Residents urge Sumter County commissioners to oppose deep injection well at Heart of Florida landfill

SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. — Residents pressed the Sumter County Board of County Commissioners on March 24 to oppose converting a test well at the Heart of Florida landfill into a deep injection well, saying the proposal risks contamination of regional groundwater supplies.

“Out of sight is not out of the aquifer,” said Ross Justice, a Sumterville resident, describing the potential for injected leachate to bypass natural filtration and asking commissioners to commit to opposing any deep injection well. Justice presented a draft ordinance intended to prohibit conversion or expansion of injection wells within the county and asked the board to move it forward.

Assistant County Administrator Bradley Arnold and county staff recounted recent tours and a technical presentation by Heart of Florida personnel and professional geologists. Arnold said the company that operates the landfill has submitted a test‑well report to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and that DEP — not the county — has regulatory authority to issue injection permits. “If it meets all the technical requirements, DEP will issue the permit,” Arnold said, describing the county’s role as targeting technical concerns to DEP reviewers and seeking public engagement from the state.

County Attorney explained the pre‑suit notice the county plans to file: it is a notice of intent to pursue injunctive relief to compel regulatory compliance but, she said, it does not have the legal effect of revoking a state permit. “The successful outcome in that injunction will not revoke their permit,” the attorney said; the notice is intended to prompt full compliance with regulatory requirements.

Residents and commenters cited specific worries including benzene exceedances reported at the landfill, persistent odors, and a lack of testing of nearby private wells. Alexandra St. Martin urged the board to pursue wellhead protection measures and regional coordination, noting neighboring counties have used wellhead protections to constrain risky uses near potable sources.

Board members asked staff to refine technical questions for DEP — on monitoring well placement, mechanical integrity testing, pretreatment standards, and reporting — and to request that DEP hold a question‑and‑answer town hall if an application to convert a test well to an operational injection well is filed. Commissioners also instructed staff to circulate Justice’s proposed ordinance and the pre‑suit materials to the clerk’s office so all commissioners can review them.

No ordinance was adopted at the meeting; the board did not vote to ban injection wells countywide. The county attorney and administrator said the pre‑suit notice and a technical letter to DEP are the next steps. The board urged DEP to provide direct answers and public engagement on monitoring and emergency response procedures if a permit application proceeds.

What happens next: staff will draft and transmit technical comments and a pre‑suit notice to the parties and DEP; the board signaled it will continue follow‑up at future meetings.

Representative quotes:

“We cannot filter our way out of a contaminated aquifer, so protect it, please,” Ross Justice said in public comment.

“If it meets all the technical requirements, DEP will issue the permit,” Bradley Arnold said, emphasizing DEP’s role and the county’s intent to raise technical issues with the state.

The meeting record shows the commissioners heard multiple public comments and discussed pursuing administrative and legal avenues, but did not enact a county ordinance at the March 24 meeting.

Ending: The board directed staff to prepare technical comments to DEP and proceed with a pre‑suit notice; no formal ban or countywide ordinance was approved that evening.