Ashbritt

AshBritt Environmental
Industry Disaster relief
Founded August 1992 (1992-08)
Broward County, Florida, U.S.
Founder Randall "Randy" Perkins
Headquarters Deerfield Beach, Florida, United States
Area served
 North America
Key people
 Brittany Perkins CEO
John W. Noble, COO
Services Disaster recovery
Debris removal, management, reduction, processing, recycling, and disposal
Emergency planning
Damage mitigation
Risk abatement
Website www.ashbritt.com

AshBritt Environmental, commonly referred to as AshBritt or AshBritt, Inc., is located in Deerfield Beach, Florida and is a company specializing in disaster relief operations.

Overview

AshBritt Environmental is a Florida-based, national rapid-response disaster recovery and special environmental services contractor. AshBritt was founded in 1992 and has managed and executed around 100 disaster projects and close to 30 special environmental projects. AshBritt has been involved in the debris recovery efforts of 30 federally declared major disasters in eleven states,[1] beginning with Hurricane Andrew. Each of these recoveries was conducted under the authority and oversight of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).[2]

AshBritt is organized in four divisions: disaster recovery services; solid waste services; engineering services; and special environmental services, which can deal with the damage from hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, ice storms, and terrorist activities. It provides non-hazardous waste collection throughout the United States. Among AshBritt’s past jobs are the cleanup and recovery from hurricanes and tornadoes.

In 2016, AshBritt founder Randall "Randy" Perkins announced he would be stepping down as CEO and his daughter, Brittany Perkins, would be taking his place.[2]

Hurricane Katrina

The Army Corps of Engineers awarded AshBritt a contract worth $850 million to remove Hurricane Katrina debris in Mississippi, with an option to increase the dollar amount to one billion dollars. AshBritt had already been activated under a preexisting contingency contract for $150 million.[2]

Following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, as the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Advanced Contracting Initiative (ACI) contractor for U.S. Region 3, AshBritt was the Initial Response contractor for both Louisiana and Mississippi. AshBritt was ultimately tasked by the USACE as the prime contractor for the entire debris mission in the State of Mississippi. Owing to the severity of the damage, this mission proved to be the largest debris cleanup and recovery by a single company in U.S. history.[3]

In Mississippi, AshBritt conducted debris removal, hazardous tree mitigation and demolition services in 17 jurisdictions, covering over 8,400 square miles (22,000 km2) and over 175 miles (280 km) inland. AshBritt collected, hauled and processed 21 million cubic yards of debris and wreckage. AshBritt staffed, managed and operated 49 debris management sites. AshBritt hauled over 700,000 loads of debris, using 12,400 certified operational vehicles.[4]

Other Notable Responses

AshBritt also played a part in assisting with cleanup from Hurricane Sandy, working with at least 15 counties[5] and 43 municipalities[6] in New Jersey to clear around 3 million cubic yards of debris.[7] The decision was later criticized by members of Congress and local media who claimed that AshBritt was inflating clean up costs,[8] though New Jersey Governor Chris Christie awarded the company a second contract to continue cleanup despite their criticisms.[9]

In 2016, AshBritt worked across Florida,[10] Georgia,[11] and South Carolina[12] to cleanup debris left behind by Hurricane Matthew. Over a million cubic yards of debris was gathered and subsequently cleared during cleanup from Matthew.[13]

Controversies

AshBritt has been criticized by local media and members of Congress for its cleanup work during Hurricane Katrina, after accusations that the company was inflating costs of debris removal.[14]

In 2012, Governor Chris Christie came under scrutiny after his administration awarded AshBritt a no-bid contract to clean up the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey. A federal investigation found that Christie did not break any laws, but public outrage centred around the cost of the contract and AshBritt CEO Randy Perkins' significant political donations to organisations such as the Republican Governors Association.[15][16] Additionally, Belmar mayor Matt Doherty was the investigated on charges of corruption due to the AshBritt contract amid accusations of cancelling existing contracts to favor political ties with the company, though no charges were ever brought against him.[17]

In 2016, the Republican Party aired attack ads against AshBritt's controversial record after former CEO Randy Perkins ran as the Democratic Party candidate for the Treasure Coast-Palm Beach congressional seat in Florida.[18]

References

  1. ↑ Renshaw, Jarrett (March 8, 2013). "Christie defends decision to give no-bid Hurricane Sandy contract to AshBritt". NJ.com. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Official website
  3. ↑ Javers, Eamon. "Anatomy of a Katrina Cleanup Contract". Businessweek. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  4. ↑ "US: Biloxi Axes Corps, Ashbritt". Corpwatch. December 14, 2005. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  5. ↑ Lipton, Eric; Semple, Kirk (November 16, 2012). "At Landfill, Storm Cleanup Is Military-Style Effort". The New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  6. ↑ Renshaw, Jarrett (January 13, 2013). "Politically connected Florida firm gets Sandy cleanup contract". NJ.com. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  7. ↑ Hayes, Melissa; Reitmeyer, John (February 4, 2013). "N.J. expands Florida company's role in Sandy cleanup despite Katrina suits". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ Lipton, Eric (April 24, 2013). "CCost of Storm-Debris Removal in City Is at Least Twice the U.S. Average". The New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  9. ↑ Renshaw, Jarrett (January 29, 2013). "Christie awards second contract for Sandy cleanup to influential firm". NJ.com. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  10. ↑ Keever, Jared (October 13, 2016). "CLEARING THE WRECKAGE: County begins to tackle debris removal". Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  11. ↑ Quimby, Kelly (March 11, 2017). "Chatham works to repair sites after Hurricane Matthew". Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  12. ↑ McKim, Cooper (March 19, 2017). "Beaufort County Begins Removal of Abandoned Boast post-Hurricane Matthew". Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  13. ↑ Jones, Emily (January 5, 2017). "Savannah woodworkers find new uses for trees downed by Hurricane Matthew". Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  14. ↑ Jerolleman, Alessandra; Kiefer, John J. (October 5, 2015). The Private Sector's Role in Disasters: Leveraging the Private Sector in Emergency Management. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 148224408X.
  15. ↑ Renshaw, Jarrett. "Christie's decision to use AshBritt faces federal scrutiny". NJ.Com. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  16. ↑ Curry, Colleen (April 3, 2013). "Gov. Chris Christie's Sandy Contracts Questioned as Expensive and Political". Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  17. ↑ Markay, Lachlan (September 8, 2016). "For Dom House Candidate, Politics and Business a Lucrative Mix". Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  18. ↑ Rangel, Isadora (October 27, 2016). "Republican attack ads blast Randy Perkins' company". TC Palm. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
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