N E W S R E L E A S E COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol
Harrisburg, PA 17120
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tom Charles
Deputy Press Secretary
(717) 783-1116
Christina Novak, DEP
(717) 787-1323
SURVEY REVEALS THAT MOST PA COMMUNITIES WITH MUNICIPAL WASTE
LANDFILLS DO NOT WANT NEW YORK CITY TRASH
Ridge Administration says
to NYC: ‘Keep your word – don’t send your trash to PA communities that say no’
HARRISBURG (May 11) – Gov. Tom Ridge today announced that a letter has been sent to New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, advising him that a recent survey shows nearly 70 percent of Pennsylvania communities with municipal waste landfills and incinerators do not want New York City trash. And Gov. Ridge wants New York City to keep its promise not to send its trash to those Pennsylvania communities.
Under Gov. Ridge’s direction, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary James M. Seif recently sent the letter to the New York City Mayor’s Office.
"We fully expect New York City officials to honor their word not to send waste to Pennsylvania communities that do not agree to accept it," Gov. Ridge said. "We surveyed our communities with landfills and incinerators to find out whether they have agreed to accept New York City’s trash. We are letting New York City officials know the results so they can keep their promise. Nearly 70 percent of Pennsylvania host communities have said ‘no’ – they won’t accept trash from the ‘Big Apple.’ We ask New York City to abide by their own policy to send their waste only to communities that say ‘yes.’
A total of 57 responses out of 70 that were sent were returned to DEP. A total of 47 host communities said that they do not agree to receive waste from New York City. Ten host communities said they agree to receive waste from New York City. Thirteen municipalities did not respond to the written survey and were polled by telephone and chose not to respond.
The survey was mailed on Feb. 26 to 70 municipalities hosting municipal waste landfills or resource recovery facilities. The letter informed the communities of New York City’s waste export policy and asked them two questions. "In your host community agreement, did you agree to receive waste from New York City into your community?" And, "If you presently do not have a host community agreement or your existing agreement does not speak to receiving waste from New York City, do you agree to receive waste from New York City into your community?"
Host communities that said no to the acceptance of New York City waste are:
Allegheny County
Monroeville, Monroeville Landfill;
South Park Township, M.C. Arnoni Landfill;
Findlay Township, Imperial Landfill;
Forward Township, Kelly Run Sanitation Inc. Landfill;
Beaver County
New Sewickley Township, J.J. Brunner Landfill;
Bedford County
Broad Top Township, Southcentral Counties SWA Landfill;
Berks County
Douglass Township, Pottstown Landfill;
Earl Township, Rolling Hills Landfill;
Exeter Township, Pioneer Crossing Landfill (FR&S);
Cumru Township, Western Berks Landfill;
Bradford County
West Burlington Township, Bradford County Landfill;
Butler County
Jackson Township, Seneca Landfill;
Lancaster Township, Seneca Landfill;
Chester County
London Grove Township, S.E.C.C.R.A. Community Landfill;
Clarion County
Farmington Township, County Landfill;
Clinton County
Wayne Township, Clinton County SWA Landfill;
Cumberland County
Hopewell Township, Cumberland County Landfill;
Dauphin County
Swatara Township, Residue Disposal Area B (Harrisburg WTE Facility);
Upper Paxton Township, Dauphin Meadows Landfill;
Washington Township, Dauphin Meadows Landfill;
Delaware County
Chester, Delaware County Resource Recovery Facility;
Erie County
Summit Township, Lake View Landfill;
Fayette County
German Township, CBF Landfill;
Franklin County
Green Township, R&A Bender Landfill;
Montgomery Township, Mountain View Landfill;
Indiana County
Brush Valley Township, Pellegrene Landfill;
Center Township, Pellegrene Landfill;
Jefferson County
Pine Creek Township, Leatherwood/Jefferson Co. Landfill;
Washington Township, Happy Landing Landfill;
Lackawanna County
Taylor, Alliance Landfill;
Throop, Keystone Sanitary Landfill;
Lancaster County
Caernarvon Township, Lanchester Landfill;
Honey Brook Township, Lanchester Landfill;
Manor Township, Frey Farm Landfill;
Lebanon County
North Lebanon Township, Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority Landfill;
Lycoming County
Brady Township, Lycoming County Landfill;
McKean County
Sergeant Township, McKean County SWA Landfill;
Mifflin County
Derry Township, Mifflin County SWA Landfill;
Montgomery County
Plymouth Township, Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility;
West Pottsgrove Township, SCA Services Pottstown Landfill;
Northampton County
Lower Saucon Township, Bethlehem Landfill;
Somerset County
Brothersvalley Township, Mostoller Landfill;
Shade Township, RCC Landfill;
Westmoreland County
East Huntingdon Township, Green Ridge Landfill;
York County
Hopewell Township, York County SWA Landfill;
Lower Windsor Township, Modern Landfill; and
Windsor Township, Modern Landfill.
Gov. Ridge was in Washington, D.C., on March 10 to ask Pennsylvania’s Congressional Delegation to help enact legislation allowing states to limit out-of-state trash. Gov. Ridge cited out-of-state trash limits as among his top federal priorities. He also announced that the amount of out-of-state waste disposed at Pennsylvania municipal waste facilities in 1998 was 9.8 million tons, up from nearly 8.7 million tons in 1997 – an increase of 1.1 million tons, or 12.8 percent.
The Ridge Administration also is working to limit the impact of all trash in Pennsylvania communities. The General Assembly is expected to move forward his plan to cap landfill capacity, put a freeze on new landfills and address transportation issues.
Last year, Gov. Ridge called on the General Assembly to pass his proposal to impose a three-year freeze on new permits for municipal waste landfills and to place a permanent cap on the state’s waste-disposal capacity. He again called for the General Assembly to pass this plan during his budget address Feb. 2.
Also last year, Gov. Ridge directed DEP to double surprise inspections of waste haulers. Pennsylvania recently led an eight-state cooperative effort to crack down on unsafe waste haulers. The first national multi-state inspections of 3,768 waste trucks resulted in State Police and environmental officials handing out more than 4,100 safety and environmental violations.
For more information on municipal waste, visit DEP through the Pennsylvania homepage at www.state.pa.us or directly at www.dep.state.pa.us (choose Subjects/Municipal Waste).
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1999