The curious case of the cement plant and the Ichetucknee River is becoming
ever
more curious - and questionable.
The latest revelation is that the state has agreed to pay as much as $10
million more
for a lime-rock mine near the river than the owner's own consultant said
it was worth.
As Tribune staff writer Michelle Pellemans reported, Gov. Jeb Bush and
the Florida
Cabinet voted in January to buy the mine from Anderson Columbia Inc., parent
company of the one seeking to build the plant.
The acquisition seemed appropriate since state Department of Environmental
Protection officials said the mine posed a bigger threat to the Ichetucknee
than the
cement operation.
THE AGREEMENT for the state to buy the mine came during negotiations with
Anderson Columbia, which resulted in the Bush administration reversing
its opposition
to the plant, although officials said the acquisition wouldn't equate to
the state's
approval of the cement project.
The Cabinet voted to spend as much as $23 million to $27 million to buy
the 320-acre
tract for conservation purposes. Attorney General Bob Butterworth, Comptroller
Bob
Milligan and Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson opposed the deal.
Cabinet members were not told that an analysis prepared for Anderson Columbia
by
KPMG LLP put the investment value of the land and mineral reserves at between
$14.1 million and $16.8 million.
In fact, in contrast to standard procedures, the purchase was approved
without
independent appraisals.
Independent appraisals of the mine site are being conducted now. If the
appraisals
come in below $23 million, the state can make new offers. Or it can attempt
to
acquire the land through condemnation proceedings. Those appraisals should
be very
interesting indeed. In any event, by agreeing to the higher price, the
state may have
undermined its negotiating position.
What is particularly odd is that, as Pellemans wrote, the ``state's $23
million to $27
million purchase offer approximates the $26 million to $31 million KPMG
LLP
estimated would be the deal's total worth to Anderson Columbia once the
company
factored in $16.8 million in lost business income and the cost of moving
raw materials
and mining equipment to a new location.''
Further, spokesmen for both Anderson Columbia and the state Department
of
Environmental Protection initially said the $23 million to $27 million
price reflected
payment not just for the land, but for lost business and other Anderson
Columbia
expenses.
Later, however, they changed their story. The mine would be bought under
Preservation 2000, the state program for acquiring conservation land.
Its funds cannot be used to pay for loss of business or such expenses.
Yet it would
appear taxpayers might be paying the company not just for its land, but
for moving its
mining operations. And where would that mine operation move? To the cement
plant
site, where there will also be a mine?
Some background:
Though the Ichetucknee River is considered one of the most beautiful and
pristine
rivers in Florida and is the site of a popular state park, the Suwannee
County
Commission approved the cement plant proposed by Suwannee American Cement
Co., which is affiliated with Anderson Columbia.
Anderson Columbia is very influential. Founder Joe Anderson Jr., his company
and his
family donated more than $173,000 to the state Republican Party. Two lawmakers
have been convicted of income tax evasion for not reporting consulting
payments by
the company.
Citizens were outraged by the siting of the plant near the river and rallied
statewide
opposition. After canoeing the river, Gov. Jeb Bush and DEP Secretary David
Struhs
pledged to fight establishment of the plant.
Soon afterward, Suwannee American hired Stephen MacNamara as an attorney.
MacNamara was chief of staff for House Speaker John Thrasher, who is close
to
Bush. MacNamara says he was not employed by Thrasher during the time he
was
paid by Suwannee American.
MacNamara represented the company in at least some secret negotiations
with DEP,
which soon reversed its position and agreed to approve the plant. The company
made
such concessions as agreeing to sell the mine that Struhs said posed a
much greater
threat to the Ichetucknee than the cement operation.
Pellemans reported that MacNamara contacted three Cabinet aides on behalf
of
Suwannee American. She also found that MacNamara met with DEP officials
in the
speaker's office. Remember, the speaker has great control over state agencies'
budgets.
At the same time, an administrative hearing judge and the DEP rejected
the legal
challenge to the plant filed by residents, holding they would not be substantially
affected by the plant - even though one neighbor lives directly across
from the
property. Dozens of trucks will drive to and from the plant each day. Each
year it will
burn 100,000 tons of coal, petroleum, coke and used tires. In addition,
the land will be
mined.
Right now it appears only Attorney General Bob Butterworth's challenge
of the original
land-use decision stands in the way of the plant.
So citizens understandably believe they - and the Ichetucknee - are being
railroaded
by a company with a lot of political muscle. Opponents complain the process
will not
even allow them to make their case in court.
The company says that it is being unfairly trashed, that the plant will
be
environmentally sound and the tire burning will be completely contained.
It also says
that the operation would pose no threat to the river and that court findings
affirm its
position.
PERHAPS THE PLAN is as environmentally benign as the developers assert.
Perhaps no untoward political influence has been exercised during the cement
plant's
march through the approval process.
But that is not the way it appears. It appears the deck has been stacked
in favor of a
powerful corporate force - at the expense of common citizens and a valuable
public
resource.
Needed is an independent review of the strange particulars of this case.
Only the
governor can order such scrutiny. Gov. Bush, to protect the administration's
credibility
and the public's resources, should step in and order an investigation of
why this
cement plant seems preternaturally charmed.