Santa Rosa Extends Moratorium: Joiner Landfill Official Says He’s Working to Improve Conditions at His Operation
By Dusty Ricketts, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach
Jan. 26–MILTON — The Santa Rosa County Commission has extended its moratorium on new landfills from being permitted as the county continues to revise its ordinance to put stricter regulations on disposal facilities.
A six-month moratorium on all new borrow pits, construction and demolition fills, land-clearing debris sites and sanitary landfills was initially approved in September.
The moratorium was started to prevent new landfills from being developed while the county created a new ordinance that regulates landfills in Santa Rosa County at a tougher standard than what the Florida Department of Environmental Protection requires statewide.
The moratorium was extended an additional six months Thursday because the new ordinance won’t be completed before the original March expiration date.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of this and we’re going to get it right,” said Commission Chairman Tom Stewart.
The tougher regulations on disposal facilities comes as a result of fires breaking out at two landfills that have caused smoke and noxious fume problems for residents and businesses nearby.
The two landfills are the Coyote Landfill in Navarre and the Joiner Landfill in Milton.
Commissioner Gordon Goodin said the management at Coyote Landfill has worked hard to control the problems there and are making progress.
He said work crews at Coyote do not leave for the day until all new materials that are brought in each day are covered in fill dirt to prevent fire from spreading.
County officials are not as happy with the progress at Joiner. Commissioners gave Joiner staff one week to extinguish a fire that has smoldered for weeks or the county will send its road department to extinguish the fire at Joiner’s expense.
Gerald Atkins of Joiner Landfill said crews are working to place fill dirt over the entire smoldering pit to cut off oxygen to the flames.
“This is the beginning, hopefully, of the end of this situation,” Atkins said.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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