Trashing the Environment
No one wants a landfill in his or her backyard.
"It will not just effect Dade City... but the entire area."
- Phyllis Smith, Former Executive Director of the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce
And, recognizing the potential impact a landfill has on the entire region, no community should want a new landfill. Especially when that landfill is located next to a critical recharge area for Central Florida’s water supply and a conservation area that millions of your tax dollars helped create.
If approved, this massive 1069-acre private landfill would do just that. The proposed site would place the landfill right next to three watersheds: the Withlacoochee River, the Hillsborough River and the Green Swamp, and adjacent to the Green Swamp conservation area. This landfill could pollute the region’s drinking water supply and endanger the health and safety of regional wildlife.
If anything were to contaminate one of these watersheds, the repercussions would be felt well beyond the backyards of Pasco County residents. The Hillsborough River serves as a source of drinking water for the entire Tampa Bay region, and the Green Swamp is a critical recharge source for the Floridan Aquifer, which supplies water to much of the state. The health and safety of an entire ecosystem would be in jeopardy, as well as the water supply for millions of residents of Central Florida.
Allowing this private landfill to be built in such an important area makes no sense. Risking wildlife and recreation would be an irresponsible gamble. But why would anyone risk our precious water supply?