U.S. Senator Richard Shelby Opposes Landfill

EVERGREEN, AL - Senator Richard Shelby addressed the concerns of Conecuh County citizens about out-of-state garbage coming into Alabama. “It is not a good image of the state to bring in garbage. We have the technology to develop and create energy where the garbage is developed. I would fight to keep a landfill out of my county also.”

When asked about water contamination issues near the existing Timberlands Landfill, Shelby had this to say:

Senator Shelby stated he was not knowledgeable of the mercury con-taminated soil being moved to the landfill in Escambia County, but he would not drink the water if he lived that close to a landfill.

A pro-landfill advocate speaks and U.S. Senator Shelby definitively reponds:

Evergreen resident Mike Fordham introduced himself as a supporter of the proposed landfill, and stated that the landfill was going to be a solid waste treatment facility for green energy. Several people in attendance objected saying this has never been proposed. Mr. Fordham said unlawful garbage dumps are a problem in this county because of the lack of garbage service, and this would be a solution. Senator Shelby answered “I don’t want garbage from New Jersey or any other state coming into Alabama. Conecuh County, and every county, should have a county-wide garbage pick-up service and the commissioners should be the ones to implement, control and support this service.”

Where Are They At?

Some of my contacts in the greater Monroe-Conecuh County area have told me that they see a sparseness of activity around the headquarters of the Conecuh Woods Landfill in Evergreen. What's going on? Are they folding their tents or gathering strength for a coming battle? Maybe they would rather be in Florida for the winter months or should I have said New York. I spoke by phone with one of the opposition team and there was high confidence all around.

New subject: Since Mayor Bloomberg of New York City is exporting all his trash down South, and now is considering a presidential run, I wonder who his campaign manager in Conecuh County will be? I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

More growth for south Alabama, why do we want a landfill?

The economic impact of Thyssen-Krupp is already having its influence on south Alabama. Soon a new aircraft assembly plant maybe coming to Mobile making it the Seattle of the Gulf Coast. This article and interview in Marketplace tells it all:

Doug Krizner: European plane maker Airbus is reportedly considering a new factory in Alabama. A weak dollar and a soaring euro are the reasons why.

Let's bring in David Gow from London's Guardian newspaper. David, you describe this as the chief of Airbus issuing a wake-up call for Europe.

David Gow: Those were the words he used. He said that Europe has to wake up to the decline of the dollar and the impact that this has on European industry and manufacturing in particular. That it's going to force companies to outsource or relocate more and more of its production to the dollar zone.

Krizner: Now, is the relationship between the dollar and the euro a life-threatening situation for Airbus, do you think?

Gow: Yes. Because basically, every 10 cents fall in the value of the dollar costs Airbus 1 billion euros, which in American terms is the equivalent of $1.4-$1.5 billion.

Krizner: So you are reporting in your article for the Guardian that Airbus officials are confirming that they are considering a plan to set up this new factory in Alabama. What would they produce there?

Gow: First of all, they would produce, if they win the Pentagon contract for these air-to-air refueling planes, they would build them there. But at the same time, they could also build parts for planes which would be destined for the U.S. airlines.

Krizner: So I want to zero in here. What you're saying, then, is that this entire move toward Alabama is contingent upon Airbus winning the Pentagon contract, or not?

Gow: That's right. There's a huge -- it's one of the biggest lobbying campaigns in aerospace that the military in America you've seen for many, many a year. Supposedly, a decision will be taken early next year.

Krizner: David Gow is business report for The Guardian in London. We've been speaking to him this morning from Brussels. David, thanks so much.

Gow: OK, thank you!

With the spinoff industry that will come from Thyssen-Krupp and Airbus why do the citizens of Monroe,Conecuh,and Escambia County want to settle for the nation's largest trash dump?

Property Values and Landfills - It ain't pretty

Do you think Mayor Bloomberg of New York City gives a damn about where his vast amount of trash goes when it leaves on a train or barge each day? The South is rapidly becoming the dumping ground for trash from New York and other large urban areas. Reducing their trash raises their property values and lowers ours.

Growing up in Maryville, Tennessee frequently I would hear my peers comparing notes on where their daddies worked. The most common answer was the "plant." The plant was the Aluminum smelter and rolling mill in Alcoa, Tennessee. It was a good thing to work at the "plant." It provided a good income, great health care, and a substantial retirement. Kids had a certain amount of pride about their daddies working at the plant.

What will generations of children in rural south Alabama say when they compare notes with their peers? My daddy works at the largest "dump" in the United States. Somehow I don't think this is the dream that south Alabamians want for their children. I also don't think their children will want to inherit property that will have less relative value than when their parents owned it before the landfill

This comes from Propex:

Proximity to landfills and hazardous waste sites can severely affect property values. Any property close to an active landfill will probably be devalued as a matter of course. Depending on how close the property lies to the site, whether the site is still active, and (if not active) if the waste has been properly encapsulated or removed, the value of a tract of land or home could be affected in many different ways. For example, if an active landfill is declared "closed" and proper measures are taken to ensure that there is no risk of contamination from the waste therein, the value of a nearby property may rise from the low value it had from being located near an active waste site. Devalued property may further regain some of its previous value if the former waste site is improved or developed commercially. However, if the waste site is not properly closed and encapsulated, or if waste leaks into the surrounding properties while or after it is active, property values may be irreversibly lowered.

Would the Conecuh County Commission be willing to make a guarantee to county residents to make up the difference between land values before the landfill and AFTER the landfill, and give that guarantee in writing to each property owner? Ask them...

New York City's Long Term Trash Export Program

I'm making a guess as to how this landfill crisis started. In September, 2006, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of the City of New York, totally revamped the city's solid waste management plan.

In 2006 Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed legislation establishing a new solid waste management plan, which will use barges and trains to export 90% of the city’s 12,000 daily tons of residential trash. Under the previous scheme trucks and tractor-trailers were used for 84% of the trash

Translated: Too much truck traffic hauling trash out of New York. Solution: Export it by rail and barge to remote locations. Here are some excerpts of the plan:

*Reducing the City’s dependence on transport by transfer trailer to disposal sites is a priority. Some 93% of all truck-transferred DSNY-managed Waste is disposed in landfills and most of the landfills under contract are within a radius of 200 miles of the City. A combination of factors is causing the depletion of this capacity and an increase in disposal price. The recent re-bidding of some Interim Export contracts that rely on truck transport to landfills has reflected an average increase of 19% over the initial contract prices.

* Remote disposal capacity remains available, but truck-based transfer to these sites is not economically viable.

* Developing a barge/rail transport system capable of accessing this remote capacity could offset potential increases in disposal costs.

* Developing a long-term solution should be equitable to the greatest extent possible.

* Any long-term solution should be able to be implemented without causing significant adverse impact

When Mayor Bloomberg signed that document in September of 2006, he created a tremendous opportunity for landfill and waste disposal interests. The only requirement was being able to receive the trash. If a landfill had a railhead so much the better. If it was in short commuting distance from a port to receive barge traffic that would be good too.

Conecuh Woods is close to a railhead in Range,Alabama and is only 72 miles from the Port of Pensacola and 79 miles from the Port of Mobile. Here's a scenario:

You are a landfill entrepreneur, think about it, 12,000 tons of trash a day flowing in by barge and rail from New York City. It makes you want to salivate.My God all that money! It reminds one of the Dire Straits songs: Money for Nothing. When you listen to song change the chorus to ...money for nothing and the trash is free.

Until next time...

Have Pro-Landfill Forces Politicized the Battle?

With the defacto mouthpiece of the Conecuh Woods Landfill being a former Alabama Democratic State Executive Director, has Conecuh Woods politicized the process? Does this mean that Democratic Chairmen in Monroe, Escambia, and Conecuh counties have been enlisted in the big money fight to bring an environmental atrocity to Southwest Alabama? If you are opposed to the landfill and live in one of the most affected counties mentioned above, you might want to ask your local Democratic chairman if they are opposed to the landfill or for it. You might want to ask them what their relationship is to Conecuh Woods mouthpiece and former State Democratic Executive Director, Phillip Kinney.

In case you don't know who your local Democratic chairmen are, I am happy to provide contact information for you:

Conecuh: The Honorable Tommy Chapman home: 251-578-1406 work 251-578-4977

Monroe: Mr. Milton Coxwell home 251-743-4055 work 251-575-2146

Escambia: Mr. Reo Kirkland Jr. home 251-578-5115 work 251-867-5711

Just so you don't think that I am invading these gentleman's privacy by publishing their phone numbers, this information is easily accessible on the State Democratic website.

See praise for Monroe Journal's courageous reporting on the landfill issue.

The Secretive World of Matrix

Phillip Kinney, former Alabama Democratic Party executive director, representing Matrix,a public relations firm based in Montgomery, is the new defacto "mouthpiece" for the Conecuh Woods Landfill people. What happened to Patrick Slevin. Who is Matrix? Is this the the same organization that was founded by Joseph W. "Joe" Perkins Jr.?

Though the firm employs researchers, a lawyer and several people who lobby the Legislature, the Matrix Group is primarily associated with one man: its founder, 51-year-old Joseph W. "Joe" Perkins Jr.

In political circles, Perkins is regarded as one of Alabama's premier practitioners of "opposition research" - the art of finding something potentially controversial about someone, usually a politician, then molding it into a message that can be put before the public.

Perkins and other members of his firm, for example, played key roles in the effort by Jasper lawyer Garve Ivey, a former officer in the state trial lawyers association, to promote a prostitute's tale that Steve Windom of Theodore - a state senator running for lieutenant governor - had raped and beaten her.

Perkins, who lives in Tuscaloosa but travels frequently to Montgomery, is said by political insiders to be one of Gov. Don Siegelman's valued advisers on policy and politics, and is expected to play a role in his 2002 re-election campaign.

Ironic, but in his early career, the founder of Matrix once campaigned against the waste industry:

The Perkins-run campaign hammered Marietta Lyons for a $1,000 donation she had received in 1986 from the waste industry. Leaflets showed a man in a gas mask standing next to a large can labeled, "Hazardous Waste," and overflowing with cash. "Another campaign contribution for Beth Marietta," it stated.

All of the above quotes come from a Mobile Register article that is several years old. Click here to view the entire article.



I don't know if Phillip Kinney of Matrix representing the Conecuh Woods group is representing the same Matrix I have referenced above, but if he is, then all I can say to the anti-landfill forces in Conecuh County is that you are now pitted against some heavy hitters. This comes from a blog called Doc's Political Parlor

District 13 (Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Lee, Randolph):
Sen. Gerald Dial’s race for his ninth term in the legislature was supposed to be an easy win for the incumbent. But, Randolph Circuit Clerk Kim Benefield’s full coffers have allowed her to buy a lot of expensive Birmingham TV time to show her ads in Lineville. Former state Democratic Party Chair Phillip Kinney now does opposition research for Matrix. Kinney told one of the senators in the Preuitt group that they could not find anything negative on Benefield and that they were going to have to make something up. That is why you get the ad that tries to connect Benefield with Barron who “used $5,000 of your money to pay a shoeshine man to shine shoes for senators.” I must admit that if that is the worst thing you can say about Benefield, you are really stretching. Especially since news reports said that it was Sen. Bobby Denton (D - Muscle Shoals) who paid $5,000 to the shoeshine man (though Barron approved the payment from money allotted to Denton).

Surely, surely, surely..., the Phillip Kinney referenced above and the Phillip Kinney representing Conecuh Woods aren't one and the same.

Well friends, he is representing the TRASH business, isn't he ...

Until next time...