CHRIS KELLY: A TIME FOR OPTIMISM

December 28, 2014
Times-Tribune, Scranton

A beautiful article by Chris Kelly inspires us to enter the New Year with optimism and to continue our commitment to protecting our area so that spring really will be bigger than a change in the weather.

Excerpts:
As 2014 drags its calloused feet, the past refuses to step aside. This year saw the first same-sex marriage performed at the Lackawanna County Courthouse and a proposed expansion of Keystone Sanitary Landfill that would build a mountain of out-of-state trash in the heart of our valley over the next 50 years.

There were many big stories in 2014, but these two best illustrate the crossroads at which we impatiently idle.

Some hard hearts in our valley would rather welcome a toxic monument to greed than accept a committed couple sharing a life that impacts no one else. No one will be harmed if this historic couple manages to stay together a half-century. If Mount Trashmore is allowed to rise over 50 years, every living soul in our valley — except the elite few who will profit — will regret it.

Meanwhile, a small but committed group of citizens stood up against Mount Trashmore and the legacy of the coal barons. They have every reason to assume the jury is stacked against them, but they won’t back down. They have put their names and livelihoods on the line. Phony, anonymous martyrs need not apply.

As I write this, we’ve gone a dozen days without a peek of sun. I can’t see the molten catalyst of tomorrow, but I know it’s there. The clouds that obscure it will soon pass. The clouds of doubt and fear seeded by the coal barons and their descendants will take longer to dissipate, but at least they finally face honest opposition.

Suddenly, spring seems bigger than a change in the weather.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/chris-kelly-time-for-optimism-1.1808766

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

December 28, 2014
Times-Tribune, Scranton

Eugene Ogozalek speaks to the visual blight the landfill will have on our community in today’s Letter to the Editor. Eye pollution is sickening, too, and our visual quality of life matters. Well said, Gene!

Visual offenses

Editor: There is a fundamental malaise present in our region regarding the disregard of visual aesthetics, whether that is exemplified by a front porch and lawn that resembles a disorganized flea market or the creation of a pyramid of garbage that is larger than the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt.

Too often, we see garbage cans and dumpsters in plain view in front of homes. There is no excuse, poverty or otherwise, for a lack of pride in ownership. However, in many cases, the cause is an absentee landlord who has no concern other than to milk dilapidated properties dry and then walk away.

As ordinary citizens, we look to the municipal, state and federal governments to set standards that maintain and embellish our visual quality of life, whether those standards regulate a single unkempt property or an apocalypse of garbage courtesy of the DeNaples family.

Make no mistake about it: The proposed expansion of the landfill is an overflowing and rotting dumpster in everyone’s front yard.

Today, our region faces the greatest challenge with the possible destruction of the quality and beauty of our visual environment since the era of the coal mines. The question remains: Are we up to the challenge?

EUGENE OGOZALEK

SCRANTON

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

December 28, 2014
Times-Tribune, Scranton

It makes us blue, too, Jane Malloy! Thanks for reminding our government officials we need them to speak out and be our voice in your Letter to the Editor today.

Landfill blues

Editor: It has been such a disappointment seeing how many of our government officials have taken no position on the proposed expansion of Keystone Sanitary Landfill.

According to a tabulation printed in The Times-Tribune, 20 out of 28 took no stance.

Due to the size and potential long-term impact, there is no need to rush into a long- term contract.

Our future and our children’s future is at stake here. Please don’t let cash weigh down our environment and compromise the safety of our future.

JANE MALLOY

DUNMORE

EXPERT: KEYSTONE LANDFILL DEAL IS LESS ATTRACTIVE OVER TIME

December 28, 2014
Times-Tribune, Scranton

Louis DeNaples “gift” is actually a self-serving “benefit” to the DEP Harms/Benfit analysis according to this article. Not only did residents bring the present value of the agreement mentioned in this article to the attention of the Dunmore Council prior to them voting yes to it, but during those Dunmore Council meetings the Times Tribune also reported residents wondered why the DeNaples brothers would choose to negotiate a new contract fee now, when council members say they’ve been unwilling to do so for years. Many feared it was only to pad the “benefits” section of the Harms/Benefits Analysis. This article confirms those concerns were true as DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connelly states, “…in the past we have asked the host municipality of a landfill what the fee they get from the agreement means to their municipal budget. The answer was negligible, so its intensity (or value) was negligible. In another municipality, the host agreement was a significant portion of the budget, so it was considered as a significant benefit [to the Harms/Benefit Analysis].”

So how does the DEP weigh the value of the host municipality agreement when it has a very short term positive impact and a very, very long term negligible impact on the municipal budget?

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/expert-keystone-landfill-deals-less-attractive-over-time-1.1809260

PROCEDURES IN PLACE IF LANDFILL MUST CLOSE

The sooner, the better to protect our health, safety, welfare, and reputation.

December 27, 2014

Excerpts:
If state regulators do not approve Keystone Sanitary Landfill’s expansion plan, the operation could shut down in fewer than five years.

Yet even after the facility stops accepting waste and vegetation grows over buried garbage, activity at Keystone would not entirely cease as the facility enters a post-closure period the consultant estimated would last at least three to four decades.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/procedures-in-place-if-landfill-must-close-1.1808680

EPA NOT INTERVENING WITH KEYSTONE LANDFILL

Key phrase: EPA will not get involved “at this point”. Also, why is Keystone just now building a new treatment plant to try to solve the ongoing groundwater contamination issue? What was stopping them for the past 12 years?

Excerpts:
“EPA is not aware of any ground water contamination or drinking water issues related to the Keystone landfill,” Mr. Garvin responded. “However, if there are specific complaints or data relative to such a problem, we would be willing to work in close cooperation with the DEP to evaluate and determine proper action to protect public health within our respective authorities.”

Michele Dempsey, a leader in the Friends of Lackawanna group opposed to the expansion, raised The Times-Tribune’s report about Keystone’s on-and-off problems with its leachate plant over the last approximately 12 years.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/epa-not-intervening-with-keystone-landfill-1.1807161

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: UNFAVORABLE CAUTION

Well said, Richard Yost! Another great Letter to the Editor from a concerned citizen.

Unfavorable caution

Editor: For the past 25 years or so, if Louis DeNaples didn’t want you to be a candidate for public office in Northeast Pennsylvania, you usually would not be.

It attests to his power and influence.

Perhaps there is change in the air, but has anyone told current officeholders? As they have been repeatedly queried by The Times-Tribune, many are cautious to the point of cluelessness about the proposed Keystone Sanitary Landfill expansion.

Lackawanna County Commissioner Patrick O’Malley is challenging the landfill’s position; state Rep. Marty Flynn supports it, which is not a pleasant matter for me with my state legislator. U.S. Rep. Tom Marino is silent. Why would he speak up? He has been in DeNaples’s pocket for at least 10 years.

All the while, state Sen. John Blake is trying too hard to establish his sincerity. Therein lie the different takes on the on the sad legacy of the landfill’s proposed environmental and aesthetic degradation.

The Dunmore pact has been deemed the worst in the country; we are now being called the “dump yard of the East Coast.”

On another front, a fuel leak on DeNaples property along the Lackawanna River speaks also to a general lack of care and concern about ecology.

Add to that, after a period of 12 to 15 years of shrinkage at the junkyard along Interstate 81 in Dunmore, there is growth again. Many potential visitors essentially see it as a warning not to enter Scranton.

Add all this up and you get a place at odds with itself, one that hangs on with short-term profit over long-term enduring value.

RICHARD J. YOST

SOUTH ABINGTON TWP.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor-12-23-2014-1.1806753

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: DAVID V. GOLIATH

Bob, we will aim true to bring down Goliath and save our area. We welcome your voice from today’s Letter to the Editor. Thank you!

David v. Goliath

Editor: When I heard Michele Dempsey from Friends of Lackawanna on a local talk radio program speaking about the group’s opposition to the proposed expansion of the Keystone Sanitary Landfill, I gave her credit for her passion but didn’t give her group a chance in succeeding.

I have been around long enough to have watched Louis DeNaples get everything he sets his sights on, often to the detriment of the region. You can see his usual proponents lining up to support what will be yet another black eye for the region.

Mr. DeNaples is an astute businessman who worked his way up from a very humble beginning. He has created hundreds of jobs in an area that is a perennial employment loser.

Any good coming out of an expansion of the landfill will be far overshadowed by the negative effects. The fatal flaws of the landfill are well-documented from the honeycomb of mines underneath to the flocks of seagulls and wintering crows and the radioactive gas drilling waste used to blanket each day’s fresh layer of predominantly out-of-state trash.

For decades, people who traveled through our area on the interstates remembered one thing about the Scranton area: the giant DeNaples junkyard along I-81. Do we want to add a mountain of trash as another landmark?

We need landfills and junkyards, but do they have to be in our neighborhoods? Do they have to be the most visible reminder of our area and who we are as a people?

I realize how important this battle is for the soul of our area and I add one more voice to the groundswell of opposition. I know it is an uphill fight, but so it was for David and his battle with Goliath.

BOB SHUMAKER

SCRANTON

http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor-12-21-2014-1.1805945

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: DEPRESSED ENOUGH

William, we couldn’t agree with you more. Thank you for this thoughtful and spot on Letter to the Editor.

Depressed enough

Editor: In the region’s early years, the coal companies provided great economic growth and jobs. In the process of extracting precious anthracite, they despoiled the landscape and left ugly scars.

The mess from mining has largely been cleaned up, though some work remains.

In 2014, we know better. We are very aware of environmental hazards that can come with industry and usually take measures to minimize or eliminate them.

It is my strong opinion that a landfill, especially in an inhabited, metropolitan area, is a serious threat to our health and self-esteem. The powerful odor from Keystone Sanitary Landfill causes me to close my car windows when I drive along the Casey Highway.

I don’t even like to contemplate the noxious evil ooze that surely is brewing in that pile, threatening to leak into our water supply and the Lackawanna River.

Our area is depressed enough. Young people are leaving in droves. Residents are dissatisfied with our declining way of life. The low self-esteem surely would be magnified by being considered as the dumping ground of the East Coast.

I can see New Jerseyites and New Yorkers chuckling as they drive through and gaze at that potential eyesore. It is infuriating. The greater good of the valley should be put ahead of profits.

WILLIAM MORRIS, D.D.S.

OLYPHANT

http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor-12-21-2014-1.1805945

CHRIS KELLY: A VISIT FROM ST. LOUIE

In Chris Kelly’s column today, we learn that Louis DeNaples thinks that the host municipality agreement with Dunmore–the worst agreement in the County and possibly the State–is a “gift” from him to Dunmore because “Dunmore gives him nothing” and that he was intimately involved in preparing the agreement.

We respectfully disagree with Chris’ assertion that the landfill is “a state-of-the-art facility staffed by qualified, conscientious professionals committed to its responsible operation.” Such a facility would not allow leachate to leak into our groundwater for 12 years or spread sickening smells across our valley.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/chris-kelly-a-visit-from-st-louie-1.1806045

NORTHEAST CURRENT: KEYSTONE LANDFILL EXPANSION, PART 1

In Case You Missed it! This morning, member of Friends of Lackawanna were on Northeast Current speaking with Charlie Charlesworth about the landfill’s expansion plans, the DEP’s permitting process, and the Dunmore fee agreement. This was part 1 of a 2 part series. Part two will cover the environmental impacts of the 50 year expansion.

Video to part one below. Part 2 will play next Thursday morning at 6am on ion TV. so before you open those Christmas presents, tune in!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cya8peSaKjg&feature=em-share_video_user

DEP TO REVIEW LANDFILL REQUEST; EXPANSION APPLICATION COMPLETE

As relayed yesterday, the DEP has determined that the landfill’s application is now administratively complete. The Scranton Times reports it this morning on their Front page.

‘The Times-Tribune’ - 2014-12-18
BY BREN­DAN GIB­BONS STAFF WRITER


The state Department of Environmental Protection has declared Keystone Sanitary Landfill’s application complete and ready for a review t he agency estimates will last through January 2016.

“Essentially, the landfill has included all necessary paperwork and documentation,” DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said in an email. “We now move on to the technical review process, where the department’s waste management staff and legal staff will review the technical aspects of the application and ultimately make a decision.”
The announcement starts the clock on a process the DEP estimates will last 405 days.

The DEP proposed a timeline with two sect i ons: environmental assessment and technical design/operation review. It includes a public meeting, where the DEP will answer questions but won’t record testimony, and a public hearing, where the DEP will listen t o and record public input, using a stenographer. It also includes three separate public comment periods.

Because a portion of Dunmore is considered an environmental j ustice area, at least one staff member from the DEP’s Office of Environmental Advocate will attend some of the events, although they’re not yet sure which, Ms. Connolly said. Jefferson Twp. resident Michele Dempsey, a core member of the Friends of Lackawanna group opposing the landfill’s expansion, called the process confusing, pointing out that the region’s future is at stake. It left her with some serious questions, such as how the public and municipalities could afford to hire their own experts to review the application for its technical merits and whether community opposition to the project matters to the DEP.

“I think that the public needs to have a firm understanding of what is happening and what our rights are before any decisions are rendered,” she said. “Fifty years is a long t i me, and we shouldn’t rush a decision that will impact so many now and for countless generations to come.”
Keystone consultant Al Magnotta said the process will give landfill officials a chance to explain what they do, how they do it and their plans for the future. “We want (the public) to fully understand our operation and management and commitment to environmental care,” he said. ”That’s been established through our compliance record.”

Katherine Mackrell Oven, a Dunmore resident and Friends of Lackawanna core member, said she’s glad DEP isn’t rushing the process, “given the egregious manner of the proposed expansion.” “I hope the residents of NEPA will use this time as an opportunity to become more informed about the tremendous negative impact this expansion will have on the quality of life of its residents,” she said in an email. “I hope they will use this time to contact the DEP and our elected officials to voice their opposition to the expansion.”

Last March, Keystone first submitted its application to expand to 475 feet above g round l evel, creating enough space for 47 years worth of waste. As it does now, the DEP will review the facility every 10 years for compliance with its permits and state regulations.

The department announced the milestone in a letter to Keystone manager Joseph Dexter, copied to landfill consultant CECO Associates Inc.; Lackawanna County commissioners and planning commission; the boroughs of Dunmore, Throop, Olyphant and Dickson City; the city of Scranton; Roaring Brook Twp.; Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey; U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17, Moosic; state Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald; and state representatives Frank Farina, D-112, Jessup; Marty Flynn, D-113, Scranton; and Sid Michaels Kavulich, D-114, Taylor. Contact the writer: bgibbons@timesshamrock.com, @bgibbonsTT on Twitter

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/first-review-complete-dep-begins-extensive-technical-review-of-landfill-expansion-1.1804332

NEW YORK STATE TO BAN FRACKING; SIGNIFICANT HEALTH RISKS AND MANY RED FLAGS

friendsoflackawanna:

The State of NY is banning Fracking based on 5 years of studies that concludes there are substantial health risks (including groundwater contamination). At the very same time, the PA DEP is considering allowing our area to be the literal dump for this same hazardous materials. Nuts.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3040091/new-york-state-to-ban-fracking-significant-health-risks-and-many-red-flags

NEW YORK STATE TO BAN FRACKING, SIGNIFICANT HEALTH RISKS AND MANY RED FLAGS

The State of NY is banning Fracking based on 5 years of studies that concludes there are substantial health risks (including groundwater contamination). At the very same time, the PA DEP is considering allowing our area to be the literal dump for this same hazardous materials. Nuts.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3040091/new-york-state-to-ban-fracking-significant-health-risks-and-many-red-flags

CHRIS KELLY: AND A ONE, TWO, THREE...

December 14, 2014

Chris Kelly puts the plight of our area, if the Keystone Sanitary Landfill expansion happens, to song–the last line says it all “the silent ones can never say it happened without warning”:

A controversial proposed expansion at Keystone Sanitary Landfill, owned by billionaire Louis DeNaples, would build a mountain of out-of-state trash in the heart of the valley over the next half-century. This monstrosity would do incalculable harm to the health, environment and economy of the region.

I SMELLED THE TRUCKS

(“I Saw Three Ships”)

I smelled the trucks come

rumbling in

Every day, yes, every day

I saw the trash come dumping in

Every day in the morning.

For 50 years it went this way

Every day, yes, everyday

And chased the jobs and kids away

Sent cancer rates a-soaring.

The mountain rose, the valley sank

Into decay, day by day.

The silent ones can never say

It happened without warning.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/editorials-columns/christopher-j-kelly/chris-kelly-and-a-one-two-three-1.1802651

WAITING FOR DEP MAKES MAYOR LATE

December 14, 2014
The Times Tribune Editorial Board states the following:

“That so many local politicians refuse to aggressively oppose the expansion betrays a dispiriting lack of vision for the region’s future, the same mindset that already has made it a dumping ground.”
We couldn’t agree more and as Councilman Gaughan states, “If we don’t take a stand, what’s the point of being in office?”

Excerpts:
Four of five Scranton City Council members seem to understand that their positions afford them an opportunity to weigh in on important matters that lie beyond their direct decision-making powers.

Unfortunately, the lesson appears to be lost on Mayor Bill Courtright and Councilman Pat Rogan. Like many other local politicians, they have failed to take a stance on the proposed massive expansion of the Keystone Sanitary Landfill that is directly contrary to the interests of Scranton and all of Northeast Pennsylvania.

The mayor of the region’s largest city shouldn’t need the DEP’s guidance on whether such a monstrosity [475’ mountain of garbage] would be bad for the region, thus for his struggling city.

That so many local politicians refuse to aggressively oppose the expansion betrays a dispiriting lack of vision for the region’s future, the same mindset that already has made it a dumping ground.

As Mr. Gaughan, the Scranton councilman, put it: “I think that we, as a body, need to come out as one body, the city of Scranton, and make a strong statement against the expansion of the landfill. It affects us, so we should take a strong stand against it. If we don’t take a stand, what’s the point of being in office?”

http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/waiting-for-dep-makes-mayor-late-1.1802469

Most Scranton councilmen oppose Keystone landfill's massive expansion plan

It was refreshing to read this morning that most Scranton Councilmen oppose the landfill’s proposed expansion. Kudos to Bob McGoff, Wayne Evans, Bill Gaughan and Joe Wechsler for speaking up. Mayor Courtright’s response is weak. Either you oppose the expansion plans or you support it. The DEP’s review is administrative - has the landfill dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s. It’s time to take a stance, Mayor, one way or the other.

Most Scranton councilmen oppose Keystone landfill’s massive expansion plan

The majority of Scranton City Council members oppose the massive, decades-long expansion proposed by Keystone Sanitary Landfill, though the mayor and one councilman remain undecided.

Scranton council President Bob McGoff and Councilmen Wayne Evans, Bill Gaughan and Joe Wechsler oppose the proposal by the landfill straddling Dunmore and Throop.

Scranton Mayor Bill Courtright and Councilman Pat Rogan are undecided. Mr. Courtright and Mr. Rogan said they are waiting for the state Department of Environmental Protection to weigh in on the expansion before taking a stance.

“Obviously, the main concern is the health and safety of all the people. But DEP is charged with investigating this and I’d like to see what they have to say before stating an opinion,” Mr. Court­right said.

Mr. Rogan said, “I want to see what the state (DEP) has to say before giving any opinion … I’m not an expert on landfills and I don’t think anyone on the governing body is.”

The pinnacle of the proposed 450-acre Keystone expansion site would eventually reach 475 feet above ground level, or 220 feet higher than the current peak, over nearly an additional half-century of disposal.

Scranton will have little to no say in the proposal in its neighboring community. However, many of its leaders had strong opinions.

“I think we need to take a stand,” Mr. Gaughan said. “I think that we, as a body, need to come out as one body, the city of Scranton, and make a strong statement against the expansion of the landfill. It affects us, so we should take a strong stand against it. If we don’t take a stand, what’s the point of being in office?”

“I am strongly, strongly opposed to the expansion of the landfill. The health and the safety and the welfare of the residents of this area are far more important than the almighty dollar,” Mr. Gaughan said. “Is that really going to be the symbol of what this area that has become? We’ve got to look out for future generations.”

Mr. Evans believes the large expansion would have negative long-term impacts on health, the environment, real estate values and the overall economy of northeastern Pennsylvania. The issue has been too narrowly focused on how much more Keystone would pay to Dunmore in host fees, said Mr. Evans. He also questions whether the plan is an all-or-nothing proposition and said he has to hear a rationale for such a long-term, huge expansion.

“The proposal, as it stands, I am not for at all. Fifty years is too long, the amount of trash going in there is too much at the rate it’s going in,” Mr. Evans said. “It’s not fair to everybody else in the county because we’re all going to be impacted. The impact is going to be felt by the next generation and the next generation. Why do we need 50 years, if most of the trash is from New York and New Jersey?”

Mr. Wechsler said, “I am against the expansion of the landfill as the plan currently exists. Opinions vary as to whether any expansion is needed. I do have concerns about the height and the long-term health effects that it may have on the communities. Also, our area’s reputation will be further negatively impacted with expansion.”

Mr. Wechsler added that although the landfill impacts the broader region beyond its host borders, other municipalities appear to not have any formal say or role in such an expansion application.

“This is an opportunity for the cities of Northeast Pennsylvania to take a regional approach on how we handle trash, storm water, leachate and fracking wastes,” Mr. Wechsler said. “It is not right that a decision made in Dunmore may impact our lives with us not having any say in the matter.”

Noting his reply is a “qualified answer” to the landfill-expansion question, Mr. McGoff said he opposes the proposal but may be amenable to a smaller, shorter expansion of perhaps 10 years.

“I’m not opposed to landfill expansion. I think we are a disposable society and we do need to have these” landfills, Mr. McGoff said. “However, I believe a 50-year allowance for expansion and whatever height (the 475 feet that’s been proposed) is too much. I would have thought they (Dunmore) could have negotiated something to cut it down.”

Mr. Gaughan said, “I wouldn’t support any expansion at all.”

Meanwhile, Scranton city solicitor Jason Shrive said he sent a letter Tuesday to Keystone asking it for a breakdown justifying that the tipping fee increase that Keystone told Scranton the city would be paying next year adheres to a contract between the city and landfill.