State Rep. Samantha Scott, R-52, has weighed in with her concerns about a direct injection well at the Heart of Florida Landfill near Lake Panasoffkee.
In a letter to Richard Lobinske of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), she wrote that the well could endanger Florida’s underground aquifer, the area’s major source of drinking water.
Drilling is under way of a test injection well after FDEP granted a permit. If it succeeds, a permit may be issued for a permanent well.
The well would be used to pump leachate, or contaminated rainwater runoff, deep underground instead of trucking it to wastewater treatment plants out of the area.
“There is genuine apprehension among constituents about potential risks associated with this project,” Scott wrote. “Families, farms and businesses rely directly on the Florida Aquifer as their primary source of drinking water. Any threat to this resource carries real and lasting consequences.”
She wrote that a key concern is “limited predictability of deep groundwater flow patterns” and “uncertainty regarding the direction and rate of migration of injected materials.”
The department should evaluate alternative treatment methods that carry less risk, Scott wrote.
“The residents of District 52 expect that decisions impacting our aquifer will be made with the highest level of care, ensuring that future generations are not left with irreversible consequences to Florida’s freshwater resources,” the letter concluded.
Earlier this month in a letter to FDEP Secretary Alexis Lambert, Sumter County commissioners asked state environmental officials to attend a public meeting in June on the proposed injection well. The county also has sought support from other counties that also rely on the aquifer.
Residents have complained about landfill odors for more than a year and they have pressed Sumter County commissioners to help.
Bushnell annexed the landfill property several years ago and issued the permit after Sumter County rejected it.