Environmental Update-Boca Teeca South Golf Course

The Ocean Breeze golf course in the Boca Teeca subdivision of Boca Raton has been under review by the Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) for several years and the latest update was filed by the DEP in May 2012. The DEP has determined that the area on the South golf course has elevated levels of Chemicals of Concern (COC) which are at levels that EXCEED the "residential" Soil Clean up Target Levels (SCTL).

These COCs include arsenic, dieldrin and polynucleararomatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) within the maintenance area and other areas within the present golf course configuration. Arsenic is a known cancer agent that is common in many golf courses in South Florida as a result of long term use of herbicides, but elevated levels have been determined to be at levels that make this land unsuitable for residential development, as previously approved by the city of Boca Raton.

According to the DEP the next course of action should be the submittal to the DEP by the property owner/receiver of a Soil Remedial Action Plan that addresses the COC exceedances in the soil. The remedial strategy could be the removal and proper disposal of the affected soil and include implementation of a Best Management Plan that would encompass the continued use of the property in the vicinity of the chemical storage/maintenance area. Should remediation not prove feasible, site closure cold be accomplished by the use of engineering and/or institutional controls per Florida statutes.

In addition to the soil remedial strategies presented above, a Natural Attenuation with Monitoring (NAM) plan (groundwater monitoring) should be submitted to the DEP to address the elevated concentration of arsenic in monitoring well location previously identified.



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Boca Teeca Environmental Cleanup Update

On June 14th Environmental Assessments & Consultants, Inc. was granted an extension until Nov. 30th to provide a site assessment on the environmental cleanup at the Ocean Breeze golf course. Florida DEP staff have indicated that the environmental testing was scheduled to begin on June 29th. Based upon these test results the testing will continue with the water monitoring in the area near the maintenance facility on the South golf course.

The correspondence with the FL DEP indicates that "the property owner (MCZ Centrum) has not been directly involved for some time and the property has been placed in receivership."

The property continues to be open for business as the Ocean Breeze Country Club and remains the only championship level golf course within the city that is open to the public. The receiver is affiliated with The Arnold Palmer Golf Course Management Co. and is operating the golf course under this management company. The foreclosure is still pending with recent court documents indicating that the owners and their principals have retained a new legal representative for their defense. Several MCZ Centrum developments in Florida are also in foreclosure with the recent foreclosure completion of a Boynton Beach property that was never developed.

How Safe is Drinking Water? /EPA Report

The July 28, 2010 EPA/DEP report confirmed our environmental concerns regarding the excessive levels of arsenic in the groundwater & soil on the Boca Teeca golf course. The report indicates that the "primary" concern of the contaminated groundwater is that it is located less than 1 mile from drinking water wells of the city of Boca Raton, so how safe is the drinking water?

Considering that the reported contamination in shallow ground water far exceeds the GCTL and MCL for arsenic and that a large population is supplied with drinking water, drawn from local shallow wells, the Ground Water Migration Pathway merits principal concern. The full report can be downloaded from our website as shown on our page titled "environmental concerns".

Also noted in the report is the discovery of excessive levels of pesticides toxaphene and dieldrin which are similar to DDT and have health risks associated with reproductive health. See the separate research report found at the following hotlink:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1566957/pdf/envhper00392-0044.pdf

The report states: However, in the course of PSAWS fieldwork, analyses of surface soil and sediment samples, collected from the maintenance area, also revealed that concentrations of arsenic, carcinogenic PAHs and pesticide, exceeding SCTLs for direct exposure in industrial and/or residential settings. Arsenic and two pesticides (toxaphene and dieldrin) also exceeded EPA RSLs.

What are the actions of the city to assure the safety of the drinking water and what policy changes is the city planning for preventing future health risks during their development process? We have recommended the city include a requirement for PRIOR verification of the safety of the land on all development proposals that involve a land use change, but over the past several weeks the city has not included this provision in the current amendments to the city's growth management plan.

The SunSentinel published an article on this EPA/DEP report on Sat. Aug. 7th which can be found at: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-08-06/news/fl-boca-teeca-golf-course-20100806_1_boca-teeca-golf-arsenic-inn-at-ocean-breeze/2 There are several questions that will need to be answered in order to help protect the safety of Boca Raton residents as a result of this environmental problem, such as, since the golf course is in foreclosure, who is going to pay for the clean-up of this risk to public health?