RANSHAW - As president of the Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance (SCRA), Jim Koharski has worked for more than 10 years trying to restore local waters and sites damaged by acid mine drainage and illegal dumping. But after coming across the latest dumping site along Industrial Park Road, he said he's reached his boiling point.
"We've tried for 10 years to clean up, but it turns right back into a dump," said Koharski. "This one just visually upset me."
Dumped at the site, a short drive from Route 901, are tires, furniture, televisions, mattresses, clothing, building wood and even a shopping cart from the Wal-Mart SuperCenter that overlooks the area.
"How does that get there? I couldn't believe it when I saw it," said Koharski. "They have to go out of their way to do something like that."
Koharski said the dumpings had to have occurred within the last month and a half, or he would have noticed it earlier.
"Most of the materials are recyclable," he said. "Nobody cares. There's no pride at all."
Pagnotti Coal Co. is one of the industries that owns property along Industrial Park Road.
"It's been an ongoing problem for that area," owner James Pagnotti said Monday when told about the dumping. He said he would investigate further.
"We have security that spot check, but it's difficult to cover all areas," he said.
Although unaware of the latest dumpings, Coal Township Commissioner Gene Welsh said that in order to prosecute, they would have to catch people in the act. He also said Coal Township police watch for it, but it's too large of an area for the officers available.
Steve Bartos, a local representative for SEEDCO, said the area was starting to see improvements through the cooperation of private landowners and the state Department of Environmental Protection, but programs began to suffer after the funding stopped.
"There were proposals that were beginning to work, but they were killed at the state level," said Bartos. "It had to be a multi-level state effort."
Bartos said he thinks the best solution would be the requirement of municipal hauling.
"But then people would still have reasons or no money for it," he said.
Koharski and his crew of volunteers have cleaned up other people's messes for more than 10 years, but they've been getting older and more tired with each year, he said. One of the sites they've worked hard to clean up during that time was near Burnside, but it, too, has seen more dumping recently.
"Nobody wants to address these issues," said Koharski. "We're done cleaning up."