Township protests waste site

March 5, 1998

MEADVILLE, Pa. (AP) -- Not in my back yard, say residents of a rural Crawford County township who want a low-level nuclear waste dump developed somewhere else.

Officials from Chem-Nuclear, a company contracted by the state to build a facility to store the state's nuclear waste, have spoken to Athens Township supervisors about the possibility of locating the dump there.

The facility will be safe and bring jobs and tax relief to its neighbors, the company has said. The company didn't immediately return a call for comment.

Township supervisors assured a crowd of at least 100 people Tuesday night that they will sign a resolution against the dump if their solicitor approves the resolution.

The resolution states that the supervisors will not negotiate for a nuclear waste disposal facility or volunteer any township land for such a facility.

Also Tuesday, county commissioners declined to sign such a resolution, saying municipalities should make the decision.

Chem-Nuclear has been searching for years for 50 acres on which to put the dump, but no community has volunteered. They hope to find a place by the end of this year.

Athens Township, about 25 miles southeast of Erie, has a population of 700 on about 27 square miles.