This environmental assessment relied on people in the right positions to do the right thing based on the factual evidence uncovered by Friends of Lackawanna. Despite our best efforts, that has not happened. The fact that DEP could make a statement as preposterous as "the benefits of the landfill clearly outweigh the harms" is quite simply, not true unless you value money over environmental health and the sanctity of life.
What are your thoughts? Do you think the DEP is inept? Corrupt? Both? Other?
We will continue to fight and uncover the truth.
Full Scranton Times Article Here.
Exceprpts:
Harms and benefits
The assessment itself lists 15 harms, some environmental and other social and economic, as well as Keystone’s proposed mitigation for each one and DEP’s determination of remaining impacts.
In certain cases, DEP found that some potential for harm will remain despite Keystone’s proposed mitigation.
Regarding odor, for example, DEP found Keystone’s proposed mitigation is unlikely to completely eliminate odors at all times. There also remains a potential for negative groundwater impacts despite improvements the landfill has made to its leachate treatment plant and other completed or planned mitigation projects, according to DEP.
The assessment also lists eight benefits of Keystone’s proposal, all of them social and economic.
For example, Keystone estimates it will purchase about $248.7 million in fuels, oils and lubricants, and about $557.6 million in machinery, equipment, services, rentals and maintenance, from local and regional vendors over the life of the expansion.
The assessment also lists the estimated values of host agreements with the landfill to be about $178.6 million for Throop and about $160.6 million for Dunmore over the life of the expansion, though DEP notes host fees are based on the tonnage of waste received at the landfill and there is no guaranteed minimum amount.
The assessment frustrated members of the anti-expansion group Friends of Lackawanna.
“DEP’s analysis acknowledges that there have been, and still are, ongoing issues with the landfill such as groundwater degradation, air quality, visual impacts, leachate problems and more,” Pat Clark, a founding member of Friends of Lackawanna, said in a written statement. “DEP then lists the benefits, all of which are financial, and determined they ‘clearly’ outweigh the harms. Sadly, it goes to show that you can throw enough money at a problem and get your way, even if it is at the expense of an entire region’s future.”