Longboat Key gains time for state response on sewage spill

Longboat Key commission members are expected to vote in January on a proposed order from the state setting forth penalties for spilling millions of gallons of sewage on the mainland in a mangrove forest about 350 feet from Sarasota Bay.

“The department continues to work with the town to finalize the proposed consent order,” Shannon Herbon told The Islander Dec. 9. Herbon is the public information manager for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Southwest District.

“The town’s final approval of the proposed consent order requires that it goes to the commission for a vote,” Herbon added. “However, the deadline to include the consent order on the agenda for their December commission meeting passed.”

The town requested an extension to Jan. 22, 2021, and the DEP granted the extension.

The DEP issued the proposed order in late September, saying the town should either pay a $262,652 fine or create an environmental enhancement project of greater value as compensation for the spill.