By Elisa Robles-Carlo
I am a founding member of the community group Sludge Free Slate Belt. Our group was at all of the Synagro “meet and greet meetings” in Plainfield Township and Weona Park in Pen Argyl, handing out flyers with facts about Synagro and sewage sludge. The majority of those who attended signed our petition, as they are fully aware of what we are facing with the proposal to import and dry sewage sludge in Plainfield Township.
Synagro has a long history of violations, fines and bribery scandals. From the company’s former president, James Rosendall, convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery, to the closed Hunts Point, N.Y., sludge plant that exploded in 2009, and finally closed in 2010, there is nothing good that can be said about this company.
Sewage sludge was once dumped in our oceans, but that was banned in the early 1990s by the federal government when it was discovered it was creating dead zones. The problem then was no alternate solution existed to dealing with it on land. This gave Synagro and other companies the ability to become what it is today — not a fertilizer company, but a sewage-sludge broker.
In an article published March 1, 2016, in The Hamilton Spectator entitled “Scientists’ Open Letter on the Dangers of Biosolids” by Sierra Rayne, John Werring, Richard Honour and Steven R. Vincent, we see the educated views of not one but four scientists who have decades of independent research on sewage sludge. Their conclusion is the same: “The land disposal of sewage sludge has resulted in significant controversy, and a resistance movement is rightfully building to this misguided policy. Quite simply, the science doesn’t support the disposal of sewage sludge across the landscape. The supposed benefits are more than offset by the risks to human and environmental health. As scientists, we have been watching the issue with increasing concern.”
As a resident of Pen Argyl, I believe what this sludge plant will mean for our community is nothing short of catastrophic. The sludge that would be brought in for processing would come from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. With the concentration of industry in these states, we are looking at the most toxic mix of sewage sludge one can imagine.
Though Green Knight Economic Development Corp. claims to support our community with donations and scholarships, it will be little compensation if residents’ health is compromised and property values end up in the toilet. The fact that Robert Cornman Jr. was both on the board of Green Knight and on the Plainfield Township Planning Commission, and that Stephen Hurni is a Plainfield Township supervisor and also a Green Knight board member are noted conflicts of interest. Though Cornman was voted off as vice chair of the planning commission on Jan. 3, Hurni remains in his post, and he was front and center at the Synagro “meetings” showing his support for the sludge plant.
With just a little research, it does not take long to conclude that Synagro is a company anyone should be wary of dealing with, and that sewage sludge is not what they would like people to believe it is. In this situation, to ignore this evidence reveals both a lack of good judgment and a concern for money over the well-being of the community.
I have not met any residents who are not somehow connected to Waste Management or Green Knight, who think this is a good idea. Our community has nothing to gain from this sludge plant, but have everything to lose. We already deal with the landfill, enough is enough!
Elisa Robles-Carlo, of Pen Argyl, is a member of the group Sludge Free Slate Belt.
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