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Homeowners group seeks county support for stronger FDEP consent order on landfill odors; commissioners agree to draft letter
Summary
HALO (Homeowners Against Landfill Odors) asked the board for a letter of support urging the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to adopt a stronger, more enforceable consent order for the SLD landfill; commissioners directed staff to draft a general support letter with a requested enforcement timetable and return it in two weeks.
Kim Kitco, representing HALO (Homeowners Against Landfill Odors), told commissioners that the SLD landfill has been in violation of state law and a 2016 consent decree for more than a decade and that a new FDEP consent order was imminent. Kitco asked the board for a letter of support to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection asking for stronger enforceability and an advanced timetable for enforcement.
Kitco said HALO has worked with FDEP for eight months and that the new consent order, while improved compared with 2016, still "fails to provide adequate protection for residents from ongoing odor violations, weak enforcement, and insufficient accountability." She requested that interested parties be allowed to petition for an administrative hearing once the order is signed and asked the county to support a stronger order.
Commissioners responded with questions about timing and jurisdiction. Several members said they wanted a generally worded letter recognizing FDEP as the regulatory authority and requesting a clearer enforcement timetable. Commissioner Truax (Bill Truex) suggested staff research other avenues for county involvement. The board agreed by consensus to draft a support letter, circulate it to all five commissioners for review, and return the draft at the next meeting in two weeks for formal approval.
No formal county legal action or filing was authorized at the meeting; next steps are the drafting and review of the letter and a staff report on potential county options.
