Due to resident complaints of persistent odors, Sumter County commissioners vowed last month to turn up the heat on the controversial Heart of Florida Landfill near Lake Panasoffkee.
They asked County Attorney Jennifer Rey to write a letter to landfill operators expressing their concerns.
They asked County Administrator Bradley Arnold to contact surrounding counties to join their opposition to proposed injection wells that would pump leachate deep underground.
They discussed legal options of filing for injunctive relief or seeking to declare the landfill as a public nuisance.
Now, it’s not so fast.
Arnold said Tuesday night he is arranging a two-hour tour of the landfill with Bushnell’s assistant city manager, a city council member and a county commissioner.
He said the pre-lawsuit letter must be delayed due to the tour.
“It will help to understand where they are in bringing the property into compliance,” Arnold said.
The county administrator also said a state engineer plans an information session for residents on injection wells, which residents fear could contaminate the water supply if they fail.
He said a contract with a composting operation on the site, considered a possible odor source, will not be renewed.
Rey said she has filed public information requests in preparation for the pre-lawsuit letter.
Commissioners had been reluctant to get involved because the landfill permit was issued by Bushnell after the county refused to issue it.
The city hired a consultant, Arcadia, to determine whether the permit should be revoked due to odor complaints. The consultant issued a report in December claiming that the odor problem was resolved.
Residents and Commissioner Andrew Bilardello, who visited the landfill several times, said the odor problem continues.
Landfill operators have received a state permit for a test injection well.
The wells would be used to inject leachate, or runoff, deep underground instead of trucking it to a wastewater treatment plant.
Residents are concerned that a planned CSX rail spur would allow the landfill to bring in more tons of Miami garbage.
Leslie Strickland of Sumterville said 46 Florida counties are sending contaminated soil to the landfill.
She said many area residents brought their landfill concerns to Bushnell officials at a meeting earlier this month.