HOF Landfill: Was the Right Newspaper Used?

The notice rule calls for a newspaper that serves the affected area. What records show that standard was met?

NIMA: Not In My Aquifer recently raised a concern OurSumter has also looked into: Was the Leesburg Daily Commercial an appropriate newspaper for HOF’s well notices?

What the rule says

Florida’s underground injection control notice rule calls for a daily or weekly newspaper with “general circulation within the area affected by the facility or activity.”

This wording appears in Rule 62-528.315(6)(b), Florida Administrative Code.

The affected area matters. Having a newspaper office in another county does not prove the paper was the wrong choice. The question is whether its circulation met the rule for the community affected by this project.

What FDEP said

In correspondence we reviewed, FDEP’s Richard Lobinske said the Daily Commercial’s coverage was at the lower end. He said The Villages Daily Sun would be a more appropriate choice to reach a broader audience.

That does not prove the earlier notices failed to meet the rule. It does raise a fair question about the records supporting the newspaper choice.

Read the notices

The two notices included here concern different steps in the well permit process.

The February 28, 2025 Notice of Intent to Issue Permit concerns the original exploratory well permit.

The October 3, 2025 Notice of Draft Permit concerns a later proposed modification.

The exploratory permit did not authorize landfill wastewater disposal. The October notice states that a future Class I permit application would be required before injection and operational testing.

Our question remains

What records show the Daily Commercial had general circulation in the area affected by HOF’s well project?

Local circulation records and FDEP’s written basis for accepting the paper would help answer that question.

OurSumter has not established that a notice rule was broken. We are asking for the records needed to judge whether the newspaper choice met the rule.

People living near the landfill deserve a clear answer.

Update — October 29, 2026

The notices linked above document publication, but a legal finding of defective notice would require evidence about circulation in the affected area and FDEP’s rationale. The correspondence discussed here raises a question; it does not prove a rule violation.