Anderson Columbia has a long history of environmental problems. A set of articles in the Pensacola News Journal reviews the history of how Anderson Columbia gets permits for plants even though it has consistantly violated regulations. The history is frightening.Pensacola News Journal: SPECIAL REPORT: Who Paves the Way for Anderson Columbia?
Who are they??
ANDERSON COLUMBIA CO.
INC.Headquarters:
2 Guerdon Road
Lake City, Fla. 32056
(904) 752-7585
Old Town office: (352) 542-7942
Co-chairmen:
"Joey" H. Anderson III
Doug AndersonPresident:
Ted McRae
Other Anderson family companies:
Anderson Columbia Environmental Inc.
Anderson Family Foundation Inc.
Anderson Materials Co. Inc.
Blackwater Materials Corp.
Clay Construction & Thermal Systems Inc.
Columbia Mining Co.
Columbia Timber Holdings Inc.
Contractors Barricades Services Inc.
Dixie Timber Holdings Inc.
Gray Stone Mining Co. Inc.
Georgia Timber Holdings Inc.
Joe. H. Anderson Jr. & Sons Inc.
Junction Mining Co. Inc.
Madison Timber Holdings Inc.
Midland Airport Property Inc.
Newberry Corp.
Panhandle Land & Timber Co. Inc.
Suwannee Dixie Properties Inc.
Suwannee Timber Holdings Inc.
Switzerland Airport Property Inc.
Tallahassee Redi-Mix Inc.
West Switzerland Property Inc.
Western World Inc.Anderson Columbia's state contracts:
Number since 1988: 125
Combined value: $375 millionNotable state projects:
Interstate 10: Resurfacing and widening from just west
of U.S. 29 to just east of Davis Highway
Ninth Avenue: Resurfacing between Cervantes Street
and Creighton Road
Anderson Columbia average performance rating on
recent projects: 80 percent.FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATIONDOT spending on contracts: More than $1 billion
every year of the last three years.
Average state road contract: $3.35 million.
Average state road contract for Anderson Columbia:
$3.9 million.POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Campaign contributions from Anderson Columbia and
its officials since 1996:
Republican Party of Florida, $132,833.
Democratic National Committee, $37,500.
Florida Democratic Party, $35,000.
National Republican Senatorial Committee, $5,250.
National Republican Congressional Committee,
$1,200.
The Articles
Pensacola News Journal: SPECIAL REPORT: Who Paves the Way for Anderson Columbia?
A four-month Pensacola News Journal
investigation has found that state
officials have watched Anderson
Columbia skirt environmental laws,
avoid road contract requirements and
combat efforts to force the company
into compliance.
Road paving giant Anderson Columbia
overpowers weak Florida regulations
A single road-construction company consistently receives a
lion's share of state contracts and dominates the paving
industry in Northwest Florida.
Anderson Columbia ties to Bo Johnson are
part of inquiry
The federal grand jury investigating Bo Johnson of Milton is
probing his ties to casinos and one of Florida's most
prominent road contracting companies, Anderson Columbia.
Anderson Columbia's history shows disregard
of Florida agencies County and state engineers say they must constantly
supervise Anderson Columbia's work to prevent poor-quality
work, missed deadlines and endless frustrations.
Family builds empire with hands-on control Anderson Columbia Co.
Inc. started as a family-owned
paving company, but has grown into a multimillion-dollar corporation now
based in Lake City, a Columbia county town so small that
the locals use Hardee's as the landmark when they give a visitor directions.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1998
State transportation officials bend under
Anderson Columbia pressure
The Florida Department of Transportation's failure to
adequately enforce the requirements of road contracts it
awards to Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. have forced the
public to bear the burden of inefficient and excessively
expensive road construction.
Anderson Columbia gives generously to many
campaigns
Anderson Columbia has influence in Florida stretching
beyond the roads it builds.
Transportation department loopholes let
contractors claim extra payments
Road projects seldom cost what the Florida Department of
Transportation thinks they will cost.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1998
Anderson Columbia violates state's
environmental rules
The view from the banks of the Blackwater River in Bagdad
was tranquil. Atlantic white cedars and long-leaf pines dotted
the shoreline. The water was clear and calm.
Anderson Columbia defies county
Without legal authorization, an Anderson Columbia-related
company cleared trees, poured slabs and started building its
latest asphalt plant on a pine-shrouded lot in Cantonment.
Cantonment site rezoning enabled former
owners to market property
When the Escambia County Commission voted in August to
rezone a Cantonment parcel for heavy industrial use,
commissioners did not know that an
Anderson-Columbia-related company waited in the wings to
purchase it.
Barge off-loading destroys plants,
underwater life
If the Blackwater River were a house, the underwater grass
beds would be the foundation.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16
State allows asphalt plant to harm river DEP
lax with Anderson Columbia
It didn't take long for Anderson Columbia Co. Inc.'s asphalt
plant in Bagdad to damage the Blackwater River.
Commissioner demands crackdown on new
site
Escambia County Commission Chairman Mike Bass is
pushing county staff to stop the progress of a Cantonment
asphalt plant being built without proper permits.
Company using loophole to lay claim to
public land
Anderson Columbia claims that a state law repealed 47 years
ago gives it the right to use commercial barges at its asphalt
plant in Bagdad on the Blackwater River, where the barges
have inflicted environmental damage.
DOT fails to help DEP safeguard environment
from damage
The Florida Department of Transportation has done little to
help state environmental regulators keep an eye on Anderson
Columbia's Bagdad plant.
Complaints from feds get buried in red tape
More than a year ago, the federal Environmental Protection
Agency recommended that Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. be
fined $13,362 for polluting the Blackwater River.
River residents plea for help from DEP
For 20 years, Charles and Pat D'Asaro cherished the quiet
life in an 1847 house built only two years after Florida
became a state in the Northwest Florida village of Bagdad.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1998
Roadwork conflicts don't have to continue
The News Journal's investigative series on Anderson
Columbia Co. Inc.'s failure to comply with state
environmental laws and transportation contracts concludes
today on page 1C.
State priorities fail taxpayers; Anderson
Columbia allowed to skirt rules
The state's dealings with Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. show
that the regulators' top priority is not always protecting the
environment or ensuring that state roads are built to
specifications and at the lowest cost to taxpayers as possible.
Contractor lobbies commissioners
Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. co-chairman Joe "Joey" H.
Anderson III met Wednesday with at least two Escambia
County commissioners while county officials continued efforts
to halt development of a Cantonment asphalt plant.
Readers grade roadwork they've seen
It's time for state and local elected leaders and regulators to
get tough with companies that do not play by the rules.
State, neighbors want plant shut down
State regulators and a number of individuals want to see
Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. close its asphalt plant on the
Blackwater River in Bagdad.
Escambia learns hard lesson in setting up
roadwork contracts
While the state continues to struggle getting Anderson
Columbia to follow its contracts, Escambia County turned its
difficult experience into a lesson for future contracts.
What can be done?
10 ways to improve the system
NEWS JOURNAL EDITORIALS
State must be tougher on road contractor
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the Anderson Columbia
controversy is that the state of Florida puts up with it. The
open manner in which the road construction company ignores
contract requirements and flouts environmental regulations
should renew cries by politicians for a more "businesslike"
state government.
Solve the problem by enforcing the law
The controversy surrounding Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. is
a blatant example of what critics have been saying about the
state Department of Environmental Protection - that the
agency seems more interested in helping companies do
business than in protecting the environment.
County's failure opens door, Anderson
Columbia steps in
Given Anderson Columbia's disdain for the state, it's no
surprise the paving company shows no respect for Escambia
County. But just as with the state, it was the County
Commission's error that gave the company a toehold near an
Escambia County Utilities Authority water well. The county
now is gearing up to fight back - and we wish them luck. (We
assume they'll use a stronger weapon than that $50 fine.)
Anderson Columbia: Problems and solutions
The five-day News Journal series on Anderson Columbia
Co. Inc., ending today, did not just reveal problems. It
produced common-sense solutions to road-building and
environmental problems highlighted in the thorough and
well-documented stories.
Rules empty unless state enforces them
The playground bully refuses to follow the rules. Who's more
to blame, the child who runs wild or the parents who have
neglected to keep him in line?
State probe welcome on Anderson Columbia
We're gratified to see the response of state Sen. W.D.
Childers and state Rep. Jerry Maygarden to questions raised
by the News Journal series on the Anderson Columbia Co.
Inc. A legislative probe is badly needed to answer why the
company seems to have such immunity from state rules and
regulations.
County: Stay tough on asphalt plant
Escambia County's response to building activities begun
without a permit by a company related to giant road-paving
company Anderson Columbia is a welcome start. The county
might set something of a precedent if it insists on the company
doing things by the book.
County must hold Anderson to rules
Certainly Escambia County should use every option available
to prevent Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. from violating county
ordinances. And it's obvious that the company's aggressive
actions mean county officials had better cross all the t's and
dot all the i's.
Move asphalt plant to industrial park
We can agree with two proposals regarding the Anderson
Columbia Co. Inc. asphalt plant in Bagdad: It should be
moved to the Santa Rosa Industrial Park, and the company
should be required to repair damage its operations have done
to the Blackwater River.
County needs tools to enforce its rules
The Escambia County Commission's agreement with
Anderson Columbia Co. Inc., brokered by Commissioner
Willie Junior, certainly appears to protect the interests of the
county and its residents. As a precedent for the future, it
sends a clear message that the county is serious about its
ordinances.
ANDERSON COLUMBIA STATEMENTS
Company response issued Dec. 14, 1998
For forty years this company has been proud to build
highways for the people of Florida. All of the work we do is
awarded to us through open and fair competitive bidding, not
through any political influence. This guarantees the public the
lowest possible price for the jobs supervised by the State
DOT and other agencies.
Company response issued Dec. 15, 1998
Yesterday's Pensacola News Journal article was inaccurate in
many respects in reporting on our company's environmental
record at our Baghdad (sic) Plant site and elsewhere. Your
story completely fails to mention that the Baghdad site is the
oldest industrial site in Florida, having been home to the
Baghdad Land & Lumber Company, which was established
in 1835.
Company response issued Dec. 16, 1998
The Pensacola News Journal's continuing coverage of a two
year old controversy between our company and the State
DEP continues to be one-sided, unfair and designed to
deliberately damage our reputation in the community. We are
being singled out by your paper for a level of scrutiny not
given to others with minor environmental problems.
Viewpoint, Feb. 14, 1999
Readers of the News Journal have had a rather unpleasant
introduction to Anderson Columbia over the past several
weeks. The articles and editorials about our Escambia
County expansion have portrayed the company as a sinister
and ruthless organization, out to degrade the environment,
rob innocent citizens and "thumb its nose" at authority. To tell
the truth, if such a company was moving to my hometown, I
would be more than a little concerned.
Follow-up stories to the series
Dec. 18, 1998 - Anderson Columbia project
manager gets citation from county
Escambia County served a criminal citation Thursday against
a project manager for Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. accusing
him of violating county building codes at a proposed
Cantonment asphalt plant site.
Meanwhile, state Sen. W.D. Childers, R-Pensacola, said he
wants the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
and the Florida Department of Transportation to tell the
Northwest Florida legislative delegation why enforcement of
state environmental laws and road contract requirements have
been lax regarding Anderson Columbia.
Dec. 23, 1998 - Escambia cracks down on
asphalt plant
The Escambia County Commission clamped down Tuesday
on the unpermitted development of a Cantonment asphalt
plant site. The commission voted unanimously to order
removal of a concrete slab and demanded that fines be
imposed against whoever was responsible for clearing the
land. Both actions, county officials say, were done without
proper permits.
Jan. 1, 1999 - State attorney studies charges
of code violations
Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. is under investigation by the
special prosecutions division of the State Attorney's Office.
Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar said he has reviewed the
charges of building code violations filed against an Anderson
Columbia project manager as part of a separate ongoing
investigation, which he said he could not discuss.
Jan. 5, 1999 - Anderson Columbia supervisor
to enter plea
An Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. project manager will be
arraigned today after a miscommunication in the State
Attorney's Office resulted in an agreement to look into a
pre-trial diversion program. Robert White is charged with
unpermitted construction and failing to obtain a permit after
county officials said he authorized a cement slab to be poured
for an asphalt plant in Cantonment. The property is owned by
Panhandle Land & Timber Co. Inc., whose principal agent is
Joe "Joey" H. Anderson III, co-chairman of Anderson
Columbia.
Jan. 9, 1999 - Anderson Columbia defies
clearing order, county says
Escambia County officials say Anderson Columbia Co. Inc.
employees are continuing to break the law by clearing trees
from a planned Cantonment asphalt plant site without proper
permits. On Friday, a code enforcement officer visited the
site and witnessed bulldozing activity around recently downed
trees, a violation of state and county laws, Assistant County
Administrator Susan Miller said.
Jan. 12, 1999 - County plots to stop asphalt
plant
Escambia County commissioners have scheduled an
emergency meeting today to discuss how to stop Anderson
Columbia officials from developing a Cantonment asphalt
plant site.
Jan. 12, 1999 - Anderson Columbia to
relocate plant
Residents and state regulators will be watching to see if
Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. follows through on plans to
relocate its Bagdad asphalt plant to the Santa Rosa Industrial
Park.
Jan. 13, 1999 - Anderson Columbia strikes
last-minute deal with county
Escambia County commissioners struck a tentative deal with
Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. that will mean stiff penalties for
unpermitted construction and a tight leash on future
development of the company's Cantonment asphalt plant.
Jan. 14, 1999 - ECUA questions Anderson
Columbia deal
Escambia County Utilities Authority officials are not satisfied
that an agreement being worked out between Escambia
County and Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. will adequately
protect water wells near a planned Cantonment asphalt plant.
Feb. 10 , 1999 - Anderson Columbia seals deal
for plant
The path has been cleared for Anderson Columbia Co. Inc.
to build its hotly contested Cantonment asphalt plant. The
Lake City-based paving company and Escambia County
finalized an agreement Tuesday that allows company officials
to proceed with building the plant, but binds them to a lengthy
list of conditions.