DEP finds 50,000 pounds of bio-medical waste in Pasco

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Southwest District Environmental Crimes Unit arrested a man in Tampa Friday on charges he illegally stored bio-medical waste in Pasco County.

The department charged Basile Pertsas with 11 felony counts of littering for commercial purposes and economic gain as well as 11 misdemeanor counts of nuisance injurious to health and another 11 misdemeanors for storage of bio-medical waste at a non-permitted location.

Officials also charged Pertsas with one felony count of violation of probation.

“This arrest is an example of the expertise of DEP’s Environmental Crime Unit and Office of Emergency Response,” said DEP Southwest District Director Mary Yeargan. “I am thankful for the dedication of these teams in the identification of environmental crimes and ensuring they are being appropriately addressed.”

Officials responded to a complaint Monday. The DEP’s Office of Emergency Response obtained an inspection warrant for the Specialty Trailer Leasing storage location in Pasco County where the bio-medical waste was found.

They found 11 storage containers including eight 53-foot trailer containers and three cargo shipping containers, which contained more than 50,000 pounds of untreated biomedical waste.

The DEP will hire a contractor to remove the biomedical waste and transport it to an approved disposal facility. DEP will seek financial relief for clean-up costs as part of its criminal proceedings against Pertsas.

Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order in January directing environmental crimes enforcement from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to the DEP in an effort to better align resources for environmental protection in a way that ensures the most efficient enforcement of the state’s environmental laws. 

“We will not tolerate purposeful harm to the environment or threat to public health,” said DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein. “By having law enforcement, emergency response and regulatory staff all under the same roof, we were able to expedite this investigation.”