Studer Community Institute

DEP, state officials host meeting on Escambia landfills

November 24, 2014
/ Shannon Nickinson
/ government

Escambia County is looking at ways to tighten up regulations on borrow pits, land clearing debris pits and construction and demolition debris pits. As part of that effort. State Rep. Mike Hill will host a meeting today at 10 a.m. in Pensacola with Florida Department of Environmental official on hand to answer questions. Hill said he wants to meeting to help residents understand what has taken place and what the next steps may be in a long, complicated process. "There are a number of residents affected by these landfills and they believe that nothing has happened," Hill said. "I want to give them some assurance that things are happening." "The DEP has taken steps that have not been taken with in the past 10 years, there are some things that are happening, but the perception is different," Hill said. [sidebar] Read more Residents of the neighborhoods near these facilities have had concerns for years about the impact on their health and well-bring. Escambia County officials are tackling some of those concerns as they draft new rules about how the landfills, C&D pits and borrow pits are permitted and inspected. [/sidebar] Chief among the issues likely to come up is the status of the Rolling Hills C&D landfill's status. This summer, DEP issued a cease and desist order for the landfill to stop operating, citing numerous issues. The owners of Rolling Hill have appealed and there is an administrative hearing on that issue schedule for next month. I believe DEP has done an outstanding job," Hill said. "They are following protocol and procedures. If over a reasonable time, response is not adequate, they have to follow the protocol." Hill, who toured the Wedgewood neighborhood this spring, says he knows residents who have lived with the concerns about Rolling Hills and other landfills in their neighborhood for decades are frustrated. "I understand them completely; I saw firsthand the conditions they were in and the horrific smell that comes from those landfills," Hill says. "And that was why I called this meeting; let’s go the public and tell them what is going on here." This public meeting will take place at 221 Palafox Place, Pensacola, in the Escambia County Commission Chambers located on the first floor. Watch it live on MyEscambia.com/ectv, channel 98 for Bright House, Cox Cable and Mediacom (Pensacola Beach) subscribers and channel 99 for AT&T U-verse subscribers and are available onECTV On Demand.

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DEP, state officials host meeting on Escambia landfills

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