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Haulers & Cents: Environmental remediator donates to pro-Warner PAC while under contract with EDA

By Steven Allen Adams 4 min read

CHARLESTON -- An environmental remediation company doing business with the West Virginia Economic Development Authority donated big to a federal super PAC that heavily supported EDA Executive Director Kris Warner's GOP primary race for secretary of state.

Pennsylvania-based SafeCo Services Corp. gave two donations totaling $100,000 to Conservative Policy Action, a federal 527 political action committee. The first donation of $50,000 was made on Jan. 23, while the second $50,000 donation came on April 29, according to reports filed by the super PAC with the Federal Election Commission.

Conservative Policy Action raised $327,337 since its creation at the beginning of 2023, spending all of its contributions by the end of June following West Virginia's May 14 primary. More than $230,990 was spent on behalf of EDA Director Kris Warner's Republican primary bid for secretary of state opposing Doug Skaff.

According to documents obtained from the EDA through a Freedom of Information Act request, the authority entered into a contract with SafeCo Environmental Inc. on June 22, 2022, to do demolition, removal, remediation and disposal of buildings, structures, equipment, material and debris at the site of the former Century Aluminum plant near Ravenswood after SafeCo submitted the lowest bid.

In the original contract, the EDA agreed to pay SafeCo nearly $6.1 million if the project was completed by Dec. 31, 2023, or more than $7.2 million if the work was expedited and completed by Dec. 31, 2022. The contract also included a daily $11,068 penalty if work continued after Dec. 31, 2023.

There have been nine change orders since the first EDA and SafeCo 2022 contract. Change orders one through four were approved by March 17, 2023, increasing the new contract order from $7.2 million to $10.8 million and extending the completion date to April 30, 2023. Change orders five through nine were approved on March 5, moving the completion date to Jan. 31, 2025. The total project contract rose to more than $20.7 million - a 188% increase from the original contract price.

The EDA paid SafeCo seven times between 2023 and 2024, with more than $12 million paid to date, according to the State Auditor's WVCheckbook system. A request for comment from SafeCo Vice President Anthony Jordan was not returned for this story.

The EDA took ownership of the 2,100-acre Century Aluminum site in 2020 after purchasing the property from Applied Partners, which bought the site from Century Aluminum in 2017. The site will be the future home of the BHE Renewables and Precision Castparts Corp. (TIMET Inc.) solar-powered titanium melt facility. The project represents a $500 million investment in Jackson County and West Virginia, according to the companies.

The EDA entered into a September 2022 agreement with BHE Renewables for use of the Century property, and a deal with Precision Castparts Corp. to create a high-impact industrial business development district and work with Precision to recruit new businesses for the site.

Warner has declined to comment on donations to Conservative Policy Action, stating that he followed the law by not communicating or coordinating with the super PAC which in March endorsed his candidacy for secretary of state. But he has defended the EDA, praising his staff and the board of directors.

"I am extremely proud of the work the entire WVEDA team has accomplished, from the chairman to our volunteer board of directors and our highly efficient 13-member staff," Warner said in a July 31 statement. "We have helped create literally hundreds and hundreds of new careers for West Virginians working with private enterprise and have helped save well in excess of 1,000 existing jobs in the Mountain State."

SafeCo's donations accounted for nearly one third of Conservative Policy Action's total contributions. The super PAC received $106,500 during the previous quarter from Conservative Policy Solutions Inc., doing business as Blueprint for Oklahoma's Future and operating from a Wisconsin address.

"Conservative Policy Action is proud that its independent speech is supported by strong companies such as SafeCo, which is a leader in environmental cleanup and provides good-paying jobs to over 40 employees," Matthew Parker, executive director for Conservative Policy Action, said in a statement Tuesday.

A 527 super PAC is any group organized to influence an election. These groups cannot donate to nor coordinate with political candidates, nor can donors direct their contributions to benefit a specific candidate. Super PACs can spend money in support of candidates or to oppose candidates. There are also no reporting limits on how much a person or group can donate to a super PAC.

"The Supreme Court has repeatedly confirmed that our independent political speech is protected by the First Amendment, and contributions in support of that speech are likewise protected," Parker said. "While it was widely known that opposing Doug Skaff and supporting Kris Warner for secretary of state were included in our advocacy, one would need to ask each of our contributors about their particular motivations for their support."

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.

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