Oak Grove Land Clearing Pit Permit Renewal On Hold

July 17, 2014

The renewal of land clearing disposal pit permit is on hold for a county-owned facility in Oak Grove, but for now it’s business as usual.

The 20 acre disposal area is on a 26 acre piece of property and operates as the Oak Grove Land Clearing Debris Disposal Pit next to the Oak Grove Convenience Center. The first permit for the facility was issued in 1996 and must be periodically renewed. The disposal pit is owned and operated by Escambia County for the purposes of county road and drainage maintenance activities.

The Escambia County Commission is considering a six-month moratorium and permitting or permit renewals for borrow pits, borrow pit reclamation facilities, construction and demolition debris facilities, and land clearing disposal facilities. A final decision on the temporary moratorium will come after public hearings set for commission meeting on July 24 and August 21.

The push for the moratorium has come from residents of the southern half of the county that live near several pits. Before approving the moratorium the commission  approved an expansion of the existing Shortleaf borrow pit on Longleaf Drive, with Commissioners Steven Barry and Lumon May voting against..

The current permit  for the Oak Grove Land Clearing Debris Disposal Pit does not expire until July 9, 2015.  The commission tolled, or essentially froze, the permit renewal, allowing the facility to continue to operate as normal until the moratorium issue is settled.

The moratorium has no impact on the adjacent Oak Grove Convenience Center at which area residents dump their own solid waste for transfer to the Perdido Landfill.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News