The state Department of Environmental Protection has cited seven people for illegal dumping in Columbia and Northumberland counties as part of the Clean Up Our Anthracite Lands and Streams (COALS) initiative. The enforcement actions are the first under the anti-dumping campaign launched by DEP Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty in April. 
    We warned residents in April that we were going to partner with local and state law enforcement officials to investigate aggressively and cite illegal dumpers in the anthracite area, and we have done just that, DEP Regional Director Robert Yowell said. There will be more arrests in the future, and we will continue to publicize the names of those residents who show no environmental conscience through illegal dumping. 
    Those who were cited by DEP for violating the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act and found guilty and fined by local district judges include the following: 
     Daniel and Lisa Ahlers of Mount Carmel. DEP cited the Ahlers for illegal dumping without a permit. Daniel Ahlers was arrested on a bench warrant and held for trial. He was found guilty and fined $443.50 for throwing his household trash into the woods along Snake Road in Mount Carmel Township. Lisa Ahlers was found guilty of the same offense and fined $100. 
     Wilbert and Lori Knopp of Mount Carmel. DEP cited the Knopps for illegal dumping without a permit. The Knopps scattered rubbish and household waste onto Blaschak Coal Co. property in Conyngham Township, Columbia County. The Knopps pleaded guilty and were fined $658.50 and court costs. 
     Jason T. Long of Sunbury. DEP cited Long for illegal dumping without a permit. Long scattered construction/demolition waste, furniture, tires and other household trash along a pull-off area in Lower Augusta Township. He pleaded guilty and was fined $283.50. 
     Billie Jo Tinley of Shamokin. DEP cited Tinley for illegal dumping without a permit. She scattered her household waste along Route 125 in East Cameron Township and burned it. This property is a reclaimed mine site. Tinley pleaded guilty and was fined $458.50. 
     John Zaharick of Ashland. DEP cited Zaharick for illegal dumping without a permit. He was arrested on a bench warrant. Zaharick scattered his household trash along Snake Road in Mount Carmel Township. He pleaded guilty and was fined $1,058.50. 
    In April, McGinty stood in front of a massive pile of municipal waste on coal land in southern Conyngham Township to launch the first of three major cleanups scheduled under the new multi-county COALS initiative. The partnership among the coal industry, environmental groups and local, county and state governments is designed to address a long-standing problem of large, illegal dumps that have become far too commonplace in the anthracite coal region. 
    State and local law enforcement agencies have been working with DEP, and the four local district justices have strongly supported the enforcement activities. 
    DEP and nine private partners have pledged a total of $100,500 to fund the cost of the cleanups. The funds will be administered by a partnership between DEP, the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy and PA Cleanways, a Greensburg-based environmental organization that focuses on dumping and littering education and cleanups. 
    Fines collected through COALS are deposited into the state Solid Waste Abatement Fund to finance additional cleanup activities in the commonwealth.
For information on waste management and cleanups, visit DEP's Web site at www.dep.state.pa.us, Keyword: Waste Management.

ŠThe News Item 2005