http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/10628/2
Tindle Enterprises is the company who was awarded the Morrison Project although they didn't submit the lowest bid. Glad to see the county choosing such a responsible company to improve our parks. :roll:
DEP finds violations at Freeport borrow pit
ANDY MEINEN
Monday December 10th, 2007
Comment on this Story | Read Comments
FREEPORT ? The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is deciding what should be done with a borrow pit north of Freeport that is sending sediment into neighboring streams.
A DEP investigator visited the site last Thursday and found several ?violations? that included erosion problems, said agency spokeswoman Sally Cooey.
The DEP plans to take enforcement action against the borrow pit owned by Tindle Enterprises Inc., Cooey said.
She said the department has to coordinate with the Army Corps of Engineers and several other state agencies before any enforcement is handed down. A teleconference between the agencies is scheduled in the near future, she said.
The borrow pit is used to dig out sand and dirt to be sold for construction purposes, like fill, said pit owner Tim Tindle.
Property records show that Tindle bought the pit north of Freeport on High Lonesome Road in March 2006. Tindle said that the erosion problems were already present when he bought the pit, which has been in operation since the 1970s.
Tindle said he has taken steps to curb the amount of sediment running into surrounding streams and wetlands by putting concrete rocks, called riprap, around the pit.
Cooey said the riprap slows the amount of sediment running off the pit. But the DEP investigator found that sediment was leaving the property and depositing in ?waters of the state,? which are creeks and streams, Cooey said.
Prior to the investigator?s visit, Tindle said was willing to help.
?I?ll do anything to fix the problem,? he said.
Billy McKee, environmental planning manger with Walton County, said the erosion at the Tindle pit is a problem.
McKee said the first step is to stop the flow of silt and sediment running off the property because it is choking the streams and wetlands, which can have a detrimental effect on the whole area and even Choctawhatchee Bay.
?It?s just like dumping tons of sand? in the stream, he said. ?It?s like fill. It kills the vegetation and chokes the flow.?
Once the erosion is stopped, then a restoration plan could be the next step, but that could be expensive and labor-intensive, McKee said. Since the surrounding wetlands are not easily reached by heavy machinery and the area is environmentally sensitive, all the soil that has been deposited will probably have to be removed by hand, McKee said.
Tindle Enterprises is the company who was awarded the Morrison Project although they didn't submit the lowest bid. Glad to see the county choosing such a responsible company to improve our parks. :roll:
DEP finds violations at Freeport borrow pit
ANDY MEINEN
Monday December 10th, 2007
Comment on this Story | Read Comments
FREEPORT ? The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is deciding what should be done with a borrow pit north of Freeport that is sending sediment into neighboring streams.
A DEP investigator visited the site last Thursday and found several ?violations? that included erosion problems, said agency spokeswoman Sally Cooey.
The DEP plans to take enforcement action against the borrow pit owned by Tindle Enterprises Inc., Cooey said.
She said the department has to coordinate with the Army Corps of Engineers and several other state agencies before any enforcement is handed down. A teleconference between the agencies is scheduled in the near future, she said.
The borrow pit is used to dig out sand and dirt to be sold for construction purposes, like fill, said pit owner Tim Tindle.
Property records show that Tindle bought the pit north of Freeport on High Lonesome Road in March 2006. Tindle said that the erosion problems were already present when he bought the pit, which has been in operation since the 1970s.
Tindle said he has taken steps to curb the amount of sediment running into surrounding streams and wetlands by putting concrete rocks, called riprap, around the pit.
Cooey said the riprap slows the amount of sediment running off the pit. But the DEP investigator found that sediment was leaving the property and depositing in ?waters of the state,? which are creeks and streams, Cooey said.
Prior to the investigator?s visit, Tindle said was willing to help.
?I?ll do anything to fix the problem,? he said.
Billy McKee, environmental planning manger with Walton County, said the erosion at the Tindle pit is a problem.
McKee said the first step is to stop the flow of silt and sediment running off the property because it is choking the streams and wetlands, which can have a detrimental effect on the whole area and even Choctawhatchee Bay.
?It?s just like dumping tons of sand? in the stream, he said. ?It?s like fill. It kills the vegetation and chokes the flow.?
Once the erosion is stopped, then a restoration plan could be the next step, but that could be expensive and labor-intensive, McKee said. Since the surrounding wetlands are not easily reached by heavy machinery and the area is environmentally sensitive, all the soil that has been deposited will probably have to be removed by hand, McKee said.
