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Plan Pours Water On Landfill

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By NICOLA M. WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 15, 2007

DADE CITY - For decades, landfills have operated like this: dig hole, line it, throw in garbage.

The Class I landfill a Largo-based company is asking to build outside of Dade City would add an extra step to the process: pump in water.

The idea is to speed the garbage decomposition and expand the life of a landfill by making the trash take up as little room as possible. As the trash decomposes, it emits gas, which can be harnessed for energy.
Backers of the proposed landfill off Enterprise Road have lauded this new technology, emphasizing that it is 'greener' than a traditional landfill, with the added bonus of creating energy. It also would encourage recycling, as the technology works best when the garbage in the landfill is as organic as possible, with metals, glass and plastics processed separately.

That commitment remains, said John Arnold, the engineer for Angelo's Aggregate Materials, the company that wants to build the landfill.

The proposed bioreactor - as the composting technology is called - would not be up and running when the landfill opens, according to documents from the Department of Environmental Protection, which is reviewing the permit application for the landfill.

The permit application is for the operation of a Class I landfill. If that permit is approved, then Angelo's would have to apply for a permit modification or a separate permit to add a bioreactor component, said Pamala Vazquez, DEP spokeswoman.

This timetable is a previously undiscussed twist in the simmering debate about building a landfill here, an issue that has sparked heated discussion in venues ranging from city council chambers to garden club meetings.

On both sides, the arguments have been fierce, particularly from those opposed to it.

To Arnold, the engineer, the timetable should not be used as a reason to dismiss the facility.

'We have a written offer to the county that goes over all those things that we promise to do,' he said. 'We have committed to operating this as a bioreactor.'

Angelo's applied for its permit in October. Since then, the DEP has reviewed it three times, in each case sending back several pages of questions and comments and asking Angelo's engineers to resubmit the application. The latest round of questions, from two DEP departments, were sent July 31 and Sept. 5. Angelo's has 90 days to respond before the application moves forward.

Meanwhile, those on both sides of the issue continue to push to get their cause heard.

Angelo's has printed fliers calling the facility an organic composting and recycling center. The opponents, a group calling itself Protectors of Florida's Legacy, built a Web site with photos of garbage-strewn landfills and a business with a 'Sorry, We're Closed' sign in the door as if to signal that local businesses would die if the landfill opened.

The proposed landfill would sit on 900 acres in a relatively rural section of northeast Pasco County off Old Lakeland Highway, where pastures and citrus groves dot the landscape.

Opponents worry about their drinking water, property values and quality of life. They also point to the sensitive location near the Withlacoochee River and the Green Swamp, a protected no-growth area.

'We think they're really only concerned about the bottom line,' said Carl Roth, leader of the antilandfill group.

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio also has raised questions about the landfill.

Although the landfill site does not sit within Dade City limits, the Dade City Commission has been considering the pros and cons of it for months.

On Tuesday, commissioners plan to visit the Polk County Landfill, a facility that is working with the University of Florida to become a bioreactor. The commissioners want to see how the technology works.

At the commission's Sept. 27 meeting, members are expected to vote on sending a formal letter stating their opposition to the landfill. Commissioner Camille Hernandez is drafting it.

Reporter Jo-Ann Johnston contributed to this report. Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or nwhite1 @tampatrib.com.

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