St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman placed two city sewer officials on unpaid administrative leave Wednesday.
- 2 top St. Pete sewer officials placed on unpaid leave
- Gov. Scott orders state to investigate sewerage discharges
- Rep. Jolly wants EPA investigation
Water Resources Director Steve Leavitt and Engineering Director Tom Gibson were placed on leave as Gov. Rick Scott directed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to investigate the recent sewage discharges in St. Petersburg.
Since August 2015, St. Petersburg has dumped more than 190 million gallons of sewage into Tampa Bay and other local waterways. City officials were warned this could happen when they shut down the Albert Whitted water treatment facility, according to one whistleblower. A permanent fix to the problem is not likely until at least 2018, when major upgrades to the Southwest wastewater treatment plant may be completed.
Additional sewage was released into the Bay during the torrential rains that came with Hurricane Hermine last month. The problems have been caused by a combination of an aged sewer system with low capacity and heavy rains.
While the City of St. Petersburg is responsible for conducting testing in the immediate area of the sewage spill, Scott directed the Department of Health to begin additional testing at this site.
Rep. David Jolly has also asked for an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Public Works Administrator Claude Tankersley has named John Palenchar the interim Water Resources Director and Brejesh Prayman the interim Engineering Director.
The mayor will address the City Council on Thursday on the issue.