A controversial landfill proposal in Pasco County has generated a hefty amount of opposition on the part of lawmakers and environmentalists alike. On Aug. 23, state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, will address the Pasco Board of County Commissioners about the proposal.
Though the plan to build a landfill near environmentally sensitive lands in Pasco County was once thought dead, the permit has been reborn in recent months.
Angelo’s Aggregate Materials, Ltd. originally submitted an application for permission to operate a large municipal solid waste disposal facility in October 2006. That application was rejected (.pdf) in 2009 (due to potentially adverse environmental impacts) by the state Department of Environmental Protection which was, at the time, led by Michael Sole.
The new proposal has been subtly altered — the original request was for a 90-acre landfill, while the renewed request is only for 30 acres. But, as the permit reads, Angelo’s would reserve the right to expand the landfill by an additional 60 acres over time. Critics worry that the renewed proposal might now be approved under the new head of the Department of Environmental Protection, Rick Scott appointee Herschel Vinyard.
According to his chief legislative aide, Greg Giordano, Fasano will speak about his opposition to the landfill, and address specific reasons why the permit application should be denied. The application is currently in the hands of the state Department of Environmental Protection, but Fasano and others like him believe it is unnecessary for many reasons, one of which is the fact that the county already has a solid waste resource facility that burns waste and turns it into power.
