The Borough of Shamokin Dam has adopted a zoning ordinance. It says in part:
B. The Borough's small industrial base will be protected as an important local source of employment and tax revenues; and possible environmental, transportation, and land use conflicts between industrial and other activities will be controlled.
C. Residential neighborhoods will be preserved in their attractive and neat state and improved wherever needed.
How exactly does the Borough Council backing a plan to run a 20" wide natural gas pipeline, through a residential neighborhood, fit within these declarations? The pipeline will cut a 100 foot wide swath, snaking its way very close to private homes. Mature trees planted as privacy screens decades ago will be removed and cannot be replaced.
Private home owners will be forced to accommodate the destruction of their property. Then they are expected to maintain the destroyed land after the project is finished. Home owners directly impacted by the pipeline will lose the value of their property as will their neighbors whose home values will decline due to the introduction of a dangerous gas pipeline.
The Council has given special tax breaks to the power plant operators for another 10 years. The power plant property already enjoyed a 10 year property tax abatement which was approved in 2007. In 2006, Corona Power, LLC sought and won a substantial reduction in the tax assessment of the property. The assessment was cut by more than two thirds. Additionally, there was a freeze on the assessment for ten years regardless of improvements made on the property.
I did discover the Shamokin Dam Borough Council approved changing the zoning of the electric plant site to a more favorable status for the owners and developers. The Plan was formally approve on June 1, 2015.
Cindy O'Hora
Pennsylvania Legislature Act 129 2008 requires utilities to cut demand for electricity.
Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) Program |
