By David Masur
The
Main Line has easy access to important sites that bring pride to residents both
locally and statewide. Whether it's historic Valley Forge or the Paoli
Battlefield, or the beautiful Brandywine Creek, there are plenty of sites to
see near the Main Line.Unfortunately, the Main Line is also close to some more
dubious sites - some of Pennsylvania's (and the nation's) most toxic hazardous
waste sites.
The region is
home to hazardous waste sites that contaminate our environment, threaten public
health and drag down our local economies. These include the PCP-laced abandoned
industrial site in Havertown and the asbestos contamination at Valley Forge.
Fortunately,
Pennsylvania has a time-tested and effective program for tackling this
pollution. The Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund Act (HSCA) has been Pennsylvania's
primary method for cleaning up these dumpsites, and it has been hugely
successful.
HSCA has three
main components: It pays for Pennsylvania's portion of the federal Superfund
program, which is responsible for cleaning up the worst-of-the-worst toxic
dumpsites in America-Pennsylvania has the second highest number of Superfund
sites in the nation, behind New Jersey. HSCA also funds the cleanup of
contaminated sites that don't qualify as Superfund sites but threaten our
environment and neighborhoods nearby and downstream. Lastly, HSCA foots the
bill for Pennsylvania's emergency and hazmat response to chemical spills and
accidents in our communities, on our roads and in the workplace.
The Main Line's
counties currently have more hazardous waste sites than almost any other
counties in the Commonwealth. Sadly, Montgomery County has more toxic sites
being cleaned under the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund than any other
Pennsylvania county. Twenty-three toxic sites are actively in the cleanup
process.
The counties
along the Main Line aren't alone - the state's extensive industrial history has
left a legacy of toxic waste that threatens the health of the Commonwealth's
residents and environment, including hundreds of abandoned industrial waste
sites found across Pennsylvania. Until these hazardous waste sites are cleaned
up, toxic chemicals will continue to leach into our soil and groundwater and
evaporate into the air and into our environment.
To date, the
Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund has cleaned up hundreds of contaminated dumpsites
and created and retained thousands of jobs. This includes directing much-needed
monies toward the cleanup of toxic sites in Montgomery, Delaware and Chester
counties over the years.
Unfortunately,
the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund is set to expire later this year if our state
senators and representatives in Harrisburg don't take action soon. The
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection predicts HSCA will run out
of money in December - even though hundreds of contaminated sites across the
Commonwealth still must be cleaned up.
If our
politicians in Harrisburg don't reauthorize this program soon, the funding
necessary to clean up toxic pollution will dry up and force cleanup efforts to
slow down--or worse yet, come to a complete standstill. Our hazmat teams and
emergency response personnel will not have the funding necessary to tackle
accidents and threats facing their communities, and redevelopment of toxic
lands throughout Pennsylvania could come to a grinding halt.
PennEnvironment
is calling on our state legislators to support a long-term, dedicated and
sustainable funding solution for the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund guaranteeing
that polluters pay for the messes that they create.
Oddly, our
elected officials don't see it that way. This summer, the state Senate passed a
"rob Peter to pay Paul" proposal when they proposed diverting monies
from our open space protection programs (the Keystone Fund) to pay for HSCA.
Clearly, Pennsylvanians shouldn't have to choose between cleaning up toxic
pollution and protecting our cherished open spaces. This is more shocking since
the state's budget had a surplus of $650 million - only a small percentage of
which would be needed to keep HSCA properly funded this year.
Incredibly, many
politicians from the region vocally oppose a long-term funding solution for the
Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund. With hundreds of sites actively involved in
cleanup and hundreds more awaiting action - and a price tag of tens of millions
of dollars - the need for HSCA is not going away in the near future. The
legislature should approve long-term funding options for Pennsylvania's
Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund and then move on to other pressing issues facing
the Commonwealth.
Because at the
end of the day, we must ensure that future generations of Pennsylvanians can
enjoy the region's great sites - not the legacy of hazardous waste sites.
David Masur is executive director of PennEnvironment.
