The Issue
The Shady Hill waste-to-energy facility is reaching its capacity and Pasco County has been forced to look for long-term solutions.
A private company, Angelo’s Aggregate Materials, wants to put a 1,069-acre landfill in East Pasco. A landfill isn’t in the best interest of the community or the region. Landfills use dated technology, waste resources, and could damage the solid waste management system that Pasco County has put in place.
We feel that the County needs to look at all the options and do what is best for the County, the region and the environment.
Background
On October 31, 2006, Angelo’s Aggregate Materials submitted permit applications to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to build a Class 1 landfill. The proposed site for the landfill is in eastern Pasco County, adjacent to the Withlacoochee River and Green Swamp about 3 miles southeast of Dade City. The facility will cover 1,069 acres and has been designed to accept up to 3,000 tons of waste per day. Waste will include household wastes and hazardous waste, such as contaminated soils.
"They have not passed all their tests..."
- Phyllis Smith, Former Executive Director of the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce
Angelo’s Aggregate Materials have never operated a Class I landfill before.
Placing a landfill next to the Withlacoochee and Hillsborough Rivers, and the Green Swamp just doesn’t make sense. Putting a landfill here would place our drinking water at risk and endanger wildlife. The Green Swamp is considered a critical recharge area for the Floridan aquifer, is at the headwaters of the Withlacoochee and Hillsborough rivers, and is surrounded by a wildlife management area. Any spill, leak or accident at this site could have major impacts on environmental quality by altering water quality and poisoning animal habitats downstream.
Although Angelo’s has made a number of promises to the community, these promises weren’t included in their application. We were told that there is no sinkhole risk, that they were committed to developing a recycling center, and that they would collect the greenhouse gases released by the landfill. But their own geological and engineering experts admit it is of moderate risk for sinkholes, they are leaving the cost of household recycling to taxpayers by not incorporating the capabilities into their site, and they will vent greenhouse gases to the atmosphere in the foreseeable future.
No matter how we look at it, this private dump provides far more benefit to its owners than it does to the people of Pasco County. The County has a plan—and it’s a good one—that creates economic and environmental benefits for all citizens. Our solid waste management system has room for expansion and improvement. There’s no need to risk our beautiful environment or our drinking water for this private business venture.