How grassroots opposition to a new asphalt plant was infiltrated by an outside operative

CLEMMONS, N.C.—The man came out of nowhere, but he seemed to be on their side.

Dozens of residents of Clemmons, a small village south of Winston-Salem, were alarmed about a proposed asphalt plant that could be built in their neighborhood, Rolling Green Village.

The man, who said his name was Chris Sanderson, told neighbors he too, felt concerned about the potential environmental harms.

Weeks later, residents learned the truth. He was operating under an alias.

Public records, photographs, social media accounts and technological fingerprints on his documents showed he was Chris Hopkins, a man who has worked over the past 20 years for consulting firms whose strategies for industrial clients included subterfuge.

Hopkins began spearheading community opposition to the asphalt plant in June. The facility, proposed by Maymead, a company based in Mountain City, Tennessee, would lie within two miles of eight elementary schools, several parks and hundreds of residences, including a mobile home community.

Just 1,000 feet away from the site runs Muddy Creek, which is on the federal list of impaired waters and a tributary of the Yadkin River, a drinking water supply for 1 million people.

Posing as Sanderson, Hopkins formed an anti-asphalt plant Facebook group and an online neighborhood discussion list. He visited neighbors in their homes and emailed and spoke with local government officials. He ordered and paid $700 for flyers, stickers and signs, the latter which he pounded into the ground throughout the neighborhood and along Kinnamon Road.

This strategy is not uncommon among some land-use firms. Hopkins worked for at least one company that at times tried to quash projects, not for environmental reasons but to eliminate the competition.

Residents who oppose a project because they’re genuinely concerned about their communities become unwitting foot soldiers in a turf war.

In the hall before a Forsyth County Commissioners meeting Aug. 27, Inside Climate News approached the man neighbors knew as Chris Sanderson and showed him a photo from Hopkins’ LinkedIn page that strongly resembles him: a white man with thin lips, a round nose and a fringe of gray hair framing a balding head.

“That’s not me,” he replied in a Northern accent. “I’m not even on LinkedIn. I’m retired. I’m 66 years old.”

He declined to provide identification to prove he was Chris Sanderson.

“No,” he said, as he hurried to an elevator. “That’s rude.”

When Hopkins was operating in Clemmons, he was employed by the consulting firm Land Use Strategies. With three offices across the U.S., it represents mining interests, data centers, landfills and other controversial industries.

Last week, Inside Climate News sent Land Use Strategies documents showing evidence of Hopkins’ other identity and requested an explanation. Two days later, the company replied that Hopkins was no longer with the firm and that it “was not involved with” and had “no knowledge of” the Clemmons project.