WELLINGTON, Fla. — The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is investigating a well-known developer for possibly filling wetlands without a proper permit.
Records show the SFWMD is concerned that Mark Bellissimo, who has an ownership stake in multiple horse shows in Wellington, filled 13.75 acres of land, including surface waters and two canals.
WATCH BELOW: Wellington developer under investigation
According to village documents, Bellissimo's company filed an application to expand the existing manure facility and built a store to sell feed and hay.
Gregory Vazquez, who works as an inspector for the SFWMD, said the group had a general permit for the north part of the property. But, he said the property would not qualify since surface waters were filled and the total area (north and east of the manure processing facility) exceeds 10 acres.
The district said in their notice of investigation letter that Bellissimo needed to file an Environmental Resource Protection Permit or restore the land to its original conditions.
Matthew Schwartz with the South Florida Wildlands Association said the permit is a "check" to ensure the area's ecosystem is protected. He's especially concerned about possible health effects from contaminated runoff since the area has a large amount of manure and has historical wetlands near the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
"Things come of the manure, chemical leach out of it. Animals are eating all kinds of things. … And all those things can leach out of the stuff into the ecosystem and the groundwater," Schwartz said. "So, that needs to be very carefully inspected before a project like that could be OKed. If it was never OKed for this kind of operation, that's a serious operation."
WPTV reached out to Bellissimo and his son, Matthew, who operates a business on the land. We're still working to get an answer.
WPTV also reached out to the Village of Wellington to see if it is performing an investigation into the owner.
The village responded that "we are prohibited from requiring applicants to obtain State, Federal, and other authorizations prior to the issuance of our engineering permits/land development permits nor can we withhold issuance of our permits awaiting another agency's permit."
