Melbourne considers ‘muck’ landfill on Tuesday

Melbourne plans to store at Sarno Road landfill enough “black mayonnaise-like” muck from the Eau Gallie River and Elbow Creek to fill 41,000 dump truck loads.

But to some, the plan smells rotten.

On Tuesday, city council members will consider an ordinance to allow a muck landfill on 91 acres west of Wickham Road, north of New York Avenue, and south of Sarno Road.

The land, owned by Brevard County, is currently zoned for light industrial use.

The estimated $17 million to $24 million Eau Gallie River dredging project is expected to improve navigation and water quality.

Dredging would begin after construction of a containment area for the muck — which will take about six months — with dredging being completed by early 2018.

The project will dredge at least 625,000 cubic yards (about 41,000 dump truck loads) of muck from the main stem of the 4-mile-long Eau Gallie River, as well as the southern branch of its tributary, Elbow Creek.

The Florida Legislature set aside $20 million in the past two years for the project.

Project partners include Brevard County, the St. Johns River Water Management District; the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; Brevard County; and Florida Inland Navigation District, which contributed $750,000 for the project.

A half-century buildup of muck that resembles “black mayonnaise” coats the lagoon bottom and that of its tributaries, in some spots more than 10 feet thick. It’s mostly soil runoff from sod, construction sites, farming and erosion along lagoon tributaries, but also rotting algae and dead plants.

Muck limits seagrass growth and the fish and organisms that need seagrass to survive. It contributes to bacterial decay, which consumes oxygen, causing fish kills. Muck also produces noxious chemical compounds, such as the hydrogen sulfide that creates the lagoon’s occasional rotten-egg smell.

Some scientists say contaminants in the muck deposits may be contributing to wildlife health problems.

The muck storage plan includes two parcels. Muck that is dredged from the Eau Gallie River and Elbow Creek will be put on the north parcel first, so the water in it (muck is actually 90 percent water) can drain out. Then they’ll truck the remaining solids to the south parcel (see map) at Sarno landfill. A 15-foot-tall berm would be built to contain the muck solids at the site.

No heavy equipment or dirt-moving operations will happen at night. The city would limit operations from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

A north parcel will be a temporary (three-year) landfill for the muck, and would be restored to pre-construction conditions by Dec. 31, 2018, according to city documents.

To the east of the proposed muck-storage areas are apartments, Ridgewood Club Condominiums, Westwood Condominiums, and Wickham Village Apartments. To the west is Florida Recyclers Landfill and the Brevard County’s Sarno Landfill.

About 15 acres of vacant county-owned land lies to the north, and to the south are warehouses and a child care facility.

Some owners in Westwood Condos have opposed the muck-storage plan, fearing the odor would drive owners and renters away.

“From experience, we know the stench given off by this dredge material, and feel the smell into the condo complex will be present for a very long time,” Edward and Diane Reinhardt wrote last month in a letter to the city clerk. “It is not a pleasant smell and will ruin the quality of life for the residents of Westwood Condos (and neighboring complexes), especially those trying to enjoy their pool or who just want to leave their windows open to cut down on energy costs.”

The project includes a 100-foot wide heavily vegetated landscape buffer along the east side of the dredged material management area on the north parcel. This, along with an adjacent 50-foot-wide unimproved Porcella Avenue right-of-way, would provide at least a 150-foot buffer from the adjacent multi-family residential property, city documents say.

An environmental consultant’s survey found the entire property has about 3 acres of wetlands and also may harbor several protected species, such as the eastern indigo snakes, gopher tortoises and wood storks.

Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com Follow him on Twitter @JWayEnviro

Melbourne City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, atCity Hall, 900 E. Strawbridge Ave.