Ditchmen • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen - August 2020 | Page 29

QUICKBITS these systems is the most appropriate wastewater solution. Thank you for your patience during this transition. If you have any questions about a Septic Upgrade Incentive Program in your county, please contact your local county officials or: ■ Water and Springs Restoration Program ■ Division of Water Restoration Assistance ■ [email protected] You can also visit the Department of Health’s Onsite Sewage Program Website for more information on septic systems and nutrient reducing technology/research. PSC ADVISED AGAINST TAKING ACTION IN INTRACOASTAL DISPUTE August 26, 2020 | NSF Staff State regulators are being advised against taking action next week in a dispute over unpermitted utility lines that are helping keep mega-yachts from accessing a portion of the Intracoastal Waterway in Broward County. Public Service Commission staff members have recommended against a request by the Florida Inland Navigation District to require AT&T to relocate the lines from waters along Fort Lauderdale “in a timely and effective manner.” The issue is expected to come up at a Public Service Commission meeting Tuesday. A staff report said the commission doesn’t have authority over the lines, which have been an issue between the district and the telecommunication company for at least five years. In September 2015, the district advised AT&T about the need to replace the lines with permitted utility lines as plans were moving to deepen a two-mile section of the Intracoastal channel in Fort Lauderdale. The district asserts AT&T’s inaction has delayed the Broward Deepening Project and caused Florida taxpayers “unnecessary costs.” The Public Service Commission staff report noted the purpose of the project is access of mega-yachts to the channel. “The traffic of these vessels is believed to provide an economic benefit to the city,” the staff report said. The navigation district is requesting that the commission “in its supervisory role over Florida’s regulated utilities, review and consider this situation, and encourage AT&T (and its permitting agents) to relocate its subaqueous utility lines in a timely and effective manner.” AUGUST 2020 • DITCHMEN 27