County dumps toxic materials, fails to clean up

Asjylyn Loder of the St. Petersburg Times used local and state documents to show that Hernando County's public works facility served as a toxic dumping ground for years, and "instead of cleaning up the site, the county continued polluting. Instead of cracking down on the county's ineffective cleanup, the state allowed delay after delay." Despite hiring several consultants and hearing from residents and employees, government officials submitted reports late, cleanup efforts stalled and pollution continued. (Editor's note: For more about toxic dumping, look for the May/June 2006 issue of The IRE Journal which features several stories and resources for reporting similar stories.)