Michael Jordan-owned golf course pollutes St. Lucie River in violation of Florida rules
A golf course near Hobe Sound partially owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan is dirtying the South Fork of the St. Lucie River, a state official said Friday.
Construction at the golf course being built on 226 acres east of Interstate 95 and north of Bridge Road is putting unacceptable levels of sediment in the upper reaches of the river, an aerial survey of the site revealed Friday afternoon, said Randy Smith, a spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District.
“They’re doing work in a canal on the property and it’s getting the water stirred up,” Smith said. “That water has made its way through a series of canals and into the South Fork.”
A district crew was on the site Friday afternoon to determine the extent of the damage.
“If warranted, we could issue some kind of enforcement against the contractor,” Smith said. “It could be anything from a notice of non-compliance saying to fix the problem immediately all the way to a notice of violation, which could include penalties and fines.”
Breaking state rules
Guettler Bros. Construction in Fort Pierce is the contractor on the project, said Nicki van Vonno, Martin County Growth Management Department director. Company officials did not return a phone call Friday afternoon.
District staffers first visited the site Jan. 25 and “did observe turbidity in the water,” Smith said, but not enough to find the construction in violation of pollution laws.
“Our people met with the contractor and made some suggestions about how to better control runoff from the site into the river,” Smith said.
The suggestions included sodding canal banks, plugging some canals and moving barriers designed to hold back dirty water. During a second, midweek visit, staffers saw some barriers had been moved.
However, an aerial survey Friday morning “confirmed” sediment from the construction site was getting into the river at levels that weren’t in compliance with regulations.
“It’s not a Level 1 catastrophe,” Smith said.
Not Lake O discharges
Muddy water from the construction site was first noticed by kayakers in the upper South Fork in late November, said Ed Stout, owner of South River Outfitters, a kayak shop adjacent to Halpatiokee Regional Park.
It wasn’t dirty water from the Lake Okeechobee discharges, Stout said, because it was coming from upstream. Lake water enters the South Fork downstream of Stout’s shop.
“Besides, it kept coming after the discharges stopped,” he said.
The water is “chocolate-milk brown,” Stout said. “You can’t see the bottom. The fish moved away, and then the birds moved away.”
The dirty water extends “at least three or four miles,” Stout said. “It’s a lot more opaque the farther upstream you go.”
Principal owner
TCPalm in October 2016 reported Jordan would be principal owner of the 18-hole golf course to be developed by The Grove Golf Club, a West Palm Beach company.
The private club will include a driving range, 9,800-square foot clubhouse and maintenance facilities, according to the developer’s application filed with Martin County.
The property is bordered by agricultural land to the east, south and west and by Atlantic Ridge State Park to the north, according to the application. The property also is bordered by multiple wetlands, according to the developer.
The Martin County Commission approved a major final site plan for the project in November and the contractor held a pre-construction meeting with the county Dec. 20.
Source:-Â https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/indian-river-lagoon/health/2018/02/02/construction-michael-jordan-owned-golf-course-polluting-south-fork-st-lucie-river/301580002/
