After years of complaints about recurring industrial odors, the Childs Park Neighborhood Association is moving from public comment to legal action against HOWCO Environmental Services.
The association has formally intervened in a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) administrative proceeding challenging the air permit for HOWCO, giving the Childs Park neighborhoods to take a seat in the state’s permitting process.
Brother John Muhammad, president of the Childs Park Neighborhood Association, said that’s the most significant change after years of residents reporting odors they describe as chemical, burning oil or rotten eggs – finally being able to take a seat at the table.
“Because it moves us from standing on the outside, making comment, to being at the table and challenge the permits directly,” Muhammad told the Catalyst. “We have a formal and official seat at the table.”
The association is represented by Rachel Curran, a staff attorney with the Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment at Stetson University College of Law.
Curran told the Catalyst the challenge focuses on HOWCO’s air permit renewal and gives the neighborhood legal recourse and procedural rights it never had before.
“This particular challenge is specific to one industry,” Curran said. “It’s a formalized process that means Childs Park has a seat at the table, whereas before we were requesting the Department of Environmental Protection take action.”
According to Curran’s research, public records indicate HOWCO’s permit has expired. She said the company continues operating while DEP considers its permit application, a situation she characterizes as “unlawful.”
The administrative proceeding will function much like a trial. Rather than simply submitting comments, the neighborhood association can participate in discovery, call witnesses, present expert testimony and cross-examine the company’s witnesses before an administrative law judge.
“We can finally get to the bottom of the issue and get it resolved so DEP can make an informed permitting decision,” Curran said.
One of the central questions and concerns is not knowing what causes the odors and the impact of odor inhalation.
“I’d like to know what the characterization of the waste is,” Curran said. “Inspectors have not been able to identify the constituents contributing to that odor.”
Muhammad added that the uncertainty of “constituents contributing to that odor” has frustrated and perplexed residents.
“The fact that you are breathing in odors you don’t know what’s in it, and we’ve been breathing it in for years,” he said. “You can’t enjoy your own property.”
Muhammad added that the odors have at times become so strong that children at nearby schools have been taken indoors from the playground. The impact of those odors on children, let alone those older generations who have been inhaling it for years, has stoked Muhammad’s concern.
“We’d first like to find out what is actually in the air and the impacts it’s having on resident health, particularly generationally, since it’s been happening so long,” Muhammad said. “We’re also looking to identify how they’ve been able to continue to operate because their permit expired.”
Curran said the administrative law judge will ultimately issue a recommended order after hearing evidence from both sides. The final decision, however, rests with DEP, which will determine whether to issue or deny the permit.
If either side disagrees with DEP’s final decision, the only recourse would be the judicial system re-reviewing the case.
Muhammad said he only has one ultimate goal in mind: “non-renewal of HOWCO’s permit.”
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com.
