 |
What Can I Do About Montour Crossing?Examples of what to say in letters, emails & phone scripts: (1) Contact DEP’s Regional Director, Robert C. Yowell Consider sending a copy of what you write in a letter or email to Mr. Yowell’s supervisor – John Hanger, Acting DEP Secretary. Contact information for Mr. Yowell and Acting Secretary Hanger is below. Address letters to: Send email to Mr. Yowell by going to this website: http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/ncregion/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=478831 Phone Mr. Yowell’s office at this number: Copies for Acting Secretary Hanger should be sent to: Send email to Acting Secretary Hanger’s assistant: D. Failor: Phone Secretary Hanger’s office at:
Some suggested questions to ask Mr. Yowell (copies to Acting Secretary Hanger): - How will the 47-acre excavation pit protect everyone in the watershed from flooding? - How will DEP insure costs of maintenance for the 47-acre excavation pit will never be placed on taxpayers – given the in-perpetuity requirement to keep the pit empty? - How will DEP insure the mechanics of water removal from the 47-acre excavation pit? - How will DEP insure environmentally-safe moving the water out of the 47-acre excavation pit? That is, what pipe or stream channel will water use to flow to a nearby creek? - How will DEP insure that water flowing out of the 47-acre excavation pit will not undermine the landward side of the 3 PennDOT-built groins in Loyalsock Creek? These groins were built at taxpayers’ expense to protect Interstate 180. - How will DEP insure the 47-acre excavation pit’s proximity to Loyalsock Creek (about 30 ft.) will not result in bank erosion so the pit and Loyalsock Creek merge into each other? - How will DEP insure the proximity of the 47-acre excavation pit to Loyalsock Creek won’t change the channel dynamics of the Creek and alter the entire channel route? - How will DEP insure public and private wells are protected from pollution and water loss by the 47-acre excavation pit. The excavation itself could interfere with dynamics of underground water flow to wells – called the artesian effect. - When DEP reviews the latest hydrological model from the developer’s engineer, how can this be justified as more valid than any the earlier models? - How can DEP justify any model will predict accurately that the 47-acre excavation pit can keep the area safe from flooding? - How can DEP prove that the developer’s hydrological model is valid in predicting real flooding on Loyalsock Creek - Can DEP plug in actual historic precipitation (rain and snow) data into the model and show the model accurately predicts with what happened after that precipitation? - How can DEP justify development that destroys floodplain and prime agricultural land when there are brownfields and other more “environmentally-friendly” sites in the area? - How can DEP consider permit approvals for a developer who has violated DEP regulations many times on at least one other site in Pennsylvania? - How will DEP insure the developer’s plan to remove mature trees will not damage riparian (steam bank) integrity? NOTE: Such tree removal goes against the Chesapeake Bay Commission’s & Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s efforts to protect waters flowing into the Bay. The communities along Loyalsock Creek and other tributaries to the Susquehanna are under pressure from the Commission to keep their streams clean. (2) Contact Governor Edward Rendell Tell The Governor how you feel about your tax money being allocated by him for widening a healthy bridge on State Route 87 just to accommodate the Montour Crossing developer when too many bridges all over the state are in need of repair or replacement. Address letters to Governor Rendell: Send email to Governor Rendell by going to this website: Phone Governor Rendell’s office at this number: Fax: Governor Rendell at this number: Contact Coalition for Responsible Growth & Resource Conservation
|
|
©
Copyright 2008 Coalition for Responsible Growth and Resource Conservation
Banner photo courtesy of Ruhrfisch