TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Tampa City Council To Vote On Measure Against Pasco Landfill

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 17, 2008

TAMPA - A proposed Pasco County landfill would be built near the headwaters of the Hillsborough River, Tampa's main source of drinking water, and that concerns some members of the city council.

So they're planning to vote on a resolution, albeit symbolic, expressing their opposition to the project, arguing that the proposed landfill threatens the city's water supply.

Largo-based Angelo's Aggregate Materials wants to open a household waste landfill on 90 acres off Enterprise Road near Dade City. In Pasco, the proposal has drawn fierce opposition from a variety of community groups who contend the project will contaminate groundwater and pollute Green Swamp, headwaters to the Hillsborough River as well as the Withlacoochee River.

Tampa City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena, along with several other council members, call the proposed location for the company's landfill "too environmentally sensitive."

"There are so many other places they could build it," she said. "But not on the river."

A council vote could come as early as Thursday.

Last year, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio wrote to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection asking the state regulatory body not to grant owners of the proposed landfill permits to operate it unless it's proven not to threaten the city's drinking water supply.

The mayor also noted that the area, about three miles southeast of Dade City, is prone to sinkholes. That raises the possibility that the landfill's lining could rupture, allowing the contents to pollute the aquifer that feeds the river, Iorio wrote in the letter to the DEP.

Largo-based Angelo's said the landfill will be a cheaper, environmentally friendly answer to Pasco's garbage crisis. The county's growth has overwhelmed the waste-to-energy incinerator in Shady Hills, and garbage is being trucked to an out-of-county landfill.

Angelo's filed its landfill application in 2006. The company also runs a construction and demolition landfill nearby. Pasco also owns a rarely used landfill in the same area.

The DEP is reviewing the company's proposal. A decision from the regulatory body on whether to grant or deny a permit to the company expected in early January.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT