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Landfill Backers Turn Up Heat Against Incinerator

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By NICOLA M. WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 3, 2008

Updated: 02/02/2008 03:44 pm

DADE CITY - For more than a year, the debate about whether to build a landfill in northeast Pasco County has been filled with familiar campaign tools: bumper stickers, petitions, residents speaking up at government meetings.

Now, the money's rolling in.

Since 2006, Angelo's Aggregate Materials, the Largo-based company that wants to build a 90-acre landfill outside Dade City, has donated more than $17,000 to Pasco County politicians and Pasco's Republican Party.

Last week, an organization connected to Angelo's blanketed Pasco County mailboxes with thousands of fliers decrying the expansion of the Shady Hills incinerator, a project that would compete with the proposed landfill for trash disposal.

Such practices aren't illegal or unusual; corporations often donate money or bankroll public relations campaigns to make sure their interests are reflected in the public sphere. Angelo's officials say they're part of the community and should be allowed to donate just like anyone else.

The ramped-up campaigning shows just how much is on the line.

Consider the numbers: Angelo's paid at least $22 million last year to buy land near the site, which is just southeast of the Dade City city limits. It would cost $7.5 million to actually build the landfill, according to the company's application with the state Department of Environmental Protection. If approved, the landfill eventually could provide the company with millions of dollars in revenue.

Critics Say It Could Damage River

The plan, though, has many critics, particularly among those who worry about the landfill's proposed location - less than a mile from the Withlacoochee River and the environmentally sensitive Green Swamp. Several municipalities have backed the claims of Protectors of Florida's Legacy, a group of residents opposed to the landfill, and sent letters of opposition to the state Department of Environmental Protection, which has been evaluating the application for more than a year.

As the debate rages - and the deadline nears for Angelo's to finalize its applications with the DEP - company officials say they are not trying to buy approval but simply donating to people and causes in which they believe.

"It is common for individuals and business owners to donate to local campaigns, as have we," said John Arnold, the landfill's project engineer, in an e-mail to the Tribune. "Our donations are a matter of public record and are just a part of participating in the democratic process."

Those who received donations include:

•State Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, whose district includes Dade City: $4,600

•Pasco County Property Appraiser Mike Wells: $4,500

•The Pasco County Republican Party Executive Committee: $5,000

•Pasco County school board member Allen Altman: $2,000

•Pasco County Commissioner Pat Mulieri: $1,000

•Former County Commissioner Steve Simon, who lost a 2006 re-election bid to Michael Cox, received $3,500 from Angelo's and its subsidiaries during the campaign.

In contrast, the group opposing the landfill has raised most of its money by way of small donations from east Pasco residents.

"We don't have the kind of money that they do," said Carl Roth, spokesman for Protectors of Florida's Legacy, which has been pushing expansion of the incinerator instead of building the landfill.

Clean Air Donations Murkier

While its political donations are public record, Angelo's has been less forthcoming about how much it has given to Clean Air Florida Now, which sent the fliers.

The fliers call on residents to contact their county commissioners and oppose the expansion of the Shady Hills waste-to-energy plant. They claim burning garbage is bad for the environment and that recycling and hauling trash out of county wastes money - points Angelo's has been making in building support for its landfill.

Clean Air Florida Now organized as a nonprofit corporation Jan. 8, according to public records. One of the group's three directors is Gerald "Jerry" Kissel, a retired air program administrator with the DEP's Tampa office and a former consultant for Angelo's Aggregate Materials.

Kissel, who responded to questions via e-mail, said he and others formed the group as an independent entity. Arnold, the landfill engineer, said Angelo's has donated money to the effort but did not say how much.

"We have been asked to provide support and were glad to as the group's efforts dovetail with our interest in preserving the environment," Arnold said in his e-mail.

The group's fliers struck a nerve with Pasco County residents. By Thursday afternoon, county commission offices had fielded 297 phone calls from people concerned about the environmental and economic impact of expanding the incinerator.

County Commissioner Ted Schrader, who represents east Pasco County, said the fliers misleadingly claim the incinerator would cost $285 million. In reality, the project would cost between $115 million and $120 million, he said.

Schrader accepted $2,000 in donations from Angelo's and its subsidiaries during his election in 2004, when the landfill debate wasn't yet on the horizon. To avoid any conflict of interest during this year's campaign, he said he would not accept any more. His opponent in this year's election, John Nicolette, a friend and past business associate of Angelo's vice president Dominic Iafrate, said he would not accept donations from the company, either.

Weatherford, the state representative whose district includes Dade City, said he has fielded many questions from constituents about accepting donations from Angelo's. Unlike state Sens. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, and Victor Crist, R-Tampa, who oppose the landfill, Weatherford has kept quiet about the project.

But he says his silence should not be interpreted as support.

"I'm very concerned about it," Weatherford said. "I have a lot of concerns about water quality. But at same time, I think they deserve their day in court."

The DEP expects Angelo's to submit answers to its latest round of questions on Feb. 15. If the DEP grants the necessary permits, Angelo's would then have to clear local government hurdles.

BY THE NUMBERS:

$4,600 donated to State Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel

$4,500 donated to Pasco County Property Appraiser Mike Wells

$5,000 donated to Pasco County Republican Party Executive Committee

$2,000 donated to Pasco County School Board member Allen Altman

$1,000 donated to Pasco County Commissioner Pat Mulieri

$3,500 donated to former County Commissioner Steve Simon, who lost his re-election bid in 2006 to Michael Cox

90: acres the landfill initially would cover

900: acres the landfill could eventually take up

297: phone calls to the Pasco County Commission offices about the fliers sent out last week

Researcher Michael Messano contributed to this report. Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or nwhite1@tampatrib.com.

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