It has been five years since the BS Ranch project began excepting all types of hazardous waste to produce so-called soil at its plant in an industrial facility on the outskirts of Lakeland.
The odor problems that were raised then continue now.
We were hopeful that the result of a Florida Department of Environmental Protection lawsuit would produce results. The settlement called for the installation or odor-control technology. That apparently has not occurred.
There are three possible explanations for this.
The system was never installed.
The system was not installed properly.
The system didn’t work as advertised.
Whatever the reason it is another failure of the continued weak-kneed environmental regulation that has been a hallmark of the recent Republican administrations in Tallahasee.
A code enforcement case filed by Polk County remains unresolved for reasons that remain unclear. The hearing was in December and a ruling remains unsigned.
Meanwhile, residents and business owners continue to suffer the results of this lackluster environmental oversight typical of the current weak environmental regulatory regime in Tallahassee under our so-called “environmental” governor. Ron DeSantis has been a disappointment. That’s really no surprise since he has turned into a Trump toady.
It may take a successful election to oust Trump before we see any improvement.
In the meantime, the people suffer.