Siesta residents stew over wastewater project extension

When Lorie Tiernay and her husband bought their home on Idlewild Way in November, they were so taken with the two-story, five-bedroom home on the Grand Canal, they were willing to overlook one not-so-attractive feature.

Across the canal, the Siesta Key wastewater treatment plant generated an array of unpleasant odors that would occasionally waft toward homes in the Siesta Isles neighborhood.

Tiernay took solace in knowing the plant would soon be gone. The county had an order from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that required the failing facility to be shut down by the end of this year. Although the project had already gone through a three-year delay, residents carried on with the knowledge there was relief in sight.

“You kind of go, ‘OK, it stinks, but we just have to bear with this until 2016,’” Tiernay said. “Hold on, and then it’ll be gone.”

In March, that all changed. County staff said the work required more time. It would take until the end of 2017, at least, to shut down the plant. The County Commission voted unanimously to extend the project deadline to June 2018.

Dave Cash, the county’s wastewater division manager, said he hadn’t heard too many complaints about the facility in a March interview with the Sarasota Observer. If that was true before the extension, it isn’t anymore.

“You kind of go, ‘OK, it stinks, but we just have to bear with this until 2016.’” — Lorie Tiernay

Tiernay is leading the charge, but she’s not alone. She’s appealing the FDEP’s decision to give the county an extension, and she’s gotten letters of support from more than 50 of her neighbors. Residents are speaking up to send a clear message: They want their concerns addressed.

“I’m upset and offended and annoyed that, while people were making life-changing decisions, the county kept back information that was very pertinent to us,” Tiernay said. “They have a responsibility to keep us informed.”

Mitigation plans

During an April 7 Siesta Key Association meeting, a larger-than-usual  crowd of residents heard county staff explain the delay — and told staff how the plant is negatively impacting them.

The project is being conducted in three phases. In addition to shutting down the wastewater facility, the county is rerouting Siesta wastewater to mainland facilities and installing a new pump station on the Key to facilitate the switchover.

Although the project began after a FDEP order to shut down or upgrade the aging wastewater plant, the county says that facility isn’t responsible for the delays. The extra time is needed to expand existing mainland facilities and install pipes between the mainland and island, according to Cash and Gregory Rouse, county engineering design manager.

Despite the hurdles, staff is confident it can complete the project by Dec. 31, 2017, barring outside delays. Once complete, the county believes the improvements will be significant.

“Everything should be going down,” Rouse said. “Less truck traffic, less noise, less potential for odor.”

The existing problems remain, however. The biggest issue for residents is the smell — reports of odor issues in the area date back to the late ’80s. It pops up unexpectedly, and the affected streets can change depending on wind conditions. When it happens, it’s unavoidable.

“It goes between raw sewage to a chemical smell to a gassy smell,” Tiernay said. “It’s bad. We come in the house; we can’t sit out and enjoy our backyard.”

Several residents said the smells were occurring more frequently now, too. County staff was unaware of anything that might be amplifying the problem, but residents asked for the issue to get more immediate attention.

“I know it’s worse,” said John Desideri, who also lives on Idlewild. “Where it might have been — not tolerable, but less frequent, now there’s something going on there I can’t explain.”

This isn’t just a matter of neighborly courtesy: The county is required by permit to mitigate odor issues. Cash said he’s discussing odor treatment solutions with a consultant, but there’s no timeline for implementation.

“Could we have made it a higher priority over other projects? Sitting here today, I wish we would have.” — Dave Cash

He says staff is working diligently on the project, but he acknowledges it could have gotten more attention in the past. He thinks increased communication from residents — even if it’s via complaints — should improve the county’s reactiveness.

“Could we have done more? Probably,” Cash said. “Could we have made it a higher priority over other projects? Sitting here today, I wish we would have.”

Tiernay and others still have doubts about the county’s commitment. That’s why she’s filed the appeal in an attempt to get the county to condense its timeline — or at least improve the existing conditions. She believes the county underestimated the significance of the delay, and it’s hard for her to accept that staff is on the same page as residents.

“If we had known, we wouldn’t have bought this house,” Tiernay said. “We lay in bed at night when we’ve been booted out of our backyard, and we’re really, really annoyed.”