web1_Darren-Snyder.jpg

Residents don’t want proposed sale of Wilkes-Barre’s sewer system rushed

web1_TTL110819STEM2.jpg

From cotton balls to computer coding: Dallas marks National STEM Week.

<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Three people voiced concerns about land reclamation efforts at the site of the new Wilkes-Barre Area high school during an &#8220;informal conference&#8217; held by the state Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday morning.</p><p>The conference was legally required after the former owner of the site, Jeddo Highland Coal Co., asked the state to release bond money totaling $267,587. The company set up the bond to obtain a mining permit from the state. Such permits include provisions to reclaim the land, and the bond is intended to insure that the state can complete reclamation if the company fails to do so.</p><p>After Jeddo Highland sold about 77 acres to Wilkes-Barre Area for the new high school, the district acquired a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit that replaced the mining permit in ensuring environmental regulations are followed. The company contends that means it is entitled to regain the bond money.</p><p>Critics have argued that Jeddo Highland should have finished the reclamation before selling the land, and that any money in the bond should go toward reclamation. At Thursday&#8217;s conference in the basement of the township municipal building, Wilkes-Barre resident Cecelia Williams requested documentation of the cost and process of reclamation both by Jeddo Highland and the school district, and sought a comparison of the two to see &#8220;if Wilkes-Barre Area has done required work that should have been done by the mining company.&#8221;</p><p>Williams asked that the bond money be held in escrow until such a comparison is done.</p><p>Robin Shudak, who filed the request for a hearing that prompted Thursday&#8217;s conference, noted that some of the coal ash Jeddo Highland had buried on the site had been moved &#8212; action the district publicly disclosed and that DEP approved &#8212; and questioned whether that meant new monitoring of the soil and water runoff should be required under regulations.</p><p>She also cited mining permit regulations that make the mining permit holder responsible for successful vegetation of a sight for five years, and said Google Maps satellite images from 2017 show &#8220;only about 10%&#8221; of the site with vegetation.</p><p>Dr. Mark Schiowitz, who has repeatedly questioned the safety of the site, asked if &#8220;capping&#8221; the coal ash on the land with clean fill or paving material would increase chances toxins would find their way into the Susquehanna River. He also asked if changing the permit from a mining permit to an NPDES permit shifted responsibility regarding the coal ash from the state DEP to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.</p><p>District officials have repeatedly insisted the site is safe and that all regulations re being met. They&#8217;ve also said complete reclamation by Jeddo Highland would have been upended anyway, because the district has moved so much soil in site preparation, dramatically changing the grade of much of the landscape.</p><p>Connolly had begun the meeting stressing it involved only the request for a bond release, but did not intervene in any questions. She said people who wish to comment on the bond release can submit written comments through Nov. 15. They can be sent via email to her at coconnolly@pa.gov.</p><p>Connolly said DEP would then review all comments and draw up a response to any that related to the bond release, issuing a public report. After the conference she said that process would probably take about a month.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_DEP-conference-11-7-19-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Robin Shudak, left, voices concerns about reclamation of the former Plains Township mine land during an informal conference moderated by state Department of Environmental Protection Community Relations Coordinator Colleen Connolly, center. The conference was held in Plains Township to hear public objections to a request the state release bond money related to the site of the new Wilkes-Barre Area high school. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_DEP-conference-11-7-19-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Robin Shudak, left, voices concerns about reclamation of the former Plains Township mine land during an informal conference moderated by state Department of Environmental Protection Community Relations Coordinator Colleen Connolly, center. The conference was held in Plains Township to hear public objections to a request the state release bond money related to the site of the new Wilkes-Barre Area high school. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Questions raised in bond-release issue related to W-B Area high school site