Monarch Hill Renewal Energy Park in unincorporated Broward County. {Google Maps}
The Monarch Hill landfill expansion saga continues.
On November 12, the Broward County Commission agreed to postpone its decision on Waste Management Inc. of Florida’s (WMIF) request to increase the area and height of the Monarch Hill landfill until January 28.
This decision followed a long and contentious hearing where a large group of residents and community leaders from Coconut Creek and Deerfield Beach spoke out angrily against the expansion of the landfill located on unincorporated land next to Coconut Creek.
Broward County Attorney Andrew Meyers recommended postponing the decision so the county could have more time to study the matter.
On November 11, the Coconut Creek Commission held a special meeting, where it unanimously rejected a deal in which WMIF would agree to pay the city a substantial financial penalty if it expanded the landfill vertically to 325 feet.
All the commissioners strongly opposed any expansion and were concerned about health and environmental problems caused by more waste. Mayor Sandra Welch said it “stinks.”
Commissioner John Brodie said the goal should be to close Monarch Hill. “It is bad for the residents who live near it, and I am committed to fighting plans to enlarge it,” he said.
Vice Mayor Jackie Railey said the landfill should be closed by around 2030. “We can’t keep putting more garbage there. It is bad for the health of our residents.”
Commissioner Jeffrey Wasserman said the goal should be to close the landfill by 2030, and garbage should be sent to another landfill. “I will fight the expansion of the landfill.”
According to the WMIF website, if the County does not allow Monarch Hill to expand, the 5,000 tons a day of material would need to be trucked to Okeechobee Landfill, almost 100 miles away. This would require nearly 7,500 tractor truckloads a month, 90,000 annually, costing Broward County residents and businesses approximately $40 million annually.
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