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ECONOMIC, LEGAL, AND PRACTICAL PROBLEMS IN HAZARDOUS WASTE 174 CLEANUP AND MANAGEMENT original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. 50 years. The cost for this option is $3 million, including operation and maintenance. Other suggested solutions involved excavation of the material and disposal in an out-of-state landfill. The cost for that option was estimated at $224 million. Clearly the flushing plan deserves a trial. Financial Responsibility We have learned that cleanup can be very expensive. Federal law now requires companies to show that they can pay for closure and any postclosure operations necessary at a hazardous waste facility they decide to shut down. Florida requires similar guarantees from municipalities, private companies, and other entities for sanitary landfill closure. Eighty percent of active sanitary landfill acreage in the state is publicly owned. The closure rule, adopted recently by the state's Environmental Regulation Commission, was controversial because of the economic impact and financial responsibility requirements. The rule was tabled for a year before it was adopted. During that period, the Florida legislature required the DER to investigate economically feasible, cost-effective, and environmentally safe methods for landfill closure. The law required the department to incorporate these methods into the closure rule. The final closure rule requires 20 years of long-term care of sanitary landfills, including monitoring of groundwater, gas, leachate, and storm water. One-quarter to one-half of all landfill acreage in Florida will be closed by 1995 at an estimated closure cost of $400 million. Depending on the size of the landfill, the cost per acre may be as much as $100,000, and the cost increases if remedial action is necessary. This may seem high, but we have to consider the costs in perspective. The per capita cost is only $3.33 per person per year, and closure costs will be significantly reduced as proper construction and operation increase. Tower Chemical The Tower Chemical Superfund hazardous waste site in central Florida is a sad example of the need for financial responsibility by owners of hazardous waste facilities. For 24 years, pesticides and agricultural chemicalsâincluding DDTâwere manufactured at the 2-acre site. During this time, highly acidic wastewater was discharged into an unlined percolation pond, which occasionally overflowed into an adjoining swamp. Water from the swamp drains into Lake Apopkaâthe state's fourth-largest lake. Analysis of water and sediment from the percolation pond showed high concentrations of pesticides and heavy metals.
