State of Florida
Department of Environmental Protection

Notice of Draft Permit

The Department of Environmental Protection hereby provides notice that it has prepared a draft permit for the proposed project as detailed in the application, subject to the conditions specified in the draft permit and summarized below. The applicant, City of St. Petersburg, John Palenchar, Driector of Water Resources, 1650 Third Avenue North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33713 applied on July 24, 2025, for a Class I injection well operation permit. The project is located at Northwest Water Reclamation Facility, 7500 26th Avenue North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33710, in Pinellas County (File 0033168-014-015-016-UO/1M, WACS ID 47043).

The permittee will operate three non-hazardous Class I injection wells IW-1, IW-2 and IW-3, and the associated monitor wells MW-2, MW-3 and MW-4 for the disposal of domestic effluent receiving a minimum of secondary treatment with high-level disinfection from the Northwest Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) and the City’s Master Reuse distribution system which is connected to the City’s Southwest, Northwest, and Northeast WRFs. The maximum injection rate for IW-1 and IW-2 shall be 13,389 gallons per minute (gpm) and the maximum injection volume for IW-1 and IW-2 shall be 20.0 million gallons per day (mgd). The maximum injection rate for IW-3 shall be 12,950 gpm and the maximum injection volume for IW-3 shall be 18.65 mgd and is allowed up to 22.38 mgd during extreme flow periods. Injection wells IW-1 and IW-2 are constructed with a 30-inch diameter casing set to 760 feet below land surface (bls) and total depth of 1,115 and 1,110 feet bls respectively. Injection well IW-3 is constructed with a 24-inch diameter casing set to 738 feet bls and total depth of 1,200 feet bls. The injection zone for each of the three injection wells are in the Avon Park Formation of the upper Floridan aquifer which is a G-IV aquifer in this area. Monitor well MW-2 is completed in the Suwannee Limestone from 340 to 360 feet bls. Monitor well MW-3 is completed in the Suwannee Limestone from 338 to 358 feet bls. Monitor well MW-4 is completed in the Suwannee Limestone between the depths of 350 to 407 feet bls.

The Department has permitting jurisdiction under Chapter 403 of the Florida Statutes and the rules adopted thereunder. The project is not exempt from permitting procedures. The Department has determined that an Underground Injection Control permit is required for the proposed work.

Any interested person may submit written comments on the draft permit and may request a public meeting within 30 days after publication of this public notice. A request for a public meeting shall be submitted in writing and shall state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised in the meeting. If a public meeting is later scheduled, there will be another 30-day notice period for that meeting. Written comments or a public meeting request shall be submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection, Aquifer Protection Program, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 3530, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400, which is the office processing this permit application. All comments received within the 30-day period will be considered in formulation of the Department’s final decision regarding permit issuance.

The files associated with this order are available for public inspection during normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except state holidays, at the Department of Environmental Protection, Southwest District, and at the Department of Environmental Protection, Aquifer Protection Program office in Tallahassee. Any additional information concerning this project may be obtained by contacting Dan Warmke, Professional Geologist at 813-470-5741.
12/10/2025 (66574h)