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County staff outline DEP-required closure plan for Florence C&D landfill; DEP retains closure authority
Summary
Staff explained state closure requirements for the Florence Construction and Demolition landfill, including engineering plans, cover specifications, stormwater controls, a possible gas-management system, an official DEP closure certification process, and five years of post-closure groundwater monitoring; staff will check DEP records for the most recent closure-plan filing.
Alachua County staff briefed the Board of County Commissioners on what Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) rules require for final closure of the Florence Construction and Demolition landfill and the practical timeline that would follow.
Chris Gilbert, Hazardous Materials Program Manager, said the closure design must include engineering plans, phasing, final topography and cover plans. "The closure design plan covers everything from the engineering plans ... key drawings showing the existing and final topography with final side slopes and final cover plans," Gilbert said.
As described to the board, common cover options include a 24‑inch soil layer with the upper 6 inches capable of supporting vegetation to control erosion; the final site is typically graded to a 3:1 slope and a 150‑foot buffer is maintained around the perimeter. Gilbert said the DEP reviews the engineer’s submittal and chooses among acceptable cover and stormwater-control options.
Gilbert told the board the permit requires the operator to complete closure construction within 180 days of DEP approval of the closure plans. After construction the engineer of record certifies the closure to DEP; if DEP determines conditions have been met the department issues a closure letter and the operator must file a public declaration in the county clerk’s records within 30 days. Postclosure groundwater monitoring and fiscal assurance are required for five years following closure; Gilbert said the May 2019 closure estimate on file was $478,000 and five-year postclosure care was estimated at about $107,000.
Commissioners asked staff to research DEP’s records to confirm whether the operator filed the five‑year closure plan by May 2024 as required and to provide the most recent documents. Gilbert said staff will check DEP’s database and report back.
The presentation underlined that DEP remains the regulatory authority for landfill permits and closure decisions. Commissioners and residents pressed staff on how the county can supplement state oversight (for example, by collecting and posting groundwater data and requesting that DEP act on monitoring results), and staff said they will produce public-facing graphs and documentation as new sampling arrives.
