09/24/2014 - Notice of Action

STATE OF FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
NOTICE OF DRAFT PERMIT

          The Department of Environmental Protection hereby provides Notice that it has prepared a Draft Permit for the proposed project as detailed in application File No. 0142222-018-022-UO/5X, WACS No. 75566, subject to the conditions specified in the draft permit and summarized below. The applicant, Lee County Utilities, Ms. Pam Keyes, Utility Director, 1500 Monroe Street, 3rd Floor, Fort Myers, Florida 33902, applied on July 18, 2014 for a permit to operate a Class V, Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) well system. The project is located at the Corkscrew Water Treatment Plant (WTP) Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) system, 16101 Alico Road, Fort Myers, Florida 33913, in the county of Lee.

          The facility will operate a Class V, Group 7 ASR system consisting of five ASR wells (ASR-1 through ASR-5), eight storage zone monitor wells (MW-A, MW-C, and MW-1 through MW-6), one overlying zone monitor well completed in the Sandstone aquifer (MW-LM926) and one underlying zone monitor well (MW-B) completed in the Mid-Hawthorn Group Zone II aquifer. The injection wells are used for ASR of potable water from the Lee County Corkscrew WTP to meet seasonal demands of the potable water system. The maximum injection volume for the wellfield is 350 million gallons per year. The storage zone is within the Mid-Hawthorn Group upper-Arcadia Formation Zone I aquifer at depths between 253 and 397 feet below land surface.
The Department has permitting jurisdiction under Chapter 403 of the Florida Statutes and the rules adopted thereunder. The project is not exempt from permitting procedures. The Department has determined that an operation permit is required for the proposed work.

          Any interested person may submit written comments on the draft permit for a minimum of 30 days after publication of this public notice. A request for a public meeting shall be submitted in writing and shall state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised in the meeting. If a public meeting is later scheduled, there will be another 30-day notice period for that meeting. Written comments shall be submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection, Aquifer Protection Program, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 3530, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400, which is the office processing this permit application. All comments received within the 30-day period and through the public meeting date, will be considered in formulation of the Department's final decision regarding permit issuance.

          The application, draft permit, and fact sheet are available for public inspection during normal business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays, at the Department of Environmental Protection, South District Office, 2295 Victoria Ave., Suite 364, Fort Myers, Florida 33901, and at the Department of Environmental Protection, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400. Any additional information concerning this project may be obtained by contacting Neil Campbell, Engineering Specialist, at 850.245.8612.

LCU Ad No. 96
No. 1492500
September 24, 2014