Santa Rosa commissioners have concerns about a 'no brainer' water quality program. Here's why

"That's a no brainer. Why would you not support the Watershed Committee and watershed sampling?"

Santa Rosa County Commissioner Sam Parker asked that rhetorical question at a recent board meeting right before rattling off the reasons why he wouldn't support the county signing a letter of support for a grant to let a local group test soil and water in the county he serves.

Parker went on to say that the group seeking the grant, the Watershed Protection Committee, had been identified to him by "people who were concerned about economic development" as having been "vocally and actively working to stop the sewage treatment plant from getting its permits from DEP."

He questioned the group's objectivity.

The plant mentioned is one the city of Milton has been working for years to build. Environmental groups have expressed concerns that the plant's location is too close to the Blackwater River and could pose a threat to one of Florida's most pristine water bodies.

Previously: Santa Rosa citizens form 'Watershed Protection Committee' to advocate for clean water

Related: Is clean water debate a turning point in Santa Rosa County's struggle over growth?

Parker said he had concerns about a group "actively trying to stop the sewage treatment plant" being the same one that received funding to test the waterways in the vicinity of where it would be built.

Jerry Couey, who founded the Watershed Protection Committee in 2021, jumped up to object to Parker's second reference to efforts to stop the sewage treatment plant, calling it "a really big mischaracterization of what's happening."

Parker took offense at having his lengthy dissertation interrupted midstream.

"That sort of behavior is not the kind of behavior I would trust to get money to go volunteer sampling, and how do I trust the integrity of that sampling?" the commissioner asked. "I'm not supporting this. I'm not supporting this for numerous concerns."

When Parker finished, Couey apologized for cutting Parker off and was given an opportunity to make his point to the board.

"The whole purpose of this is to have a base data of the conditions of our waters in Santa Rosa County," he said.

Commissioner James Calkins, who Couey has pre-filed to run against next year, was quick to offer to stand with Parker against the commission approving a letter in support of the committee using grant funding to cover the costs of volunteer water and soil sampling.

The commission was initially set to vote on whether Chairman Colten Wright should sign the support letter, signaling the commission's support of the grant, but the body agreed to postpone that vote until more was known about where the water sampling would take place. The testing is planned in Santa Rosa County for 15 locations along Pond Creek and the Blackwater River.

The grant in question would provide $49,000 in Pensacola Perdido Bay Estuary Program funds that would be committed to small scale projects and administered through the Bream Fishermen Association.

More: Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program releases its first "state of the bays" report

Barbara Albrecht, the president of the local chapter of the BFA sent a letter to the commissioners following their July 27 meeting to clear up some of the issues raised during the board discussion of the grant.

The testing, Albrecht pointed out, will provide important information and further the Estuary Program's goal of creating needed data for its Comprehensive Conservation Management Plans (CCMPs).

"The Watershed Protection Committee is one group within Santa Rosa County focused on water quality, including recreational opportunities near Pond Creek, and emerging contaminants of concern," Albrecht wrote. "Save Blackwater River is another group in Santa Rosa County focused on water quality, and specifically the location of the new WWTP site and the location of Rapid Infiltration Basin System (RIBs) for the treated effluent."

The Bream Fishermen Association has established water quality stations in waterways that enter the Blackwater and will be assisting organizations like the Watershed Protection Committee and Save Our Blackwater in collecting surface water, she said. It will do so "utilizing a holistic sampling approach from headwater creeks to the mouth of the river."

"Our organization has standing and a long-term interest in the conditions of these waterways," Albrecht wrote.

The "scientifically sound sample design" utilized by the water testers will allow representative samples to be collected, logged in under chain-of-custody, and delivered to a certified laboratory for analysis, the letter said. Samples will be analyzed for bacteria and nutrients by the lab, and water chemistry will be collected on site.

"Citizen scientists will undergo rigorous training and will be accompanied by seasoned biologists for this project," Albrecht wrote. "The deliverable to the PPBEP and the community will be a report on the stations sampled, a description of the sites visited, data collected and results interpreted.

"This will be a snapshot in time, due to the terms of the grant, but will allow us to collect data three times over the course of six months," Albrecht wrote. "The BFA is dedicated to promoting environmental conservation, preservation, and recreational opportunities. Water quality and the preservation of conservation areas are non-partisan."

More: Citizens, water utilities unite to challenge Santa Rosa County's drinking water ruling

The Watershed Protection Committee got its start after Parker, Calkins and former commissioner Bob Cole voted to rescind drinking water protections within the East Milton Wellfield District to allow the expansion of borrow pits in the area, from which 6.5 million gallons of water is pumped from the Sand and Gravel Aquifer each day to service an estimated 86,000 Santa Rosa County customers.

Activists, environmentalists, lawyers and local water utilities united to challenge the board’s vote and ultimately convinced commissioners to change their minds on the borrow pit idea.

Couey said at the time he had formed the committee to act as a watchdog for all water-related county policy issues.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Santa Rosa Watershed Protection Committee not trusted to test waters