RIO VISTA

The Biden administration is advancing plans for offshore wind projects that would place hundreds of turbines in California's coastal waters.

"Honestly, I'm in shock. I definitely didn't expect this to ever happen, so I'm really excited. Excited to hopefully bring her back, get her healthy and live the rest of her life," Zoey's owner said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Floridas Department of Environmental Protection is giving the city of Fort Lauderdale a choice in how it will pay for a series of sewage breaks that plagued the Rio Vista Neighborhood for months. Either pay a hefty penalty or invest in environmental restoration projects. I think it is a long overdue wake up call we hope for the State of Florida, not just this individual city, Valenstein said. The new order now gives the city the option to pay a historic penalty of more than $2 million or invest in an in-kind project. Chaz Adams, a spokesperson for the City of Fort Lauderdale, told Local 10 that they have been in contact with the regulatory agency about the order, but have not decided how to proceed.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Floridas Department of Environmental Protection is giving the city of Fort Lauderdale a choice in how it will pay for a series of sewage breaks that plagued the Rio Vista neighborhood for months. Either pay a hefty penalty or invest in environmental restoration projects. I think it is a long overdue wake up call we hope for the State of Florida, not just this individual city, Valenstein said. The new order now gives the city the option to pay a historic penalty of more than $2 million or invest in an in-kind project. Chaz Adams, a spokesperson for the City of Fort Lauderdale, told Local 10 that they have been in contact with the regulatory agency about the order, but have not decided how to proceed.

Issues with a sewer in the Himmershee Canal was one of six sewer problems in the city in December, spilling millions of gallons of untreated sewage into yards, streets and waterways. The first two were in the Rio Vista neighborhood near the Tarpon River. The third was under the Himmarshee Canal, followed by two smaller spills in Victoria Park and one in Coral Ridge.

The canal break was one of six in the city in December, spilling millions of gallons of untreated sewage into yards, streets and waterways. The first two were in the Rio Vista neighborhood near the Tarpon River. The third was under the Himmarshee Canal, followed by two smaller spills in Victoria Park and one in Coral Springs.

The new sense of urgency expressed Tuesday follows six sewer main breaks in just three weeks that have spilled millions of gallons of untreated sewage possibly hundreds of millions of gallons into the Rio Vista, Victoria Park and Coral Ridge neighborhoods, and into the Tarpon River, Himmarshee Canal and other nearby waterways. The city still hasnt released its estimate of the size of each of the spills and the state says the city has until Jan. 10 to provide those figures.

This month, the first spill was in the Rio Vista neighborhood on the south side of the Tarpon River. Two days after the sewage flow was stopped, the same pipe ruptured in Rio Vista on the north side of the Tarpon River. A day after that, a pipe on the same line ruptured under the Himmarshee Canal, right where the fix had been made on the pipe three years earlier.

Even though the city has been successful in ending the sewage flow at both breaks, that wont be the end of its sewage troubles. Rio Vista will still need a major cleanup and sanitizing, and its broken pipe will need a permanent fix.

They know the general area of where the break is, Trantalis said. Theyre afraid to get too close to the source of the break in the pipe. The concern is if they dig away at the ground around the pipe, theres nothing holding the pipe together there and it might explode.