WAFC Local News – March 10, 2026, 8:32 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. A Clewiston firm is fighting Brevard County over applying bio-solids to property on a Brevard County ranch. The state allowed H&H Liquid Sludge to triple the amount of sludge they are land-applying there. Brevard County has petitioned the state for a hearing to appeal the state ruling. They worry about high levels of nutrients, including PFAS and the impacts on their waterways. Katie Deloney supported the move, citing the PFAS concern. The water quality is turning out to be not great, the same, if not worse off than the Indian River Lagoon. And so this is really concerning to me. Just anything we can do to protect our water quality. Ranchers allow municipal sludge in pastures to help cities get rid of the stuff and save on transportation costs. Commissioners in Brevard banned new application of sewage sludge in 2019. Sludge can still be deposited via active permits and contracts. H&H applies biosolids in Polk and Sewanee counties as well. A Glades County man received 18 months probation for illegal killing of an alligator. Court records say Herbert Rivers was found guilty of trial in Moorhaven in November. He was ordered to pay $430 in court costs and fines. Also ordered to pay $500 to the Florida Wildlife Alert Fund. The Moorhaven man had been arrested at the Indian Prairie boat ramp by FWC officers on October 28, 2023. A dead alligator was found on board the vessel and the permit holder was not on board according to the state. His defense attorney filed an appeal for new trial. They claim there was no proof Rivers killed the alligator just that he possessed it on the boat. They argued it was legal for Rivers to operate the boat with a light at night. The South Bay City Commission reviewed an 8,000 square foot facility for farm worker housing at 370 US 27. It is zone light industrial. There is farm labor housing next door at the Okeechobee Inn. Attorney Robert Williams says the applicant has a large facility in Pahokee and wanted a smaller facility in South Bay would accommodate 70 workers. It’s a federal immigration program for temporary workers. They recruit from Mexico and bring them in. And they’ve got to take care of them while they’re here. And that’s their main focus. They want them safe. They want them taken care of and not a burden to anybody. The temporary workers are recruited here from Mexico. They would work close by in sugarcane fields. He noted it is not in a residential neighborhood and is centrally located near grocery stores and other services. Mayor Joe Kyle says there have been complaints about a similar facility on Northwest 8th Street. Attorney Bernadette Norris Weeks says the governor recently vetoed a housing bill that regulated farm labor housing. That was a concern that there may not be enough preventative measures in place to ensure that people were here in the country properly. The city of South Bay lost their clerk, Vicki Washington, to resignation. The commission selects the clerk and they advertise the position. Staff will recommend the top three candidates and they’ll be interviewed by the commission. The Florida Department of Education recognized outstanding STEM students for 2026 at the Sunshine State Scholars event. The students include Ryan Pete of Glades County Schools and Farhan Emran of Hendry County Schools. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).