June 11, 2007
Contact:
 Anna Gustafson
717-787-2637
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Senate Update
by
 Senator James J. Rhoades

With abundant forestland and numerous parks, streams and trail ways, Pennsylvania is home to rich and diverse natural resources. Unfortunately, some of our pristine natural resources have been polluted by illegal dumping of waste such as old appliances, used tires and trash. These dumpsites are an eyesore that can discourage investments in our communities, and many of these sites present health and environmental risks as well.

The Cleanup Our American Lands and Streams (COALS) program was created to help clean up these sites and prevent future illegal dumping. COALS is an innovative partnership between environmental groups and state, county and local governments, with much of the cleanup work done by volunteers.

In the fall of 2006 and the spring of 2007, more than 150 high school students from 13 school districts, Boy Scout Troop 624 and the Community Connection to the Watershed Group took part in cleanup efforts through COALS, and their results have been extremely impressive. COALS has helped to clean up more than 50 illegal dumpsites including more than 300 tons of municipal waste and more than 200 tons of tires, and volunteers committed more than 2,500 hours of service to these efforts.

I was proud to join some of my fellow legislators, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for a press conference to honor and reward these students' participation in the COALS Program to cleanup illegal dumpsites in Pennsylvania. The inaugural COALS High School Initiative Program Check Presentation Ceremony in Harrisburg gave us the opportunity to recognize their hard work, and I hope that rewarding their efforts will encourage these students to continue to work to make our communities a better place to live.

The development of strong communities depends on young people learning the value of civic duty and continuing to work to improve the quality of life, and all of these volunteers deserve a great deal of credit for their hard work.

Senator Rhoades represents the 29th Senatorial District, which includes all of Schuylkill County and parts of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton Counties.