WEST DECATUR – In response to Sam Carns’ accusations the previous month at the Boggs Township Supervisors’ meeting the state Department of Environmental Protection contacted the Boggs Township Supervisors and tried there best to accurately respond that everything was taken care of.
Carns brought to the attention of the Boggs Township Supervisors last month that he felt the ponds located on lands owned by PA Waste LLC were polluted and “toxic.”
PA Waste is in the process of obtaining permits to construct a landfill in Boggs Township.
Carns presented as evidence aerial photos from Mapquest and testimony that the water smelled bad as proof of the water’s toxicity. The aerial photos were said to be relevant because the ponds “glowed” and was a different color than any other pond in Pennsylvania when viewed through Mapquest. Additionally, Carns asked the supervisors if they knew what was the purpose of the work being done on the property.
The only response the supervisors could give at the time was the property was already being maintained and looked at by the DEP, and that the township wasn’t in a position to tell a state organization how to do their job.
The supervisors were prepared when Carns came in with more evidence during this week’s September meeting. This time he brought a gallon bucket with “toxic” written in 6-inch letters on the side and photos taken by the “concerned citizens” of the property.
According to Supervisor Chairman Bill Dickson, the DEP contacted him after reading coverage of Carns’ allegations. The DEP on the phone call stated that the allegations lacked scientific backing, and offered to take the supervisors on a tour of the property. The tour took place Sep 4.
Four of the ponds in question belong to two passive mine drainage treatment systems, two ponds per system. The first pond of both systems have acid mine drainage run through a mushroom compost filter before running through limestone and a pipe system. The second pond allows for settling for any metals that are in the water. These two systems are part of a trust placed in the care of the Clean Streams Foundation and are regularly checked by the DEP.
The DEP did admit that there were some problems that seemed to have been created by improper construction and repairs that didn’t allow all the water to be filtered by the mushroom compost. The work that was already in progress was repairs to fix this problem by Al Hamilton and additional upgrades while work was going to be done on the systems anyways under the supervision of the CSF. All this work has been authorized by the DEP and is being supervised by DEP Field Inspector Eric Rosengrant.