March 17, 2006
by Jaime Bumbarger
Mo Valley Bureau Chief
Reproduced with permission.

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GRASSFLAT-- Cooper Township supervisors fear they are being forgotten when it comes to the proposed landfill in neighboring Rush Township.

Supervisors have opposed the landfill, which is just across the Red Moshannon from the township, it was first proposed in April 2004, and in the two years since, have remained steadfast in that opposition.

But fearing that their concerns have fallen on deaf ears, supervisors are preparing to step up the opposition, or at least the wording they use to oppose it. At yesterday afternoon's meeting, supervisors agreed to write a "strongly worded" letter to the Centre County Metropolitan Planning Organization, opposing the proposed landfill and proposed interchange off Interstate 80 to access it.

The CCMPO is scheduled to meet March 28 and, at the request of Rush and Snow Shoe townships' supervisors, is expected to re-evaluate whether or not the interchange is consistent with the county's Long-Range Transportation Plan.

Although the developer, Resource Recovery LLC, plans to privately fund construction of the interchange, supervisors noted maintenance of the interchange would come at the taxpayers' expense.

The township has sent numerous letters to local, county and state officials in the past stating its opposition. It also made draft letters and addresses available to residents to mail themselves.

Supervisor Charles Engelman said it's time for the township to consider zoning so it does not find itself selected as a potential site for a landfill. "The only way to protect against a landfill is if the township has zoning," he said, citing Snow Shoe Township's success to keep the development out of its boundaries.

But according to a letter from RRLLC that the citizens' group People Protecting Communities obtained from a state Department of Environmental Protection file, Cooper Township was already a target. According to the letter, RRLLC reviewed five properties, including a 6,000-acre tract in Cooper Township, before settling on the Rush and Snow Shoe site.

Wayne Josephson, chairman of the board of supervisors, told The Progress he was unaware any property within the township was ever considered, and therefore, he was hesitant to comment until he could look into the matter further.

Although, he did say supervisors should do whatever it needs to prevent a landfill from coming into its community, he said he did not feel comfortable committing to zoning quite yet.

Zoning, supervisors said, is a long process and often faces a great deal of opposition from residents who are against governmental control of private property land use. For those reasons, Mr. Engelman said it is important to "get the ball rolling" as soon as possible.

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