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Despite Strident Objections, State Poised To OK Landfill

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com

Published: January 12, 2009

DADE CITY Today's likely approval of a massive landfill in eastern Pasco County created a flurry of last-minute letter writing in recent days by environmental groups opposed to the plan.

"This landfill represents an absolutely unacceptable risk to the region's water quality, not just in Pasco County, but throughout Tampa Bay and Florida's Nature Coast," Manley Fuller, president of the Florida Wildlife Federation, said in a press release last week.

Statement from the Florida Audubon Society, Hernando Audubon Society and the Gulf Restoration Network expressed similar sentiments.

But State Department of Environmental Protection officials appear ready to recommend approval today of Largo-based Angelo's Aggregate Materials' project today, according to a draft document released last month.

Angelo's wants to build a 995-acre landfill on the western edge of the Green Swamp, the source of the Hillsborough River and a recharge area for the Floridan Aquifer. Opponents worry a poorly managed landfill could contaminate drinking supplies for the region.

The developers say their project is no risk to the environment. The landfill will be underpinned by dense clay and manmade materials. Polluted liquid will be piped away to be cleaned, according to the project's plans.

The project has drawn opposition from municipalities in Pasco and Hillsborough counties and from state Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, whose district includes the landfill site.

After months of silence on the landfill, Pasco County commissioners last week chose to avoid an expensive uphill fight to overturn the landfill's state permit. Instead, they'll wait to address the landfill when it comes to them for the land-use changes and permits it will need to operate.

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