HAZLETON – U.S. Congressional candidate Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta today called on Congressman Paul Kanjorski to use the millions of federal dollars he secured for his now-dead inflatable dam on projects that will clean up the Susquehanna River and alleviate flooding problems in Exeter, West Pittston, Pittston, and other riverside communities.

“For 20 years, the congressman has pushed for the construction of an inflatable dam on the Susquehanna River near Wilkes-Barre, but he ignored the pollution in the river. Now that the dam is no longer considered a viable project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, I want him to free the millions of federal dollars he claimed to secure for the dam to clean up the combined sewer overflows and acid mine drainage that makes the Susquehanna one of the most polluted rivers in America,” Barletta said.

“Those federal dollars could also be used to alleviate flooding in communities like Exeter, where residents have been suffering through problems with Hicks Creek for many, many years,” Barletta continued. “I know the elected leaders of Exeter have been pleading for federal help. He must finally solve the problem and provide relief to the residents of Exeter by releasing the millions of dollars he secured for his inflatable dam so they can be used to upgrade the Hicks Creek pumping station.”

Barletta also asked why Kanjorski did not include the Hicks Creek pump station project in the 2007 Water Resource Development Act (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-1495) and for not taking an active role in alleviating the Hicks Creek flooding problem during his entire term.

“Last year, the congressman had the chance to insert funding for the Hicks Creek project in the Water Resource Development Act, but he chose to ignore the long-standing concerns of the people of Exeter. He had also promised those residents that he would secure temporary pumps for Hicks Creek, but he failed to do that, too,” Barletta said.

Over those years, the congressman secured at least $12 million for the creation of an inflatable dam on the Susquehanna. Earlier this year, the Army Corps ruled the dam cannot be built.
Environmental groups and community leaders have long said the river needs to be cleaned before it can be dammed. The group American Rivers has said “there are 16 sewage outfalls that pour untreated human waste into the very reach of the river where the current would pool behind the dam” (American Rivers report, “America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2005”). That report – which named the Susquehanna the most endangered river in America – said that just two of those sewage outfalls “sent 150 million gallons of human feces, industrial wastewater, stormwater, hygiene products, pharmaceuticals, and food scraps into the Susquehanna” in one month in 2002.

Additionally, the Butler Mine Tunnel, a federal Superfund site, spills pollutants into the Susquehanna near Pittston – upriver from the site of the proposed dam. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Web site)

“Communities all along that stretch of river are burdened by the mandate to eliminate combined sewer overflows, which means sanitary sewer water and storm water use the same pipes. In these riverside communities, that often means all of those pipes end in the Susquehanna. Elected officials are struggling with ways to pay for the CSO problem without overburdening their residents. Taking the millions of dollars designated for the construction of the dam would be an excellent way to clean up the river and help these communities reach this goal,” Barletta said.

n 2000, while the congressman was busy securing money for his inflatable dam, his office issued a statement from him that said, “It is my understanding from early engineering reports that the eight worst overflows can be corrected for about $8 million, reducing the problem dramatically.” (“Statement of Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski Regarding the Proposed Inflatable Dam for Luzerne County,” June 29, 2000)

 “If Mr. Kanjorski can secure funding for his inflatable dam, he certainly can secure it to fix the CSO and flooding problems. Eight years ago, he said that fixing half of the worst overflows into the Susquehanna would have been less expensive than building his dam.

 “Residents in these riverside communities and those who work or play in these towns need and deserve to know their sewer systems are going to continue to provide service for years to come. They deserve to have an unpolluted Susquehanna River,” Barletta added. “Paul Kanjorski needs to re-allocate that inflatable dam funding for those communities as soon as possible and secure the future of the Susquehanna River and these communities. Mr. Kanjorski should pursue that as vigorously as he did his own inflatable dam project.”

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