A contaminated sludge pond in East Hillsborough could soon have homes and businesses surrounding it

A cancerous chemical, only recently on the radar of environmental officials, called 1,4-Dioxane has been detected on the property. It's designed to spread down and out further into the drinking water aquifers, an expert says.

From the edge of a raised mound overlooking an abandoned phosphate mine in east Hillsborough County, overgrown green vegetation can be seen quietly soaking up the hot sun.

The 3,000-acre former Sydney Phosphate Mine closed down in the late 1950s, but the county used it as an unlined dumping site for liquid waste, like oil, until 1981.

The sludge pond area has since been designated as a superfund site, which means the federal government monitors the groundwater for contamination. At least three contaminants have been found throughout the years that are known to be cancerous, including benzene and vinyl chloride.

The property is now split in two. Back in 2010, the owners made a deal with the county to create renewable energy there before any of it could be developed for commercial or industrial uses, but building houses there was out of the question.

Now, the owners are each asking the county for comprehensive plan amendments to allow for more freedom to develop: one wants to remove the renewable energy requirement for development, while the other wants to construct homes.