In a message Wednesday, Nov. 18, a Raleigh political watchdog prodded Governor Bev Perdue to initiate an investigation into whether any “undue political pressure” has been involved in Titan America’s permitting process to build a plant in New Hanover County.
The comments, however, are seemingly less of an accusation and more of a reflection on the spate of recent corruption scandals involving top state officials.
The strategist, Joe Sinsheimer, told the governor that in order to restore confidence in state government, a 90-day freeze needed to be placed on Titan’s permitting process.
Meanwhile, he said, Attorney General Roy Cooper should be ordered to probe the legality of the permitting process to date.
These calls come at a sensitive time for people on both sides of this issue, as the North Carolina Division of Air Quality weighs its recommendation to issue Titan an air permit.
"This air quality permit is likely the most examined, scrutinized of any air quality permit in the history of the state and I can tell you that Titan's involvement has never been anything but the most appropriate behavior," said Kate McClain of Titan Corporate Communications.
“We follow the process to the letter of the law,” she added. “We have all along and will continue to do so.”
Sinsheimer said the attorney general should focus a probe on the behaviors of officials within the former administration of Governor Mike Easley, and its actions that exempted Titan from falling under the State Environmental Policy Act, commonly referred to as SEPA.
According to SEPA, any project funded by the public with potential environmental impacts would be subject to a federal environmental review, during which time all state permits would be delayed.
In addition to Sinsheimer, other officials have also advocated for this process to apply to Titan.
New Hanover County Commissioner Jonathan Barfield sent a letter earlier this year urging the governor to pull the trigger on the SEPA process.
He said that Perdue’s office answered his request by arguing that since Titan has not received any public money, it is not required to fall under SEPA guidelines.
Titan was granted a $4.2 million incentive package by the county in 2008, but this money will not be granted until after the plant is up and running, Barfield said.
In his message to the governor, Sinsheimer points to recent events that he says have rocked the public’s confidence in their state government.
He makes specific reference to the federal bribery convictions of an official in the NC Department of Environmental and Natural Resources and two corporate executives in a company called Agri-Ethanol Products of Raleigh.
The company planned to build a $220 million ethanol plant in Eastern North Carolina, the Raleigh News & Observer reported.
Boyce Allen Hudson, the former official with NCDENR, plead guilty in the case, admitting that he agreed to ensure a smooth environmental permitting process for Agri-Ethanol in exchange for a $196,000 consulting contract, according to the News & Observer.
Also within Sinsheimer’s message were allusions to the investigation into campaign finance violations that are alleged to have been committed by the former Easley administration.
Sinsheimer cited allegations that former Easley administration officials had solicited a $50,000 contribution from a developer who was having trouble obtaining a project permit.
News reports indicate that the state board of elections is still trying to hammer out the details surrounding a series of incidents in which Gary Allen, a real estate developer, wrote a check for $50,000 to the state Democratic Party at the same time he was trying to obtain a crucial permit for one of his project’s on the coast.
The permit was granted, according to news reports.
Opponents of Titan America have long made accusations that the company pushed the process forward using illegal payoffs or gratuities, and Sinsheimer’s comparable implications are likely to energize those accusations.
NC Coast Keeper Mike Giles, acting as a spokesman for the Titan opposition in a statement Wednesday, summoned the governor to conduct a “full investigation” into how Titan received public funding, saying there wasn’t “due diligence on the part of state regulatory agencies and state and local governments.”
Giles also insisted on a probe into why DENR reversed a decision in 2008 that would have placed Titan under SEPA.
“The people of North Carolina, especially those living in southeast North Carolina near the proposed plant, have to know with 100 percent certainty that the Titan case has been handled fairly,” Sinsheimer said in his message.
Currently, the state’s Division of Air Quality is considering the issuance of Titan’s air permit. Public comments can still be submitted to the division until Nov. 20. A decision is expected by the beginning of next year.
Send comments to: Don van de Vaart, Air Permits Section, NC Division of Air Quality, 1641 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699.
