A county-owned warehouse on U.S. Highway 301 in Starke was supposed to be Bradford County’s fast track to an ICE detention campus, complete with new jobs and infrastructure. Instead, public records and a state health review have residents zeroing in on a far less marketable selling point: volatile organic contaminants under the building and in neighboring yards.
State Health Review Flagged Solvents Near the Site
A 2018 Health Consultation by the Florida Department of Health for the Department of Management Services site on U.S. 301 found trichloroethylene (TCE) and other solvents in groundwater and warned that “any new unventilated buildings could trap vapors.” The report notes that testing in 2002–2003 detected TCE in multiple private wells, with 11 above the federal drinking-water standard. It recommended pre-construction sub-slab and indoor-air testing along with ongoing monitoring, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Public Records Show Contamination Reached Nearby Properties
Residents who dug through public files say the Florida Department of Environmental Protection notified nearly 30 property owners in 2012 that volatile organic compounds tied to the warehouse had migrated off-site. A five-year notice dated Jan. 16, 2026, informed current owners that the contamination is still present beneath the Douglas Warehouse and in nearby yards. Those records and resident accounts also outline a remedial-action trail starting in 2011, including contractor sampling of neighborhood wells, as reported by WUFT.
Commission Moves Forward While Residents Press Concerns
Despite the environmental baggage, Bradford County commissioners voted 3–2 in mid-January to let a consultant and the sheriff’s office craft a proposal offering the county-owned warehouse to ICE. The approval also allows Sabot Consulting to present design plans to the Department of Homeland Security for review. Sabot pitched the project as a local economic engine, telling commissioners the county would provide governance and oversight mainly through the sheriff’s office and that the facility could bring hundreds of construction jobs plus additional permanent positions, as reported by WCJB.
Neighbors Organize and Demand Answers
On the ground along the U.S.-301 corridor, neighbors are not exactly rolling out the welcome mat. Dozens of residents have staged roadside protests, hosted painting parties to crank out yard signs, and are pressing local officials for more details about both the detention proposal and the contamination underfoot. Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith has told residents the county will "rely on appropriate environmental professionals and state regulatory agencies to determine what assessments are necessary," according to reporting by WUFT.
Regulatory Red Flags and What Would Be Required
The site’s history and state findings mean any conversion into a detention campus would likely trigger a long checklist before anyone could be housed there. Groundwater monitoring, sub-slab soil-gas testing, indoor-air sampling, mitigation plans, and possibly engineering controls or limits on where new buildings can go would all be on the table. The Florida Department of Health specifically called for pre-construction testing and continuous monitoring wherever contamination exists, and its appendices outline Florida DEP remediation efforts and remedial-action documents dating back to 2011, according to the Florida Department of Health.
What Comes Next
The county continues to post commission meeting notices and agendas online, and residents say they plan to keep showing up to urge commissioners to hold off on any lease or build-out until independent testing is done and detailed remediation plans are made public. Even if local officials ultimately sign on, the project would still need approvals from state regulators and federal partners before any detention campus could open, so this remains far from a done deal. For meeting dates and notices, see the Bradford County Clerk.
