Feds close book on St. Pete sewage crisis
ST. PETERSBURG — The city has spent two years embroiled in a sewage crisis that Mayor Rick Kriseman once described as a black cloud.
On Thursday [June 1], that cloud parted a bit.
The City Council learned that the federal government is no longer investigating the approximately 200 million gallons of sewage St. Petersburg has discharged into local neighborhoods and waterways since August 2015.
“The federal investigation is now closed with no charges being brought,” said assistant city attorney Joseph Patner, the city’s chief litigator. “It’s good news.”
Federal authorities appear satisfied with the $304 million worth of sewage system fixes St. Petersburg is implementing as part of its consent order with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, according to the city.