By Scott Wyman, Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)

An enraged County Commission threatened to make Waste Management Inc. a political pariah Tuesday if the company goes ahead with plans to dump thousands of tons of incinerated Philadelphia trash in Broward.

Commissioners offered no room for compromise over the barge of ash that left Philadelphia on an around-the-world voyage to find a burial spot 15 years ago. The board lashed out at state environmental regulators who they said reneged on promises to come explain why they support dumping the waste in Broward.

As part of the hardball strategy that commissioners laid out, lawyers are researching all of Waste Management's contracts with the county to find the slightest leverage that can be used or any legal roadblock that can be thrown up.

The commission also agreed to send a letter of protest to the company, Gov. Jeb Bush and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But the group opted not to have the ash tested by the county's own inspectors until all other options are exhausted.

"The insensitivity of the folks at the state and Waste Management is amazing," Commission Chairman John Rodstrom said. "That they wouldn't understand our reaction given the history of this waste blows my mind.

How could they not see this coming? This is about right and wrong. And on that front, we will win hands down."

The nine commissioners presented a united front against the state and the waste-hauling giant at the first board meeting since they were told last week of the plans to bury the infamous trash here. The state has delayed the work because of the ensuing uproar and has promised to consider alternatives.

More than 3,000 tons of ash is waiting on a barge in the St. Lucie Canal to be hauled to Pompano Beach, burned again in an incinerator there and buried in the neighboring landfill.

State regulators have determined the ash is harmless, but other states and ports around the world have rejected it because of concern that it's contaminated with toxic levels of heavy metals. The ash was dumped in Haiti under the guise that it was soil fertilizer, but was dug up and returned to the United States.

Waste Management officials said they are committed to exploring other options with the state because of the opposition and that the county's reaction was expected.

"We still think the plan is a good plan, but the state has asked us to look for other alternatives and we are working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to do so," Waste Management spokesman Don Payne said. "If you look at the history of the ash, it is not surprising that this is people's reaction, but we were hopeful because the ash has been tested and we believed the plan was sound environmentally."

Payne said he did not know what other options are available or how long the firm would spend in the search before wanting to bury the waste in Broward.

Commissioners ordered county lawyers and environmental administrators to begin researching the history of the ash or the legal ins and outs of its disposal in preparation for the looming fight. Among the questions they want answered are:

Why did Florida allow the waste when Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana rejected it?

Why wasn't Broward County notified before the state and Waste Management worked out their agreement?

How thoroughly was the ash inspected to determine it is not hazardous?

The commission had been promised the state Department of Environmental Protection would come answer any questions, but no top administrators from Tallahassee or even the regional director or assistant director showed up at the meeting.

Instead, an aide to district administrator Melissa Meeker came. Faced with rapid-fire grilling from commissioners, he repeatedly told them he did not know the answer.

"It is extremely disrespectful for the state to send someone who can't answer our questions," said Commissioner Kristin Jacobs, who has rallied residents and environmental activists against the plan. "How dare they."

John Moulton, assistant director for the agency's Southeast Florida office, said Meeker had appointments in Tallahassee that she could not break and that the aide who attended is familiar with the state's negotiations.

"We're sorry that's the way they feel," he said. "Any information they want we will get for them."

Commissioners think their best strategy may be to hit Waste Management in the pocketbook and deluge the firm with bad publicity rather than fight legally. An initial review by county attorneys has found little basis for a court challenge because Waste Management owns the Pompano Beach landfill.

Waste Management has numerous contracts with the county, including agreements to run the area's two incinerators, and runs a major trash-hauling operation in the area.

At one point in Tuesday's meeting, a commissioner suggested the county have regulators fan out and inspect each Waste Management dumpster and truck to ensure compliance with all environmental ordinances. Commissioners also questioned if the company would want television images of protesters dragged from the roadway as truckloads of ash arrive at the landfill.

"Waste Management can take their garbage and shove it," Commissioner Lori Parrish said. "But if they ever want to have a good working relationship with me, they had better find another solution and be good corporate citizens."