Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
In a letter dated April 17 and addressed to Eric Powers, the chief legal officer at Trulieve, the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) formally informs the medical marijuana-growing facility that it is non-compliant with the Environmental Resource Permit that the agency issued.
The letter, which is posted on the Facebook page of State Representative Allison Tant, states that in addition to concerns and information received from an adjacent property owner, district staff performed multiple site inspections at the property on April 10 and 15, which resulted in findings of apparent violations.
The letter cites the violations as follows:
Impervious Surfaces: The staff noticed areas within the permitted site that contain impervious surface areas that were not shown or reflected in the facility’s previously permitted plans.
“These additional impervious surfaces, if not accounted for in the runoff calculations, would result in a violation of permit condition #1,” the letter states.
Standing Water: During the site inspections on April 10 and 15, SRWMD staff observed standing water in the stormwater pond, the letter notes.
Discharging Water: The letter states that information obtained from an adjacent property owner included video and photographic evidence showing that the discharging water from the pond lasted for a period greater than 30 days following the most recent rainfall.
“The discharge of water for a period exceeding 30 days is also a violation of Applicant Handbook Volume II. Sections 3.4 and 2.3, conditions of issuance,” states the letter.
Erosion: Upon further review of the information obtained from an adjacent landowner, staff observed video of an erosion scar that was physically expanding in size and appeared to be the result of the discharge.
“The expansion of this erosion may be a violation of permit condition #3,” the letter states.
Presence of Excessive Pollutants: After reviewing water quality samples from the site which were obtained by the adjacent landowner during the pumping event, “tests show excessive pollutant leaving the site, which may be an additional violation of permit condition #3,” the letter states.
Water Flow: Based on the video obtained from adjacent property owners, the flow of water being discharged from the site may have risen above the pre-developed flow rate.
“Flow above the pre-development rate is a violation of Applicant Handbook Volume II. Section 2.3 conditions of issuance,” the letter states.
The letter goes on to say:
“As a permittee, you have an obligation to ensure that pumped water from the permitted site on your property is either fully contained on Trulieve property or provide reasonable assurance that this pumped water is compliant with statewide water quality standards, does not increase post-development discharge rate compared to pre-development discharge rates, or create any other adverse offsite impact.”
It further notes that each of the referenced violations are subject to penalties, including fines on a per-violation per-day basis.
In light of the apparent violations, the letter asks the facility to provide the SWRMD with an updated operations and maintenance plan from the facility’s engineer of record. It gives Trulieve until April 24 to respond.