Below you will find articles and related materials regarding the proposal from Environmental Utilities LLC to install central sewer on the Island . PIE encourages all stakeholders to be pro-active and keep informed about this important issue.
VIDEO: October 12th Florida Public Service Commission FPSC Commissioner Conference where item 9 on the Agenda was Docket No. 20200226-SU. The Commissioners voted on EU's Motion for Partial Summary Final Order, which was denied. [NOTE: begins at 24.44 mark]
VIDEO: January 5th Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) Commission Conference where item 3 on the Agenda was Docket 20200226-SU. The Commissioners voted on EU's Motion to Bifurcate and Temporary Rule Waiver, which was denied.
Updated 10.07.21
CENTRAL SEWER: Timeline
DOCKET No. 20200226-SU Environmental Utilities, LLC
7.14.2020 Charlotte County issues Bulk Wastewater Treatment Agreement to EU.
10.13.2020 EU submits Application for wastewater certificate in Charlotte County to the Florida Public Service Commission.
10.14.2020 EU’s attorney submits a Motion for Bifurcation and Temporary Rule Waiver. This asks to split from the application the portion addressing the initial rates and charges for wastewater services, so that the FPSC may consider granting certification prior to the submission of costs.
10.15.2020 Request for Confidentiality and redacted version of application is posted to the docket. EU requests confidential classification for the financial information submitted with the application.
12.18.2020 Notice of filing affidavit of mailing. Confirms that notice of the application was sent to all property owners in proposed service area.
12.22.2020 RECOMMENDATION from staff for PSC conference 1.5.21. Staff recommends to the Commission that the Motion to Bifurcate and Temporary Rule Waiver be granted.
01.04.2021 PIE ebombs the PSC. Over 300 letters of objection and requests to deny the Motion to Bifurcate and Temporary Rule Waiver arrive at the PSC docket.
01.05.2021 PSC conference agenda. The FPSC denies the Motion to Bifurcate and Temporary Rule Waver.
01.20.2021 PIE becomes a Party of Record.
02.02.2021 PSC Order denying petition for Temporary Waiver of Rule.
02.19.2021 Kelsky Law representing CHPOA & PIE submits Objection and Request for Administrative Hearing. This is the objection to EU’s Application for original wastewater Certificate in Charlotte County and lists basis for the objection.
02.19.2021 PSC Order granting EU’s request for confidential classification for a period of 18 months from the date of this order.
02.25.2021 Kelsky Law files Motion for reconsideration of Order granting EU’s request for confidential classification.
03.8.2021 EU’s Amendment to Application to Remove a Portion of the Service Area. EU removes Capes Haze from the service area.
06.18.2021 EU's Supplement to Application for Original Wastewater Certificate. EU supplies initial rates and charges.
07.17.2021 EU Letter to Stakeholders in Service Area. EU writes directly to property owners on LGI, Don Pedro Island & Knight Island.
07.21.2021 PIE's Response to EU's Letter to Stakeholders. PIE emails the membership with utility reporting.
08.03.2021 PIE withdraws Motion for Reconsideration of Order granting EU’s request for confidential classification.
08.09.2021 EU files Motion for Partial Summary Final Order, which asks the PSC to "find that based up [sic] the Charlotte County Sewer Master plan that there is a need for central wastewater service in the proposed service area." This is accompanied by a Request for Oral Argument on this Motion, which would allow each party 10 minutes to present its arguments before the PSC. The next day EU submits an affidavit from Charlotte County regarding the Motion for Partial Summary Final Order.
[NOTE: The Motion for Partial Summary Final Order established a 7-day response period. PIE was granted an enlargement of time to respond to the Motion, with a deadline to submit by 08.26.2021]
08.16.2021 Pro se litigant Linda Cotherman submits a response to the Motion, requesting denial.
08.25.2021 PSC publishes Order Establishing Procedure for the Administrative Hearing.
08.26.2021 PIE submits their Response to EU's Motion for Partial Summary Final Order, requesting denial.
09.24.2021 The Office of Public Counsel serves their Notice of Intervention to the PSC, and becomes a Party of Record.
09.30.2021 The PSC staff submits their Recommendation for 10/12/21 Commission conference. On Tuesday October 12th, 2021 the Commission will vote to approve or deny EU's Motion for Partial Summary Final Order. It is stated in the detailed Staff Analysis and Conclusion section, "As shown in the conflicting interpretations of the Sewer Master Plan in the Motion and responses, different inferences can be drawn from the Sewer Master Plan, and there is not an absence of any genuine issue of material fact." The staff recommends that EU's Motion be denied.
CENTRAL SEWER: Timeline
DOCKET No. 20200226-SU Environmental Utilities, LLC
7.14.2020 Charlotte County issues Bulk Wastewater Treatment Agreement to EU.
10.13.2020 EU submits Application for wastewater certificate in Charlotte County to the Florida Public Service Commission.
10.14.2020 EU’s attorney submits a Motion for Bifurcation and Temporary Rule Waiver. This asks to split from the application the portion addressing the initial rates and charges for wastewater services, so that the FPSC may consider granting certification prior to the submission of costs.
10.15.2020 Request for Confidentiality and redacted version of application is posted to the docket. EU requests confidential classification for the financial information submitted with the application.
12.18.2020 Notice of filing affidavit of mailing. Confirms that notice of the application was sent to all property owners in proposed service area.
12.22.2020 RECOMMENDATION from staff for PSC conference 1.5.21. Staff recommends to the Commission that the Motion to Bifurcate and Temporary Rule Waiver be granted.
01.04.2021 PIE ebombs the PSC. Over 300 letters of objection and requests to deny the Motion to Bifurcate and Temporary Rule Waiver arrive at the PSC docket.
01.05.2021 PSC conference agenda. The FPSC denies the Motion to Bifurcate and Temporary Rule Waver.
01.20.2021 PIE becomes a Party of Record.
02.02.2021 PSC Order denying petition for Temporary Waiver of Rule.
02.19.2021 Kelsky Law representing CHPOA & PIE submits Objection and Request for Administrative Hearing. This is the objection to EU’s Application for original wastewater Certificate in Charlotte County and lists basis for the objection.
02.19.2021 PSC Order granting EU’s request for confidential classification for a period of 18 months from the date of this order.
02.25.2021 Kelsky Law files Motion for reconsideration of Order granting EU’s request for confidential classification.
03.8.2021 EU’s Amendment to Application to Remove a Portion of the Service Area. EU removes Capes Haze from the service area.
06.18.2021 EU's Supplement to Application for Original Wastewater Certificate. EU supplies initial rates and charges.
07.17.2021 EU Letter to Stakeholders in Service Area. EU writes directly to property owners on LGI, Don Pedro Island & Knight Island.
07.21.2021 PIE's Response to EU's Letter to Stakeholders. PIE emails the membership with utility reporting.
08.03.2021 PIE withdraws Motion for Reconsideration of Order granting EU’s request for confidential classification.
08.09.2021 EU files Motion for Partial Summary Final Order, which asks the PSC to "find that based up [sic] the Charlotte County Sewer Master plan that there is a need for central wastewater service in the proposed service area." This is accompanied by a Request for Oral Argument on this Motion, which would allow each party 10 minutes to present its arguments before the PSC. The next day EU submits an affidavit from Charlotte County regarding the Motion for Partial Summary Final Order.
[NOTE: The Motion for Partial Summary Final Order established a 7-day response period. PIE was granted an enlargement of time to respond to the Motion, with a deadline to submit by 08.26.2021]
08.16.2021 Pro se litigant Linda Cotherman submits a response to the Motion, requesting denial.
08.25.2021 PSC publishes Order Establishing Procedure for the Administrative Hearing.
08.26.2021 PIE submits their Response to EU's Motion for Partial Summary Final Order, requesting denial.
09.24.2021 The Office of Public Counsel serves their Notice of Intervention to the PSC, and becomes a Party of Record.
09.30.2021 The PSC staff submits their Recommendation for 10/12/21 Commission conference. On Tuesday October 12th, 2021 the Commission will vote to approve or deny EU's Motion for Partial Summary Final Order. It is stated in the detailed Staff Analysis and Conclusion section, "As shown in the conflicting interpretations of the Sewer Master Plan in the Motion and responses, different inferences can be drawn from the Sewer Master Plan, and there is not an absence of any genuine issue of material fact." The staff recommends that EU's Motion be denied.
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Articles on this Website
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Related Links and Documents
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Other Resources
More information is available at the PSC website Docket # D20200226:
Docket Index - Florida Public Service Commission (floridapsc.com)
PSC Docket Filings - Florida Public Service Commission (floridapsc.com)
Charlotte County Sewer Master Plan HomePage
Sewer Master Plan | Charlotte County, FL
Charlotte County Master Plan
FrontEnd_Pages.indd (charlottecountyfl.gov)
Charlotte County Master Plan Executive Summary
ccsmp-executivesummary-8-29-17.pdf (charlottecountyfl.gov)
More information is available at the PSC website Docket # D20200226:
Docket Index - Florida Public Service Commission (floridapsc.com)
PSC Docket Filings - Florida Public Service Commission (floridapsc.com)
Charlotte County Sewer Master Plan HomePage
Sewer Master Plan | Charlotte County, FL
Charlotte County Master Plan
FrontEnd_Pages.indd (charlottecountyfl.gov)
Charlotte County Master Plan Executive Summary
ccsmp-executivesummary-8-29-17.pdf (charlottecountyfl.gov)
12.23.20
CENTRAL SEWER: Background
In October of 2016, Charlotte County hired consultants Jones Edmunds & Associates to develop a Sewer Master Plan which addressed water quality, wildlife impacts, impact on tourism, comparisons to neighboring areas, cost assessments. They then prioritized areas of concern.
Knight & Don Pedro Islands landed in the first 5 years of the 20-year utilities improvement plan. This was a result of scoring results in the following categories:
At a County Commission meeting held on 1/30/2018 regarding the Septic to Sewer (S2S) subject, there was a presentation from CCUD (Charlotte County Utilities Department) with an overview and funding requests. The Commissioners voted to appropriate funds and begin converting to sewer in 3 areas: El Jobean East, Crestview Circle, and Ellicott Circle.
These three areas alone were estimated to take three years to complete, and the projects are currently behind schedule. Both CCU and the County Commission acknowledged that the 5-, 10-, and 15-year time frames were likely too aggressive. However, they were and are still committed to keep moving forward as quickly as possible.
Palm Island Resort has its own discreet water and wastewater system, Knight Island Utilities (KIU). KIU is a privately-owned utility and were facing large expenditures to keep their system updated to regulation specs for permitting. KIU has not operated under a County permit since 2016. At the time of the release of the Sewer Master Plan, KIU was already negotiating for a bulk sewer service agreement with CCUD. According to Diane Whidden, Assistant to Commissioner Truex, in 2017 they abandoned their existing wastewater treatment facility and asked Charlotte County to provide bulk sewer treatment. This is what Charlotte County agreed to do for Environmental Utilities as well – treat the sewage once it is piped to the mainland. Charlotte County has no interest in purchasing private utilities because of the substantial upgrade costs that were incurred in their past experiences.
Fast forward to April 8th, 2019. Jefferey Jacobsen, representing the Board of KIU, came to the PIE Board with a presentation and discussion of a “special district” for an Island-wide wastewater utility. After general questions were submitted by the board and subsequently answered, at the June PIE Board meeting it was determined that PIE could not endorse moving forward with an attorney to explore creation of a utility special district. Few individuals are familiar with the special district structure, most often confusing it with an MSBU or MSTU taxing unit.
On July 14th, 2020, the Charlotte County Board of Commissioners approved a Bulk Sewer Treatment Agreement with Environmental Utilities LLC (EU), a privately-owned wastewater utility company. The owners of the company are Jack and Diane Boyer, former Knight Island residents. Jack Boyer is also owner/operator of Little Gasparilla Water Utility, Inc.
EU has submitted a preliminary application with the Public Service Commission (PSC), the regulatory agency charged with oversight of water and wastewater utilities. The first part of the certification process is providing legal notice to the stakeholders in the proposed service area. The letter of legal notice was dated December 17th, 2020 and has begun to arrive in our PO boxes and mailboxes. We now have 30 days to respond to the notice.
If you’d like to be listed as “interested persons” on the PSC's docket regarding the application for Environmental Utilities to provide wastewater services in Charlotte County, send a request to clerk@psc.state.fl.us. Reference Docket NO. 20200226-SU and include your email. This will put you on their email list to receive updates when any action is taken on EU's application. Be sure to request notification of informal meeting notices, FAW notices, all recommendations and final orders issued by the Commission.
Both individuals and organizations are entitled to file objections with the PSC to the provision of sewer service by the applicant, but they must be filed within 30 days of the receipt of notice.
CLICK HERE for a simple PRIMER on the types of sewer systems used for wastewater removal.
CLICK HERE for detailed information and Q&A with EU from the Little Gasparilla Property Owners Association.
CENTRAL SEWER: Background
In October of 2016, Charlotte County hired consultants Jones Edmunds & Associates to develop a Sewer Master Plan which addressed water quality, wildlife impacts, impact on tourism, comparisons to neighboring areas, cost assessments. They then prioritized areas of concern.
Knight & Don Pedro Islands landed in the first 5 years of the 20-year utilities improvement plan. This was a result of scoring results in the following categories:
- Proximity to water and water tables (score:5),
- Density of septics per acre (score: 5),
- Water testing in the general area (score:5)
- Age of current septic systems (score:4)
At a County Commission meeting held on 1/30/2018 regarding the Septic to Sewer (S2S) subject, there was a presentation from CCUD (Charlotte County Utilities Department) with an overview and funding requests. The Commissioners voted to appropriate funds and begin converting to sewer in 3 areas: El Jobean East, Crestview Circle, and Ellicott Circle.
These three areas alone were estimated to take three years to complete, and the projects are currently behind schedule. Both CCU and the County Commission acknowledged that the 5-, 10-, and 15-year time frames were likely too aggressive. However, they were and are still committed to keep moving forward as quickly as possible.
Palm Island Resort has its own discreet water and wastewater system, Knight Island Utilities (KIU). KIU is a privately-owned utility and were facing large expenditures to keep their system updated to regulation specs for permitting. KIU has not operated under a County permit since 2016. At the time of the release of the Sewer Master Plan, KIU was already negotiating for a bulk sewer service agreement with CCUD. According to Diane Whidden, Assistant to Commissioner Truex, in 2017 they abandoned their existing wastewater treatment facility and asked Charlotte County to provide bulk sewer treatment. This is what Charlotte County agreed to do for Environmental Utilities as well – treat the sewage once it is piped to the mainland. Charlotte County has no interest in purchasing private utilities because of the substantial upgrade costs that were incurred in their past experiences.
Fast forward to April 8th, 2019. Jefferey Jacobsen, representing the Board of KIU, came to the PIE Board with a presentation and discussion of a “special district” for an Island-wide wastewater utility. After general questions were submitted by the board and subsequently answered, at the June PIE Board meeting it was determined that PIE could not endorse moving forward with an attorney to explore creation of a utility special district. Few individuals are familiar with the special district structure, most often confusing it with an MSBU or MSTU taxing unit.
On July 14th, 2020, the Charlotte County Board of Commissioners approved a Bulk Sewer Treatment Agreement with Environmental Utilities LLC (EU), a privately-owned wastewater utility company. The owners of the company are Jack and Diane Boyer, former Knight Island residents. Jack Boyer is also owner/operator of Little Gasparilla Water Utility, Inc.
EU has submitted a preliminary application with the Public Service Commission (PSC), the regulatory agency charged with oversight of water and wastewater utilities. The first part of the certification process is providing legal notice to the stakeholders in the proposed service area. The letter of legal notice was dated December 17th, 2020 and has begun to arrive in our PO boxes and mailboxes. We now have 30 days to respond to the notice.
If you’d like to be listed as “interested persons” on the PSC's docket regarding the application for Environmental Utilities to provide wastewater services in Charlotte County, send a request to clerk@psc.state.fl.us. Reference Docket NO. 20200226-SU and include your email. This will put you on their email list to receive updates when any action is taken on EU's application. Be sure to request notification of informal meeting notices, FAW notices, all recommendations and final orders issued by the Commission.
Both individuals and organizations are entitled to file objections with the PSC to the provision of sewer service by the applicant, but they must be filed within 30 days of the receipt of notice.
CLICK HERE for a simple PRIMER on the types of sewer systems used for wastewater removal.
CLICK HERE for detailed information and Q&A with EU from the Little Gasparilla Property Owners Association.
If you would like to be listed as an “interested person” on the PSC's docket regarding the application for Environmental Utilities to provide wastewater services in Charlotte County, send a request to clerk@psc.state.fl.us. Reference Docket NO. 20200226-SU and include your email. This will put you on their email list to receive updates when any action is taken on EU's application. Identify yourself as a property owner within the proposed service area and be sure to request notification of informal meeting notices, FAW notices, all recommendations and final orders issued by the Commission.
More information is available at the PSC website Docket # D20200226:
https://www.floridapsc.com/ClerkOffice/DocketFiling?docket=20200226
https://www.floridapsc.com/ClerkOffice/DocketFiling?docket=20200226