By Suzanne Wentley
staff writer
January 20, 2005

A St. Lucie County contractor working on the controversial Indian River Drive stabilization project could have illegally allowed dirt and pollutants to erode into the lagoon, a state pollution enforcement manager said Wednesday.

Officials with the state Department of Environmental Protection sent a "warning letter" to Dickerson Florida, the Stuart-based contractor adding concrete blocks and dirt to the northern section of the road washed out by two hurricanes.

With possible fines of up to $80,000 per day, it is the first time a state or federal agency raised formal concerns about the 14-mile project, which is the subject of two lawsuits and numerous resident complaints.

"A warning letter is fairly serious," said Geoff Rabinowitz, a state environmental administrator in Tallahassee. "There have been areas of erosion, and being directly alongside the Indian River Lagoon, there is a potential to discharge into the waterway."

In the letter, an inspector who visited the project in December outlined eight potential violations of a permit regarding a federal program called the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, which demands contractors develop and implement a plan to control erosion into nearby waterways.

Officials with the program, administered through the DEP's Tallahassee office, were notified by local state environmental scientists after they received complaints and pictures from a resident.

Regarding the yellow barriers designed to stop dirt from flowing into the lagoon, the inspector wrote in the letter that "The floating turbidity barrier was entrenched in the sand on the beach" and "Erosion was noted undermining the floating turbidity barrier or washing soil over the barrier."

Neither a representative from Dickerson Florida nor St. Lucie County officials could be reached for comment.

Dirt seeping into the lagoon can increase the cloudiness of the water, smother sea grass beds and cause an overall decline in water quality.

Kevin Stinnette, executive director of the Indian Riverkeeper group who is suing the federal agencies funding the project, said erosion has been a problem since the work began in November.

"What is going on in the north is going on everywhere," said Stinnette, who also lives on Indian River Drive. "This morning, I saw the turbidity curtain in many pieces and large chunks on the beach again."

Rabinowitz said he was unaware of the details of the project, and hoped to learn more when he meets with a representatives of Dickerson Florida, one of three contractors working on the repairs.

If, after the meeting, it is determined that the violations did occur, the contractor can be fined up to $10,000 per violation per day, Rabinowitz said.

Still, Linda Nunn, the resident who complained to local scientists about the erosion into the lagoon, said she was disappointed that the main permitting agencies — the South Florida Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers — did not respond to her concerns.

She also thought the process was taking so long that the project, scheduled to be completed by the end of March, could be finished before the issue is resolved.

"What's most infuriating is they're racing to dump as much as we can," she said. "All that's left is the dirt that will end up back in the water."

- suzanne.wentley@scripps.com

Copyright 2005, Scripps Treasure Coast Publishing Co. Click for permission to reprint

Copyright 2005, TCPalm. All Rights Reserved.