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One man reignites fight over Wal-Mart

A state House candidate alleges irregularities in the Army Corps of Engineers' permitting for a store near the Anclote River.

By ROBIN STEIN
Published June 30, 2006

TARPON SPRINGS - Just when it seemed the fight against Wal-Mart had fizzled out, there may be a postscript.

This week, activist-turned-candidate Chris Hrabovsky alleged that federal wetlands regulators at the Army Corps of Engineers worked in "lockstep" with Wal-Mart to ensure the retailer received necessary permits.

Hrabovsky, 35, urged officials at Tuesday's City Commission meeting to pressure the corps to investigate the permit approvals for the project, a 204,000-square-foot, Mediterranean-style Supercenter planned for U.S. 19 near the Anclote River.

Hrabovsky, 35, contends that the permits were issued in violation of federal wetlands conservation laws.

Questions about wetlands are just the latest in the litany of concerns sparked by the project.

After the city gave the project a green light more than 18 months ago, a local opposition group called Friends of the Anclote River filed two lawsuits and paid $100,000 in legal bills in an attempt to stop the project.

The activists managed to stall construction, but the group appeared to concede defeat in April after an appellate court issued a unanimous opinion dismissing one of the suits.

Now Hrabovsky remains the lone hold-out in the litigation.

"This is the right fight," said Hrabovsky, who has filed to run for the state House District 45 seat now held by Rep. Tom Anderson, R-Dunedin.

On his own, Hrabovsky has kept the second lawsuit on the docket, which Wal-Mart spokesman Eric Brewer said may further delay the project's groundbreaking.

"Generally speaking, we won't start construction until litigation has been settled ... (but) we don't have a specific time schedule," Brewer said.

Now Hrabovsky is rallying some of his fellow activists to join his lonely last stand.

Many members of the opposition group joined him at a press conference on the steps of Tarpon Springs City Hall on Wednesday morning, laying out new evidence they say indicates Wal-Mart "misrepresented information" to get approval from the corps and the city.

"Mysteriously, about a year ago about 6 acres of the wetlands disappeared so they could qualify for the permit," said Jan Fowler, a member of Friends of the Anclote.

Nonprofit groups such as Wal-Mart Watch, the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife helped Hrabovsky cull information from corps permitting files and prepare a detailed memo outlining how the corps allegedly failed to follow several of its own rules.

In particular, the memo alleges that the agency improperly granted Wal-Mart a "Nationwide Permit," an expedited review program for projects that meet specific criteria, including the amount and types of wetlands they affect.

Wal-Mart applied for, and in early April ultimately received, an NWP 14, a type of permit reserved for "linear transportation projects."

The outcome, Hrabovsky argues, was "predetermined."

The project was never even eligible to apply for an NWP 14, let alone receive it, he contends, arguing that the NWP cannot be issued because of the Anclote River's status as a protected waterway, and that a small driveway, which might not be built, ought not qualify the Supercenter as "linear transportation."

Despite federal prohibitions, Hrabovsky said, the corps allowed Wal-Mart to split the project into smaller components during the permit application process.

So far, there's been no response to Hrabovsky's call.

Tarpon Springs Mayor Beverley Billiris questioned whether Hrabovsky was staying on the issue to help his campaign. City public information officer Judy Staley said the commission's staff had not had a chance to review the document, and referred questions to federal authorities.

The corps had neither received nor reviewed Hrabovsky's memo, Chuck Schnepel, Tampa section chief for the corps, said Wednesday.

"We'd have to take a look at this and we will certainly take a look to determine whether the dimensions given to us were actually accurate so as to meet with the requirements for the Nationwide Permit," he said.

Schnepel said that though it's not unusual to request additional information to address problems, he could recall only a handful of instances in his 25-year tenure when the agency revoked a permit that had already been issued.

Nor is such a reversal expected by Wal-Mart, said Brewer, the company spokesman. Wal-Mart followed all the rules, he said. He said that the corps issued the permit only after 20 months of work and adjustments.

"Certainly if there was an issue that needed independent assessment, that would have been for the corps to determine," he said.

The charges have reignited the fight for some Friends of the Anclote River such as Fowler.

"It's pretty strong evidence that there was some pretty funny stuff," she said.

[Last modified June 30, 2006, 00:03:53]