McKean County officials are looking to further crack down on the
development of illegal dumps across the county.
According to Penn State Cooperative Extension Educator Jim
Clark, the local branch of PA CleanWays will be teaming up with the
Clean Up Our American Lands and Streams (COALS) program as part of
a comprehensive effort to deal with the issue of illegal dumps.
Officials said COALS will help raise awareness of the problem
and implement enforcement measures to apprehend and fine offenders.
The program will also engage school districts, other volunteers and
law enforcement officials the county.
Clark said the program is supported by the state Department of
Environmental Protection. A crackdown on illegal dumps is one
initiative coming out of the county’s Comprehensive Plan, which is
still in the development stages.
“We are hoping to get a better handle on this problem,”
Commissioner Bruce Burdick said on Monday. “This is not just about
keeping the places (illegal dumpsites) clean, it’s keeping them
clean. That’s why working with the school’s is so important.”
Burdick has worked to help craft the Comprehensive Plan for
several months.
As it stands, there are more than 100 illegal dumps identified
across the county; officials have also indicated they will be
targeting the clean up of junk cars in the future.
Clark said illegal dumping is seen as a statewide problem. Such
an organization as COALS provides the ability to receive additional
private and state donations for the effort.
“This program has been working its way across the state,” Clark
said, adding the local PA CleanWays chapter doesn’t have the
financial muscle that COALS provides. “We are in total support of
it (COALS) and have swung the door wide open to have them come
here.”
Burdick said the idea for COALS was derived from the anthracite
region in the eastern part of the state, where vacant mines were
used as dumping grounds. The program is about three-years-old,
Burdick said, adding the program began with a scant amount of
funding, but soon grew through partnerships with municipalities,
foundations and industries.
“It’s really an extraordinary testimony on how people want to
get these unsightly places cleaned up,” Burdick said.
According to Burdick, COALS became interested in McKean County
after officials with the organization contacted the DEP’s Northwest
Regional Office in Meadville.
“They had asked DEP if there was a county in this region that
wanted to participate,” Burdick said. “DEP thought McKean County
would be a great candidate.”
Burdick said a meeting between both sides ensued, and the
partnership was created. He said the program entails working with
local magisterial district judges, state police and municipalities
on the enforcement end.
“This fits for us,” Burdick said. “Between junk cars and illegal
dumping, that’s the highest volume of complaints I get.”
Both Burdick and Clark said COALS also has its own investigative
group that comes to a particular location, looks over the dumps and
helps decide on a course of action.
“They have a person on staff who knows the laws and how to
prosecute them,” Clark said, adding PA CleanWays is mostly a
volunteer organization that isn’t capable of handling enforcement
issues. Clark said COALS installs high-tech surveillance equipment
at the illegal dumps, some of which has been used by the
military.
“This will help catch the people that are doing the dumping,”
Burdick said, adding COALS issues the citations to those caught and
puts them through the legal system. “It adds a whole lot of weight
to the process.”
As an example of the problem PA CleanWays faces, Clark said an
illegal dump located along Pine Grove Road in Annin Township has
been cleaned up for seven straight years – and the dumping
persists.
Clark said a May 12 clean up netted the removal of a ton of
garbage and 95 tires.
“It’s frustrating. We have adopted that road and are determined
to keep it clean,” Clark said. “We’re hoping that COALS can offer
some enforcement assistance with this.”
Currently, the two largest dumps in the county are located on
Game Commission land; the sites are located in the Eldred Township
area.
John Dzemyan, a conservation officer and land manager for McKean
and Elk counties, could not immediately be reached for additional
comment on the sites.
Officials said COALS will be contracting with PA CleanWays this
fall on a county inventory that will provide the location of the
illegal sites and establish a priority on which should be handled
first.
