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Neck-Deep In A Mess Of Mulch

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 15, 2008

After the 2004 hurricane season, when Florida communities needed a place to dump tons of yard waste, the state agreed to let rural landowners spread up to two feet of chopped-up debris across their property without getting a permit for solid-waste disposal.

Yet as Tribune reporter Lindsay Peterson reports, a south Hillsborough property owner has accepted so many dump trucks full of mulch that the debris reaches more than 6 feet high across much of a 60-acre parcel. In some places, the pile is 10 feet high.

"It's not our fault the inspectors let it slide," says Paul Savich, who manages the property owned by Dianna Williams.

Unfortunately, businesses like this force the need for government regulations. Because when money is involved, you can't always count on people to do the right thing.

The county's Environmental Protection Commission issued a warning after getting complaints from a competing mulch operation. But by then, the landowner stood no chance of bringing the mulch down to the two-foot level. Savich asked for an exemption, which can be given to people who show they need the material for farming or some other beneficial use.

The landowner contacted an agent with the state Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, saying he wanted to grow palm trees on the land. The agent gave him a letter saying the mulch would help the land retain moisture.

With that, the landowner received an exemption to keep mulch up to five feet high.

Yet experts say - and common sense argues - that mulch that thick would kill any vegetation, including palm trees. The agent who penned the letter now says she is no authority on palm trees.

While the dump site is enormous, it hardly constitutes a grave environmental offense. The organic material is not a contaminant, and no nearby waterways are affected, though it does appear that upland habitat was destroyed.

Still, something is wrong when it is possible to pile up to 10 feet of waste with scarcely a peep from environmental guardians.

It's unfortunate that state and local regulators, with limited numbers, must now patrol mulch farms in the hinterlands.

And it's clear DEP needs a more muscular rule that doesn't invite abuse.

Because, like we said, when money is involved, you can't always count on people to do the right thing.

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