Community Costs
Our homes and businesses are investments. In most cases, they are a family’s largest investment. Placing a landfill in this area would put those investments at risk.
The East Pasco County Realtor’s recently sent a letter to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection outlining their concerns about property values. Their concerns were validated by a quick review of the property valuation Angelo’s had purchased. The value of this property being considered for the landfill site has already dropped by 32 percent.
Citrus farmers should be especially concerned. By law, growers must enclose pre-planted citrus trees in screened nurseries to avoid insect-transported diseases. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services wrote to the Department of Environmental Protection to explain that an increased bird population would mean increased maintenance to these enclosures, which means increased costs for farmers.
This facility would take money away from the community as well. If the landfill were constructed, Pasco County would give up the extra $7.5 million in revenue it could have made from generating electricity. That is how much more the community stood to make each year from expanding our waste to energy facility.