Blue Origin renews permit to dump 500k gallons of wastewater into Indian River

FLORIDA — Blue Origin is renewing an agreement with Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to be allowed to dump about 500,000 gallons of industrial wastewater into the Indian River.

This has caused environmentalists to petition the agreement.

In a public notice, the DEP stated that the permit would allow Blue Origin, which recently had a successful launch of its New Glenn rocket, to dump 500,000 gallons daily of both processed and non-processed wastewater.

The DEP stated “0.49 MGD (million gallons per day) of process wastewater and discharge 0.015 MGD of non-process wastewater” would go into a large onsite stormwater pond and then into the Indian River.  

A Blue Origin spokesperson said this is a renewal of an existing permit.

“This is a renewal of an existing agreement that has been in place for more than five years. We are committed to maintaining responsible and compliant operations,” stated the spokesperson to Spectrum News.

However, environmentalists took to Change.org to petition the agreement.

“The Indian River Lagoon is already fighting for its life. Decades of nutrient pollution, algae blooms, seagrass collapse, habitat loss, and record manatee deaths have pushed this fragile ecosystem to the edge. Now, it faces a NEW threat — and it’s one we cannot ignore,” the petition stated about Blue Origin.

Environmentalists are looking to get 200 signatures.

The petition stated that rocket launches (from the loud noise to heavy metals and chemicals) are impacting the plant and wildlife of the lagoon.

Last week, Brevard County commissioners talked about the funding needs for restoration efforts of the Indian River Lagoon.