by John Prosser…

Probably due to another unvetted press release, misinformation has been printed about the October 4th Circuit Court Order on the case of Louise Delaney as Plaintiff vs the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority & Monroe County as co-Defendants. This was challenging the Defendants’ claimed right to demand property easements and electrical service from citizens to extend the Defendants’ grinder pump based sewage collection systems onto private property, using written threats to compel same. The newspaper suggested that such demands may still be lawful. They are not and never have been.

Judge Timothy Koenig was extremely clear on page 13 of his 15 page Order about the illegality of these government demands. There is no ambiguity in these quotations from the Court Order:

“…the Defendants have a mandatory obligation to connect the Plaintiff’s property to the public-right-of-way via a gravity system.”
“… the Defendants cannot compel the Plaintiff to install a grinder pump, which is powered by electricity and not the gravitational attraction of the earth’s mass, before connecting her property to the public right-of-way.” “Such a requirement plainly, necessarily, and unlawfully interferes with the Plaintiff’s right to a gravity system by converting it into a low pressure or hybrid system.”

Well stated, Judge Koenig!

John Prosser
Big Pine Key