Dust plagues Florida neighborhood as pleas for government help languish
SARASOTA, Fla. – On some days, it seems like the dust is inescapable.
Gray clouds escape from the U.S. Recycling Company, a concrete and metal recycling facility, less than 50 feet from the houses in north Sarasota, residents say.
Because the 100-year-old Central Cocoanut neighborhood lies directly in the path of the facility’s emissions, what appears to be potentially toxic concrete dust blankets the homes, the cars, the leaves on trees, the gutters that line the streets, and the playground equipment.
For years heavy equipment on the three-acre parcel has rattled windows, shuttered to keep out the fine gray powder. In emails and phone calls to public officials, residents have expressed fears that the powder that clings to everything contains asbestos and other cancer-causing elements.
But it wasn’t until residents took their concerns to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that there was any promise of change. Even after major issues were identified by local and state environmental officials, U.S. Recycling has been allowed to continue flouting the rules, so far without apparent repercussions.
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City and county officials have inspected the property almost a dozen times since 2016 and have dismissed each citizen complaint, records show. In February, a joint inspection by local and state environmental officials revealed that U.S. Recycling was operating a concrete crusher on the three-acre parcel without a state-mandated air quality permit.
Christopher Williams, the owner of U.S. Recycling, continued to use the crusher, a machine that pulverizes concrete, even after officials told him to stop. After Williams obtained the permit, a local official said he illegally refused to allow inspectors inside unless officials revealed who was complaining against him. Records show the county has yet to take enforcement action against him.
For almost a decade, state environmental officials have known about hazardous waste issues created by the property’s previous owner.
In 2009, just a year before the property was sold to U.S. Recycling, an environmental consulting firm had detected high levels of arsenic in the groundwater. The cancer-causing metal was four times higher than state requirements.
Few in local and state government even took notice when Williams bought the property in 2011 and transformed the former automobile graveyard into a concrete and metal crushing facility, records show.
The Herald-Tribune, a part of the Paste BN Network, also could not find documents that additional testing for arsenic had been conducted before the property was sold in 2011.
Williams did not return several voicemails left on his cellphone.
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Travis Moore Hearne, a Tampa-based environmental attorney who is representing Williams, also did not return multiple requests for comment.
U.S. Recycling’s Facebook page encourages customers to sell metal and offers “free disposal of clean concrete.” The company also offers concrete sales and roll-off services.
Hardened concrete can be crushed and reused as a construction material. It can be used as a road base and as fill at some construction sites. It’s unclear how long Williams has been allowed to operate on the property without a permit, which would have required him to follow best management practices and monitor and report samples.
Records show that the county has requested documentation and is investigating whether U.S. Recycling is following proper environmental rules.
It’s also unclear whether Williams was following rules outlined by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. In communication with DEP, Williams vowed to install water spray bars to mitigate dust emissions and maintain landscaping to reduce fugitive emissions, according to his Feb. 12 permit application.
Environmental officials are also running air quality and groundwater tests, the results of which were not available for this story.
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However, at least one city commissioner has expressed solidarity with neighbors' concerns.
“This is disruptive to the neighbors and their quality of life,” said Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch. “This dust is going everywhere and that’s a major concern for the health of our residents.”
‘Like you’re in the desert’
Tracy Dunkin lives on 15th Street and her front door is about as far from the facility as the pitcher’s mound is from home plate. From her window, she and her neighbors have watched children avoid dust clouds as trucks roar down the street loaded with slabs of old roadway and concrete.
Dunkin told city commissioners on March 1 that she was worried it contained silica dust, a toxin that does irreparable damage to those who breathe it in.
“If you’re living in that neighborhood, you’re breathing it in every day,” said Dunkin, a cancer survivor. “I am not looking to get another kind of cancer in this lifetime.”
But dust problems don’t just stop at 15th Street. Prevailing winds carry it as far away as three blocks away. A city worker told the Herald-Tribune that he comes to the park to clean the dust off playground equipment every few weeks.
“Sometimes it looks like you’re in the desert somewhere,” he said.
Air pollution due to fine particulate matter can lead to cardiovascular and respiratory disease and cancer, according to the World Health Organization.
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“Where you live shouldn’t divide whether you have to worry about the toxic effects of environmental pollution,” Dr. Lisa Merritt, founder and director of Multicultural Health Institute, said. “Then there are the psychological aspects of an eyesore in a blighted environmental area where you live and not feeling valued enough or people to acknowledge your concerns, health and welfare.”
Residents have also reported “sludge” coming from the access road toward storm drains.
The county has noted that the facility is inspected U.S. Recycling regularly and is following all stormwater protocols, records show.
However, environmental watchdogs and residents are concerned about the concrete washout potentially carrying toxic metal, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It contains a PH level nearly twice the levels the agency considers safe. It can harm fish gills, eyes and interfere with reproduction.
This has worried environmentalists, as Sarasota Bay is suffering from pollution manifesting in significant loss in seagrass, said Justin Bloom, the founder of Suncoast Waterkeeper.
‘100% of our attention’
Since 2016, officials from the city of Sarasota and Sarasota County have inspected the U.S. Recycling property almost a dozen times. Code enforcement and county environmental officials have marked these issues as unfounded and have even questioned whether there are any issues at all, according to records and interviews with residents.
Stewart visited the facility twice in January, attributing the issue to dust kicked up from the access road, records show. However, he did not indicate in the report whether Williams had a permit for the concrete crusher.
In February, a joint inspection by local and state environmental officials revealed that U.S. Recycling was operating a concrete crusher without the state-mandated air quality permit. Records show that Williams, the owner of U.S. Recycling, admitted to continuing using the crusher, a machine that pulverizes concrete, even after officials told him to stop.
In April, residents reported to county environmental officials that “large clouds of dust” were coming from the U.S. Recycling facility. When officials showed up, Williams refused to allow a county inspector inside to look around, according to the inspection report. Williams reportedly demanded to know who was making complaints against him.
Robert Stewart, a county environmental official, warned Williams that by denying access, he was in violation of state law. Records show the county has yet to take enforcement actions in either of these cases.
Outside of U.S. Recycling’s facility earlier this month, Williams briefly told a Herald-Tribune reporter that he believed that dust issues were caused by the poorly maintained access road that kicks up dust when semi trucks roll by. Williams declined to comment further.
Alexandra Kuchta, the press secretary for the DEP, pointed questions about oversight and air quality at U.S. Recycling to Sarasota County, which has regulating authority.
The state agency is involved “out of an abundance of caution” and is conducting several tests of the air and groundwater. Environmental officials are also trying to determine whether the company needs a wastewater permit, as the facility is only a few blocks from Sarasota Bay.
James Stephens’ house borders the U.S. Recycling Company to the north.
“I don’t even get to use my backyard anymore,” Stephens told commissioners in March. “I have to plan my days around their days. When I say that, I mean if I want to cook out, I have to wait and see if there are any trucks coming back kicking up dirt, blowing it directly at my house.”
Harry Owen owns a boat repair business that borders U.S. Recycling to the south. Owen said at a recent public meeting he has dealt with the dust fallout and health hazards for the last eight to 10 years.
Owen said that his merchandise frequently has to be cleaned of dust and that he has lost a substantial amount of money. He said he built his property in 2004 and followed the applicable zoning rules. He asked city commissioners: Why hadn’t his neighbor?
In an interview with the Herald-Tribune, Deputy City Manager Pat Robinson acknowledged the residents’ frustration.
“I don’t want to get into the specifics of where we’ve been,” Robinson said. “But as we move forward, we’re giving this 100% of our attention to try to bring this to a conclusion that both works for” the community and U.S. Recycling.
A history of problems
The Central Cocoanut Historic District is just north of downtown. Although not historically an African American neighborhood, the majority of the residents are Black, despite recent demographic changes.
The homes there were constructed between 1914 and 1955, long before U.S. Recycling’s property appeared on zoning maps in the 1970s, records show.
Records show that state environmental officials have been concerned about hazardous waste and contaminated groundwater on the property for two decades.
U.S. Recycling Company’s primary business type is service and repair, according to tax records. Its secondary operation is recycling.
According to the city’s planning rules that govern neighborhoods, Sarasota is supposed to encourage planning that aims to strike a balance between residential and nonresidential uses. It’s also supposed to discourage truck traffic on residential streets.
Residents estimate that as many as 20 trucks rumble by every hour.
Residents have pointed out in public emails several alleged code violations, including that work being done on the property is generally required to be done within enclosed buildings. There is one partially enclosed building on the property.
Neighbors have expressed concerns to environmental officials about the U.S. Recycling’s concrete crusher. The DEP regulates a “conveyor system” by ensuring it is enclosed as a precautionary measure.
The city of Sarasota is investigating whether U.S. Recycling and others who have owned the property have followed the city’s zoning rules. It is also hoping to make road improvements on the access road to help mitigate pollution issues.
Follow Timothy Fanning on Twitter: @timothyjfanning.