DEP records show renewed investigation activity at former Fosgate Road Dump property

Florida Department of Environmental Protection records show the former Fosgate Road Dump property in Montverde, previously reviewed through a federal Superfund screening process, is now the subject of renewed DEP site-investigation activity related to possible PCB and lead contamination. 

The issue surfaced again publicly after Councilman Grant Roberts posted on Facebook that he had received written responses from Jennifer Farrell of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Roberts said he had previously told residents at a Town Council meeting that he would share any substantial update from DEP once he received one. 

In the Facebook post, Roberts said DEP responded to four questions he had asked about the site. The responses, which Roberts attached as images, stated that DEP was satisfied with his responsiveness and cooperation, including a recent site visit and voluntary well and pond testing. DEP also stated that the current investigation is not a Superfund or National Priorities List site-screening investigation. 

That current statement is consistent with DEP’s description of the present work. However, earlier DEP records provide additional context about the site’s regulatory history. 

In an Oct. 5, 2021 letter, DEP stated that the Fosgate Road Dump had been screened by the department’s CERCLA Site Screening Section “as a potential Superfund candidate.” The same letter referenced prior DEP and EPA-related documents, including a 2018 Pre-CERCLA Screening Assessment, a 2019 Abbreviated Preliminary Assessment, a 2019 Site Inspection Report and a 2020 Supplemental Site Inspection Memo. 

The 2021 letter stated that the site reportedly operated as a local dump before closing in the early 1980s. DEP also wrote that groundwater sampling conducted in 1983 found lead concentrations exceeding Florida groundwater cleanup target levels. The letter further stated that a 2005 EPA investigation found Aroclor 1260, a PCB compound, in three soil samples at levels exceeding federal regional screening levels and Florida soil cleanup target levels for both residential and industrial/commercial settings. 

DEP did not recommend further CERCLA assessment in 2021. In the same letter, the agency said nearby private residential wells had been sampled and that no contaminants of concern were detected above background levels. DEP also cited the site’s overgrown and inaccessible condition at the time as a factor in determining there was a low human-health risk. 

Still, DEP’s 2021 letter stated that the site’s Hazard Ranking System score met the criteria for further CERCLA consideration by EPA. DEP also stated that the site did not meet the requirements for closure under Chapter 62-780, Florida Administrative Code, but that the department was not requesting further site rehabilitation activity at that time and was closing its file. The letter added that the case could be reopened if land use changed or if new information confirmed previously unknown contamination that exceeded applicable cleanup levels or otherwise posed a real and substantial threat to public health, safety or the environment. 

Recent DEP documents indicate the agency is now seeking to conduct additional assessment work. 

In a Feb. 24, 2026 letter to Roberts and Parque Verde, LLC, DEP stated that the letter concerned the “potential cleanup” of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and metals, specifically lead, at the former Fosgate Road Dump site. DEP wrote that preliminary assessment data indicated contaminants may be present in soil and/or groundwater on the property. 

DEP also stated that it had discussed with Roberts on Jan. 13, 2026, the need to obtain access to the property “to determine the extent of contamination and to determine whether cleanup will be required.” The agency requested that Roberts execute a site-access agreement allowing DEP and its contractors to conduct environmental assessment work. 

The proposed access agreement would allow DEP to conduct soil, surface, subsurface and groundwater investigations; install and remove groundwater monitoring wells; use geophysical equipment; collect soil, sediment, waste and water samples; locate existing wells; conduct surveys; prepare site sketches; and take photographs. 

A separate DEP scope of work describes the planned investigation in more detail. According to that document, DEP’s Site Investigation Section intends to evaluate whether metals, PCBs, pesticides, semi-volatile organic compounds and volatile organic compounds are present in site media. The scope also calls for ground-penetrating radar and electromagnetic instruments to evaluate whether buried drums are present. 

The planned work includes proposed soil sampling, groundwater sampling through four temporary monitoring wells, and laboratory analysis under DEP cleanup target-level rules. The scope of work states that certified results are normally received within four to six weeks after sampling. 

Email records show Roberts requested additional time to respond to DEP’s site-access request so he could retain an independent environmental consultant. In the email, Roberts said the consultant would review the DEP file, assess current conditions and proposed low-impact uses, and prepare for a possible site visit or meeting with DEP staff. DEP granted an extension, giving Roberts until April 9, 2026, to respond to the site-access agreement. 

The records do not state that cleanup has been ordered, nor do they state that the current DEP activity is a Superfund or National Priorities List screening investigation. Instead, the documents show that DEP is seeking access to determine the extent of possible contamination and whether cleanup may be required. 

They also show that while DEP did not recommend further CERCLA assessment in 2021, the former Fosgate Road Dump has a documented history of prior Superfund-related screening and prior findings of lead and PCB compounds above certain cleanup or screening levels. 

Roberts said in his Facebook post that residents who want more information or a copy of the DEP email may contact him directly.

SOURCES
https://prodenv.dep.state.fl.us/DepNexus/public/electronic-documents/ERIC_13012/facility!search

NOTE:
Councilman Grant Roberts was contacted for comment regarding DEP’s recent site-access request and the prior DEP records. As of publication, no response had been received.
- This story will be updated if Roberts provides a response.