With so much of Florida’s economy tied to tourism, Rick Scott believes it is essential the state get back to normal as soon as possible following Hurricane Irma, making the state inviting for visitors to return.
St. Petersburg officials are dealing with another sewage spill, this one coming just a day after Mayor Rick Kriseman touted improvements at the Southwest sewage plant near Eckerd College. The Tampa Bay Times reported Thursday that the same plant experienced a sewage spill Wednesday night after heavy rains increased flow to the plant. About 50,000 gallons spilled, and the Tampa Bay Times reported the spill happened because part of the plant’s treatment capacity was out of service because of the…
This week, the St. Petersburg City Council will take up one of the city’s most pressing issues — fixing its aging sewage and storm drainage system. Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hermine exposed a host of complications in how the city handles wastewater, leading to nearly 200 million gallons of sewage being dumped into Bay area waterways in 2016.
Pinellas County residents are invited to attend the second countywide Wastewater/Stormwater Task Force meeting at 9:30 a.m. Monday to hear about the team’s Initial Action Plan. The Technical Working Group will present the Task Force Steering Committee members with its findings and recommendations to reduce wastewater overflow issues around the county. Monday’s meeting will be held at the University Partnership Center – Digitorium, located at the Seminole Campus of St. Petersburg College, 9200 113th St. N, Seminole. Attendees will have the opportunity…
I think we have one of our first major campaign issues for the 2018 race to succeed Rick Scott as Florida’s governor. Any serious candidate who doesn’t come out strongly in favor seriously beefing up the state Department of Environmental Protection will miss a great opportunity. In just the last couple of months alone, an understaffed and likely overwhelmed DEP has had to deal with the algae bloom that threatened to trash summer tourism in Stuart and surrounding areas. Recriminations…
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman is angry — MAD, I tell you! — that Gov. Rick Scott is playing politics just because the city’s streets and waterways were covered in sewage following Hurricane Hermine. Um, Mr. Mayor? I suspect you already know this, but you have a lot bigger problems than the Republican governor of the state turning a major mess in the city controlled by a Democratic mayor (that’s you, sir) into political capital. Of course, politics will be…
In addition to asking the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate St. Petersburg’s sewage crisis, David jolly is now offering whistleblower protection to anyone with information about the city wastewater spills. Charlie Frago of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Indian Shores Republican has been working with Craven Askew, the plant operator who warned the city about shutting down the Albert Whitted wastewater treatment facility. That closure led to the Northwest wastewater plant spilling nearly 60 million gallons of partially…