We believe there is time to stop this from being permanent. But if this landfill's growth (and decay) continues unabated, we fear this editorial in the 2/22/23 Scranton Times may prove generational.
**********************
"There are variations by region. Here in Northeast Pennsylvania, especially Lackawanna County, the official aroma undoubtedly is the stench from the Keystone Landfill in Dunmore and Throop. Millions of tons of decaying out-of-state garbage in the massive and growing landfill generate a distinctly sweet stench that can’t be contained, even though the state Department of Environmental Resources only recently acknowledged its existence. That adds the nauseating smell of regulatory failure to the mix."
**********************
State's official aroma more of a stench
BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD Feb 22, 2023
A pending bill in the New Mexico Legislature would make the Land of Enchantment the first state to declare an official state aroma — green chiles, specifically as they are roasted outdoors in the fall.
No such bill is on the legislative agenda in Pennsylvania, but there would be some obvious candidates for the honor. The Philadelphia Inquirer recently conducted an informal poll of its readers, in which soft pretzels, with 27.9% of the vote, edged out Hershey’s chocolate, 27.7%; Wawa coffee, 21%; and cow manure, 23.4%.
All of those are indeed distinctive. But somehow, they don’t get to the heart or the nose of Pennsylvania life.
There are variations by region. Here in Northeast Pennsylvania, especially Lackawanna County, the official aroma undoubtedly is the stench from the Keystone Landfill in Dunmore and Throop. Millions of tons of decaying out-of-state garbage in the massive and growing landfill generate a distinctly sweet stench that can’t be contained, even though the state Department of Environmental Resources only recently acknowledged its existence. That adds the nauseating smell of regulatory failure to the mix.
For a statewide official aroma, however, public corruption is the hands-down winner. Over the past two decades, the stench has arisen from every corner of the commonwealth.
The haul for state and federal investigators is impressive. It includes two speakers of the state House and other high-ranking legislators, lower-level lawmakers, the Senate minority leader from Lackawanna County, a state Supreme Court justice, two state treasurers, a state attorney general, two Luzerne County judges, county commissioners of Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, the mayors of Scranton, Reading and Allentown; and many lesser lights. Two other Supreme Court justices resigned amid scandal.
In the commonwealth, “leaders” regularly add to the odor. Most recently, former Old Forge Council President Robert Semenza pleaded guilty to accepting bribes regarding a zoning matter and was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison. The bribery middleman, James J. Peperno, was convicted by a federal jury and sentenced recently to six years in prison.
One day, perhaps, Pennsylvanians other than prosecutors will bask in the sweet smell of success.