Florida Department of Environmental Protection investigating runoff into Lake Powell

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Last week NewsChannel 7 spoke to residents of Lake Powell who are concerned about the condition of the lake after they said runoff from a construction site was dumped into the lake.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said they are now currently investigating reports of turbid runoff into Lake Powell from the St. Joe Company construction site.

The DEP said they conducted a compliance inspection of the site on May 4, 2022.

“Potential violations of Chapter 403, Florida Statutes (F.S.), Chapter 62-620, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), and Chapter 62-621, F.A.C. was observed,” Ashley Livingston, DEP external affairs manager, said.

The DEP also said they have instructed the responsible party to immediately report the failed best management practices, and where necessary install additional BMPs to prevent runoff from entering the waterway.

According to the DEP, they visited the site this week to ensure the BMPs were functioning as intended.

“DEP takes these violations seriously and will continue to monitor corrective actions implemented by the responsible party and will take any necessary enforcement actions,” Livingston, said.

NewsChannel 7 will continue to update this story as more information is provided.