$9M in grants in limbo as feds review 'viability' of Milton wastewater projects

Whatever information the city of Milton was able to compile in three weeks to make its case for holding on to two federal wastewater treatment grants approved in 2021 and 2022 has made its way to the Department of Defense and the Economic Development Administration.

A spokesperson for the DoD's Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation confirmed Monday that the city had submitted information to its office to meet a March 1 deadline and what was transmitted "is under review."

City officials had been notified in a letter dated Feb. 5 that if they wanted to keep a $3 million OLDCC grant to be put toward constructing a 38,000-foot sewer line connecting Whiting Field to its proposed wastewater treatment plant, they would have to provide sufficient documentation to prove the project was still viable.

The EDA requested in the same letter that it be provided much of the same information, and notified officials that a $5.85 million "complementary construction" grant for the new treatment plant would be rescinded if its demands for information were not met.

The EDA grant was awarded to the city on July 26, 2022, according to H. Philip Paradice, director of EDA's Atlanta Region. The agency acknowledged receipt of the Milton response to the Feb. 5 letter but declined further comment.

While discussions with local sources have made it clear that the city had not turned over everything the two federal agencies had requested by the March 1 deadline, a DoD spokesperson declined to say whether enough information had been provided to prevent the immediate removal of the city from grant consideration.

The spokesperson did say via email that "an extension to our March 1, 2024, deadline is not possible."

"The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation awarded a grant to the city of Milton on Sept. 1, 2021, and we have been awaiting the Grantee’s submission of required documentation since then," the spokesperson wrote. "The Grantee is out of compliance with the award."

More: Milton given until March 1 to prevent loss of $9 million in wastewater treatment grants

Asked whether the short time line provided for the city to respond was fair, the spokesperson wrote, in essence, that was not the OLDCC's concern.

"Our concern is compliance with the terms of the grant award and the expiration of funds under it. The response to this letter by March 1 will inform our decision whether this project remains the same as when it was funded in September 2021, including its viability," the email said. "We presume, per the terms of the grant award, that the Grantee has been addressing these issues since September 1, 2021, and responding to a March 1 deadline is not only reasonable but necessary given the absence of progress to date."

Did Milton do enough to save $9 million in grants?

Despite the tight deadline, the city was "able to provide information on all points" addressed in the letter, according to Randy Jorgenson, Milton's interim city manager.

"Certainly it's conjecture on our part, and it will come down to the conclusions they draw and decisions they make," he said. "But I believe the information we provided was enough to convince them to allow the city to move along in a timely fashion."

Given the volume of data submitted, Jorgenson said the city does not expect to know anytime soon whether it will still have access to the grant funds.

The federal agencies had requested proof that all permits needed – both for the construction of the pipeline and improvements to the wastewater system to be funded by the federal grants – had been obtained. They also called for written confirmation from the city and its engineer (Baskerville Donovan) that no additional permits would be required.

Among the permits the agencies wanted to see was a river crossing permit that would allow for a pipe carrying wastewater from the base, which is listed as a federal Superfund site, across the Blackwater River to the new treatment plant. That permit had expired prior to the Feb. 5 letter's arrival, according to the OLDCC.

The city confirmed it did not have all of the permitting requested by OLDCC and the EDA.

"They wanted us to have all the permits, some of those you don't pull until after construction starts," Jorgenson said.

Milton Public Works Director Joe Cook has previously stated that some of the demands made in the letter could never be satisfied.

"There are some things in that letter that are unreasonable, you could never come into compliance with," he said.

On Feb. 19, Cook submitted applications to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that he said, if approved, would satisfy the permitting requirements outlined in the letter sent from the OLDCC and EDA. Included in that, he said, was the request for renewal of the expired river crossing permit.

FDEP quietly "re-permits" two wastewater projects

The DEP published a notice March 1 stating its intent to issue the two requested permits. On the same day, Pam Mitchell, representing a group known as Milton's Concerned Citizens, asked Elizabeth Orr, the director of DEP's Northwest Florida division, when the permit applications that were so quickly approved had been advertised for public comment.

"We did not require that the applications be noticed since this was essentially re-permitting of a project we had already permitted," Orr stated in a March 4 response to Mitchell and other representatives of Milton's Concerned Citizens.

Mitchell objected to the way DEP had treated the city's application, particularly in light of information that had come out since the original permit was issued regarding the dangers of so-called "forever chemicals" known as PFOS or PFAS.

"It is our position that the public should be engaged and not ignored before this pipeline permit is reissued," Mitchell wrote to Orr on March 5. "This permit should not be issued without adequate public notice of the application."

Orr did say DEP had required a notice of intent that would allow the public to object to the permits.

The OLDCC letter to the city of Milton also stated that the agency did not have at its disposal "sufficient environmental documentation" from the city to move forward with a National Environmental Policy Act review of the proposed pipeline project.

The NEPA Act, passed in 1970, requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency website. The letter sent to the city reiterates that no ground disturbing activity can take place at either site where federal grants will be utilized without OLDCC conducting a NEPA review.

Both city and Whiting Field officials said that a NEPA assessment had been conducted and the city confirmed Tuesday that documentation of the assessment had been forwarded to the OLDCC and EDA.

But the Feb. 5 letter noted that the city had missed repeated previous deadlines to comply with the requirement for a NEPA assessment and states "there is insufficient time to extend these deadlines further." It also alludes to "a NEPA analysis being undertaken" by the city.

The letter refers to only one environmental assessment the military or EDA has reviewed to date. That one, it said, was conducted on behalf of Save Blackwater River, a group that has opposed the site of the proposed wastewater treatment plant.

"SBR alleges that the wastewater system improvements, as presently designed, will damage the quality of water in the river and adversely impact aquatic wildlife," the letter said.

The letter from OLDCC and EDA said that not only did the NEPA analysis it was seeking from the city have to be acceptable for consideration by federal authorities, but also include an adequate response on the part of Milton officials to "any public comments received."

It called upon the city to "confer with Save Blackwater River and its attorneys" to confirm in writing that project permits had been reviewed and all objections have been addressed.

Before he resigned from the city manager's position in late February, former Milton City Manager Scott Collins reached out to Save Blackwater River representatives in an attempt to set up the called for meeting. In his email to the group Collins acknowledged that the city had reviewed approximately 3,000 documents delivered to the city after the letter from OLDCC and the EDA had arrived.

The meeting itself, however, was not accomplished by the March 1 deadline by which the city was directed to provide information to the federal agencies.

Mitchell, this time responding to Milton City Attorney Alex Andrade on behalf of Save Blackwater River, said in a Feb. 28 email the group would be willing to address issues with local officials only after reviewing the DEP permitting applications.

"We certainly don't want to be viewed as an impediment to a new Wastewater Treatment Plant," the email said. "We've always said 'the right kind of plant in the right location' and we stand by that statement. We are looking forward to finally coming to the table with the City of Milton to accomplish just that."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Milton wastewater plant seeks buy-in of Save Blackwater River