RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County is assessing the city of Riviera Beach’s Special Utility District with a fine worth more than $1.2 million, according to documents WPTV obtained.
Records show the fine, worth $1,238,307.18, was increased due to the utility’s history of noncompliance. This fine is related to the health department’s investigation for 189 different violations, of which the state agency found evidence to assess the city utility with 155 violations.
According to the document, most of those violations are related to the city not turning water quality tests into the health department. The health department also said the city utility, serving Riviera Beach and surrounding areas, failed to notify the public and the health department about total coliform and other bacteria indicating fecal material was in the water.
The fine, based off city budget documents, is about 1.3% of the revenue the city collected in the 2023 fiscal year.
The city is still awaiting another possible fine after the health department claimed the city fabricated water tests. It also paid a fine worth $80,000 due to the utility’s response to a water contamination event in June 2023.
City leaders react
City leaders are grappling with how to pay the $1.2 million "settlement" with the Florida Department of Health over problems with coliform and fecal matter found in its tap and well water.
WPTV's Dave Bohman asked City Commissioner Glen Spiritis if ratepayers are going to have to pay more as a result of this fine.
"If the health department insists on us making the payment to them, it will come from fees, ratepayers," said Spiritis. "We're a separate Utility District so the funds will come from the Utility District, not from the city."
Spiritis says the utility will have talks with the state health department over the next few days.
The department calls the $1,238,307.18 a "settlement offer" for "penalties and administrative costs."
In a letter to Riviera Beach Mayor Ronnie Felder, the department says the Riviera Beach Utility District:
- Failed to send water sample results to the health department 130 times.
- Failed to issue a public notice for "fecal indicator positive source water samples" and "coliform positive samples" in the both the well and tap water.
The health department cited nine other failures in reporting and testing in its fine.
"All of us were blindsided by this," said City Commission Chairman Doug Lawson, who hopes the health department allows the utility to spend that $1.2 million on Riviera Beach's aging water treatment plant.
"Our goal would be to make improvements to our infrastructure," Lawson said.
Riviera Beach has just five days to negotiate with the health department over the conditions of the settlement, and 30 days to pay the $1.2 million if it accepts the settlement.
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