Some Thoughts On The Polk County Septic Waste Disposal Mess And The Growth Plan Update

The cost of maintaining septic tanks in Polk County has suddenly become an issue. if you read or listen to this week’s news reports.
The fact of the matter is that this was not sudden. Instead it was the result of miscalculations by county officials and probably some folks in the septic tank business.
There are more than 100.000 septic tanks in Polk County. They need to be pumped out every few years to keep them functioning properly The waste used to be treated and disposed of in pastures and other sites in rural areas of the county.
As anyone who drives around the county much knows those rural areas are shrinking.
That means the waste needs to go somewhere else.
For a few years. some people thought the answer was BS Ranch & Farm on the outskirts of Lakeland.
County commissioners bent over backwards to approve the project even though there were early warning flags such as the fact that the business began operating without proper zoning approval or state environmental permits.
Neighbors quickly noticed odor problems and there were questions about just how environmentally proper the company was handing the waste.
But by that time the county had already issued a permit.
Years of litigation and environmental enforcement ended recently when the state ordered the business to shut down.
That has forced septic haulers to truck the waste to a facility in Hillsborough County, which means their customers have to pay a lot more for the service.
Polk officials are building a facility to deal with the waste, but it will not be open for two more years. Haulers said they proposed a plan for a private facility a few years ago, but were rebuffed by county officials.
Not that it matters now, but Polk County officials certainly have a lot to answer for in their hasty decision to approved BS Ranch & Farm in the first place. They bought the company’s PR tour without checking with someone besides the applicant on how this kind of waste facility should be operated, whether the treatment area should be indoors or outdoors and just what kinds of products do facilities like this really produce.
In the case of BS Ranch & Farm. the answer was tons and tons of material was coming in and very little was going out.
This issue comes up at an apt time.
Polk County officials are in the process of updating their growth plan, which is a guide to what kind of development regulations will be imposed.
This seems to be a good time to ask just what is being proposed that would prevent a recurrence of the BS Ranch & Farm fiasco.