St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Environmental Crimes Unit Needs to Prosecute City of St. Augustine and City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS

Sunday, December 02, 2007 at 09:22 PM EST

St. Johns County Sherrif's Office Detective Tom Simpson is in charge of environmental crime detection for the county.

Keeping it clean
Simpson hunts down environmental lawbreakers

By MICHAEL REED
Staff Writer

A dump truck motoring down a county road is not an unusual sight, but it's enough to raise the eyebrows of Detective Tom Simpson, especially if the truck is on its way to a place it's not supposed to be.

Simpson gets angry when he discovers illegally dumped hazardous materials. ''It infuriates me, and I'm in a position where I can do something,'' he said.

Simpson, 58, works for the Sheriff Department's Environmental Crimes Unit -- a program still in its infancy that investigates, among other things, people who illegally dump hazardous waste.

''Environmental crimes only occur for one reason and one reason only: Money,'' he said. ''It's an economic crime is what it is. That's the only reason for it.''

Instead of spending thousands to properly dispose of certain materials, some people take the cheap way out and spend $50 to dump something on someone else's property. Hazardous chemicals leach into the ground and can hurt the environment as well as make people sick.

Federal and state agencies have guidelines that can impose civil penalties on people. Simpson can even take people to jail and seize property. Many illegal dumping crimes are third-degree felonies, he said.

And it's not just chemicals Simpson is worried about. Vegetative waste, construction materials, old tires with standing water providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes and any other improperly disposed of material.

''Everything he finds, it's just one less problem for the future,'' said Michael Cochran, director of administration for the Sheriff's Department.

The unit was created July 1, 2000, because Sheriff Neil Perry wanted to be pro-active and respond quicker to environmental crimes, Simpson said. The unit is not the answer to dumping problems but rather another resource that can be used.

''We don't want to be the quarterback,'' he said. ''We want to be part of the team.''

For example, if the Department of Environmental Protection has problems getting someone to comply, the threat of time in the county jail might help.

But not everyone with illegal dump sites is arrested, Simpson said. Often, the Sheriff's Department is satisfied if the site is cleaned up.

Simpson -- who had worked for the Marine Patrol for 31 years -- is now teaching deputies how to spot environmental crimes.

Deputies are the eyes and ears of the department, and the program is doomed to fail if they don't participate, Simpson said.

Simpson trains deputies to know where dump sites are and what to look for. Cochran said the thought process is similar to other criminal investigations: ''You have to look for the right clues and what can give you the answer,'' he said.

Simpson wants residents to keep an eye out for illegal activity as well. He can be contacted at 810-6767.

''If you see something that's out of the ordinary or it seems like it shouldn't be there, give me a call,'' he said.

(c) St. Augustine Record