The City of Bushnell is seeking a third-party environmental consultant to help with odor oversight and compliance after repeated complaints from nearby residents.

Neighbors throughout Sumter County have reported strong chemical and earthy smells since January, which they attribute to a trio of waste processing facilities near Lake Panasoffkee. Bushnell has notified each facility of potential odor violations.

The city accepted a corrective action plan from the largest facility, the ACMS Heart of Florida Landfill, on July 26. Now it’s looking for a consultant whose duties would include, in part, reviewing that plan.

The consultant would also be responsible for “providing technical expertise, advising the City on environmental compliance matters, and assisting in the monitoring of mitigation efforts, particularly related to odor control,” according to a written statement from Bushnell Assistant City Manager Morgan Wilson.

The city originally planned to “piggyback” on an existing agreement between Sumter County and the California-based consulting and engineering firm Tetra Tech, Inc., which monitors a county-owned construction and demolition landfill and limerock mine. The Bushnell City Council voted to join the agreement on Aug. 4, but Tetra Tech declined, stating it had a conflict of interest with one of the companies Bushnell cited for odor violations.

As city staff continue to explore alternative consultants, they “are closely monitoring the landfill’s progress through regular communication with site representatives and by reviewing updates submitted to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection,” wrote Wilson.

The landfill’s corrective action plan submitted to Bushnell and the FDEP includes:

Installing an odor neutralizing system on the working face of the landfill

Investigating odor neutralizing systems for the leachate evaporator

Applying to increase the leachate evaporator’s capacity (submitted to FDEP July 14, pending approval)

Sumter County Commissioners discussed potential legal actions against the landfill or city during a July 29 workshop, doing so “for clarification and not for action,” according to Sumter County Administrator Bradley Arnold.

Arnold spoke to Wilson and Bushnell City Manager Mike Eastburn following the workshop, writing in an email to commissioners: “they understand the BOCC’s advocacy for the unincorporated residents,” but don’t think the county’s legal involvement would “add value” to current efforts between the city and landfill.

Arnold deferred WUFT’s request for further comment to Bushnell.

“We understand that these issues are of importance to the community, and we appreciate citizens’ continued engagement. City administration remains in repeated contact and communication with the County Administrator to ensure both entities are aligned on the issue,” wrote Wilson. “The City will not be hosting a separate forum outside of the regularly scheduled City Council meetings to discuss odor mitigation.”