Blue Cypress Lake toxic algae bloom prompts biosolids moratorium

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Commissioners unanimously put a temporary stop to landowners spreading human waste on their property, which scientists suspect in Blue Cypress Lake's increasing phosphorus pollution and toxic algae bloom. 

The six-month moratorium approved Tuesday bans Class B biosolids, which are partially treated sewage sludge from municipal treatment plants, in the unincorporated county.  

"I think it's very clear the county is taking this seriously," Commission Chairman Peter O'Bryan said at Tuesday's meeting.

More:WHO deems Blue Cypress Lake toxic algae bloom very highly hazardous

During the moratorium, county staff will continue to work with the Department of Environmental Protection to monitor the lake and try to determine whether biosolids, mostly from nearby Pressley Ranch, are the main source of pollution.

DEP previously said there's no proof of that, but is studying the issue now. 

Utilities Director Vincent Burke will update the commission within the next four months to determine whether the ban needs to be continued. 

Lake Okeechobee

Commissioner Joe Flescher said the county needs to safeguard against the Blue Cypress Lake becoming another Lake Okeechobee, where a toxic blue-green algae bloom is covering about 80 percent of the 730-square-mile lake.

Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency July 9 to help affected residents and businesses. 

"One of the most painful things I've seen is Lake Okeechobee," Flescher said. "We can't have that here. We won't have this here."

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A handful of the 20 meeting attendees spoke in support of the moratorium. Some, such as resident John Norris, said it should be a permanent ban.

"What has occurred recently is an atrocity," said Norris, a former homicide investigator. "What's occurred here is essentially the homicide of Blue Cypress Lake."

Pressley Ranch

Pressley Ranch began spreading biosolids as fertilizer in 2013, after the Legislature banned them in the Lake Okeechobee, St. Lucie River and Caloosahatchee River watersheds.

More:DEP tells ranch to stop spreading biosolids during rainy season

DEP, which issued the ranch a permit to spread biosolids, last week halted the practice for 180 days because a recent inspection showed the soil was saturated and biosolids were pooling.

Other waterways

The nearby Stick Marsh also has algae, which isn't unusual in hot summer months. Of the six water tests done by DEP and the St. Johns River Water Management District, one detected toxins, two did not and three are pending results.

At the Oslo Road boat ramp, the Indian River Lagoon has been so choked with a brownish-black muck you can't see the bottom, said Richard Baker, president of the Pelican Island Audubon Society. No one has determined what the substance is yet.

"It's as bad as I've ever seen it," Baker said. "I'm concerned about the lagoon."