Public notice of pollution submitted for the Peace River

There are reports of chemicals, oils and contaminants polluting the Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Garden.

WINK News reached out to the Garden’s executive director, Tanna Horner, who provided a statement regarding their concerns.

Horner’s statement reads, in part, “As a conservation organization, we are compelled to raise awareness if there is a threat to the health of our ecosystems.”

Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens abuts the Peace River and Hunter’s Creek estuary.

The 27-acre garden is a sanctuary for lots of Florida wildlife, so potential pollution is a big deal.

Horner explained a portion of the garden’s land is located downstream from industrial properties, and recently they’ve had some runoff concerns, so a Public Notice of Pollution report was filed with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Horner says it is now the state’s role to investigate the causes and solutions.

WINK News reached out to FDEP to find out what would happen next. Will the agency now launch an investigation into possible pollutants?

A spokesperson told WINK she is currently looking into an answer. We’ll be sure to update this story once we have it.

Full statement from Tanna Horner, executive director:

Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens abuts the Peace River and Hunter’s Creek estuary. Our property encompasses the conservation of 27 acres of precious natural habitats, providing a sanctuary for a diverse array of aquatic and land-based wildlife. As a conservation organization, we are compelled to raise awareness if there is a threat to the health of our ecosystems.

A portion of our land is located downstream to industrial properties, and we were recently informed of run-off concerns. A report was filed into the DEP portal, and it is the State’s role to investigate the causes and solutions. We have full confidence that the state and area businesses will work together to remediate this concern.