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Letter to the editor

Wal-Mart foes get ammunition

Swiftmud says the project will disturb wetlands, which prompts an Army Corps of Engineers review.

By ELENA LESLEY, Times Staff Writer
Published November 23, 2007

TARPON SPRINGS - In what has become a war of delay and attrition, anti-Wal-Mart activists say a state agency has confirmed what they've been saying for years:

A Wal-Mart supercenter planned near the Anclote River would disturb local wetlands.

"Finally, there's another agency saying this," project opponent Colin Fiske said of a letter sent to Wal-Mart engineers in early November by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, commonly known as Swiftmud.

Because of effects on submerged lands in tidal waters, the letter says, Wal-Mart needs an easement from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the project to proceed.

Swiftmud's letter also has prompted a review of the project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which might require additional permitting, said Chuck Schnepel, who is reviewing the project for the corps.

The letter was dated Nov. 1 and signed by Paul Yosler of Swiftmud's Tampa regulation department.

"We've been saying all along that there are numerous impacts under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps," Fiske said. He and others hope that once the Army Corps review begins, more wetlands impacts will be discovered.

But a spokeswoman for the company said the wetlands that Swiftmud wrote about would be affected by road work off the property, not on-site, meaning the permitting for the building is sound.

This is the latest round in a battle that has gone on for nearly three years.

In January 2005, after a marathon 121/2-hour meeting, the Tarpon Springs City Commission voted 3-2 to allow the retail giant to build a 24-hour supercenter with a drive-through pharmacy, garden center, supermarket and tire and lube station on the east side of U.S. 19 just south of the river.

Since then, those opposing Wal-Mart have contended that the corporation has misrepresented the amount of wetlands on its 74 acres.

They have highlighted a discrepancy between the 33.5 acres of wetlands described in Wal-Mart's city-approved development agreement and the 28.1 acres mentioned on the eventual site plan. Wal-Mart rejected the group's request to have an independent surveyor clear up the matter.

In July 2006, the Army Corps withdrew a permit for the project after activists showed it would have allowed Wal-Mart to build over a small protected wetlands area.

Without the corps permit, Wal-Mart had to choose whether to redesign the project, which would have required the company to endure another long approval process, or make minor adjustments to avoid protected wetlands.

The retail giant chose the latter.

Activists never bought that the wetlands were safe. After Swiftmud sent its November letter, they felt vindicated.

But Wal-Mart spokeswoman Quenta Vettel emphasized that the wetlands affected by the Army Corps permit that was withdrawn and those now under consideration are in different areas.

Work on the project is governed by two different Swiftmud permits, one of which is complete, she said. The second, which was the subject of Swiftmud's recent letter, only addresses off-site work related to requested road modifications.

"This is separate from any on-site work," she said.

But Fiske argued that distinctions weren't that clear.

"They're more integrated than that," he said of the two permits. "The drainage from U.S. 19 will be connected to pipes on-site."

If the Army Corps decides Wal-Mart needs a permit, Fiske and others hope this will be just the beginning of more roadblocks.

"Once more impacts are clearly identified," he said, "we hope people will realize this isn't the right place for a Wal-Mart."

Elena Lesley can be reached at elesley@sptimes.com or 727 445-4167.

[Last modified November 22, 2007, 22:28:28]