TAMPA, Fla. — Last March, the I-Team told you about a local businessman operating an unpermitted dump in environmentally sensitive wetlands near Tampa Bay, which could negatively impact our air quality and water supply.
Days before the story aired, the facility’s owner signed an agreement to clean it up.
We’ve uncovered that cleanup was never completed, and the problem got worse.
WATCH: Neighbor says man who operates unpermitted dumps 'doesn't play by the rules'
Now, the owner is facing civil lawsuits, fines, and even criminal charges.
Three-story tall mound of debris
In early 2024, our cameras captured a three-story-high mound of construction and demolition debris on Hartford Street in early 2024.
The pile was growing on a vacant lot, which was partially composed of protected wetlands.
We saw a steady stream of trucks dumping debris on the site.
Records show owner Maximo Sanchez filled in environmentally sensitive wetlands and didn’t have the required permit.
“Any sort of material that would be put in a wetland that could degrade its environment would require an authorization from EPC point blank,” said Michael Lynch in March 2024.
Lynch is the Wetlands Director of the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission.
“Currently, the site on Hartford Street has no authorization from EPC or any other regulatory body to fill the wetland,” Lynch said.
We found Sanchez last year outside another waste facility he operates in Drew Park.
“It’s all being dealt with. And as I said, I'm not giving any statement. You talk to my attorney,” Sanchez said.
He signed a consent order with the county days after our conversation agreeing to clean up the Hartford Street site.
“That consent order is saying remove the fill material, re-grade and plant that wetland to restore it,” Lynch said at the time.
But according to a letter the EPC sent Sanchez on May 8th, he missed the November 30th deadline and owes a $7,900 fine.
The letter says Sanchez now has until July 1st to comply.
“That’s crazy! That’s a landfill!”
We talked to Walter Smith, II last year.
He owns an environmental engineering firm and is a member of the Sierra Club.
“We are in the state of Florida in a very delicate ecosystem. It has to be protected at all costs,” Smith said in 2024.
We recently showed Smith pictures and video of how the site looks today.
“That's crazy! That's a landfill,” Smith said, looking at our video.
Multiple inspection reports and photos from the Florida Environmental Protection Agency show the Hartford Street site continued to operate and grow months after Sanchez agreed to clean it up.
“I would have thought that they would have nipped this in the bud a long time ago. There appears to be a consistent pattern of defiance,” Smith said.
He says failing to take action sooner has sent the wrong message to others.
“It says I can get away with this for just a little while longer. And that’s not the type of message that needs to be had,” Smith said.
“Dust continually pours over this building.”
“He’s a guy who doesn’t play by the rules and thinks rules don’t apply to him,” said Aaron Truman.
Truman owns a company called Tampa Contract Floors next to another unpermitted dump Sanchez operates off Linebaugh Ave.
“When it’s really dusty outside, been dry for a while, they’ll be 50-foot walls of dust behind every truck that comes in and out,” Truman said.
Truman has sent emails, pictures, and videos to county and state agencies.
“Dust just continually pours over this building,” he says in a video he sent to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
“That’s on everything. All our delivery trucks,” Truman said, showing dust covering his work trucks.
Inside his building, Truman services his air conditioners every three months, and he has had to repeatedly replace his carpet.
“In two years, this is the third piece of carpet in this area,” Truman said. “That’s how much filth comes in from the warehouse.”
That commercial-grade carpet retails for $50 a yard.
But Smith says there could be an even bigger potential cost.
“Concrete has what you call silicates in it. Those silicates can get into the air and cause a real problem if the dust isn’t taken care of,” Smith said. "It's very dangerous."
We called and emailed Sanchez and emailed his attorneys, but we haven’t heard back.
Since our story last year, the state filed civil lawsuits against Sanchez’s companies for the Hartford Street and Linebaugh Avenue sites, alleging repeated violations and seeking fines of up to $15,000 a day if he doesn’t correct them.
In court documents, Sanchez denies wrongdoing.
The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office has also charged Sanchez with a felony violation of Florida’s litter law and a misdemeanor violation of environmental protection rules.
Sanchez has pleaded “not guilty” and has a hearing scheduled for July.
Truman says it’s about time authorities hold Sanchez accountable.
“I just don’t think they spank him hard enough, to be honest with you,” Truman said.
“This is major. And you’re not talking about one time. You’re not talking about two times. You're talking about several times. And over years,” Smith said.
Sanchez's Hartford Street property has been listed for sale for $5.9 million.
The ad says the site will be leveled and cleared, and the owner is in the process of mitigating wetlands.
How to report suspected environmental violations:
The Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission:
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection:
https://floridadep.gov/
United States Environmental Protection Agency:
https://echo.epa.gov/report-environmental-violations
If you have a story you think the I-Team should investigate, email us at adam@abcactionnews.com.
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