September 25, 2020 Mount Dora City Council Meeting Re: The Dump

 

The post below is from  a comment on the Facebook group dedicated to the smell.

-The 9/24/20 Mt. Dora City Council Meeting motion to annex the Hubbard Construction C&D (Construction & Demolition) Landfill was TABLED until October 20th, 2020 meeting. City council members intend to tour the landfill site prior to this date. The City initially noted with the annexation, they would not be responsible for jurisdiction, permitting, use, or monitoring of the landfill as they did not have the expertise or code enforcement ordinances to do so. This is a major issue as mitigation of smells/issues would fall solely to the Hubbard Construction and the state, FDEP. The state only inspects annually, unless called with complaints. Four different area residents spoke noting the C&D landfill, at times, creates significant smells/air quality issues and they were opposed to the annexation if the City refused to be involved with the mitigation of issues. Counsel member, C. Stiles noted the City needed to be prepared to address air quality issues and assist in mitigation of any properties that fall within City limits. City Manager noted public works has an on-line work order system that residents can be used to report odor issues. City Attorney noted specific plans for City involvement with the landfill use & mitigation would be addressed and reviewed at the October 20th meeting. Additionally, a landfill advisor noted the landfill currently has capacity for another 20 years of use.

After the meeting, I was able to speak with the manger of the landfill, Mr. Mike Stasey who provided his personal cell phone number and requested we called or texted when issues came up. He noted when we get heavy rains, the organic barrier (dirt) gets washed away allowing the odors to escape. He also noted there were are 3 old existing "bays" that create the most issues and they would not be sealed/ capped for several more years. M. Stasey noted the property currently has 7 flares on site that self ignite when a certain amount of methane builds up, he did note however that they were sometimes turned off as they created other issues. I inferred that there were existing issues with this mitigation system that may have been in place when Hubbard bought the property in 2017. He noted any changes to their odor mitigation system (new burners)/ processes would have to go through the State for approval. He also said he as an open door, open communication policy and invites the public to tour the site any time.
I encourage you to attend the next City Council meeting on 10/20 at 5:30PM, at the Community Building and have your voice heard. It was discouraging at the start of this discussion that one council member said he received a letter about the smell issue, but said he felt the smell must be from the mushroom farm since it is only a mile away. (Its actually 4.8 miles away from 441 & 46).

You may report odors associated with the dump to Mount Dora at http://cityofmountdora.com/requesttracker.aspx  To report via email: Daniel.K.Hall@FloridaDEP.gov 

Provide your location, description of smell, with time & date of issue, and weather data from your weather app on your phone that shows the info on the Wind Speed, Pressure, Precipitation, Humidity, and temperature.

Amber

-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Recording Odors and More: Advice for Sullivan Ranch and Stoneybrook Hills Residents

I haven't written about the Mount Dora City Council meeting on December 15th yet for several reasons. You can listen to a recording of the meeting here.  Although I was there, I spent all of the meeting in the hallway as the room was too crowded during a pandemic, so I didn't hear much of what was going on.  Although fixing the smell is important to me, my health and my significant other's health is more important.  It was clear to me that there was no regard for Covid-19 when the decision was made to hold the meeting in the City Council Meeting Room instead of the much larger Community Room. I don't know the room measurements but I believe that it was unsafe to be in. (I have a contract tracing certificate from Johns Hopkins.) You can calculate the number of safe minutes using the square footage, ceiling height, and the number of people present here.   I don't know how big the room is but I assumed it was 1,000 square feet with 12-foot ceilings. I don't know ho
Read more

Locations of Odor Complaints 3-03-2020

Image
The Daily Sludge Report Zero Days Without A Smell Report Check back for updates as reports come in It's 2:07 am on a clear and beautiful night . I took the dog out for a late walk, and there it was, waiting for me like a cat stalks a lizard... The stink. This morning was another day of stink . My phone was blowing up and I hadn't even opened my laptop. There'll be a lot to unpack today so hold on.  This was sent to Anuvia FB. "Hello. I live in Tangerine. March 2, 2020, and many other days in the last two years, I have taken my dogs out for a walk. As soon as we go out the door, we are hit by the strong smell of fertilizer and human waste smell. We often have to go back inside and wait until the smell goes away. Most of the time it just sits there like a heavy cloud. I am a captive in my own home, and my dogs have to suffer. This smell makes my throat burn and I start coughing. With the threat of coronavirus COVID-19 that specifically attacks the lungs, an
Read more

Mount Dora's Wastewater Treatment Plant Smells.

Image
To: grusauskasj@cityofmountdora.com Letter 1 Dear Mr. Grusaukas,   I had to go to CVS in Mount Dora last night at 10:00 p.m.  I was traveling north on 441 and when I got to Stoneybrook Parkway there was a horrible sewage smell, even with the car windows up.  When I got to the top of the hill to the water plant the smell was enough to make you gag!  I continued to smell it all the way to Renningers.   45 minutes later when I was returning home and traveling south on 441 the stench was still there.  I cannot believe the poor residents of Stoneybrook are subjected to this.  What is wrong with the water plant?  I travel to Leesburg all the time and go right past their water plant and it never smells.  Mount Dora’s water plant is also an eyesore!  It is covered in black mold and looks disgusting!  Other towns have their water plants painted and they look neat and clean.   Mount Dora painted the stalls around the dumpsters in town to look nice, why are they allowing the water plant to be suc
Read more