On April 1, Shelly Townsend of Equine EcoGreen presented her company’s idea of a public private partnership (P3) to the Town of Loxahatchee Groves. In essence, a P3 arrangement has a local government and a private enterprise working together for a common purpose. In the case of Equine EcoGreen, it would be the environmentally friendly recycling of equine wastes including raw manure as well as manure/urine contaminated bedding (shavings).
The idea of housing an equine waste handling facility in Loxahatchee Groves was not received well and I, as a resident there, know exactly why. In essence, we are tired of being on the receiving end of the horse waste coming out of Wellington. This has gone on for many, many years, following Wellington receiving orders from both the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District to fix the phosphorus pollution emanating from Acme Basin B and leading to eutrophication of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. That led to Wellington creating “best management practices” for the problem. However, it turned out that the main way to handle the problem was to export their waste, and to save on fuel charges, the closest place was and remains Loxahatchee Groves.
In May 2012, after thoroughly reviewing the process, I sent a letter of support for Equine EcoGreen to Mayor Bob Margolis and the Wellington Village Council. Presently, Ms. Townsend and her company have received a patent on this process, and I suggest, no I challenge, the Village of Wellington to work with her and get started on establishing a P3 relationship to locate an Equine EcoGreen facility within the equestrian areas of Wellington. It is way past time for Wellington to take the long overdue responsibility for the wastes generated by its multi-million-dollar equestrian industry.
I thank you for your time and consideration. Please note that I have no financial interest in Equine EcoGreen, nor am I paid for this endorsement. I just want equestrian phosphorus out of the waters of South Florida and the flies out of my air.
Dr. J. William Louda, Loxahatchee Groves
Let’s hope this is the answer to the manure problem.
And take a good look at your own Loxahtchee land owners who allowed their land to be used for manure disposal. The residents who shipped out their manure paid to do so and had no idea where it was going. Those who received the manure were paid and apparently did not violate ordinances as Loxahatchee allowed these stinky mountains to accumulate and were slow to respond to the problem.
Make sure your land requirements forbid this.