesale Customer” or

2.  Talquin could either sell or give their sewage treatment system to Wakulla County who would then connect your system to the Wakulla County System. 

A follow-up meeting was held in the fall of 2006 with the same participants.  At this point Talquin had determined the cost to run sewer lines to Live Oak Island.  At the same meeting county staff indicated that from discussions with Talquin they felt it best for Talquin to run a line down Jack Crum Road and to connect to the County Sewage System at US Highway 98 in Medart.

It was still not determined at this point if Talquin would become a “Wholesale Customer” or turn the system over to Wakulla County.  Mark Stamps indicated that all major Talquin managers were very supportive of connecting to the Wakulla County system and he required a couple more months for this to be discussed by the Talquin Board of Directors.  A further meeting was planned for early 2007.

I made a point to mention at this meeting that Talquin would avoid major costs, in the millions, by connecting to the Wakulla County System and that a portion of that savings could be dedicated to running a sewer line to Live Oak Island, and possibly to connect those residents and others in adjoining communities to the Wakulla County sewage system.

In January 2007 another meeting was held by the same parties. Also attending this meeting was Ben Pingree who had just been hired as the new Wakulla County Administrator.   At this meeting, all discussions revolved around Talquin connecting to the Wakulla County Sewer System.   Mark Stamps requested some more time to meet with you as the new General Manager and other Talquin staff to determine how to connect to the Wakulla County System. Since that meeting in January 2007, the County has been in negotiations with Talquin on this project.

The Wakulla County Infrastructure Committee was briefed on these discussions in December, 2007 and it appeared that while things were moving very slowly with Talquin, the matter was still being negotiated with Talquin.

In late December, the Board of County Commissioners held its annual retreat to determine goals and objectives for 2008.  The No.1 item on the priority list was to discontinue the use of septic systems along the coast and to improve the infrastructure to protect our valuable resources.

While this is a long narration of the past year and a half, we thought it was very important to establish the background concerning your Sewage Treatment Facility at Oyster Bay which serves the Shell Point, Oyster Bay and Spring Creek communities.

It came as a great shock to us when our County Administrator, Ben Pingree forwarded a copy of the January 4, 2008 letter from DEP to you concerning Talquin’s  application for expanding and upgrading the existing facility at Oyster Bay (Cut-Off) Road.

We have advised many civic and environmental interest groups, along with many citizens in these communities, that the old treatment plant would be used as a holding area to pump effluent to the Wakulla County System.

We had all been working in good faith with Talquin and telling various Florida Departments that you had agreed to closing down that facility and using the Wakulla County System.  We are now notified by DEP, not you or your staff, of your change in plans.

As a resident of Shell Point and a member of the Talquin Electric Cooperative, speaking for myself and many other residents of these coastal communities, I am requesting that you immediately withdraw this application for the Oyster Bay Treatment facility and concentrate your time and efforts on working with Wakulla County to connect to their Sewage Treatment System.

I am making this request as an individual and as Vice Chairman of the Wakulla County Citizens Infrastructure Advisory Committee, where I am also Chairman of the Sewer and Septic Systems Sub-Committee.

I am not speaking for the Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners or the Wakulla County Administration.  However, from discussions I have had with Ben Pingree, Wakulla County Administrator, I am assured that it is also Wakulla County’s objective to close this facility and have Talquin connect to the County Sewage Treatment System at the earliest possible time.

I plan to inform all Wakulla County Citizens and various organizations concerning this very serious issue to gain their support to convince you and your staff to withdraw this application and get on with the negotiations with Wakulla County.  I will also contact the various State and Federal agencies on this issue and hope they will support our efforts to protect these precious wetlands and coastal waters.

I am available to meet with you and the Board of Directors of Talquin to discuss this issue.

I may be reached at 850 926-5049, by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or by mail.

Regards.

Ron Piasecki
137 Royster Drive
Crawfordville, Fl 32327

Cc:  Talquin Board Members
        Ben Pingree
        Wakulla Watershed Coalition
        Friends of Wakulla Springs State Park
        Department of Environmental Protection
        Department of Community Affairs
        Fish and Wildlife Service
        Environmental Protection Agency

TALQUIN OFFICERS

OFFICERS

Mal Green
President
7882 Bandits Run
Tallahassee, FL  32309

Carrie L. Durden
Vice President
P.O. Box 541
Havana, FL  32333

Bernard Lewis
Secretary-Treasurer
591 Lewis Lane
Quincy, FL  32352

TRUSTEES

Joseph Alexander
507 Deerwood Circle
Quincy, FL  32352

r. Clifford S. Bristol
15333 N.W. CR 12
Bristol, FL  32321

Sam Fenn
3539 Lakeview Drive
Tallahassee, FL  3231

William R. VanLandingham
519 Telogia Creek Road
Quincy, FL  3235

Bobby J. Strickland
108 Coleman Road
Crawfordville, FL  3232

Talquin Electric Board meeting will be held the third Wednesday of the month at Headquarter Office in Quincy, Florida, at 7:00 p.m  Notice of any changes and special meetings will be posted at business offices.

This letter originally published on January 27, 2008.

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