FWC recommends 89 felonies in St. Pete sewage report

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission just threw a damning report at the city of St. Petersburg, recommending 89 felony charges against the city.

The FWC slams the city's handling of its sewage dumping into the bay last year.

But problems didn't start last year. The report says the city failed to maintain its sewage infrastructure over the last 20 years. 

In 2016, St. Pete's sewers spewed water into streets because it couldn't keep up with the storm-water. Millions of gallons of partially treated sewage had to be dumped into Tampa Bay.

State Attorney Bernie McCabe told FOX 13 he looked at both an early version of the report and the final version presented seven days ago and said there wasn't enough evidence to charge a particular person.

The city fired some top officials who believed to have covered up information about what happened in 2016.

The FWC refused to comment on its investigation and Mayor Kriseman's office would only release a statement saying the city is glad the report is finalized and looks forward to continued efforts to overhaul the system.

St. Pete is in the middle of a nearly $305 million plan to rebuild its sewage system. $70 million in upgrades have already been made and this year, not a drop had to be discharged during Hurricane Irma.

The State Attorney's Office expressed frustration as to why it took so long for the FWC to release its final report.

All of this comes just days before a very tight mayoral election. Sewage infrastructure has been a key issue during the campaign.