Boynton Beach city commissioners approved an agreement Oct. 15 with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection related to a massive sewage spill into the Intracoastal Waterway in July 2023.
The city didn’t admit or deny any of the department’s findings in the so-called consent order, but agreed to a $182,008 civil penalty and to pay $1,000 to cover FDEP investigation costs and expenses, along with undertaking corrective actions. Boynton Beach has the opportunity to avoid paying the cash penalty if it instead implements an approved pollution prevention or in-kind project worth $273,012 (150% of the civil penalty).
The commission approved the consent order without comment.
“The [consent order] reflects the City and FDEP’s mutually agreed upon resolution of the matter and the City agrees to comply with the corrective actions within the time periods set out in the [consent order],” the staff’s agenda report says. “The Utility sees this as an opportunity to continue its vision of improving infrastructure assessment, asset management, and repair and replacement projects to continue providing exceptional services to our customers.”
About 22 million gallons of sewage spilled into the Intracoastal over six days due to a broken sewer line at the eastern end of Boynton Beach Boulevard. The city spent $1.6 million to repair the line and clean up the spill.
— Larry Barszewski
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