DEP AND COLLIER COUNTY ENTER INTO AGREEMENT ON DAN A. HUGHES ENFORCEMENT

Florida DEP Banner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 17, 2014

CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850-245-2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us

DEP AND COLLIER COUNTY ENTER INTO AGREEMENT ON DAN A. HUGHES ENFORCEMENT

~Collaborative approach strengthens efforts to protect Collier County residents~

TALLAHASSEE – Today, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) finalized a stipulated agreement with Collier County, clearing the way for the county to join DEP in its lawsuit against the Dan A. Hughes Company. The lawsuit, filed in July, requests the court’s enforcement of the requirements under the Consent Order between DEP and the Dan A. Hughes Company and seeks monetary penalties in excess of $100,000 as a result of the company violating the terms of the Consent Order and other regulations.

“We applaud the county’s collaborative approach and are committed to working jointly with them in holding the Dan A. Hughes Company accountable,” said DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. “I have a deep appreciation for the critical role local government plays in protecting the health, safety and welfare of Florida’s residents and the environment.”

In keeping with the intent of this agreement, DEP has already begun work at its own expense on numerous additional protective measures to ensure residents are safe. Efforts currently underway include:

  • DEP has drilled shallow groundwater monitoring wells near the Collier-Hogan site and continues to monitor them for contamination.
  • DEP has hired a team of independent third-party experts approved by the county and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida – ALL Consulting of Tulsa, Oklahoma – who have begun a full assessment of the activities that took place at the Collier-Hogan well.
  • DEP has initiated a thorough investigation of the flowback material produced at the Collier-Hogan well to ensure the material was treated and disposed of properly.
  • At the end of this month, DEP will begin work to install a deep groundwater monitoring well to the base of the underground source of drinking water (approximately 1,850 feet).

A copy of the stipulated agreement can be found here.

To access Secretary Vinyard’s Sept. 12 letter to Collier County, click here.