Who Are We?
Founded in 1973, the Sugarloaf Citizens’ Association (SCA) is a nonprofit, voluntary organization. Our primary purpose is to protect and preserve the Ag Reserve— the 93,000 acres of northern and western Montgomery County zoned in the 1980s for farming, open space, land conservation, and rural life.
We promote and advocate for sound environmental stewardship in the Ag Reserve and the county as a whole, as defined in the Ag Reserve Master Plan. And we monitor laws and regulations that relate to the Ag Reserve and environmental policy
Join, donate, or renew your membership in SCA! Just click here!
SCA Board Meeting
Monday, February 1, 7:30pm Zoom Call members welcome, email for information
The Draft Climate Action Plan
We look for and welcome your suggestions, concerns and questions about what's going on in the Ag Reserve. Please email us here.
The Agricultural Reserve is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. This map shows where Montgomery County has designated 93,000 acres to the preservation of farmland. See a larger version here.
See "Growing Legacy,” a terrific portrait of the Ag Reserve, produced by Montgomery Countryside Alliance. Here’s the link to the 30 minute film. MCA has a synopsis here.
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An Update on Solar Arrays in the Ag Reserve
January 13, 2021
The County Council is scheduled to vote in coming days on a much-debated proposal to allow commercial solar arrays on farmland in the Ag Reserve. The vote comes after a work group of eight people—including Lauren Greenberger, SCA’s president—met through December to find a compromise on the zoning amendment that would permit and set the rules for solar development.
(Note: the proposed zoning change does not impact installation of rooftop or barn-top solar by homeowners.)
Although the stakeholders in the working group agreed on some points they did not reach a full accord. Work group members representing the interests of farms and agricultural businesses in the reserve put forward a proposal to allow solar projects on the condition that they be reviewed and approved through what’s called a “conditional use” process.
As currently written, the zoning proposal would allow solar projects to be approved via a “limited use” process. That essentially allows the county planning board to simply rubberstamp a proposal, without too much vetting. A “conditional use” process, in contrast, requires any projects in the Ag Reserve that are not primarily agricultural in nature to undergo more rigorous evaluation, on a case-by-case basis.
Although we do not support allowing commercial solar projects on agricultural land, we see the conditional use process as a reasonable compromise that the farming and Ag Reserve community can accept.
Unfortunately, four members of the work group did not support this path. All four represent the solar industry or have financial ties to it.
Please consider emailing all the county council members to ask them to support conditional use approval of any and all commercial solar development in the Ag Reserve. The full council may vote on this as early as January 25.
We believe that with support from community members—that’s YOU—we can get the votes on the full council to support conditional use approval for any new commercial solar projects.
We are partnered in this effort with Montgomery Countryside Alliance. The complete set of recommendations put forward by the work group can be accessed on their website—HERE—along with a link to a take action page.
This week, the County Council celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve and paid tribute to Dr. Royce Hanson (short film featuring AR farmers, Sugarloaf Citizens’ Association president and MCA executive director among others), former Planning Board Chair and the architect of the innovative, visionary land-use policy that created the Agricultural Reserve. Those 93,000 acres preserved for farming and protected from sprawl development have been widely considered “the country’s most successful farmland preservation program.” This would not have happened without the bold vision of Royce Hanson and the dedication and hard work of County planners, the agricultural community, and committed advocates.
Today, the Agricultural Reserve is home to 558 farms, employs more than 10,000 people, and contributes locally sourced food and crops and approximately $281 million to the County economy. It is home to wineries and vineyards, miles of hiking and biking trails, and a whole host of other agriculturally related activities. We are so blessed to have this incredible resource right in our back yard. And what better time to get out into the fresh air and out in the countryside now that so many of our day-to-day activities are limited due to the pandemic.
You can find more information about our Agricultural Reserve on the Office of Agriculture’s website and also at Visit Montgomery. Buying local is more important than ever, so please support our local farms during these difficult times.
The Agricultural Reserve, which encompasses about a third of the County, continues to provide opportunities for new generations of farmers and serves as a protective environmental buffer for forests and streams. We are so proud to be able to honor Dr. Hanson and everyone in the Agricultural Reserve community for protecting this beautiful part of Montgomery County and proving that we can have successful urban, suburban, and rural places in our great County.
An Update On Solar Energy Development in the Ag Reserve October 2020
The debate over zoning changes that could lead to commercial solar energy development in the Ag Reserve continues—with a possible final decision by the County Council now put off until January 2021.
As SCA members know, we have been deeply engaged in this debate since its beginning earlier this year. Put simply, we remain opposed to the proposed zoning changes, as explained in the post below and in a second SCA newsletter piece in the Monocacy Monocle published Sept. 11, p. 13.
To be clear, we do not oppose the increasing use of solar and other renewable energy sources in Montgomery County, including the Ag Reserve. In fact we strongly support policies that enhance the transition from fossil fuel-based energy to renewable sources for Montgomery County’s future energy needs.
What we oppose is the ill-conceived zoning change still being considered by the Council, known as Zoning Text Amendment 20-01.
Council members have now recognized that this proposal deserves further evaluation and scrutiny. To that end the Council announced this month that it will organize a series of public stakeholder meetings this fall, beginning in early November. The first session will be a virtual town hall meeting, led by Council President Sidney Katz and Council Member Hans Riemer, who chairs the Council’s Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee.
The virtual town hall will be on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. Details are forthcoming and we’ll keep you informed. SCA’s president, Lauren Greenberger, plans to make comments that evening. We encourage other SCA members to attend as well and voice their concerns.
The Council also plans to create a stakeholder work group to further evaluate the zoning proposal and debate possible changes to it. The work group will be charged with making recommendations to the Council. The public will be permitted to submit comments to this body. Again, we’ll keep you informed about the process.
As of now, we plan to: (a) advocate for the inclusion of Ag Reserve residents and producers in the work group who were left out of the initial planning process and (b) urge the work group (and council members) to go back to the drawing board and consider other approaches to enhancing solar and renewable energy in the Ag Reserve and county. Namely, we’ll urge approaches that don’t compromise or harm farmland or farmers, or put commercial-scale energy development ahead of farming and the preservation of rural life that the county committed itself to when it created the Ag Reserve 40 years ago.
This Sept. 24 letter to County Executive Marc Elrich also further explains our most recent objections to the proposed zoning.
Doing Our Part to Address Climate Change
By Lauren Greenberger
(This article first appeared in the July 31, 2020 issue of The Monocacy Monocle.)
The Montgomery County Council is considering a zoning change that would permit large-scale solar arrays on farmland in the Agricultural Reserve. This has prompted a wide-ranging debate about how we in the Agricultural Reserve, with our open space and farms, can best contribute to addressing climate change. While we at Sugarloaf Citizens’ Association (SCA) do not support industrializing farmland for energy production, we do believe that the Ag Reserve can provide an important contribution to the county to meet the challenges that climate change brings. Our farmers and landowners are uniquely positioned to provide food security to the county and to sequester significant amounts of carbon by protecting and expanding our woodlands, wetlands, grassland, and farmland.
Our sound farming practices, such as using cover crops, stream buffers, and rotational grazing, enrich and build soil and protect waterways. Healthy, stable soils will mitigate the effects of severe climate events through increased water absorption. Our farmland will become increasingly critical to feeding the population as drought in the west and mid-west intensifies. As for our forests, every acre sequesters about 2.5 tons of carbon a year. There is no man-made device that can remove carbon from the air as a tree does. Forests are also the most efficient sources of precipitation and thus insure regular rainfall. This will help to stabilize our county and region.
We at SCA are working in collaboration with partners and the Office of Agriculture to increase local food production and regenerative agriculture in order to position our county to serve the needs of its people as the climate crisis intensifies. Bucking national trends, the numbers of small and diverse farms are increasing in the Ag Reserve as are farming operations that will increase soil fertility and carbon sequestration.
On a countywide scale, we at SCA endorse widespread expansion of clean energy production along with significant reduction of energy usage through building code changes and investment in mass transit. Solar and wind power-generating facilities can and should go in sites such as under power lines and at the decommissioned coal-fired power plant in Dickerson. This site alone has 1,000 acres of land zoned for industry and transmission infrastructure already in place. Here in the Ag Reserve, every farm, home and business could power themselves through rooftop or ground-mounted solar arrays, wind turbines, or geothermal systems.
We believe, however, that rezoning any of the Ag Reserve for non-farming commercial use is ill advised. The Ag Reserve is an important and unique asset in the county’s arsenal to combat climate change. It provides services that no other area in the county can: food production, clean water preservation, and carbon sequestration. We must recognize this, protect it, and use it productively so that it can continue to serve us all for decades to come.
A Regenerative Renaissance at Linden Farm By Ellen Gordon
Living through a time and place drastically transformed by pandemic and strife over racial injustice can be the opportunity we need to reflect on how we can better know the world. If we are successful, then perhaps we can emerge with a philosophy that is healing for the world—and healthier for us.
While it’s true that there are many ways of farming that can produce food, the change that Sugarloaf Citizens’ Association (SCA) is bringing to the farm that we steward will yield healthier food, nourish the soil, begin mending the ecosystem and help to ameliorate climate change.
Linden Farm, SCA’s headquarters, has been farmed for at least 200 years--and perhaps much longer. It was almost certainly used for growing tobacco for much of its early history—a crop that aggressively depletes soil. Originally part of a larger tract, it became the Lawrence Wright Farm in the 1880s, by which time it had transitioned to grain production, as well as raising livestock.
The opening of the Dickerson railroad station in 1873 increased the economic feasibility of grain and beef production by insuring a fast system for transporting goods to market. The farm changed hands a couple of times, and finally, during the Depression era, was purchased by Walter Matthews, who diversified production by expanding into dairying, delivering milk by truck as far as Washington, DC. The Matthews family also converted part of the farm into a private commons, known as Linden Park, complete with a bandstand. Family members were active in the Poolesville Band and large groups often gathered in the park for picnics and musical celebrations.
In 1980, Montgomery County bought the farm, with the intention of using a portion of it for composting sewage sludge. Because of SCA’s labors, that aspect of the farm’s history was short-lived, and by 1986, that same portion was instead converted to a less noxious leaf and grass composting facility. The association has continued oversight of that use and our efforts culminated in our gaining stewardship in 1996 of the farm’s remaining 150 acres. Now dubbed Linden Farm, the fields were leased to local farmers for conventional grain production, in traditional wheat, corn, soybean rotation.
Sugarloaf Citizens’ Association was founded in 1973 to promote and advocate for sound environmental stewardship in the rural north of Montgomery County, an area that wasn’t designated as an Agricultural Reserve until 1980. For nearly a half century, SCA volunteers have been a powerful force for preventing the destruction of farmland and open space, and thwarting increased water and air pollution. Now, as we plan for the next fifty years, we will be actively promoting a vibrant and healthy vision for Linden Farm where food is grown following regenerative principles, one where the greater community will be invited to learn how it’s done.
Regenerative, generally speaking, refers to the use of a resource where it is increased and/or enhanced for future use, as compared to unsustainable or sustainable. Regenerative agriculture comprises a system of holistic land management practices that leverage the power of photosynthesis by plants to help reverse climate change. How? By building soil organic matter, avoiding costly synthetic inputs, keeping living roots in the ground, maintaining plant species diversity, and integrating livestock, thereby enhancing carbon drawdown and vastly improving the water cycle. Added benefits include more nutritious food, improved wildlife habitat, more humane animal husbandry, and expansion of pollinator sources. This naturally enhances the farmer’s bottom line by decreasing the costs of inputs, which increases net profit.
You can read the rest of this article on Plenty magazine’s website: https://view.joomag.com/plenty-summer-2020/0415936001594252066?short&
Ellen Gordon is an SCA board member.
An Update from Sugarloaf Citizens’ Association
Dear Faithful Members and Friends,
As we were unable to hold an annual meeting this year, I wanted to give you a brief update on the highlights of the past few months.
It’s been a challenging time in Sugarloaf Country, as is the case nationally and globally. Yet, I’m sure we all feel blessed to live in such a wonderful community, surrounded by bucolic beauty.
As we look for ways to keep our families safe and healthy during the pandemic, one stand-out trend is the enormous uptick of interest in locally grown food. Our farmers have been inundated with requests for their produce, meats and eggs and Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) have had record requests for subscriptions.
We are delighted. In fact, we’re taking initial steps to join that movement by transitioning SCA’s 90 acres of land from commodity crops to regenerative agriculture. We’re leasing to a farmer who will start with rotational grazing to bring the soil back to good health. We then look forward to growing some table crops in the future.
The interest in locally grown food underscores the importance of keeping the Ag Reserve in farming. We oppose a recent push by some on the County Council, for example, to rezone agricultural land for industrial solar facilities. Ag Reserve land has been protected for agricultural use for 40 years. This is not the time to allow industrial operations. Now, more than ever, we need it for food, clean water, and carbon sequestration.
We had a big win recently in our long campaign to decrease pollution from the GenOn coal-fired power plant in Dickerson. The Maryland Department of the Environment agreed to stronger regulations and, as a result, GenOn has decided to close the coal-burning plant. Decommissioning will begin in August and be complete next spring. The plant is the second largest industrial polluter in Montgomery County, just behind the Dickerson trash incinerator.
The closure presents a tremendous opportunity for the county, but also a potential threat. GenOn would like to sell the facility and land, roughly 1,000 acres. A worst-case scenario would be sale to another polluting industry. Alternatively, the site could be used to make headway towards the county's greenhouse gas reduction goals.
We have begun discussions with County Executive Marc Elrich and the County Council to encourage an analysis of whether a portion of the land could be used for solar energy production. If you agree, please consider writing councilmembers to pursue this possibility.
As background, we oppose a zoning change that councilmembers Hans Reimer, Tom Hucker and Craig Rice are promoting that would take farmland out of production for industrial solar. It strikes us that using an already industrialized site (zoned for industry and with easy access to transmission lines) for the production of clean renewable energy would be worth pursuing.
As you may recall, GenOn is also removing some 5 million tons of coal ash from a landfill adjacent to the power plant. The coal ash is being sold to two cement producers—the metals in the ash helps make the cement stronger and encapsulate toxic elements. Because the ash will be removed by truck we have worked closely with Gen-On to assure that disruption to the safety, health and peace of the community will be minimized.
It’s a good thing that the toxic ash is being removed. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a slow process, taking as long as 10 years. We pledge vigilance in monitoring the ash removal.
Our work with county officials to develop a robust “zero waste” plan for trash is gaining steam. Even in these difficult economic times the county has increased funding for recycling education and enforcement, and to develop new programs to compost commercial food waste and test residential composting.
If we can get food out of the waste stream we will reduce what goes into the trash incinerator by 30% or more. And, the end product of compost is great for our farms and gardens. A win-win for all!
The county’s other priorities—though not yet funded—include renovating the aging recycling facility at Shady Grove, bringing county-run trash collection to the up-county area, and instituting a unit-pricing system in which residents would only pay for the amount of trash they throw away. Thus, the more you recycle and the less you put in the trash, the cheaper your bill.
County Executive Marc Elrich has recently gone on the record—again—with his desire to close the Dickerson waste incinerator when the contract expires in 2026. But he needs Council approval to do that. Unfortunately, some on the Council oppose closure, pushed by industry lobbyists.
We will continue to press for aggressive waste reduction and rail haul of “leftovers” to a safe, out-of-state landfill with good methane capture.
As always, we continue to fight to protect the extraordinary natural resources that make Montgomery County such a unique and vibrant place to live and work. We have a voice with the County’s Planning Board and have been involved in the development of the county’s new Thrive Montgomery General Plan. Most recently, we have actively participated in the “Envision Frederick” master plan process for the region surrounding Sugarloaf Mountain. We also oppose a proposed zoning change that would allow increased development near Ten Mile Creek.
In this unprecedented time of upheaval in our country, please know that we remain steadfastly committed to protecting, promoting and preserving this precious resource we call home—for the equitable use, benefit and rejuvenation of all residents of our community and Montgomery County.
On behalf of the Sugarloaf Board, I send you our warmest wishes and many thanks for your continuing support of our mission. Enjoy your summer and stay safe.
Lauren Greenberger President Sugarloaf Citizens Association
The 2020 Forecast and Our Current Priorities
2020 promises to be a challenging but industrious year for SCA, the Ag Reserve, and Montgomery County.
Amid early signs of climate change in the mid-Atlantic region in recent years—record rains and heat, for example—farmers are reassessing. Many are pondering new crops, new initiatives, and new ways of enriching and preserving soil, such as the techniques of regenerative agriculture.
We are engaged in a range of issues on these fronts. On our 150 acres at Linden Farm in Dickerson, for example, we plan to partner with local farmers to plant new crops and test regenerative approaches. Potential uses of the land include rotational grazing, perennial agriculture with nut trees, fruits and fiber, and growing vegetables beyond corn and/or soybeans.
Our efforts to expand the use of regenerative agriculture include serving on an advisory committee for Seneca Creek State Park, an 1000-acre tract abutting River Road. We’re advocating improved agricultural practices on this land.
In all these efforts, we’re urging heightened attention to food security and carbon sequestration—through practices that build soil, improve nutrient density, and allow maximum water infiltration to mitigate the harmful effects of extreme weather events.
All our work in these areas will be informed and guided in the years ahead by Montgomery County’s new General Plan for growth, land-use, economic expansion, and development. Dubbed “Thrive Montgomery County 2050,” it’s the first long- range policy framework since1964. The plan is still evolving, with initial policies and strategies expected to be announced this year.
In the context of the “Thrive” effort, we have joined forces with fellow activists, neighbors and local lawmakers to press county officials to protect the Ag Reserve—by assuring that our land stays productive through farming, our water supply remains abundant and clean, and open spaces and the rural way of life in the Ag Reserve is preserved.
The good news that we hope to build on: the number of farms in the Agricultural Reserve has grown (currently around 550) and diversified in recent years. Organic farming is booming, and yielding good profits. More women are heading up farms. And the number of community-supported agriculture (CSA) vendors has expanded—offering vegetables, local meat, wines, beers, lavender, persimmon and ginseng among other products.
SCA will be deeply involved in 2020 in ongoing discussions about the best way to foster a shift to solar and other renewable energy sources in the Ag Reserve and Montgomery County at large.
This is a complex issue that will need to be thought through carefully in the context of evolving federal, state and county regulations and economic incentives. As just one vexing issue: should farmers be permitted to build-out solar arrays on arable farmland—to sell into the power grid? Or should such land remain in agricultural use? What criteria will be used to guide decisions in this area?
Zero Waste and the Incinerator Closure Campaign
We will continue in 2020 to work closely with the county on developing Zero Waste practices that will enhance recycling and counter environmental degradation and climate change. In that vein, we’ll continue efforts to hasten the shuttering of the Dickerson waste incinerator. Two consultants we hired in 2019 helped us make a case to Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection that:
County officials have already embraced a number of the suggestions SCA identified in one commissioned paper laying out a roadmap to Zero Waste. For example, they will soon require commercial food waste to be composted. Officials are also looking to build a county facility to process residential food waste. And they are considering partnering with local for- and non-profit groups to collect and recycle/reuse items that are currently being burned in the incinerator, such as clothing, mattresses, home goods and furniture.
SCA strongly supports such initiatives.
Removal of Coal Ash from Westland Landfill
The owner of the Dickerson coal-fired power plant, GenOn, has begun removing toxic ash from its site to prevent groundwater contamination into the Potomac.
That is a positive development. However, their state-mandated remediation plan is to remove the entire five million tons of ash by truck—hauling it to two cement factories—over the next 10 years.
Bridge Crossing and the Impact of Recent Zoning Changes
We continue to closely monitor developments in these issues as well:
As has long been the case, we will continue efforts in 2020 to educate down-county communities and officials about the Ag Reserve, its value to our county, and the need to preserve it.
Thanks to two new publications showcasing the Agricultural Reserve—Plenty Magazine and the Bread and Beauty cookbook—more of our down-county friends are indeed finding their way to our neck of the woods to shop, hike, bike, paddle and wander our beautiful rustic roads.
SCA welcomes the participation of all the county’s residents in our activities. We are a true citizen’s and citizen-run member organization. There are always things to be done on a volunteer basis. And if you should have any interest in serving on our board, please let us know.
If you’re already a member, please don’t forget to renew your membership. As you can glean from the above, your member fees and contributions funded vital research and legal work that informed county officials and led to meaningful initiatives in 2018 and 2019.
Thanks, Lauren Greenberger, president, and the SCA board
Trash Incineration vs. Landfills
As SCA’s campaign to close the Dickerson trash incinerator has progressed, many of you have asked where the trash—tons of it—will go if the campaign is ultimately successful.
Good question. It turns out there are a lot of myths about this, notably around the merits of landfills versus trash burning.
Isn’t incineration safer and cleaner than landfills?
No! SCA recently hired a nationally recognized expert – Jeffrey Morris of the Sound Resource Management Group in Olympia, Washington) – to do an analysis of Montgomery County’s waste disposal system. He presented his findings to county officials in June. (You can find his powerpoint here. Warning: it’s highly technical.)
His main finding: When toxic emissions harmful to human health and greenhouse gases adding to climate change are measured using the same standards, landfills prove to be safer and cleaner than incinerators.
If no gas is captured from a landfill then the greenhouse gases it produces are, in fact, slightly greater than what an incinerator produces. But all modern landfills capture between 75% and 90% of their emissions. This makes incineration more dangerous to the environment and human health, and in terms of climate change.
In addition, landfills don’t produce any of the toxins that studies have linked to respiratory illness and cancer. (There’s no conclusive proof, however, that the Dickerson incinerator has led to excess cases of cancer in the Ag Reserve or Montgomery County.)
The company that operates the incinerator (Covanta) claims it is operating well within the emissions limits set by the EPA.
This is only partly true. On a daily basis Covanta measures four types of emissions. Those do fall within the EPA limits. Once a year they measure things like dioxins, furans and mercury—the really bad emissions. They do not measure such emissions when they are starting up or shutting down, however—and it turns out those are periods when emissions are much greater than at other times.
In other words, Covanta can, under the rules, choose an optimal time to take their once a year measurement.
Even when they do this, however, EPA reports show that the Dickerson incinerator emits an average 24 pounds of mercury per year. The mercury in just one thermometer can contaminate an entire lake. What is 24 pounds of mercury doing to our health and that of our children and the animals in our area? We don’t know.
Also, just because the toxic emissions fall within the EPA standards doesn’t make them safe. This is just the level that EPA chose to allow, and by all accounts after significant lobbying from the incinerator industry.
If we close the incinerator what happens to our trash?
The county is in the process of developing a “zero waste” trash management plan. SCA is very involved in that process. Our president, Lauren Greenberger, serves on the County’s zero waste task force. A draft plan is due from the task force this fall.
The task force is studying the entire waste management picture in Montgomery County. But two aspects of the county’s waste challenge warrant mention. One is food scraps and the other is recycling.
Thirty-five percent of the county’s trash is food scraps. We need to get it out of the waste stream! The emerging idea is to target commercial sources of food waste first—from restaurants and grocery stores, for example. The county is close to contracting this out on a pilot basis, with Prince George’s County‘s food composting facility.
The next step will likely be to conduct a pilot residential food compost collection program. Such initiatives are now popping up around the country.
SCA has informed the county that if they will close the incinerator we would consider taking composted food at the Dickerson facility, which cuurently processes all the county’s yard waste. (Because of court battle with the county many years ago over the incinerator, SCA has the legal authority to accept or reject any plan to expand composting beyond yard waste.)
As for recyclable materials, here, too, the county needs to remove a much larger quantity from the waste stream than it does now.
One idea being considered is unit pricing. Much the same way that we pay for our electricity and water, we could pay only for the amount of trash we put at the curb—instead of the current one-size-fits-all fee. Recycled materials put at the curb would be collected free of charge.
The town of New Windsor, MD has recently conducted a pilot program using this system. In the first few months of the program, the town reduced its trash volume by 40%.
When people pay attention to what’s going into their trash and have a financial incentive to reduce the quantity, all signs indicate that the results are positive. Less waste needs to be burned and/or dumped.
The task force is also considering a high-profile educational campaign to increase awareness of the benefits of composting and recycling.
What about the waste that we can’t recycle, re-purpose or use?
We support shipping any leftover trash by railroad to safe and stable landfills that are not near where anybody lives. SCA commissioned a second consultant to evaluate the feasibility of this option for Montgomery County. His report shows that this is likely to be economically and environmentally preferable to incinerating.
As a result of this work, we have interested the largest rail hauler of municipal solid waste in the country in presenting Montgomery County with a contract proposal.
We believe this approach would be far preferable to the status quo. The Dickerson incinerator produces about 200,000 tons of ash each year. This material contains all the residual toxins from the incinerator that were not released into our air. The ash is shipped to a landfill near a large community of color in Virginia. SCA has been pushing the county for years to stop sending this toxic material to this densely populated area.
Bottom line: If our county’s leftover waste—after food and recyclables are sharply reduced—were simply landfilled as far away from people as possible, rather than being burned and then landfilled as toxic ash, it would be significantly safer for human beings and better for the environment.
Please let us know what you think about this issue.
Sugarloaf Citizens Association, Inc. Linden Farm 20900 Martinsburg Road P.O. Box 218 Dickerson, MD 20842 301-349-4889 info@sugarloafcitizens.org
