Studer Community Institute

Rolling Hills permit revocation impact ripples

March 3, 2015
/ William Rabb
/ community-dashboard

The saga of the Rolling Hills Construction and Demolition landfill may soon be coming to an end, after a judge ruled this week that state regulators can revoke the facility's operating permit. The landfill’s owners, cited for repeated odor, pollution and other violations, have 15 days to file objections to the ruling, but legal experts say that is unlikely to make a difference. Brandy Smith, external affairs manager for DEP's district office, said if exceptions are submitted, each party has until March 27 to respond to the other’s exceptions. After that, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has until the end of May to issue its formal revocation, attorneys said. “It’s been an uphill fight, but this is great news to hear,” said Aaron Wiley, who lives near the landfill in northwest Pensacola. Wiley and more than 200 of his neighbors have clamored for years to have the facility closed because of permit violations, odors, health concerns and constant truck traffic in their residential area. “I'm feeling pretty good about it,” said LaFanetta Soles-Woods, also a member of the Wedgewood neighborhood near the site, who has complained of frequent health problems. “We might get a little relief now.” Landfill operators weren’t saying much after the administrative judge’s ruling, and it’s unclear what steps the facility would have to take to tidy up its operation before it is completely shut down. “We haven’t been officially notified yet, so until we’ve had time to look over the order, we don’t have any response until we can do that,” said Tim Eagan, a principal in South Palafox Properties LLC, which has owned the landfill since 2007. “But there is a whole other side to the story.” One consequence of the closing is that the cost of disposal of construction debris could increase significantly, affecting builders, roofers and property owners alike. Located on Pinestead Road just west of Pensacola Boulevard, Rolling Hills is the only construction and demolition landfill operating in the county. When it closes, builders will have to truck their waste material to the county-owned Perdido Landfill near Nine Mile Road and Interstate 10, which charges twice as much in tipping fees, or find another landfill outside the county, builders said Tuesday. “It's going to cost more in time, fuel, tipping fees,” said Shelby Johnson, a building and roofing contractor in Pensacola. “I don't know what the solution is now. I was hoping they would be able to work it out.” Another concern is that with higher disposal costs, “midnight dumpers” will illegally drop material in secluded areas, creating environmental and nuisance issues, said David Peaden, director of the Home Builders Association of West Florida. “It's a shame because if the landfill had done a better job, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” Peaden said. Another landfill, known as the Longleaf facility, is located just west of Rolling Hills and is operated by national corporation Waste Management Inc. But that facility, while permitted, has been shuttered for months, perhaps because they couldn't compete with Rolling Hills’ lower prices, said Alison Rogers, county attorney. The county also has taken legal action against Rolling Hills. It’s unclear if Waste Management will now seek to reopen the Longleaf site. An office manager at Waste Management declined to comment Tuesday. It's also possible that DEP, under new leadership since December, could relax or modify its enforcement efforts. The administrative law judge who upheld the DEP order, in fact, expressed some regret about having to close the only debris pit in the county. “While revocation of the permit seems especially harsh, and the undersigned (the judge) would impose a less draconian measure than revocation given the evidence of mitigation, the department has established the facts necessary to take that action,” wrote Administrative Law Judge D. R. Alexander of Tallahassee. “Accordingly, respondent’s permit should be revoked.” Under Florida law, companies adversely affected by state agencies’ rulings can appeal to an administrative judge. The DEP revoked the Rolling Hills permit last July, and Alexander heard three days of evidence in December. At that hearing, a DEP engineer testified that on two visits to the landfill, the odor was strong enough to make her physically ill. Rolling Hills operators blamed most of the violations on a former landfill manager, who was replaced in 2014. That manager, Charlie Davidson, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Alexander’s ruling, issued late Monday, reflected both sides of the case. “The troubling aspect of this case is respondent's (Rolling Hills') across-the-board failure to adhere to a number of deadlines and permit conditions established several years ago, and to make any serious effort to comply with those requirements until it was faced with possible revocation of its Permit,” the judge wrote in his order. “Perhaps this was due to negligence and/or inattention by the former manager, ...but this does not excuse its conduct. At the same time, the undersigned recognizes that once the notice was issued, with a new manager at the helm, respondent has invested a large amount of capital to purchase new equipment and retain new consultants in an effort to bring the facility into compliance.” Nonetheless, the judge said he had little choice but to uphold the DEP revocation. “By clear and convincing evidence, the department has proven that respondent exceeded surface water quality standards for all analytes except nickel,” including other metals and contaminants, Alexander wrote. It would be unlikely for DEP to soften at this point and modify its ruling, or give Rolling Hills more time to comply, Rogers said. “This is what DEP asked for,” she said. “I doubt they would fight the recommended order.” It’s unclear what other steps the agency may require the operators to take, Rogers said. “That's my question, too,” Rogers said. “Will they be required to cap the debris pile, or will the county have to go in and do it ourselves?” An Orlando lawyer representing Rolling Hills owners also did not return phone calls. Landfill manager Scott Miller also did not respond. Without the income from tipping fees, Rolling Hills may find it difficult to cover odor-causing debris , pay fines or meet other regulations. The company that owns the landfill, South Palafox Properties, is facing legal and financial trouble on a number of fronts. In 2007, the company borrowed $1.25 million from a Louisiana company known as Jamestown Gambling, or Jamestown Gaming LLC, according to court files. That company is operated by Robert A. Maurin III, a well-known Hammond, La., businessman who owns or has owned more than 130 companies in Louisiana, state corporation records show. Jamestown sued South Palafox in 2010, reached an agreement on repayment of the loan, then filed suit again in 2014, after payments fell short again, court files show. That case may now be on hold because another principal in South Palafox, Pensacola businessman Alexander Cover, has filed for bankruptcy, facing more than $68,000 in debt, records show. Cover and his attorney did not respond to inquiries from PensacolaToday.

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Rolling Hills permit revocation impact ripples

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