Posted November 17, 2008

Fly ash from a power plant covers a Delhi street

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

Opening line of A Tale of Two Cities

In Gambrills, Maryland, it was the best of times. In the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania, it was the worst of times.

In 1995, Constellation Energy began dumping fly ash at two unlined sites in the area of Gambrills, Maryland. To date, 4.5 million tons of fly ash have been dumped at these sites.

In 2006, reports surfaced that wells in the area were contaminated with dangerous chemicals, arsenic and other metals, leaching from the dump sites. Fly ash was also found in dust at homes in the area.

What did the people of Gambrills do about the fly ash contaminated air and water? They fought back. They hired a law firm and filed suit against Constellation Energy for personal injuries and loss of property values caused by the fly ash.

On November 1, 2008, the Baltimore Sun reported that the people of Gambrills had reached a $45 million settlement with Constellation Energy. www.baltimoresun.com. The deal gives about 600 residents living near the fly ash dump sites financial compensation for the harm caused to them and their property by the fly ash.

The settlement also covers an unspecified amount for remediation and restoration of the former dump sites and a commitment to cease future deliveries of fly ash.

In approximately 2001, the Pennsylvania Department of Environment Protection (PA DEP) escalated the dumping of fly ash in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania. The PA DEP justified the dumping under the guise of "beneficial use" in mine reclamation.

The toxic dust covers the streets and roads, the people are breathing the fly ash dust in the air and toxic metals leaching from the fly ash may have contaminated the water. Furthermore, a significant increase in a rare cancer, polycythemia vera, may be related to the fly ash exposures.

What are the people of the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania doing about the fly ash contamination? Nothing. Most of the people have rolled over and are accepting the toxic exposures as a way of life. In fact, the people repeatedly reelect the politicians who passed the laws that made fly ash dumping "beneficial use."

Several years ago in Wilkes-Barre, a panel of "experts" concluded that the anthracite region would be an excellent area for all kinds of dumping for the following reasons:

1) the anthracite region is an environmentally insensitive area; in other words, it is already blighted;
2) many of the people are poor;
3) many of the people are uneducated or undereducated;
4) the people have little or no political power; and
5) many of the people are strongly religious.

Stated differently, the people in the anthracite coal region would be an easy target and they would not oppose the dumping.

The dumping in this area will continue as long as the majority of the people remain silent. Only when the people wake up and take the necessary legal action will the dumping stop. Take a lesson from the people of Maryland.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known."

Final sentence of A Tale of Two Cities

Posted November 9, 2008

State Rep. David G. Argall

State Rep. David G. Argall (R-124th) is the current minority whip of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and has stated, "according to the historians for the House of Representatives, I now hold the highest position in the House ever held by someone from Schuylkill County" www.republicanherald.com.

On April 22, 2008, Rep. Argall won the Republican nomination for a 13th term in the House of Representatives. On April 23rd, a news story reported that Mr. Argall’s dream of being Speaker of the House had taken a step forward with his election victory .www.republicanherald.com

Six months later, GrassrootsPa.com reported that Mr. Argall was unsuccessful in negotiations with Republican leaders to retain the whip position. On November 8, 2008, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Mr. Argall was no longer seeking re-election as the minority whip .www.pittsburghlive.com

Oh how the mighty have fallen! What will become of Mr. Argall’s political future? It appears that Mr. Argall’s only hope will be to obtain the Republican nomination for the Pennsylvania 29th District Senate seat vacated by the death of Senator James Rhoades.

Mr. Argall will be competing for the nomination with Gretchen Sterns, an attorney in Pottsville, and one of Senator Rhoades’ children, either son Jim, Jr. or daughter Ali Hobbs.

However, local Republican leaders, who will be selecting the nominee, should be leery of someone already ousted by the Republican leaders in Harrisburg.

What will happen to Mr. Argall’s staff in the Harrisburg, Tamaqua, Hamburg and Orwigsburg offices? The House Republicans will be reluctant to continue to support a non-leader with extra staff positions.

What will happen to the constituent services provided by Mr. Argall’s staff in the Harrisburg, Tamaqua, Hamburg and Orwigsburg offices? It will be very difficult for Mr. Argall to provide the services with a greatly reduced staff.

Why did this fall from grace happen to Mr. Argall? Only the House Republican leaders can answer this question with certainty. However, we would like to venture a guess. Conservative Republicans are tired of being in the minority in the House and are in the process of taking control from the liberal, free spending Republicans like Mr. Argall. Conservative Rep. Mike Turzai is believed to be in line for the minority whip position.

Examples of Mr. Argall’s lavish spending include voting for the $400 million tax hike on gasoline, sports stadiums in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for wealthy franchise owners, a 50% increase in his own taxpayer-funded pension and a 34% pay raise for himself.

Historians for the House of Representatives can now say that Mr. Argall had the greatest drop in position in the House by someone from Schuylkill County.

Posted - November 3, 2008

John Hanger

Mr. John Hanger, Acting Secretary
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP)
Rachel Carson Office Building, 16th Floor
P.O. Box 2063
Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063

Re: Coal Combustion Waste Moratorium

Dear Mr. Hanger:

On October 9, 2008, you afforded us the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our concerns about the PA DEP’s coal combustion waste program. At that time, we asked you, among other things, to consider a statewide moratorium on new coal combustion waste mine filling–mine reclamation projects until the safeguards proposed by the National Research Council, the Environmental Integrity Project and other experts have been adopted into final Technical Guidance now pending before the Department. We also asked you to stop the out-of state importation of coal combustion waste.

We stated that we sincerely hoped that the leadership changes at the PA DEP would mean a new direction for citizen and environmental participation. We were under the impression that you wanted us to meet with the department’s mining staff once more to address our requests for safeguards and the factual basis for adopting them and that you would conduct an internal review and that you would provide us with your decision and the basis thereof.

Thus, we were very disappointed to learn that the Pottsville Mining Office of the PA DEP has subsequently renewed a permit reauthorizing the placement of large volumes of coal combustion waste at the Springdale Pit of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company (Surface Mining Permit No. 54733020). The Pit is located within the boroughs of Summit Hill, Coaldale and Tamaqua.

We were further disappointed to learn that the coal combustion waste will be imported from Dynegy Northeast Generation – Danskammer Station in New York.

We were particularly disappointed in your decision since PennFuture was and is monitoring the notorious 309 discharge from the Springdale Pit. The repeated violations of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit have been well documented by PennFuture during your tenure as president and CEO of the organization.

At some point, we are hoping that there will be at least a modicum of attention paid to the public health and the environment by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Thus, we would respectfully request that you reconsider the decision to reauthorize the placement of coal combustion waste at the Springdale Pit as well as the need to adopt and enforce substantive safeguards for the PA DEP’s placement of coal combustion waste in mines before any further decisions to place this waste without these safeguards becomes binding on the department.

Respectfully submitted,

Lisa Graves Marcucci
Jefferson Hills, PA

Cathy Lodge
Bulger, PA

Beverly Braverman
Mountain Watershed Association

Robert Gadinski, P.G.
Ashland, PA

Dante Picciano, Ph.D., J.D.
Tamaqua, PA