DUNMORE TRASH PACT WORST IN COUNTY

Scranton Times, Brendan Gibbons, November 26, 2014

Today the Times-Tribune reports that the Dunmore host municipality agreement is the worst in the County. We believe it extends far further than that—maybe even the Country. Dunmore Council did NOT have to rush to pass this agreement.

Excerpts:
That conflict might explain why, despite firm public pressure to fight for a better deal, Dunmore council approved the most unfavorable landfill host agreement in Lackawanna County. The only worse agreement was the borough’s old version from 1999.

Council members and attorney Bill Jones have said landfill owner Louis DeNaples significantly limited the terms of the agreement and wouldn’t allow outside experts to negotiate on the borough’s behalf.

Some members of the public addressed this Monday night.

“I just ask you whether you’re in a position, these seven people up here, to sign an agreement with no environmental guidance,” Dunmore resident and Friends of Lackawanna core member Pat Clark said before the vote.

The public didn’t have much time to review the agreement. Dunmore officials posted the newest version about three days before the vote, resident Jack McGrath said at the meeting.

“Somebody’s putting pressure on this council, and they’re not here tonight,” he said.

 

OUTATIME

Chris Kelly brings it home once again in his column, Kelly’s World, with his outstanding coverage and analysis of the Dunmore Council meeting that took place on Thursday night.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Excerpt:
The borough’s relationship with Keystone can fairly be called abusive. The guarantee-free 1999 agreement that spawned the landfill’s previous expansion is a travesty. If the state didn’t mandate a minimum host fee of 41 cents per ton of garbage dumped, Keystone could legally pay Dunmore nothing. This immoral agreement remains in effect today.

 

DUNMORE COUNCIL TABLES DECISION ON LANDFILL PROPOSAL

Thank you to all who came out to stand and be heard!  It made a difference  once again!

Excerpt:

Times-Tribune
KYLE WIND, STAFF WRITER
Published: November 14, 2014

“In the application Keystone is going to present to DEP, Exhibit A is going to be this agreement,” attorney Mark Perry told borough council, in part referring to no expiration date for the deal. “If you don’t want (the expansion), then the choice is clear. Don’t vote for this.”

The contract would increase the fee to $1.20 per ton this year, then annually add 10 cents per ton until the total increases to $1.50 in December 2017.

The idea is to then add a penny per ton per year for the remaining life of the landfill, but Mr. Clark pointed to a potential interpretation of the wording that the fee could drop to 42 cents per ton in 2018 with $1.50 not clearly defined as the base amount at that point.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WEIGH ASKING LANDFILL FOR HOST FEE

Excerpts:

Times-Tribune
KYLE WIND, STAFF WRITER
Published: October 28,2014

As the Keystone Sanitary Landfill seeks to expand its facility, Lackawanna County commissioners might try to get a piece of the pie from the operation.

Currently, the county doesn’t get a direct fee per ton of waste as host municipalities Dunmore and Throop do. However, host fees for counties are not uncommon in the state Department of Environmental Protection’s northeast region, said agency spokeswoman Colleen Connolly. Over the last eight to 10 years, area counties that have fees typically get $2 to $4 per ton, she said.

Schuylkill County gets $3 per ton from Commonwealth Environmental Systems — which, like Keystone, is owned by Louis and Dominick DeNaples. The fee was already in place when the brothers took over the landfill, said landfill consultant Albert Magnotta.

Schuylkill County also is allowed to dispose of waste at its landfill for free, while Lackawanna County paid haulers at least $100,000 for waste disposal last year.