'A New Front' in Tamaqua's Dumping War

Tamaqua Council voted last night in favor of advertising for further consideration an ordinance that would "ban corporations and other limited liability entities from engaging in the land application of sewage sludge" inside the borough limits. The final version of the ordinance differs slightly from the one originally put forth by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, as the latest draft drops an earlier mention of sludge hauling, according to the Times-News.

Letters about the ordinance signed by all council members reportedly will be sent to U.S. Sens. Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter, Congressman Tim Holden, Gov. Ed Rendell, state Rep. David Argall, state Sen. James Rhoades and President George W. Bush. They read as follows:

As local elected officials we are encountering extreme difficulty in providing for the health and safety of those we represent due to restrictions placed upon us by preempting state and federal laws.

Our constituents are sending us a strong message that they want us to enact such environmental ordinances for their protection. The dumping of wastes such as fly ash, river dredge, and sewage sludge (biosolids) is either taking place or being proposed to take place in and around our community despite the opposition on record of the majority of our residents.

We are requesting that you take all necessary action to ensure that local municipalities, not state and federal bureaucracies, have local control in these matters and the ability to adopt ordinances they deem necessary to protect citizens.

We have attached a copy of an ordinance that we are seeking to enact to regulate biosolids in Tamaqua that many feel is in conflict with existing state law. We ask you to review this ordinance and propose further legislation that does not restrain local officials from doing their elected duty.

CELDF Attorney Tom Linzey spoke at the council meeting, describing court cases in California and New Hampshire that upheld local control of sewage sludge.

"The passage of this opens a new front for council," the Times-News quotes Linzey as saying. "It's a new area of law that could be upheld."