A monthslong legal battle over the expansion of the Monarch Hill landfill in Broward County has reached its resolution.
In February, the Broward County Commission voted to allow the landfill, known locally as Mt. Trashmore, to expand vertically by 100 feet and horizontally by 24 acres. Coconut Creek sued the county and Waste Management, who operates the site, over the approved ordinances. Deerfield Beach later joined in the suit.
Both cities, which border the landfill site, agreed to a settlement earlier this week — and today the county commission signed off on the deal.
“ The goal for settlement is always to achieve a win-win. Sometimes you talk about achieving a win-win, but it's not true. You hold your nose and you sign something. This is truly, in my opinion, a win-win outcome,” said county attorney Andrew Meyers.
The agreement offers concessions from Waste Management. Those include odor control measures, increased groundwater monitoring and a timeline for the closure of the landfill, among others.
READ MORE: Broward County narrowly approves contentious expansion of Monarch Hill Landfill
The agreement states that the proposed expansion will allow for an additional 25 million cubic yards of capacity. Once that limit is reached, Waste Management has agreed to close the site. They estimate it will take 25 years, but the timeline is flexible due to market conditions, changes in regulatory requirements and major storm events.
The cities will also receive 5% of the county’s host fee for the landfill for the first five years of the agreement. That fee is paid by Waste Management and is estimated between $3.50 and $6 per ton of waste disposed. All parties involved will meet within five years to discuss a potential public use for the landfill site.
In addition, the site will be renamed. Coconut Creek, nicknamed "The Butterfly Capital of the World," does not want the site to be associated with monarchs or any other species of butterfly.
Had the cities pursued the case and lost, they would have been on the hook for Broward County and Waste Management’s legal fees.
”At the end of the day, I view this as we fought and we won. I really do see it that way. I think there is some win-win,” said Coconut Creek Commissioner Josh Rydell.
Former Deerfield Beach Mayor Bill Ganz, who was in office when the expansion was voted upon, said the settlement does not go far enough.
“ I do not declare this a victory. It's not. It's actually a painful, very bitter end to a noble battle. I don't feel like we should really be celebrating these small crumbs that the county and Waste Management have left for us,” he said.
While the parties are now in agreement, officials in Deerfield Beach are still sore over the county’s decision to approve the expansion. Both Coconut Creek and Deerfield Beach fought the expansion for years before the county approved it.
“ Broward County hates Deerfield Beach. They sold us a bill of goods, and this was a charade from the get go,” said Deerfield Beach Mayor Todd Drosky.
Drosky was the only member of either commission to vote against the agreement.
Broward County, Coconut Creek and Deerfield Beach will hold a joint public meeting on the landfill expansion next Thursday.
