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State Agency Slaps Public During Landfill Debacle

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 19, 2008

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mike Sole and District Director Deborah Getzoff have some explaining to do.

It's outrageous enough that the department appears ready to approve a developer's plan to turn land on the edge of the Green Swamp into a garbage dump despite overwhelming public opposition.

But it stinks to learn, as we did this week, that the draft permit was already in the works when the department announced last week it was delaying a decision for 30 days to give regulators more time to review public comments on the proposed landfill in east Pasco.

This kind of doublespeak is precisely why so many residents do not trust government.

Throughout east Pasco, residents, government officials and business leaders have unequivocally said they do not want the pristine countryside littered with a 90-acre garbage dump that could grow to 775 acres. Tampa officials also are opposed, justifiably concerned about their drinking water, most of which comes from the Hillsborough River, which originates in the Green Swamp.

But based upon DEP's "draft" permit authorizing the project, their pleas were ignored. This is appalling. Community sentiment, especially when it's so strong, deserves respect.

It's of no consolation whatsoever that the DEP documents list "draft" in large letters and state the proposed permit "is under department review and revision and may not represent the department's intended or final agency action." The developers certainly are under the impression that their money-making venture is a go after two years of DEP review.

Nor is it any consolation that the draft permit requires strict monitoring requirements and other purported safeguards. This just highlights how significant the risks are. DEP should not risk exposing groundwater to possible contamination in the event of a sinkhole or breach in the liners the developers promise to install.

Another concern is pollution runoff during heavy rain. DEP should have learned a lesson from how the developers of the Cypress Creek Town Center failed to capture runoff there even though they assured regulators they would. More than once, tainted water flowed into this Outstanding Florida Water, prompting federal regulators to suspend the project.

It's astonishing DEP would permit a dump so close to the Green Swamp, source of drinking water for millions, especially when the area in question is prone to sinkholes.

The developer likes to emphasize that Pasco County operates a landfill near the site. But one poorly located landfill doesn't justify allowing a larger one so close to a critical resource.

DEP's priority should be protecting the Green Swamp, source of the Hillsborough, Withlacoochee, Peace and Ocklawaha rivers, not increasing pollution threats. If regulators permit the landfill, they will have failed the public in colossal fashion - much in the way they have misled them by extending their review under the guise of needing more time to review comments and to avoid conflicting with the holidays.

Gov. Charlie Crist and the state Cabinet need to closely monitor this process and do everything they can to overrule DEP should the proposed permit be finalized.

And surely the Pasco County Commission, whose approval also is needed, will, unlike DEP, recognize the foolishness of risking the health of this critical water source for a garbage dump.

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