One year in, Fort Pierce sewage plant relocation may get another boost from state budget

FORT PIERCE — The relocation of the Fort Pierce sewage plant on South Hutchinson Island is slated to get another boost from the Florida Legislature, with the one-year anniversary of construction of the new plant recently taking place.

The new plant is expected to open in October 2025, according to a construction update earlier this year, though a Fort Pierce Utilities Authority spokesperson said the old plant is not slated for full decommissioning until about two years later.

Environmental concerns, particularly due to its proximity to the Indian River Lagoon, had long been a driving force behind efforts to move the water-treatment facility.

More state funding likely coming for project

The state budget for next fiscal year, passed Friday by the Legislature, includes $2.5 million in funding to FPUA for the relocation.

It now only needs approval from Gov. Ron DeSantis. Though the governor can veto any line item out of the state budget, he has been known to support water infrastructure projects in the past.

The $2.5 million would be in addition to the nearly $20 million in state funds the project has already received, either from grants or from previous appropriations.

"FPUA is grateful to have secured nearly $20 million in grants from the Florida Department ofEnvironmental Protection Resilient Florida program and appropriations sponsored by our localand state representatives for the new wastewater facility," FPUA Director of Utilities Javier Cisneros said in a January news release marking one year of construction.

In addition to state funding, FPUA borrowed $100 million for the project in 2022. Ultimately, that cost falls on FPUA customers, FPUA Director of Public Affairs & Sustainability Rachel Tennant said in an email.

"Fort Pierce poverty rate is 29%, and we are working very hard to ensure that any remaining funds needed are being acquired through grants and appropriations where possible to avoid needing to go back to our customers," Tennant said.

Construction timeline

Construction of the new wastewater treatment plant, located at 4515 Energy Lane, began February 2023.

"The latest project schedule indicates substantial completion of the sewer treatment plant by October 2025," FPUA Director of Water and Wastewater Bo Hutchinson said in the January release. "We have already made substantial progress and are continuously working as a team to maintain the project schedule."

In addition to building the new plant — which will be located adjacent to an existing natural gas power plant where about 2 million gallons per day of reclaimed water will be used in the power plant’s cooling towers — FPAU also has to undergo significant rerouting within its system. Wastewater that was previously routed to the current plant on the island must now go to a new location about five miles inland. That means the entire conveyance system must be re-routed.

"We have to re-route the conveyance system so that all wastewater that currently flows eastward toward the island plant will instead face westward toward the new plant," Tennant said. "We are designing all the necessary modifications for this, and expect to complete the first section of it in 2025."

If ultimately secured, the $2.5 million in state funds will be used for that re-routing, Tennant said.

Closing of island plant

While the new plant is slated to open in 2025, the existing plant is not planned to be fully decommissioned until 2027.

"It will occur in stages," Tennant said.

Once the new plant is built and the first stages of system re-routing are complete in 2025, some of the wastewater flow will be directed toward the new plant.

"We’ll continue re-routing the wastewater to the new (facility) in phases through 2027, when all wastewater is expected to be flowing to the new plant and the old plant will be decommissioned," Tennant said.

More: 20 years later, FPUA finally moving sewage plant off Hutchinson Island, public invited

More: Fort Pierce OKs plans for FPUA to move wastewater plant off Indian River Lagoon

Prime real estate

The decommissioning of the current plant would seem to create newly vacant real estate directly on the Indian River Lagoon on South Hutchinson Island.

Deciding what to do with that prime real estate would be up to the city, Tennant said, and it would likely go through the normal development and planning processes.

"While neither FPUA nor the City know yet what will go in its place, the ultimate use will likely be decided through a public vetting process once the relocation is complete," Tennant said.

A city spokesperson deferred to FPUA on updates at the existing and in-progress treatment plants.

Wicker Perlis is TCPalm's Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com and 504-331-0516.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: $2.5 million more in state funds could be coming for wastewater plans