The Tentacle: WTE Derangement by Norman M. Covert February 5, 2009

The Tentacle: WTE Derangement by Norman M. Covert February 5, 2009

February 5, 2009

Here’s a shout-out to Commissioner Kai J. Hagen, who needs a kind word from someone, anyone. His “noogies” have been few since objecting to the $323 million Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plant proposed for Frederick County. Mr. Hagen should declare victory and admit he was “for it” before he was against it.

The Honorable Mr. Hagen took a roundhouse blow from The Gazette two editions ago in a story, yet to be reported by the local Daily Blather. The affable Mr. Hagen was guilty, reporter Sherry Greenfield recounted, of using his MacIntosh™ computer to scold his colleagues by email regarding the WTE.

Mr. Hagen wrote to colleagues and bantered with private citizens saying that county staff and a professional consultant had given them information regarding the WTE that amounted to “scientific fraud.”

Huge words for a rookie politician, who may not understand that words have meaning. When you write them down and hand them out, as in an email, they last forever. They are the ultimate example of recycling gone bad. Before you hit, “Send,” stew over it a bit.

It was a miscalculation by Mr. Hagen, whose winning electoral base may have disappeared, leaving him a minority constituency of “Groans.” His opposition campaign, including a cyber chat room, has yielded little information of substance other than a falling sky, like the fabled Chicken Little claimed.

Commissioner President Jan H. Gardner has gone the extra mile with her colleague, even to the point of accompanying him and Commissioner David Gray on a “fact-finding” trip to Boulder, CO, in June 2008. President Jan even dragged along Michael G. Marschner, director of the county Division of Utilities and Solid Waste Management.

Read the entire column here: WTE Derangement by Norman M. Covert February 5, 2009

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=2999

20090205 TT WTE Derangement by Norman M. Covert Feb 5 2009

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

20080219 Carroll County Commissioner Mike Zimmer Press Release: Waste to Energy and solid waste management deliberations

Carroll County Commissioner Mike Zimmer Press Release: Waste to Energy and solid waste management deliberations

PRESS RELEASE

February 20th, 2008

I have become concerned with certain advocacy I’ve observed regarding our Commissioner Board research and discussion of solid waste management. I’ve concluded that some members of our Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) have engaged in agenda based advocacy rather than factually based advocacy.

When the EAC presented their recommendations to the Board last November 15th, 2007, I expressed grave concerns about comments shared by an EAC member to our special assistants in a private briefing prior to the formal presentation. It would appear that my concerns about politicization by certain EAC members have become reality.

I have observed advocacy by individual EAC members that is not factually accurate and contributes negatively to a dialogue based decision making path. This is most unfortunate.

On the 13th day of December, we held a panel discussion meeting that included EAC members, staff and outside experts. The discussion at that time was very strong from all parties. I do not understand why some EAC members have chosen to depart from this sort of factually based interaction in favor of what I consider pure spin.

Based on emails I’ve received from those attending a recent meeting of the Carroll County Democrat Club I have concluded that EAC member Sher Horosko provided information that was not contextually accurate when she made a presentation to this group. EAC member Dan Andrews recently wrote in a letter to the editor of a local paper that a waste-to-energy facility would contribute to higher taxes in Carroll County.

I find absolutely no basis to support the claim that waste-to-energy facilities lead to higher taxes. Our current system of long haul transfer is actually one of the most expensive methods of trash disposal available to us. In a climate of rising fuel prices this is likely to get worse over time. I’m also gravely concerned with pollution associated with trucking our trash hundreds of miles away.

Once landfills in Virginia are occupied we may be forced to truck trash even greater distances with yet greater economic and environmental costs. The time is now for this Board of Commissioners to consider more thoughtful options.

I consider burning trash to create electricity to be a viable option. That doesn’t make it the sole option. There are positives and negatives associated with just about any decision that the Board of Commissioners make. I retain an open mind on the set of solution paths we might wish to take.

We have been working on this problem for many months in an open and transparent process. One of the decision points we may have to make is whether to join in a shared waste-to-energy facility with Frederick County. The current proposal is to build 1,500 tons per day facility to be located in Frederick County. Staff from both counties believes this would be a smart solution for our mutual long terms needs.

Staff and outside experts advise that 600 tons would meet current and future needs for Carroll County. They similarly target Frederick’s need at 900 tons per day. The chief advantage of joining together in a partnership of this kind would be to lower the cost per ton of burning the trash.

As a Carroll County Board of Commissioners we can only go so far with our research and deliberation into waste-to-energy as a joint project. My view is that the Frederick County Board of Commissioners must first invite us to join in this project. If no offer is made then we need to consider our other options which might include a stand alone waste-to-energy facility located in Carroll County. If the offer is made then we as a Board would have to consider the full implications of such a partnership and the particular technology being proposed.

There are perfectly legitimate reasons to either accept or reject the regional waste-to-energy offer should it be put on the table. The fear that it might raise our taxes is not one of them. I’ve included a recent letter dated 14th day of February from an official from Montgomery County regarding various costs associated with their waste disposal system. I believe this letter explains very clearly that waste-to-energy has not led to higher taxes or fees for them.

There are some individuals who in my view have an anti-waste-to-energy agenda. They are taking things out of context with Montgomery County’s figures in order to further this agenda.

Folks need to keep in mind that in Carroll County people (outside of municipalities) hire private contractors to pick up their trash and recycling and deliver it to our county transfer station and landfill. In Montgomery County the government picks the trash up in the most densely populated areas. They charge a system user fee to cover all services. In other words instead of having private citizens pay a private hauler to pick up trash and recyclables the government does it directly. This service still costs money and the workers who pick up the trash still have to be paid.

How’s this for irony? Our towns follow the same billing procedure as Montgomery County.

According to Mr. Locke’s letter, the cost associated with trash disposal has remained constant between pre and post use of waste-to-energy. He relates, “When compared to inflation, they have substantially declined.”

This is a very simple concept. For particular EAC members to attempt to make political hay by spinning these facts is completely inappropriate. Volunteer members of an appointed government body need to be held to a higher standard.

I’ll repeat my advice to our EAC members. Those who want to wage political campaigns should do so in the right context. Such opportunities include political clubs, advocacy groups, central committees of either party or running for office. Folks should not take advantage of a government appointed position with efforts to spin public opinion.

I have now lost faith in some of our EAC members to contribute in a helpful way to our deliberative process on waste-to-energy. That is most unfortunate for them, for the public and for the Board of Commissioners.

Michael D. Zimmer

Commissioner

CC: Commissioner Julia W. Gouge

Commissioner Dean L. Minnich

Steve Powell, Chief of Staff

Cindy Parr, Chief of Administrative Services

Vivian Laxton, Public Information Administrator

Mike Evans, Director of Public Works

Daniel Andrews, EAC

Robyn Gilden, EAC

Sher Horosko, EAC

Jim Johnson, EAC

Karen Merkle, EAC

Kimberly Petry, EAC

David Pyatt, EAC
Brian Rhoten, EAC

Christopher Spaur, EAC

Robin Davidov, Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority

Jan Gardner, Frederick County Commissioner

David Gray, Frederick County Commissioner

Kai John Hagen, Frederick County Commissioner

Charles A. Jenkins, Frederick County Commissioner

John (Lennie) Thompson, Jr., Frederick County Commissioner

Douglas Browning, Frederick County Manager

Michael Marschner, Frederick County Director of Utilities and Solid Waste Management

County Executive David Craig, Harford County

David Bliden, Executive Director, MACo

Daniel Locke, Montgomery County, Chief of the Division of Solid Waste Services

20061107 Frederick County Maryland General Election Results

Hat Tip and thanks to CJ

Registered Voters 126657 - Cards Cast 66825 52.76%

Num. Report Precinct 60 - Num. Reporting 60 100.00%

GOVERNOR / LT. GOVERNOR Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 66431 Times Blank Voted 394 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Ehrlich-Cox REP 39482 59.43% O'Malley-Brown DEM 26122 39.32% Boyd-Madigan GRN 645 0.97% Driscoll-Rothstein POP 133 0.20% Write-in Votes 49 0.07%

COMPTROLLER Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 63305 Times Blank Voted 3520 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 McCarthy, Anne M. REP 35263 55.70% Franchot, Peter DEM 27931 44.12% Write-in Votes 111 0.18%

ATTORNEY GENERAL Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 65148 Times Blank Voted 1677 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Rolle, Scott L. REP 39473 60.59% Gansler, Douglas F. DEM 25632 39.34% Write-in Votes 43 0.07%

U.S. SENATOR Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 66173 Times Blank Voted 652 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Steele, Michael S. REP 38314 57.90% Cardin, Ben DEM 26770 40.45% Zeese, Kevin GRN 1058 1.60% Write-in Votes 31 0.05%

U.S. CONGRESS 06 Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 65554 Times Blank Voted 1271 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Bartlett, Roscoe G. REP 34355 52.41% Duck, Andrew James DEM 29538 45.06% Kozak, Robert E. GRN 1613 2.46% Write-in Votes 48 0.07%

STATE SENATOR 03 Total Number of Precincts 37 Precincts Reporting 37 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 37472 Times Blank Voted 1326 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Mooney, Alex X. REP 19460 51.93% Greenway, Candy DEM 17917 47.81% Write-in Votes 95 0.25%

STATE SENATOR 04 Total Number of Precincts 23 Precincts Reporting 23 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 21959 Times Blank Voted 6068 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Brinkley, David R. REP 21639 98.54% Write-in Votes 320 1.46%

HOUSE OF DELEGATES 03B Total Number of Precincts 13 Precincts Reporting 13 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 14510 Times Blank Voted 637 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Weldon, Richard B. J REP 8951 61.69% Gilligan, Paul DEM 5551 38.26% Write-in Votes 8 0.06%

HOUSE OF DELEGATES 04B Total Number of Precincts 1 Precincts Reporting 1 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 1910 Times Blank Voted 150 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Elliott, Donald B. REP 1212 63.46% Schlauch, Timothy DEM 697 36.49% Write-in Votes 1 0.05%

HOUSE OF DELEGATES 03A Total Number of Precincts 24 Precincts Reporting 24 100.0 % Vote For 2 Total Votes 43352 Times Blank Voted 385 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 3180 Hecht, Sue DEM 12530 28.90% Clagett, Galen Ronal DEM 11225 25.89% Hogan, Patrick N REP 10818 24.95% Naylor, Linda S. REP 8753 20.19% Write-in Votes 26 0.06%

HOUSE OF DELEGATES 04A Total Number of Precincts 22 Precincts Reporting 22 100.0 % Vote For 2 Total Votes 41290 Times Blank Voted 799 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 9046 Stull, Paul S. REP 16302 39.48% Bartlett, Joseph R. REP 15165 36.73% Hays, Maggi Margaret DEM 9700 23.49% Write-in Votes 123 0.30%

COUNTY COMMISSIONER Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 5 Total Votes 278818 Times Blank Voted 1712 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 46747 Gardner, Jan H. DEM 41074 14.73% Gray, David P. REP 35309 12.66% Hagen, Kai John DEM 34773 12.47% Jenkins, Charles A. REP 32438 11.63% Thompson, John L. Jr REP 32160 11.53% Floyd, Richard M. DEM 29010 10.40% Cady, Mike REP 26954 9.67% Lovell, John R. Jr. REP 26939 9.66% Wolf, Ron DEM 19665 7.05% Write-in Votes 496 0.18%

JUDGE SPEC APPEAL AT LG Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 54288 Times Blank Voted 12537 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 YES Hollander, Ellen 48676 89.66% NO Hollander, Ellen 5612 10.34%

STATE'S ATTORNEY Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 64001 Times Blank Voted 2824 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Smith, Charlie REP 33463 52.29% Poffenbarger, Bill DEM 30507 47.67% Write-in Votes 31 0.05%

CLERK CIRCUIT COURT Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 62815 Times Blank Voted 4010 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Dalton, Sandra K. REP 39398 62.72% Gibbs, Richard O. DEM 23398 37.25% Write-in Votes 19 0.03%

REGISTER OF WILLS Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 61524 Times Blank Voted 5301 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Fifer, Virginia P. REP 37627 61.16% Finefrock, Sarah E. DEM 23858 38.78% Write-in Votes 39 0.06%

JUDGE ORPHANS COURT Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 3 Total Votes 152479 Times Blank Voted 5965 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 30101 May, Tim REP 35187 23.08% Tregoning, John M. REP 33438 21.93% Grimes, James S. REP 30853 20.23% Hines, Fern I. DEM 28242 18.52% Norman, John H. DEM 24587 16.12% Write-in Votes 172 0.11%

SHERIFF Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 64113 Times Blank Voted 2712 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 Jenkins, Chuck REP 37989 59.25% Tobery, Charles I Jr DEM 26023 40.59% Write-in Votes 101 0.16%

BOARD OF EDUCATION Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 4 Total Votes 183708 Times Blank Voted 12826 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 32288 Borsa, Bonnie Smith 32461 17.67% Schaden, Mike 28326 15.42% Smith, Jean 27782 15.12% Boffman, Daryl A. 24219 13.18% Mansfield, Leslie 20415 11.11% Fish, Angie L. 18734 10.20% Duck, Whitney McDyer 16844 9.17% Switzer, Jonathan 14634 7.97% Write-in Votes 293 0.16%

COUNTY QUESTION A Total Number of Precincts 60 Precincts Reporting 60 100.0 % Vote For 1 Total Votes 57450 Times Blank Voted 9375 Times Over Voted 0 Number Of Under Votes 0 For the Referred Law 37580 65.41% Against the Referred 19870 34.59%