As many of you know, a number of municipalities in Pennsylvania have enacted ordinances that ban the spreading of sludge on farmland. By definition, “sludge” consists of both human waste and other sewage, which could potentially include industrial toxins and heavy metals that are not removed in the process. We are not merely talking about human waste. While the term “sludge” has often been equated to only human waste, “biosolids” is wastewater treated by municipal sewage systems and in addition to human waste, can include toxic metals, pathogens, mortuary waste and hazardous hospital waste as well as hundreds of other chemicals. Anything flushed down a drain in home, factory or hospital ends up as a biosolid and there have been documented ill effects on people. Cities such as Baltimore and Philadelphia pay corporations to take their waste. Those same corporations then distribute the waste to farms . One of the largest companies, Synagro, has impacted Pennsylvania. Synagro transported over 13,000 tons of biosolids onto Pennsylvania farms in 2007.
In 2006 when the state enacted the Agricultural, Communities and Rural Environment Act, known as ACRE, The Evening Sun Newspaper reported that Attorney General Tom Corbett threatened Pennsylvania’s rural communities with lawsuits should they try to get in the way of state sanctioned spreading of corporate sludge. Since then, Mr. Corbett has carried out his threat against rural Pennsylvania. In a number of municipalities, Attorney General Tom Corbett has agreed to intervene and use the power and resources of state government to fight against the wishes and desire of our citizens who only want to protect their communities from environmental contamination by sludge. Over in East Brunswick T ownship, Schuylkill County for example, Attorney General Corbett is carrying the ball for J.C. Hills Tree Farm, a private company, against the citizens of East Brunswick Township. Mr. Corbett wants to have all such municipal ordinances in Pennsylvania declared illegal.
On July 2, 2008, the Republican Herald newspaper reported that on a visit to Schuylkill County, Corbett essentially told local governments to mind their own business when it comes to the spreading of sludge on farmland. Mr. Corbett also misrepresented the truth to the citizens when he stated that it was his “duty” as attorney general to enforce the Agricultural, Communities and Rural Environment Act known as ACRE . That assertion is entirely false. The law states clearly that the attorney general may bring action against a local government, but it is certainly not his responsibility or “duty” to do so.
Let me read directly from the law, Section 314 b of ACRE states: “The Attorney General has the discretion whether to bring an action…” Section 315a of ACRE states, “The Attorney General may bring an action against the local government … to invalidate the unauthorized local ordinance … .”
This is important, ladies and gentleman. Your current attorney general, Tom Corbett, absolutely does not need to bring these cases against your local governments. No law requires him to do so. No law requires him to use state resources to bring lawsuits against you. He is doing this because he wants to do it The law that Mr. Corbett has been referencing in defense of his action against you and in support of corporate sludge haulers is completely discretionary. Not only is this not necessary, but in my opinion, it is an irresponsible use of public resources on behalf of private big corporations.
So, today I am here to tell you that if elected attorney general of Pennsylvania , one of my first acts will be to withdraw the OAG from participation in all of these sludge lawsuits. There is a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the health effects of sludge use, and citizens acting through their local governments have a right to protect their communities. I will not use your tax money to overturn your own decisions and fight the battles for corporations. As attorney general, I will leave these decisions to you, the members of the community, and focus my attention and state resources on those issues that will address the interests of the community as a whole, not the private interests of corporate America.
As you know, I've reported on this issue and the pending Court matter frequently. The problem is made worse by DEP's failure to enforce its own regulations which require turning the soil within 24 hours of application. As a matter of course, they waive that requirement. And there is little or no testing or inspection to the proper application and classification of the material itself.
ReplyDeleteCorbett's a bad guy for prosecuting the laws he's sworn to uphold? Laws passed with lots of help from John's state house friends and donors? Should Tom choose not to enforce state law? Should John choose not to enforce state and federal laws and not harass harmless, indigent, illegals?
ReplyDeleteJohn has baggage filled with sludge; the kind of sludge that loves anonymous robocalls, phony campaign reports, and last second, hit-piece mailers. John's as filthy as the garbage he brazenly partners with. And that garbage is the filthiest in this state.
Will John's buddy be spewing filth and threatening violence at John's parish this Sunday? More importantly, will John say a damn thing about it if it does happen? Evidence to date indicates not.
"Corbett's a bad guy"
ReplyDeleteCorbett's a crook.
TC in the drivers seat here..he's making good press taking down Harrisburg inside traders! If he goes for DeNaples..forget it! JM an also ran..
ReplyDeleteHey 5:43 please cite one instance where you believe John "failed" to enforce the law.
ReplyDeleteI'll have more to say about this later, but there is this thing called prosecutorial discretion. Not every crime is or should be prosecuted, as ridiculous as that may sound. There is a difference between the law and justice and that's why we have prosecutorial discretion. JM has been heavy-handed where he needs to be. He has prosecuted street crtime and gangland activity. He has been too heavy-handed in my view when it comes to illegal immigration. But when it comes to the expression of civil liberties, JM has consistently declined to prosecute. When LEPOCO members were arrested for distributing antiwar pamphlets outside the Palmer PO, John dismissed the charges. He also dismissed a case against a person last year who liked to fly his flag upside down.
ReplyDeleteIf truth be told, his views about civil liberties are more expansive than mine. Overall, he is a good and decent man, very accessible, and belongs in Harrisburg. I have a rought time understanding all this resentment against a person who had no opponent when he last ran for DA.
I suspect 5:43 is probably sitting at Republican State Comm. in Hbg. That's ok. You try and stick John with Severson. He will probably stick you with DeNaples and Asher your convicted felons du jour.
ReplyDeleteAsher is a stretch. That conviction was in '85. I would not hold that ancient history against Asher or Corbett. DeNaples is another story. His conviction is old, too, but the antics have continued.
ReplyDeleteJohn is a sleazy statewide version of Harold Stassen. He keeps running. He keeps losing. Perhaps he should resign himself to his own proving of the Peter Principle in safe li'l NorCo.
ReplyDeleteHome Rule municipalities can do this and the state has no say. The state can only preempt Home Rule entities in a few very limited, and clearly defined areas.
ReplyDeleteOr, they obviously cannot violate the PA or US constitutions.
I think John Morganelli should clean up the gangs that run wildly within one mile of his office in Easton ,PA.
ReplyDeleteWhen our child was 7 years he revealed that he was sexually assaulted by his first grade teacher. We filed a Police report with Colonial Regional Police and than were required to meet with Detective Hammer and Morganelli's assistant DA. In confidence and trust our son made his statement in Morganelli's Office. A bogus investigation followed along with a conflicting police report made by Detective Gary Hammer. Since they were not going to move forward in this case this Police report was supposed to be sealed and kept confidential, instead it was distributed through the mail. According to the Northampton Schools district response they stated they got a copy from Morganelli's Office. This confidential police report by my son and many other 6 and 7 year old children's statements which included full names and addresses have been made public. The Teacher was transferred when Detective Hammers son was placed in this Teachers first grade pod. When we confronted Morganelli he stated his office did not distribute this report and said there is no need for an investigation on how this confidential report was made public. Morganalli stated 6 and 7 year old children do not make good witnesses, even though he knew the school district witheld and gave false information.
ReplyDeleteThrough our experience this police report was not kept confidential! Answers are still left open and the cover-up continues.
Since 6 and 7 year old children did not distrubute that report, why would it matter whether they are good witnesses? I think the real question is how a confidential report ended up in the school district. You can email me at BOHare5948@aol.com.
ReplyDeleteI know John and Detective Hammer. Perhaps I can find out what is going on.
To the Editor:
ReplyDeleteIn response to statements made about Biosolids last week by Northampton County DA and Democratic AG candidate John Morganelli, it is important to understand the facts.
First and foremost, Synagro does not generate “sludge” or Biosolids anywhere. What we do is manage Biosolids – treated, environmentally-approved materials only – that are generated in local communities for use as fertilizer on farms throughout the Commonwealth.
This practice is the subject of a lot of misinformation, and frankly a lot of “scare” stories. So it’s important to set the record straight.
First, there is a huge difference between Biosolids material and sludge. Sludge is raw, untreated sewage. No one should spread sludge on farms, and we at Synagro do not do so.
By contrast, Biosolids are treated, stable organic fertilizer that is regulated and approved by both the federal EPA and the Pennsylvania DEP. Biosolids are made through the processing of material from wastewater treatment plants. They are thoroughly treated, tested, and subject to stringent environmental controls to prevent negative impact to humans or our environment. Synagro spreads Biosolids material for free on farms across the state, saving Pennsylvania farmers millions of dollars every year in fertilizer costs. Using this environmentally-friendly material has another benefit: it reduces the use of commercial fertilizers, most of which are fuel-based, and that reduces our dependence on foreign fuels even as we encourage the use of biosolids as a “green” alternative for farmers. And again, this material is approved by the EPA and the DEP for use as fertilizer.
Communities all across Pennsylvania and in many other states contract with Synagro and other firms to handle the biosolids produced from wastewater treatment. They do so because by law they must treat the materials that get flushed or sent down the drainpipe. For local communities – yours and ours, because we live here, too – Synagro offers state-of-the-art technologies to treat these materials, including Biosolids, according to strict federal and state standards. When communities choose the technologies that they require to handle their needs, Synagro implements that choice – and we do it to the very highest standards of quality and service.
Synagro does not produce the problem – that is, the material that flows down the drainpipe. We provide environmentally-approved solutions, based on informed choices made by local communities. Our technologies are sustainable, renewable, green and safe, and we are proud of our record of service and achievement.
Sincerely,
Lisa Williams
Lisa Williams
Regional Director, Technical Services
Synagro Central LLC
Ms. Williams,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. i will post as a separate blog.