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By William M. Hartnett, Palm Beach Post  

In fact, the ash that once sat abandoned on a beach in Haiti for more than a decade hasn't moved at all since finding its way to the Treasure Coast in late April. If you hadn't already deduced from the considerable length of its world tour,the ash is caught in a web that involves government agencies at every level and a host of private companies that have demonstrated a certain knack for avoiding communication with one another.

Among the government players alone are the U.S. State Department, the Environmental Protection Agen cy, Florida's Department of Environmental Protection and a New York City commission charged with rooting organize d crime from the commercial trash hauling industry.

So when will the ash, which is not considered hazardous by environmental regulators, leave its digs just southwest of the St. Lucie Lock and whisked away to a final resting place?

Soon. Maybe later. But definitely someday. Probably.

"We are working with DEP on a plan that will be a solution to the problem," said Don Payne, spokesm an for Waste Management Inc., the company transporting the ash. "We're pretty much in the final stages of that r ight now. Our main concern is disposal that will be taken care of in an environmentally responsible way."

As for where in the world the ash may next find its way, or when it may get there, Payne said it's too early to say.

Despite its international notoriety and well-traveled upbringing, the ash is officially classified as plain old solid waste that, in theory, could be disposed of in any permitted landfill. But communities aren't exactly lining up to welcome the ash, which Greenpeace in past years has called toxic.

Kris McFadden of the DEP said state officials are waiting, as they have since April, for a proposal from Waste Management on how the company plans to dispose of the ash.

"We're still waiting for these parties to come to us with a final agreement," McFadden said. "Then we'll decide whetherit will be acceptable. We want to be sure it's placed in a location that's going to be in the best interest of the environment and public health."

In the meantime, Sgt. Paul Laska, who heads the environmental division of the Martin County Sheriff's Office, said he checks on the ash from time to time to make sure it isn't leaking into the canal. It remains stored in a large, ocean-going "hopper" barge at Maritime Tug & Barge.