VERO BEACH – State Representative Debbie Mayfield introduced a bill in the Florida House yesterday that essentially seeks to subject municipal utilities, such as Vero Beach’s, which have service areas extending beyond their corporate limits, to Public Service regulation.

Mayfield’s bill covers not only municipalities with wastewater and sewer service, but also those with electric and natural gas service as well.

If passed, the bill will prohibit municipal utilities from expanding beyond their corporate limits without the consent of the board of county commissioners, as the City of Fellsmere recently proposed to do with its natural gas service.

At least two key provisions in Mayfield’s House Bill 733 address the current dispute between the city and the county.  The two governments are at odds over which will serve the unincorporated area of the south barrier island when the franchise agreement expires in 2017.

Mayfield’s bill would exempt the county from PSC rules prohibiting parallel utility systems by allow the county to construct its own system on the south barrier island, rather than purchasing the city’s water, wastewater and sewer infrastructure there.

However, for the county to serve the south barrier island, it would also have to connect its mainland system to the island by boring under the Indian River Lagoon.  The estimated cost for a subaqueous crossing of the lagoon has been estimated at a  minimum of $5 million.

Before the county can take over service to the south barrier island, either through purchasing the city’s system or constructing its own, it would first have to conduct a referendum or a mail survey of the customers in the affected area, and would have to wait until the current franchise agreement expires.

Late last month, the county mailed such a survey to residents on the south barrier island.