Sen. Rhoades (R-Schuylkill), Rep. Argall (R-Schylkill), Rep. Belfanti (D-Northumberland) and other dignataries honored high school students at a Capitol press conference this week for completing cleanup projects on illegal dumpsites under the COALS Program.

Sen. Rhoades was joined by Brian Hill, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Stephen Bartos, COALS Program-Department of Environmental Protection and other legislators for the inaugural COALS High School Initiative Program Check Presentation Ceremony.

“Illegal dumpsites can pose serious health risks and are an eyesore in our communities,” Sen. Rhoades said. “These young people deserve special recognition for their efforts to make their communities cleaner and safer.”

The students volunteered their time to clean up projects in the fall of 2006 and the spring of 2007 with the Clean up Our American Lands and Streams (COALS) program. The COALS program is a partnership between environmental groups and state, county and local governments to identify and clean up illegal dumpsites and protect these sites from future pollution.

In 2005 and 2006, COALS cleaned up more than 50 sites with more than 300 tons of municipal waste and almost 200 tons of tires, and volunteers spent a combined total of more than 2,500 hours on the cleanup efforts.

COALS included several projects in Schuylkill County, including:

· Mahanoy Area High School students helped to clean up 5.2 tons of trash and 6.15 tons of tires at the Buck Mountain Road dumpsite;

· Minersville High School Students contributed to 160 hours of volunteer service to remove 91 tons of trash and 6.64 tons of tires from the Gordon Mountain dumpsite; and

· Tamaqua/Williams Valley/Schuylkill County Vo-Tech students worked to properly dispose of almost 5 tons of trash and 6 tons of tires.

“PEC is very proud to be working with schools, local governments, nonprofit groups and DEP on expanding the COALS Program throughout the state,” said Brian Hill, President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. “The pace set by the first volunteers in the program will be hard to beat, but we think their enthusiasm will spread all across the state.”

For more information on expanding COALS into your area, contact Julie McMonagle, Director of PEC’s Northeast office at 570-718-6508 or send email to: jmcmonagle@pecpa.org .

Also visit the COALS Program webpage or contact Stephen Bartos, COALS Program Manager, 717-787-3103 or send email to: sbartos@state.pa.us .

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