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Residents press Sumter County to act as landfill odors persist; county discusses legal options and monitoring support
Summary
Residents pressed the board to accelerate action on recurring odors from the Heart of Florida landfill; county staff said FDEP holds permit authority but discussed evidence needs, nuisance claims and possible cost-sharing with the City of Bushnell for ambient air monitoring.
Residents urged the Sumter County Board of County Commissioners to act more aggressively on ongoing odors and suspected pollution from the Heart of Florida landfill, while county attorneys and staff described legal constraints and possible paths the county could take.
During public forum, Jeremy Scott said he spoke with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and that the landfill has triggered federal emissions requirements under 40 CFR Part 60 (Subpart XXX), noting the facility has until June to install a regulated gas collection and control system. “The facility now has until June of this year to install a fully regulated gas collection and control system,” Scott said.
Deborah Arkus and other residents described ongoing health and nuisance impacts and asked why the county had not done more than send letters. “This has been going on since December 2024 … We need to move faster,” Arkus said, arguing that face-to-face accountability and more immediate action were needed.
County Attorney counsel told the board there are two principal legal avenues: seeking injunctive relief tied to permit terms (which depends on data and monitoring that FDEP typically controls) and pursuing a public-nuisance claim that would require the county to establish off-property odor and air-quality impacts. Counsel said the nuisance route could require naming multiple operators on the landfill site to avoid cross-claims.
Staff and the chair described recent developments intended to reduce potential odor sources, including an early termination notice for a composting operator on the landfill property (Compost USA) and coordination with the City of Bushnell on ambient air monitoring. County staff said the city is considering using outside contractors to deploy air-quality monitoring; commissioners discussed offering to share costs to accelerate monitoring but said the county would not absorb the lion’s share.
County Administrator Bridal Arnold stressed that the county itself does not hold the landfill operating permit and that FDEP is the primary enforcement authority; nonetheless the board directed staff to explore ways to help expedite evidence collection and monitoring with Bushnell and FDEP so that enforcement decisions can be based on robust, site-specific data.
The board did not authorize a direct appropriation that evening but agreed to follow up with the City of Bushnell on potential cost-sharing and to continue pushing FDEP for timely action. Residents were told staff would keep pursuing interagency options and that additional technical monitoring could be pursued to better isolate odor sources.
