Grant funds provided to abandon all remaining septic tanks on coastal dune lakes – The Defuniak Herald & Beach Breeze

A project to convert SEPTIC to sewerage is in progress in order to preserve remaining plots on the dune plots on the coast that are not supplied by sewage. (Photo by Dotty Nist)

FROM DOTTY NIST

In order to improve the water quality of the world’s rare dune lakes on the Walton County coast, all septic tanks on properties on the dune lakes are to be abandoned by October 2022 through a project jointly funded by the State Department for Environmental Protection (DEP), Walton County, Water and sewer providers and regional utilities as well as property owners.

The remaining septic tanks, 61 tanks, are to be abandoned and the corresponding plots are to be connected to the sewer provided by Regional Utilities. These lots contain single-family homes.

On September 22, the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in the Walton County Courthouse approved a revised agreement with DEP to provide US $ 253,766 of government grants to the project. The BCC originally voted to accept the grant on March 10th. The grant was granted through the Federal Clean Water Act.

The amended agreement reduced the number of plots to be converted into sewers. Melinda Gates, environmental coordinator for Walton County Public Works Environmental, stated that at the time the county applied for the grant in 2018, there were 84 lots that were not in sewers within the Coastal Dune Lake Protection Zone (CDLPZ).

“The Florida Department of Environment awarded the grant for this project in March 2020,” continued Gates. “When we were preparing to inform the owners about the grant option, we verified that 23 of those lots had sewage accounts with Regional Utilities,” she commented.

Gates said the grant would be split evenly among owners of the remaining 61 lots that have yet to be turned into sewers.

The local funding to be allocated to the project under the agreement consists of $ 50,000 from Walton County, $ 272,479.07 in in-kind contributions from Regional Utilities, and a total of $ 23,036.65 from property owners (377.65 US dollars per property).

“The grant expires on December 31, 2022, so all conversions must be completed by October 31, 2022,” said Gates.

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