September 29, 2005
by Jaime Bumbarger
Mo Valley Bureau Chief
Reproduced with permission.

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STATE COLLEGE -- No-No-No.

The third time did not turn out to be the charm for Rush Township and developers interested in constructing a privately-funded interchange off Interstate 80 to access a proposed landfill in the township.

The Coordinating Committee of the Centre County Metropolitan Planning Organization voted unanimously that the proposed interchange is inconsistent with the county's current Long-Range Transportation Plan, following the recommendation its advisory committee made last week.

The College Township Municipal Building was packed by opponents to the proposed interchange, landfill and industrial park, anxious to hear what the county commissioners and county planning commission already said: the plans are inconsistent with the county's goals.

Although the CCMPO was united in its finding of inconsistency, it was equally split on whether or not it should ask the Federal Highway Administration to study the plans further. It was a similar situation last week when the Technical Committee voted 6-5-2 to recommend further evaluation. The Coordinating Committee voted 7-7 with two abstentions and two members absent; therefore the motion to forward the plan for further study died.

Prior to the vote, there was some confusion as to whether or not the second motion was even necessary. A representative from the FHWA said his agency asked for a consistency determination, not whether or not to review the Point of Access study. That POA study would be reviewed regardless of who, the township, developer or CCMPO, submitted it, he said.

But those favoring the study feared not requesting one would limit their input later in the permit process, particularly if the FHWA grants conceptual approval of the plan. County Commissioner Chris Exarchos, who voted in favor of the study, said it would keep the options open.

George Pytel, Ferguson Township's representative, voted no, saying it would send a mixed message and "open Pandora's Box," and vice chair and State College Borough representative Elizabeth Goreham agreed. "Somehow it feels like we're endorsing it," she said.

More than 20 residents from throughout Centre County spoke in opposition to the plans. The general consensus of residents in attendance was "Save everyone's time and money and nix plans for the entire landfill."

"This landfill to us, in our community, is Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita," said Douglas Mottin, a pastor and resident of the Mountain Top area, adding those were acts of Mother Nature, whereas the landfill is man-made.

Besides fearing an influx of truck traffic, residents and seasonal property owners near the 5,800-acre site view the landfill as a deterrent to the area's growing tourism industry. "This area is to Pennsylvania as the Adirondacks are to New York," said Michele Barbin of People Protecting Communities, the grassroots group opposing the landfill.

"If you had the choice between a landfill or a resort in Centre County, which would you rather have," asked Harry Berlin, a former State College resident.

Although the votes were cheered by the audience, Mr. Exarchos cautioned viewing them as "show-stoppers." In the end, the decision to proceed or kill the plans lies with the FHWA and the state Department of Transportation.

George Rettew of Rettew and Associates Inc., engineers for Resource Recovery LLC, the developers, said direct access via I-80 is key to the success of the industrial park. But Mr. Rettew and other RRLLC representatives, as well as Rush Township supervisors have said they will not rule out the use of local roads, such as Gorton Road in Moshannon, to access the site.

That would be the "worst-case scenario," according to Mr. Exarchos, who also expressed concern about another proposed landfill just a short distance away in Boggs Township, Clearfield County.

Rush Township Supervisor Jack Shannon joined Mr. Exarchos in his concerns. "Rush Township attempted with Resource Recovery to secure an agreement to maintain some type of control," he said. In the host municipality agreement signed last year, local roadways are restricted from use, but supervisors and developers have said they will consider amending the agreement if necessary.

However, Centre County is relatively helpless, Mr. Shannon said, when it comes to the Boggs Township landfill proposed by PA Waste. He said Centre County will see greater truck traffic from that landfill on its local roadways than if the interchange was approved for the one within its own boundaries.

Mr. Pytel said he was upset by the threat from developers to use local roads and said PENNDOT would not be "that dumb" to put that amount of truck traffic on local roadways, but a representative from PENNDOT said he could not rule out the issuance of a Highway Occupancy Permit to use local roadways.

Also, the possibility of bringing the plans into consistency with the county's land use and transportation goals remains said Dan Klees, College Township's representative. Mr. Shannon said he was confident any concerns with Snow Shoe Township could be mitigated. He acknowledged with his vote that the plan as it currently stands is inconsistent with the LRTP, but said the LRTP is in the process of being updated. The township has asked that the proposed interchange be included in that updated plan.

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©2005 People Protecting Communities • last updated Nov 6, 2005
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