FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Lindsey Sampson, Lee County Solid Waste Division 
               (239) 338-3302

GOVERNOR/CABINET UNANIMOUSLY APPROVE LEE WASTE-TO-ENERGY EXPANSION

FORT MYERS, Fla. (September 30, 2003) - The Governor and Cabinet today unanimously approved a permit application by Lee County to build a major expansion of its Waste-to-Energy Facility.

Acting as the "Power Plant Siting Board," the Cabinet approved the item this morning with no comment. A Florida Administrative Law Judge this past summer issued an order recommending the approval of the application.

That means the county now will begin the process of expanding the facility from a capacity of 1,200 tons per day to 1,800 tons per day by adding a third, 600-ton combustion unit. The expansion is needed to keep up the area's tremendous growth and increased generation of garbage.

Construction is expected to begin sometime in the first quarter of next year, with completion time of about 22 months (early 2006).

Representing the county before the Cabinet today included Commissioner Andy Coy, Public Works Director Jim Lavender and Solid Waste Director Lindsey Sampson.

The facility was completed in August 1994 and disposes of the county's garbage by burning it and generating electricity from a steam driven turbine. The facility burns 395,000 tons of garbage a year and generates up to 34 megawatts of electricity - or enough to power about 30,000 homes.

The plant exceeds strict environmental and emissions standards and has been the recipient of many awards since opening, including the Power Engineering and Power Engineering International magazines' 1995 Project of the Year Award, the 1996 Environmental Citizen of the Year Award from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the 1999 Waste-to-Energy Excellence Gold Award from The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), and the 2001 Facility Recognition Award from The Solid Waste Processing Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).