FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A new proposal could bring a trash transfer site next to one of Fort Pierce\u2019s protected natural areas, raising environmental concerns and leaving local leaders saying they have little power to stop it.<\/p>\n
CBS12 News has previously reported on trains carrying trash from Miami-Dade County stopping at a rail yard in Fort Pierce and the impact nearby neighborhoods say that activity has had. Now, public records show a new location is being proposed, this time bordering the George LeStrange Preserve and Ten Mile Creek.<\/p>\n
According to permit documents filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the proposed intermodal rail terminal would impact more than 15 acres of wetlands within the preserve\u2019s wetland system.<\/p>\n
Environmental advocates warn that developing next to protected land could have lasting consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be horrible,\u201d said Diane Goldberg, conservation chair for the Conservation Alliance of St. Lucie County. \u201cIt\u2019s going to ruin it for everybody who uses the park, as well as the damage it could do if they have any spills.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goldberg says concerns go beyond odor or trash blowing into nearby areas. She worries wetland impacts could disrupt the preserve\u2019s ecosystem and threaten wildlife that depends on the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an amazing place that can easily be destroyed by this waste,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
County leaders say they share those concerns, but their authority is limited. Because railroads are exempt from local zoning laws, St. Lucie County and the City of Fort Pierce cannot block the project, even if it is built next to sensitive land.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur residents here can be adversely impacted, and we have no authority to stop it,\u201d said St. Lucie County Administrator George Landry.<\/p>\n
Public records show Florida East Coast Railway is proposing the intermodal terminal off Glades Cut-Off Road and South Jenkins Road. Under the plan, trash would arrive by rail, be unloaded at the site, and then transported by truck to the Okeechobee County landfill.<\/p>\n
Landry says that truck traffic could strain local infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to cause traffic issues, and it\u2019s going to degrade the roads at a much faster pace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Landry also says there is an alternative that would allow the trash to stay on rail all the way to the landfill, but that option would cost the company more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would have to pay to use somebody else\u2019s tracks,\u201d Landry said. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirms the permit application is still pending. Wetland impacts have not yet been fully analyzed, and the public will have an opportunity to comment once a formal public notice is issued.<\/p>\n
Florida East Coast Railway has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A new proposal could bring a trash transfer site next to one of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-136430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}