(Editor’s note: The Daily Herald continues its Top Ten countdown of the most important local news stories of 2004. The series will continue each day the newspaper is published until the Number One story, as chosen by the Herald staff.)
In 2004, Warriors Mark developer John Gilliland was often the focus of residents, township officials and a non-profit group called Save Our Streams in a Huntingdon County community which continues to be concerned about growth.
Warriors Mark Township officials have considered a zoning ordinance and a comprehensive plan throughout the year but to date supervisors have yet to take final action on either. At the same, Gilliland and others continue to present plans for development to county and township planners, engineers and township supervisors.
Gilliland was also the subject of a Department of Environmental Protection investigation in the past year. On March 2, the Department of Environmental Protection issued an order involving the developer.
The DEP said at least one of Mr. Gilliland’s properties was being used by Richard Barefoot’s sanitary companies to dump raw, untreated sewage waste illegally. The company took DEP officials to various locations on Gilliland’s property and identified them as dumpsites during an investigation.
Barefoot officials indicated the dumping was done “with Mr. Gilliland’s knowledge and permission.”
(As required by the order) a site characterization plan from Gilliland and Barefoot had been received and was reviewed by the DEP.
The plan summarized the measures that were needed to determine the extent any soil, surface water and groundwater contamination caused by unlawful disposal of residential septage and portable toilet waste.
In April, a Gilliland representative, Rebecca Walter said he was complying with the March 2 order.
She explained a walk-through of some of the properties named in the order was done in late March. Township officials were not on hand during the inspection of Gilliland’s property, according to Walter.
She noted the only area of concern found was one location at Hickory Ridge II involving one or two lots and surface septic debris.
In May a Huntingdon-County non-profit group, Save Our Streams, charged the DEP had been negligent and had continued to be negligent in dealing with sewage dumping issues in the Warriors Mark area.
She asked supervisors to contact the DEP and request it to do a more extensive search for possible problems involving all of Gilliland’s property and not resolve the issues quickly.
She also asked for records regarding the issue be made available to the group.
“Where has all the sewage gone?” asked Gurney. “What’s in the commercial sewage?”
She described the situation as one which dated back to 1991. Gurney referenced the DEP’s order which notes, “The activity of Gilliland and Barefoot is part of a continuing course of conduct that has been ongoing for at least 13 years.”
In a press release, Save Our Streams charged, “the DEP with being ‘extremely negligent’ in failing for 13 years to stop sewage dumping that may have imperiled two trout streams and residents’ drinking water.”
Township supervisors agreed to draft a letter to DEP which would include comments from all concerned parties.
In follow-up to its concerns, Save Our Streams also filed a letter with DEP’s attorney, M. Dukes Pepper Jr.,. and considered other action.
In the letter, the group addressed the possibility of toxic waste and claimed the DEP was negligent in allowing the growth.
The DEP’s March 2 order referenced Barefoot’s 1991 indication of once-a-year dumping on Gilliland’s farm.
The order also indicated former Barefoot employees told the agency, at the height of the activity, they were dumping sewage “approximately 87 times a year for a period of three and a half years,” on the Gilliland property.
The order does not make it clear exactly when the majority of the alleged activity occurred.
Save Our Streams contended DEP was negligent after Barefoot’s admission in 1991 regarding dumping, its acceptance of assurances by Karen Gilliland in 1995 the dumping had stopped, a long history of violations by Barefoot which the group noted were documented in a December 2003 settlement between DEP and the waste hauler.
In may, the group also contended, “The DEP is still being negligent by accepting Barefoot’s word as to where sewage was dumped on Gilliland’s property.”
The DEP told The Daily Herald it did not agree with the characterization of toxic waste and said it was asked to investigate illegal sewage dumping and did find evidence of that.
S.O.S announced it had received more than one thousand signatures asking the governor to intervene on its behalf regarding environmental concerns in the Warriors Mark area. At the time, the group planned to deliver the signed petitions to the governor’s office in Harrisburg.
Gurney continued to speak out including addressing the supervisors at their June meeting. She detailed several requests made in a letter sent to the supervisors in May.
One of the requests focused on asking the township to provide information on “the manner sewage is disposed of” that is generated by apartments owned Gilliland.
The organization noted the township had asked the DEP to consider expanding the scope of an then already in progress investigation about sewage dumping on some of Gilliland’s property. Gurney also urged (the township) to conduct its own investigation.
She also requested copies of receipts for sewage pumping and hauling from Gilliland’s apartments and a copy of an agreement between the township and waste hauler Barefoot. The letter also requested a list of all Gilliland subdivisions, regardless of status.
Township solicitor Larry Clapper explained the supervisors were willing to make certain information available, specifically in cases where documentation existed. He also noted the supervisors were under no obligation to prepare and provide documents which don’t already exist.
The week after the June supervisors meeting, the DEP announced an agreement between it and Gilliland regarding sewage sludge dumping on some of the developer’s properties.
The announcement of the agreement came on the same day (June 9) the agency met with Save Our Streams at the governor’s office in Harrisburg about their concerns over the dumping issue.
Under the agreement, John and Karen Gilliland were required to fully characterize the areas in question. If it showed the illegal sewage dumping caused contamination to the soil, surface water or groundwater, the Gillilands would then be required to develop and implement a plan to clean up contamination.
The agreement required detailed groundwater investigations if pollutant levels were found to be slightly elevated and provided for the denial of sewage facilities planning for polluted areas.
In addition to other stipulations, the agreement also included a $20,000 civil penalty. The Gillilands also agreed to pay penalties of $1,000 a day for each violation of the agreement.
In July, supervisors again heard from several residents and members of S.O.S about concerns for the environment in the township.
At the meeting, the group presented the supervisors with a chronology dating to 1990, regarding a sewage holding tank at Gilliland’s apartment building located at the intersection at State Route 350 and State Route 550. The chronology detailed numerous issues involving the building’s owners, the supervisors, waste hauler Richard Barefoot and the DEP.
The group also provided supervisors with copies of documents to support the issues presented in the chronology and noted the sources of their documentation in the chronology.
At the meeting, the group asked the supervisors to immediately revoke the permit for the apartment building holding tank, indicating it believed the supervisors had the grounds and the authority to do so.
Eventually, through the recommendation of solicitor Larry Clapper, no action was taken at the meeting. However, supervisors did agree to look into the issues regarding Gilliland. There was also concern whether or not there are potential problems with other property owners.
Solicitor Clapper advised the township should be careful about singling out one property owner on the issues presented to the board.
Save Our Streams continued to express concern over the holding tank at the apartment building throughout the rest of the year including the townships’s November meeting where it indicated it still had not received copies of all the receipts it had requested from the township. The group also asked supervisors to look into the possibility of further testing to determine if the holding tank had any leakage.
