Officials and researchers are closing in on the causes of hypersaline pollution of the main source of potable water in Miami-Dade County, Fla. Since 2014, complaints of elevated salinity in the Biscayne Aquifer have been voiced, with many pointing the finger at Florida Power and Light Co.’s (FPL) power plant in Florida City. In a case brought by several South Florida parties, an administrative law judge on Feb. 15 issued a ruling that confirmed the power plant as the source. A separate report from an investigation is out for public comment and could be final by May.
Cooling water for four units at Turkey Point, including two nuclear units, has seeped into the Biscayne Aquifer and spread in a lens of hypersaline groundwater that now extends four miles west of the power plant’s property, Judge Bram D.E. Canter wrote in his order. He also found that the Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection has failed to charge FPL with violations of law and required FPL to come into compliance with standards. To reflect his findings, he recommends the DEP amend or rescind a December 2014 Administrative Order in which DEP defined a salinity management plan for FPL.