Chris Jones: Greene Publishing, Inc.
Spills and overflow into the Withlacoochee River and Mud Creek from the City of Valdosta have prompted Florida House Representative Elizabeth Porter to send an official letter to the Acting Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Sam Nunn Atlanta Field Center. The letter, sent from Representative Porter's office on Jan. 27, cites the recent unauthorized sewage discharge as
evidence warranting an incident and compliance review of the consent order between the EPA and the City of Valdosta.
The letter informs the EPA that, over the last several years, the City (of Valdosta) has had numerous wastewater plant failures that resulted in “unlawful discharges into the Withlacoochee River. Representative Porter's letter states that the discharges have harmed her constituents, writing that “Families have been deprived of potable water” and “businesses have been deprived of customers who have diverted their recreational activities elsewhere.”
Representative Porter is a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 10th District. She sits on the Appropriations and Education committees, is Chair of the Post-Secondary Education subcommittee, and Vice Chair of Agriculture and Property Rights and Higher Education Appropriations subcommittees.