CLEARFIELD – State Rep. Camille “Bud” George, D-74 of Houtzdale, will be just one of local politicians attending the landfill summit at the Third Ward Fire Company on Nov. 9.
In an e-mail interview with GantDaily, George shared his views of the proposed Boggs Township landfill and what he hopes to bring to the summit.
“I am convinced the Boggs Township site is a terrible location for a landfill because of the area’s geologic formation, its environmental history, the area’s infrastructure deficiencies and the deleterious effect it will have on economic-development efforts now underway in Clearfield County,” said George. “I hope to touch on many of these ‘harms’ because we certainly won’t hear of them from the landfill developers who are in it for money with little concern for citizens.”
George said he will bring his more than two decades of experience in fighting for stiffer landfill regulations to the summit.
“I have strived for many years to give communities more local control over landfill developers,” said George. “We have enough already-permitted landfill capacity in the state to last eight or more years, which amounts to an open invitation to landfill developers.”
“I hope to attend the Nov. 9 session to share what I know about landfills and the repercussions they can cause. The residents of Clearfield County –- especially those in communities such as Clearfield Borough and Lawrence and Bradford townships –- need to know all the ramifications from having a 5,000-ton-a-day dump built in our midst. The summit appears to be an excellent opportunity to spark full consideration of the costs the region will endure should the landfill be built,” said George.
George noted that Pennsylvania has “been America’s dumping ground” for years.
“Pennsylvania for too many years had an open-arms approach to landfills,” George commented. “To this day, taxpayers’ money can be devoted to highway interchanges to serve landfills and bonds issued to promote landfill expansions.
“Too often, areas such as ours are viewed as simply convenient spots for landfill developers to make a quick financial killing, leaving years of environmental hazards and economic costs to the diminished communities that remain,” said George.
State Rep. Dan Surra, D-75 Kersey is also slated to attend to the summit, but he did not respond to correspondence from GantDaily.
The summit is sponsored by the The Citizen’s Advocate and is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.