Indian River County has canceled five of seven workshops it recently scheduled to alleviate confusion about the impact of two 2023 state laws that require nearly 28,000 property owners in the county to shell out thousands of dollars to either connect to the county’s centralized sewer system or install an upgraded onsite septic system before 2030.
Two of the workshops were held – one on Sept. 3 at the Indian River County Fairgrounds and Expo Center and the second on Sept. 10 at the Intergenerational Center. The county then sent out a news release canceling the remaining workshops, which were scheduled throughout the month.
A Sept. 11 news release states that the county “is refining its outreach to better serve residents who are most directly impacted” by the state’s mandates and says it will “focus its efforts on small group meetings with those who meet the criteria for state grant assistance” to connect to the county’s sewer system.
“Citizens attending the meeting last week and last evening were clear,” County Commission Chairman Deryl Loar states in the news release. “This mandate is creating stress and has the potential to create significant hardship for many of Indian River County’s fixed-income households and young families struggling to provide a secure home for their children.”
Loar said commissioners would include the issue as a priority for the 2027 state legislative session and “will advocate for financial assistance and a reasonable path toward compliance for affected residents.”
“The workshops had the primary goal of educating current utility customers about the process to register for state funding to assist with connecting to the county sewer system. The attempt to educate the broader audience on the impacts of HB 1379 passed by the FL Legislature in 2023 caused the focused goal to become blurred,” county communications manager Kathy Copeland wrote in an email to Veronews.com
The 463 homeowners eligible for connection to the county sewer system will be contacted by mail and telephone about the upcoming smaller meetings. Eligibility for financial assistance is based on income and will be available to residents on a first-come, first-served basis, Copeland wrote.
Around 28,000 properties with onsite septic systems are located within the Central Indian River Lagoon Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) and are subject to the mandate. The county has applied for approximately $50 million in grants from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to help property owners pay for connecting to the centralized sewer system.
For additional information about the Countywide Sewer Conversion Project visit www.ircs2sprogram.com.
