Environmental regulators warn they will not grant permit for controversial Pasco landfill

The Hudson landfill operator, who was sued earlier this year by a neighbor who has been challenging his operations for more than a decade, is facing an even bigger horde.

This week, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a draft notice saying it plans to change its mind about issuing a new permit to Coastal Landfill Disposal and instead deny the landfill’s permit renewal. The agency says it no longer believes the company can convince it that it is following the rules and laws that govern such businesses.

The notice was filed with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, where a separate legal dispute over the operation is ongoing. According to that notice, the Department of Environmental Protection agreed to issue the permit, but then “Department personnel inspected the facility on June 14, 2024.”

Using engineering drawings the company submitted under its existing permit, public aerial photographs of the site, and visual observations, the department confirmed that “solid waste was disposed of outside the permitted footprint of the facility,” a violation of several regulations and the operator’s permit.

In addition, the agency reviewed submitted water tests, which showed the company had violated water quality standards at and around the site.

“Therefore, the applicant no longer provides reasonable assurance that the facility will be operated in accordance with the applicable requirements” of Florida law and regulations, the agency’s notice said.

The notice also explains that the permit applicant has an appeal process through the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings. As of Thursday, he has not filed an appeal.

According to Michael Dutko, Jr., the attorney representing the landfill, the agency has not formally notified Coastal Landfill Disposal of a denial, even though it has seen the draft filed in the other lawsuit. Therefore, there is no deadline for the company to appeal a ruling.

Dutko also said Coastal Landfill Disposal disagrees with the agency’s conclusions in that draft about the operation and size of the landfill. He said “it is in no way larger than what is permitted.”

He said he expects the company to be successful in obtaining a permit from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and that the landfill will provide a needed and sought-after service to the community.

Earlier this year, the landfill’s neighbor, DCH Timber, filed a lawsuit seeking more than $50,000 in damages. The suit is the latest in a years-long dispute over the operations of the landfill and related businesses on 170 acres at the end of Houston Avenue, two miles east of U.S. 19 in Hudson.

Coastal Landfill Disposal, Cash Development and Eric Cash, owners of the landfill and recycling center, and DCH Timber Inc., owner of the 1,300 acres north of the landfill, clashed over several issues, including concerns that the landfill was not monitoring groundwater to protect it from contamination from the landfill.

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The complaint also accused the company of repeated violations, “installing and maintaining paving, pipes, walls, fences, gates and other items and dumping waste, debris and dirt.”

That lawsuit is still ongoing. Dutko said the legal action the neighbor has taken is baseless and simply a way to make their property more valuable.

The attorney representing DCH Timber said the Department of Environmental Protection’s decision to now deny the landfill’s permit highlights the company’s ongoing violations of regulations designed to protect drinking water and the environment. “We believe this action should stop Coastal in its tracks regarding its habitual violation of regulations and blatant disregard for the public health, safety and property rights of its neighbors,” said attorney Scott McLaren of Hill Ward Henderson.

This isn’t the first dispute between the timber company and the landfill. In 2009, the owner of the timber company, Barbara Ryals, put a fence in the middle of the private road that served the area. She was protesting the construction of a road on her property to accommodate the heavy equipment needed for the landfill.

In addition to applying for the state permit extension, Coastal Landfill filed paperwork with Pasco County in April to expand the landfill’s height, a height the filing said was already in conflict with the county. An earlier attempt for county approval failed, and Pasco officials have not yet responded to the latest request.

“Coastal Disposal Landfill has filed an application to amend its current operating permit with Pasco County,” county spokesperson Sarah Andeara said in an email Thursday. “Pasco County reviews and issues approvals for proposed developments subject to conditions of approval, including federal, state and other local requirements/approvals.”