ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Piles of Hurricane Matthew debris removed from neighborhoods around St. Johns County that has been stored at a dump site on the Matanzas River is being moved because of environmental concerns.
The debris was being kept at the Butler Boat Ramp in St. Augustine, but unusually high tides caused by the supermoon carried some of the debris into the river, according to some community members.
The county has been working around the clock since 3 p.m. Sunday to gather the debris and take it away.
Boat captain Adam Morley said he noticed the debris was going into the river and knew it wasn’t scheduled to be removed until January, so he contacted public officials.
“This is Hurricane Matthew damage debris that came out of people’s homes, materials, household chemicals, cleaners, even flooded sheds with paint cans and contaminants could have ended up in this pile,” Morley said. “When the water comes in, we don't know if it's leaching out.”
St. Johns County Commissioner Bill McClure said that the county didn’t account for the supermoon when officials originally picked the Butler Boat Ramp as the debris dump site.
He said the debris will all be cleaned up by Monday before evening high tide.
“We're considering this a half victory," Morley said. "What we had heard was that this was going to be a staging site through January, actually that was a concern, because we know this is a low-lying area that floods frequently, especially during full moons. So the fact that we're getting out of here and hopefully finding another location as a staging area, that's a minor victory.”