From Jansen Robinson, Chair Edgewood Community Council:
Edgewood Community:
On Monday March 5, 2012 the County Executive (or his designee) will appear at the Joppatowne Community Council to make his case for a Transfer Station on Route 7 in Joppa. This Transfer Station could have a significantly negative impact on the quality of life not only for the community closest to the proposed site, but for both the Edgewood and Joppatowne Community.
The Joppatowne Community supported Edgewood in its’ efforts to divert the sale of the former Gap Warehouse site on Trimble Road (which is currently the home of Kohls eDistribution Center) which could have been used for a Waste Disposal facility. The Joppatowne Community helped us to successfully defeat that effort and now that parcel of land is a jobs producing (positive impact) facility in our community.
I urge you to join me and members of your Edgewood Community Council in a show of support for our neighboring community.
Then on Wednesday March 14 at 7:00 PM you are invited to attend the Edgewood Community Council meeting where the County Executive (or his representative) will appear at the Edgewood Community Council to make his case for the Transfer Station in our community. We are all in this together whether we like it or not. Please pass this message onto your friends and neighbors.
Jansen Robinson
Chair Edgewood Community Council
Having just completed work on cell N-1 at the Harford Waste Disposal Center in Scarborough, I can say that we have come a long way from just dumping our trash. These new facilities are over-engineered to a point of ridiculousness. The specifications for the clay liner were so strict that we had difficulty finding a clay source that met the permeability requirements on earth let alone Harford County. In fact, they had to haul clay from Cecil County to build it. You’re going to have a hard time convincing me that a facility that was closer to southeastern Harford County is a bad thing. If you’ve ever had to make multiple trips from Joppa/Edgewood to Scarborough in one day, you will probably agree.
Jansen is right. Why should we deal with our trash in our own community? Ship it to where someone else lives.
Damn right. Why should we have to deal with our own trash. Let’s send it to Fallston.
It’s a bad location in our community. You must not live or frequently travel in the area proposed for the facility or you would not be so glib. I think a facility in the area closer to the southeastern part of the county is not necessarily bad, but the location in question certainly is.
Where is a good spot? Anywhere proposed would face opposition. And I live close and drive past there everyday.
I am hopeful these communities can suggest alternative locations because this a growing need in the lower County.
Anyone at the meeting last night have any further information?
The question here is why the new facility cannot be located on the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. The Army wants and needs our trash for energy and the Army is concerned. The Army wants it and should get it. Even if the current APG site is not viable APG has millions of acres and locating a facility there will not cram it into a small community. I can’t help feeling that MES headed by Harkins is pulling a fast one on the Joppa Community.
The current site is perfectly viable. The issue is that the County currently sells the steam to the Army for a set dollar amount per ton and that contract is expiring. The County tried to nearly double the price of the steam, thinking the current Presidential administration’s green mandates would both allow and require APG to pay any price. Unfortunately for the County, APG isn’t bound by that limitation when the cost is excessive; the price demanded was significantly higher than that proposed by commercial bidders to build a new natural gas steam plant and storage facility on the installation and floating a natural gas tanker up the Bay to fill the tanks (the local gas supply capability is insufficient for the amount required).
Greed doesn’t pay, and the County government screwed themselves over by refusing to negotiate to reasonable numbers. If they had lowered their price per ton to match the commercial vendors, a deal would have almost certainly been possible.
The County pulled out of the agreement at the last second, leaving the Army “high and Dry”, the Army wanted to go forward and the County back out, stating “they are going a different way”. This has left the Army with a diffcult decision going forward in 2016. Had nothing to do with the County increasing there price. This is what we did to the largest employer in Harford County.
We can’t put it at APG because then where will New Jersey and New York send theirs once we send ours to the new WTE plant in Baltimore city?