TALLAHASSEE – “After a careful and thorough review, DEP reaffirms its intention to deny the pending Angelo’s Aggregate Materials application for a Class I Landfill permit. DEP staff concludes that the Angelo’s permit, despite presenting substantial engineering safeguards, does not provide reasonable assurance that environmental and human health will be protected.

“While we appreciate Angelo’s efforts to provide design and engineering safeguards, the proposed landfill is located on an active karst area, where much of the specific geology and hydrogeology is unknown. If an engineering failure did occur as a result of verified sinkhole activity, contaminant migrating to the Floridan Aquifer could potentially impact the environmentally-sensitive Green Swamp and sources of drinking water.

“As part of DEP’s permitting process, this application received a fair and thorough review by a team of engineering and geological experts. DEP’s staff is knowledgeable and committed to ensuring a certain and consistent regulatory process that is fair to applicants and protective of the environment.

“DEP appreciates the comments and concerns of citizens and local and state elected officials, but ultimately based its decision on sound science and the requirements of Florida law. In this case, DEP evaluated the landfill’s proposed engineering design and the geology and the hydrogeology of the site to ensure proper protection of the environment, including the state’s groundwater resources. Because this permit proposed building a landfill on a geologically active karst site that could potentially impact Florida’s environment and water resources it did not meet all requirements under the law.”