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Impact of potential landfill to be studied

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE cwade@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 7, 2009

TAMPA - City officials have for the past year voiced concerns to state environmental regulators that a proposed landfill in Pasco County is a potential catastrophe.

Now they want to prove it.

Tampa plans to hire a consulting firm to illustrate what might happen if a landfill proposed for a site southeast of Dade City is breached and pollutants spill into the Hillsborough River, the city's main source of drinking water. The city estimates the cost at $50,000.

City officials are concerned the landfill proposed by Angelo's Aggregate Materials will be susceptible to sinkholes, which could cause cracks in its liner. Such cracks could allow toxic contaminants to leach into the groundwater, polluting the nearby Green Swamp.

The 560,000-acre swamp - which is considered the "hydrological heart" of Florida - is a primary source of water for both the Hillsborough and Withlacoochee rivers.

Angelo's executives have called such concerns unfounded and say they have designed a state-of-the-art landfill with a double liner and thick clay layer to prevent any leaks.

Neither the city nor the company would discuss the issue, citing ongoing litigation.

For decades, Tampa has diverted the flow of the lower Hillsborough from a dam to the David L. Tippin Water Treatment facility to provide drinking water.

Earlier this year, Mayor Pam Iorio wrote to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, asking environmental regulators not to approve Angelo's landfill unless the developers could prove it doesn't pose a threat to the city's drinking water supply.

The DEP denied Angelo's a landfill permit in February, citing a high sinkhole risk and ruling that the company had failed to prove the project site was geologically stable.

Angelo's has appealed, asking an administrative law judge to decide whether it should be allowed to dump household waste on the 900-acre property.

A hearing on the company's appeal is scheduled for March.
Tampa officials have joined a group of environmentalists and business owners that is challenging the landfill and plans to present the findings of the study at that hearing.

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