Septic haulers ask Polk County commissioners for relief after waste treatment facility shuts down

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Published  September 4, 2024 5:06pm EDT
FOX 13 News
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Septic haulers call for relief after facility shuts down

Carla Bayron reports

POLK COUNTY, Fla. - Septic haulers are asking Polk County leaders for some type of relief after a major waste treatment facility shut down. They're concerned customers and the environment are going to end up paying the price.

Jeff Mann owns Mann's Septic Tank Service in Polk County. He and several other haulers protested outside the county commission building Tuesday morning.

"That is our main goal at this point," said Mann. "One; to protect the environment and two; to protect the pocket book of the homeowners." 

BS Ranch and Farm in east Lakeland closed a couple of weeks ago which is where the haulers had been dropping off the waste for years. The county shut it down because it was stinking up surrounding neighborhoods and the DEP refused to renew its permit citing potential groundwater contamination.

The county is in the process of building a new treatment facility which is expected to be operational sometime in 2026.

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"What does that mean to the residents? Well, it means we have to haul all the way to Tampa, Seffner, North Plant City to do disposal which means the price of pumping is going to go up exponentially," said Mann. "We're charging in the mid-300's right now. Residents are going to pay closer to the $600 mark." 

Mann says they don't want to charge more so they met with the county last Friday to figure out a temporary solution.

"Part of the discussion was, is there a way we can at your facilities to either dump into your facilities or to have holding tanks at your facilities so people can discharge and then that wastewater can be moved somewhere else, " said Roxanne Groover, Executive Director of the Florida On Site Wastewater Association. 

County Commissioner Bill Braswell of District 3 says they are working on that solution but pulling the required permits has been a challenge.

"Sometimes it takes years for DEP to issue a permit so we're going through that process right now and that's going to take time but, in the meantime, the only solution is carrying it somewhere else," said Braswell. 

Braswell adds the reason why they didn't want to partner with a private company to build a new plant is because of prior negative experiences.

"All three of them haven't performed or haven't done what they said they were going to do and the only way to do that is to go through the legal process to shut them down and we don't want to do that again," said Braswell. 

Mann believes around 300,000 businesses and homes could be affected and he's concerned if they can't afford the increase, they'll dump the waste illegally.

"The environmental impact this will have on the county is going to be horrendous because people can't afford it. They have to live in their homes, therefore, they're going to do what they have to do." 

Mann hopes they can work something out with a municipality and he'll continue to encourage the county to move quicker on a stop gap.

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