Public Pressure Prompts Florida DEP to Hold Hearing on Blue Origin Wastewater Permit

Blue Origin’s plan to discharge handled industrial wastewater from its Merritt Island, Fla., manufacturing campus continues to attract scrutiny as state regulators put together for a Jan. 30 public assembly in Cocoa, Fla. The Florida Dept. of Environmental Safety will take touch upon the aerospace firm’s draft allow renewal, which might permit as much as 0.49 million gallons per day of handled wastewater to stream right into a stormwater pond that drains into the Indian River Lagoon.

Residents of Merritt Island, a neighborhood of about 34,500 residents, and the close by metropolis of Cape Canaveral, house to roughly 10,000 individuals, have been central to the rising public response. The Brevard County Fee and Cape Canaveral Metropolis Council formally requested a public assembly, and an online petition opposing the allow has drawn greater than 46,000 signatures.

The draft permit would authorize Blue Origin, based by Jeff Bezos, to discharge as much as 490,000 gallons per day of course of and non‑course of industrial wastewater right into a 403,000‑sq‑ft onsite stormwater pond. Native officers and environmental teams warn that runoff from the pond may attain the Indian River Lagoon and additional pressure an estuary already experiencing seagrass loss, algal blooms and wildlife declines.

DEP Communications Director Alexandra Kuchta instructed Florida Today that “public enter is a crucial a part of our allowing course of,” including that company employees, technical specialists and Blue Origin representatives can be accessible on the assembly to reply questions. She stated DEP has prolonged its public remark interval to Feb. 6 to permit time for suggestions following the session.

That decision for public enter comes amid longstanding issues about Blue Origin’s wastewater practices. Florida Immediately also reported that the company has fined Blue Origin a number of instances in recent times for allow‑associated violations at its Merritt Island operations. Whereas DEP has not launched particulars of these enforcement actions, the document has added weight to calls from residents and native officers for nearer oversight of the corporate’s wastewater practices.

In an announcement, Blue Origin stated it “prioritizes defending and restoring Earth” and strives to be an excellent steward of the lagoon. The corporate stated the allow is a renewal of an settlement in place for greater than 5 years and displays its dedication to compliance and conservation.

DEP spokesperson Sarah Fayed supplied extra particulars to Florida Immediately, noting that the power’s present stream averages about 40,000 gallons per day—lower than 10% of the utmost that might be allowed by the allow—and that the wastewater doesn’t come into contact with fuels or hazardous supplies.

“None of this water is used to scrub down rockets, and it by no means is available in contact with rocket gas or different hazardous substances,” she stated.

The Merritt Island proposal follows DEP’s recent approval of a separate 5‑yr industrial wastewater allow for Blue Origin’s launch‑pad deluge system at Cape Canaveral House Pressure Station. That allow regulates water used throughout launches and static‑hearth exams and requires quarterly sampling for vitamins, metals, hydrocarbons and solids, in addition to groundwater monitoring.

DEP’s Jan. 30 assembly would be the first public discussion board for the reason that draft allow was issued in October. The session is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the Brevard County UF/IFAS Extension Constructing, 3695 Lake Drive.