West Palm Beach, Fla.-Helena Chemical Co. definitely won’t be building a fertilizer warehouse near the main entrance to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge despite press reports to the contrary, according to a senior planner with the county zoning office. “They’re not going to build in that location right at the entry way,” Carrie Rechenbacher told Green Markets. “They are looking at another site further to the west. There has been a lot of adamant opposition (to the refuge location).” Rechenbacher added that the Helena request was on the March 6 zoning commission agenda for withdrawal, although the press had reported the company had requested a delay in hopes of winning approval. So instead of asking for another delay, the Helena representatives apparently backed away from the plan in advance of the vote after planning and zoning staff recommended that the application be formally withdrawn. Ed Brister, Helena’s director of regulatory compliance and engineering at the corporate office in Tennessee, wouldn’t confirm the latest developments. Helena had no comment. Opposition to storing and selling fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals so close to the northern reaches of the Everglades stalled the project for a year. Concerns about chemical spills and traffic near the refuge were among the objections raised about the proposal for a 14,000-square-foot storage building and 2,520-square-foot office building on five acres of land. One press report stated that the company is working on a deal to swap land with the South Florida Water Management District, which owns the refuge land and other properties.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain