DATE: November 7, 2016 County Administrator

Transcription

1 MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: Taryn Kryzda DATE: November 7, 2016 County Administrator VIA: Roger Baltz Assistant County Administrator Don G. Donaldson, P.E. Engineering Department Director FROM: Deborah L. Drum, Manager Ecosystem Restoration & Management Division SUBJECT: Ecosystem Restoration & Management Division FY16 Accomplishments The Engineering Department, through its Ecosystem Restoration & Management Division, is responsible for supporting Martin County s strategic objective to protect and enhance the County s natural environmental resources, including water quality improvement and conservation lands acquisition and management. On behalf of the staff of the Ecosystem Division (Bob Harris, Dianne Hughes, Ellen MacArthur-previous during FY16, Greg Nolte, and Michael Yustin), I am pleased to provide the FY16 project accomplishments for the protection of water quality and conservation lands (attached). Highlights include: completion of the Florida Communities Trust required public access facilities at the Delaplane Nature Preserve; completion of the Danforth Creek Phase II Hybrid Wetland Treatment Technology Project which will help the County meet water quality requirements under the St. Lucie Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP); utilized volunteers to result in a $15,000 savings to the County to replace pedestrian footbridges at Halpatiokee Park on well-traveled nature trails; and responded to an unprecedented blue green algae bloom that had major impacts on the County by providing technical support and input to multiple levels of government and officials. Additionally, during the FY16, the Ecosystem Division also received two prestigious environmental awards: the Keep Martin Beautiful Governmental Agency Award for the Kitching Creek Central Flowway and Wetland Restoration project, as well as the Florida Stormwater Association Outstanding Achievement Award for our Stormwater Water Quality Program. We hope this list of accomplishments is helpful in illustrating the tangible benefits that are being provided to Martin County s taxpayers towards natural resources protection in our community. We are especially appreciative of the County s leadership team and the Board of County Commissioners awareness, advocacy, and support of these efforts. The time that the entire County team has invested in visiting our completed projects and learning about the effort put into them is much appreciated. DLD/DGD/RB/dmc Attachment 1 of 6 eng2017m38

2 ATTACHMENT Martin County Engineering Department Ecosystem Restoration and Management Division FY2016 (Oct. 1, 2015 Sept. 30, 2016) List of Significant Achievements All American Ditch Storm Water Quality Improvement Project Finished design, acquired all permits, and successfully awarded an approximately $4.8 million construction contract to Felix Associates of Florida, Inc. for the construction of the project. Successfully obtained and executed grants for a total of $1.5M through an EPA / FDEP Section 319 program and the State Legislative Appropriations. Started construction of the project in August 2016 and is scheduled for completion in December Blue Green Algae (BGA) Emergency Response Responded through the Martin County Emergency Operations Center to provide technical support and input during an unprecedented blue green algae bloom event that had major impacts on the County. Coordinated with multiple local, state, and federal government agencies and entities, and academic institutions, on water management issues as they related to the status and causes of the algae blooms. Provided technical briefings and support at emergency meetings, community forums (e.g. Rivers Coalition), Indian River Council meetings, and Board of County Commission meetings throughout the emergency event. Provided numerous interviews to national and local media (television, newspaper, and social media) on status updates and other key message points. Conducted blue green algae (BGA) reconnaissance in response to reports of BGA blooms occurring on the C-44 canal and throughout the St. Lucie estuary. Fielded phone calls from individuals and businesses interested in assisting the County in getting rid of the BGA blooms. Developed the initial database on alternative technologies to eradicate BGA and forwarded to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) as the primary agency for approving technologies for implementation. Assisted the FDEP in uploading BGA information to their database and first responders. In order to understand the scope of the impact of the BGA blooms to residents, Martin County contracted with EnviroTeam North America to perform water and air sampling at sites where BGA blooms had formed dense algal mats approximately 5 9 inches thick. Sampling occurred on July 11, August 16 and September 28. Test results did identify microcystin toxins during some of the sampling events in both the air and/or water. 2 of 6

3 Bob Graham Beach Added new picnic table & installed new bike rack to meet FCT requirements. Cypress Creek Finalized modeling efforts with Tomasello Engineering to update the hydrologic model of the Cypress Creek basin. The hydrologic model quantifies the benefits of County restoration projects within the Loxahatchee watershed. Worked with the Loxahatchee River Project Delivery Team to include Cypress and Kitching Creeks in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project. Previous iterations of the Loxahatchee Plan did not emphasize these tributaries. Danforth Creek Phase II Hybrid Wetland Treatment Technology (HWTT) Finished construction of the HWTT facility which is now operational. Delaplane Completed construction of all Florida Communities Trust (FCT) public access facilities on the site. Improved site control by installing gates, fencing and signage. Designed, fabricated, and installed educational signage. Used mechanical equipment to shred large monotypic stands of exotics including Brazilian pepper and strawberry guava from the property. In total, 12 acres of exotic vegetation were cleared. Exotic Vegetation Removal Received $200,000 in grant funding from FFWCC with no match requirement and removed exotic vegetation from roughly 2,000 acres of conservation lands. Removed exotics from an additional 1,000 acres of conservation land. Treatment of approximately 25 acres of invasive exotics completed in-house. Fertilizer Ordinance Martin County continued to work with the Marine Resources Council to implement the Be Floridian Now program, a summertime fertilizer application ban media education campaign. This program will educate residents and property owners about the impacts of freshwater and storm water discharges on the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon and what they can do to reduce these impacts. This past year a Facebook page was launched in late June 2016 and since then, it has received 95 page likes, and there have been 1,273 posts to the page. The Be Floridian Now web-based survey continued through this year. Nearly 300 people have completed the survey and almost half of those are Martin County residents, showing that the campaign is reaching and engaging the Martin County audience. Of the 123 Martin County respondents who answered the question, 36% were aware of the Martin County fertilizer ordinance. Brochures, a coloring book and new billboards were designed this past year. We were also provided with an event toolkit including a pink and white striped 10 by 10 canopy, banner, plastic flamingos, and flamingo lights to draw the audience in to the booth. 2 P a g e 3 of 6

4 Florida Communities Trust (FCT) Completed floristic inventories on all 15 FCT properties. These inventories are a requirement of the FCT Management Plans. Many had not been updated for over 20 years. Continued to work on meeting all FCT GAA requirements cited in individual areas throughout this document. Gomez Property Completed design, permitting and engineering site plans for public access facilities. Halpatiokee Replaced a pedestrian footbridge along a well-traveled hiking trail; also extended an additional footbridge to improve the hiking experience. Both efforts relied partially on volunteer labor which created a cost savings to the County of approximately $15, acres of mechanical vegetation shredding for prescribed fire preparation and trail maintenance. Installed two new gates to the wetland impoundment area. Repaired nine miles of service road. Installed supplemental lake littoral plantings in restoration areas with support from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Installed trail markers and posted 5.15 miles of hiking trail. Completed a volunteer upland planting event / project around the south lake. Conducted 3 volunteer clean up events with the Florida Trails Association, Airborne Mountain Bike Association, and Martin County Geocachers. Installed new kiosk on western hiking trail loop. Hawks Hammock Mechanically shredded acres of vegetation for prescribed fire preparation. Jensen Beach Impoundment Installed a new kiosk and a bike rack to meet FCT requirements. Kiplinger Preserve Completed FLDEP and USACE Permitting for 2016/17 pier and dock construction. Completed canoe/kayak launch. Lake Okeechobee Ridge Installed a new kiosk at northern trailhead. Loxahatchee River Reasonable Assurance Plan Actively participated in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council initiated effort to develop a Reasonable Assurance Plan for impaired waters within the Loxahatchee River watershed. 3 P a g e 4 of 6

5 Hilltop Water Quality Improvement Project Completed design and permitting to install approximately 600 linear feet of exfiltration trench that will provide 1 of water quality treatment over a 15 acre basin. Successfully received a SFWMD Cooperative Funding Program grant in the amount of $100,000 for construction of the project Construction is scheduled to commence in December Warner Creek Improvement Project Completed survey and preliminary design activities to increase capacity in the creek in order to provide improved flood protection. Successfully received a SFWMD Cooperative Funding Program grant in the amount of $175,000 for construction of the project. Willoughby Creek Improvement Project Completed survey and preliminary design activities to construct an approximately 10-acre wet detention system that will treat approximately 385 acres of highly impervious development. MC-2 (Bird Island) Planted 200 green buttonwoods on interior of island to increase bird nesting habitat. Microbial Source Tracking The County received the Final South Fork St. Lucie Estuary and River Microbial Source Tracking Study from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in February of The report revealed that sites at Golden Gate, Sandsprit Park, All American Ditch, Danforth Creek West, and the Marina at Haney Creek are areas with onsite disposal systems that are likely leaching into the waterway. The combination of consistently elevated counts of fecal coliform bacteria, the presence of the human marker, and detections of sucralose and/or acetaminophen is indicative of a source of some level of untreated human wastewater. NPDES Permit Compliance Martin County in conjunction with the University of Florida IFAS Extension Office launched the Water Ambassadors program. This program was able to partially fund a Sea Grant Agent position and is a public education program that includes educational goals based on specific storm water issues within the community. The program must include a focus on pollutants of concern for impaired waters and priority waters within the community. The ultimate goal of a public education program is to create knowledge and awareness about how human activities create pollutants in storm water and how changes in behavior can help reduce storm water pollutant loads. Ten full-day workshops were completed over the past year with a total of 95 participants. One rain barrel is raffled off at each workshop. The Sea Grant Agent also promoted the Water Ambassador program during three organizational talks and at seven events targeting an additional 288 people. Engineering staff in conjunction with our NPDES consultant Mock Roos updated the Martin County Storm Water Program Management Manual, the Structural Control Inspection 4 P a g e 5 of 6

6 Standard Operating Procedures and the Martin County Spill Prevention Containment and Response Program Manual (draft). Developed a Storm Water Decal in English and Spanish. Received the Florida Storm Water Association Outstanding Achievement Award for the Martin County Storm Water Quality Program. Engineering staff worked with the Building Department to improve the use of silt fences during development projects. During review of the building permit applications for structures (mainly single-family residences), the County will require the applicant to demonstrate compliance with Martin County Ordinance, Section A, which states, storm water from areas of any construction activities shall be controlled, treated and managed on-site using BMP s so as not to cause an illicit discharge to the County's MS4 or regulated waters on the site plan. The site plan will depict the silt fence, or other best management practice, that will have to be installed prior to and throughout the construction. Engineering staff continues to resolve illicit discharges as they occur within the County. Old Palm City Phase III The Beemats plants were harvested and then replanted in September The lush green color of the plants is evidence that the mats are working to uptake nutrients. Perry Beach Revised the Florida Communities Trust Management and site plans for Perry Beach. Continued working through design, permitting and engineering for public use facilities. Rio Nature Park Conducted two cleanup events with the Rio Civic Club. River Cove Completed a living shoreline and habitat restoration project. The project included creating an oyster reef along 200 feet of shoreline and planting 500 tidal swamp and maritime hammock plants on the site. St. Lucie River Basin Management Action Plan Coordinated with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to prepare the Third (3 rd ) Annual Update to the Basin Management Action Plan. Savannas Regional Restoration Plan Successfully secured a $100,000 Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program grant for funding of Phase I of the Savannas Regional Restoration Plan Water Management and Natural Systems Evaluation. 5 P a g e 6 of 6