'The bayou affects those who reside in it the most'

MILTON — Monterey Shores residents are still looking for answers after two years of red clay leaching into Indian Bayou from construction on Interstate 10.

Gary Nelms — a resident whose home sits on Indian Bayou — has been vocal, along with his wife and a handful of neighbors, about solving the red clay runoff which he says has caused a drop off in marine activity in the area.

According to Nelms, the problem persists even months after a plan was implemented, and the Monterey Shores residents haven’t heard anything new from the governmental agencies in charge.

“First, we would like to express our disappointment in the fact that meetings take place, deals made and decisions made without the presence of those most directly affected by the decisions,” Nelms said. “Although the whole bay ecosystem is affected, the bayou affects those who reside in it the most. We are now out of the loop of what is going on.”

According to Nelms, a recent soil sample report done by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection stated there was no red clay present. However, Greg Barnes, a neighbor, took pictures with a drone showing red clay runoff after a rain event.

“Upon looking at the drone photos and going to areas of the bayou and very easily seeing the shallowness and sand bars, one doesn't need to be a brain surgeon to determine that the runoff that contained the red clay, took away the red but the sediment is still there,” Nelms said. “Look at the photos and you can't deny it. And the loss of marine life is also evident and obvious.”

In late February, the board of county commissioners voted to apply for a Northwest Florida Water Management District grant to control erosion in the Indian Bayou drainage basin. Staff identified the paving of a 300-foot section of San Juan Street — a red clay road between North 14th Avenue to North 15th Avenue — as a potential project to be accomplished with the funds.

At the same time, staff compiled a draft plan for stabilization and erosion control for the roadways in the Indian Bayou area and submitted the plan to the Northwest District of FDEP.

FDEP Director Shawn Hamilton and Assistant Director Elizabeth Orr met with Santa Rosa County Administrator Dan Schebler and his team on March 23 to discuss the plan, according to FDEP External Affairs Manager Brandy Smith. At that meeting, the department requested that more specific timelines be incorporated into the plan for some of the highest priority projects, specifically for implementation of the proposed protective measures and the proposed paving of South 26th Avenue.

“The county agreed to incorporate timelines and will submit a revised copy of the draft plan to us,” Smith said. “Since we assumed the regulatory oversight of the issue, we have been in frequent communication with representatives from the county, Prince Contracting and [Florida Department of Transportation] to ensure that all three parties continue to move forward with addressing the potential sources of sediment and turbid discharges. It is our responsibility to ensure that effective, long term solutions are implemented and that they comply with state and federal laws.”

The next step will be for the county commissioners to approve to plan. Once approved and agreed upon by both FDEP and the county, they will enter into an agreement formalizing their commitment to executing the plan. FDEP is also currently working to finalize a consent order with Prince Contracting to address their compliance issues.

“While we recognize that there have been multiple discharges of turbid water into the bayou, we do not have evidence of an acute accumulation of sediment resulting from the recent discharges,” Smith said. “Historical aerial images dating back to 1999 indicate a gradual change over time. Based on the information available to us at this time, dredging of sediment from the bayou is not likely to be required.”

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: 'The bayou affects those who reside in it the most'