“Hey Bungalower, that foam-snow is still all over Downtown. Are they really going to clean it up?” – Bungalower Reader
As we wrote about previously HERE, it has been “snowing” Polystyrene in Downtown Orlando for the past few months.
The source of the airborne particulates turned out to be the construction at Modera Central, where they were rasping the surface of foam sheets after affixing them to the outside of the new tower. Rasping allows materials like stucco to affix themselves to an otherwise smooth surface.
The City told us last month that the contractor had been fined $1,000 under the City’s Stormwater Utility Code, 31.19 (1), more on that in the link above.
Since then the rasping has not ceased and Polystyrene is still falling into Downtown streets. Since issuing that first letter, the City has informed us that they have been closely monitoring the construction process at Modera and that because of the additional debris in the streets, the contractor has been fined a total of $4,000, which includes that initial $1,000 fine.
The contractor has begun to use protected screens and trash bags to contain the rasping debris. The City told Bungalower that they believe this will aid in “… reducing the discharge into the surrounding areas and lakes.” Bungalower staff has even seen Modera’s build-team out in the streets with mobile vacuum units, sucking up errant pieces of foam from the immediate vicinity.
City staff will continue to monitor the situation and assign additional fines, as necessary.
The Modera Central project is being built at 150 East Central Boulevard [GMap].
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