Strong words from a man who is not only defending his property value along Mulat Bayou, but also the wildlife that used to live there.
The problem began last summer, when builders on Furlong Road and Damon Drive began delivering what residents describe as hundreds of truckloads of red clay to fill areas for development.
The Furlong Road builder, Thomas Cornelison, was fined multiple times. In September, Cornelison was fined for non-criminal violations of county ordinances for erosion control, irreparable damage to a sensitive waterway and land clearing without a permit. The total of the fines was $12,870.
Just after Thanksgiving, heavy rain filled Mulat with red clay. The bayou turned orange. Cornelison was hit with another set of fines totaling $18,675.
March 4, the two developers were arrested on misdemeanor charges and released on $1,000 bond. To date, no stop-work orders have been issued to either builder. The county has the authority to stop the construction until proper erosion control measures are put in place.
The county did work quickly to get the two roads paved, however, the roads were not a source of the problem. The discharge was coming directly from the properties. The difference in sediment color was stark from the red clay and the dirt road.
Hauck is referring to ‘negligence’ by the county, the board of commissioners, and perhaps even the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Protection Agency. But he believes a resident’s first and last line of protection is by the county.
“We have been told by the county commissioners and DEP since last September and every month since then, that this was going to be taken care of,” Hauck said. “We thought when we paid for more than 100-ft. of waterfront property that we would be protected from sewage and clay sediment from five other properties coming into the bayou. It is infuriating that it not only continues but seems to be getting worse.”
Hauck is struggling to make sense of all that has happened over the past seven months as construction clay from developments has washed down into Mulat Bayou over and over again. His home waterfronts the bayou. Hauck recalls sitting in the backyard watching Bald Eagles, hawks, pelicans, ospreys and other birds visit and live on the bayou for its richness in food availability. That is all but gone now.
“It has been 7 months since we have seen any fish in this bayou,” Hauck said. “The wildlife has been greatly reduced and killed off.”
Hauck and his wife moved to Mulat Bayou for their retirement. “I moved here to retire and fish, not become an activist.” Now they wonder if they made a mistake. This has even put a strain on their marriage.
“This has not just affected me personally, but my wife as well. It has affected our relationship because of the stress of this,” Hauck said. “Dealing with the constant destruction of our property, but also losing the use of the bayou, which is why we moved here has been incredibly stressful.”
“I have worked 8 hours a day every day for 7 months documenting the damage, emailing everyone I can find in the DEP, EPA and the county,” Hauck said. “I shouldn’t have to do this.”
Hauck brings the entire situation back to a lack of leadership. “There are laws and codes in place that they are not upholding. No one is talking about that. I had to follow every inch of the codes and laws when I built this house.”
DEP has not, as of yet, produced a public records request made by this newspaper Feb. 25, 2025, citing an open investigation into the matter. But, they did send this statement:
“The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been actively monitoring and documenting the ongoing discharges into Mulat Bayou from the Avalon Beach developments, including those following this weekend’s heavy rains. While DEP does not have the authority to directly implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) on private property, we have repeatedly directed the developers to take immediate action to mitigate these discharges.
DEP has conducted more than a dozen inspections and is thoroughly documenting the recurrent turbidity violations and BMP failures. This documentation will be critical for supporting both regulatory and criminal enforcement actions.”
There are many unknowns for Hauck and his wife and their future. How long will it take the bayou to repair itself without any remediation? Do they want to stay to see the bayou alive again? They want answers and they want change.
Hauck concluded by saying, “I’m so tired of not being heard. Why do I have to go to such extremes to be heard?”
Submitted photos
