2010-03-17 06:25:00
ROXANNE TODD
East Drumore Township supervisors learned March 4 that their emergency management coordinator would like to combine efforts with neighboring municipalities such as Quarryville Borough.Tim Ryan, who is also a firefighter with the Quarryville Fire Company, said he will be calling in fellow f......
2010-03-17 00:03:00
P.J. REILLY
James Cowhey can see the writing on the wall.The state government in recent years has curtailed its investment in projects aimed at areas such as land use and transportation.But the need for that investment is growing here and across the state, said Cowhey, executive director of Lan......
2010-03-09 21:04:00
P.J. REILLY
New Holland Borough on Tuesday lifted its "drinking water notice."After a diesel fuel spill at one of the borough's water treatment plants Thursday, the state Department of Environmental Protection has ruled New Holland's water is safe for drinking.Borough official......
2010-03-03 00:02:00
AD CRABLE
Pennsylvania can boldly ensure an expanded alternative-energy-based economy, creating thousands of new jobs and cleaner air, or it can get left behind.That's the black-and-white choice outlined Tuesday in Lancaster by state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger....
2010-02-24 06:25:00
P.J. REILLY
Farmers are always looking for new ways to make a buck.And here in Lancaster County, farmers are bracing for new environmental regulations they expect to be dumped on them — which would take away many of the bucks they already have — in the name of cleaning up the Chesapeake Ba......
2010-02-19 22:40:00
CIVIA KATZ
Penn Township put residents on notice Friday after finding high nitrate levels in the drinking water.Infants under six months of age should not drink the water, and township water should not be used to make baby formula. Pregnant women should consult a physician before drinking the water....
2010-02-17 00:03:00
JEFF HAWKES
Two miles of sewer line in Talmage.An outing to the symphony for city kids.Solar panels glinting on a Penn Township roof.All across Lancaster County, people are finding an astonishing number of ways to spend federal stimulus dollars.And the list of projects goes on and......
2010-02-10 06:19:00
JAMES BUESCHER
Pending state approval, it looks as if Drumore Township is getting a small new shopping center.At the Drumore Township supervisors meeting on Feb. 4, elected officials voted to settle their lawsuit with the developer of the proposed 21,000-square-foot, Buck-area shopping center.The ......
2010-02-05 07:39:00
TIM MEKEEL
Responding to requests from its customers, Charles F. Snyder Funeral Homes Inc. is adding a crematory to its Lititz Pike location.The $650,000 project will make the facility the county's only funeral home with a crematory, witnessing room and chapel under one roof."As part ......
2010-02-02 00:01:00
AD CRABLE
The amount of soil and nutrients flowing down the Susquehanna and Conestoga rivers is declining, according to a new report.That's music to the ears of officials with state and federal environmental agencies who, as part of a cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay, have recently vowed to reduce ......
2010-01-31 00:05:00
JON RUTTER
The economy may be wilting. But native plants should be blooming this year in Manheim Township. Residents who are passionate about creating sustainable habitat will see to that, promises Marylou Barton, a master gardener and attorney for the state Department of Environmental Protection....
2010-01-29 00:01:00
P.J. REILLY
The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission's board of directors on Thursday voted to press state and federal environmental officials to step up efforts to fix the ailing Susquehanna River.Calling the river "increasingly impaired," the directors passed a resolution at their q......
2010-01-26 06:43:00
AD CRABLE
When the federal Environmental Protection Agency announced last fall it had targeted nearly two dozen small farms near Intercourse for farm-related water pollution inspections, fears of a crackdown rippled through farm and regulatory circles all the way to Harrisburg.The 3-square-mile Wats......
2010-01-24 00:13:00
JON RUTTER
An hour's chore in 2008 sparked what is likely to be a multiyear lawsuit after a backhoe operator punctured a gasoline pipeline near the junction of Weaver and Auction roads, Rapho Township. The pipeline is owned by Buckeye Pipe Line Transportation LLC, of Breinigsville, Lehigh County. The s......
2010-01-19 22:14:00
JENNIFER TODD
A 550-gallon oil spill on a Clay Township property that fouled nearby tributaries in state gamelands Tuesday was likely caused by a faulty fuel line or a rusted tank, fire officials said.Two 275-gallon underground tanks at 1795 Kleinfeltersville Road, near Millstone Road, were filled Monda......
2010-01-12 08:09:00
AD CRABLE
More local farms may fall under big-farm pollution regulations.And local municipalities and developments may be required to do a better job of containing storm water and keeping it out of streams.Both measures are being sought by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which Monda......
2010-01-12 00:04:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Think of it as bottled water without the bottle.Residents of the east side of Lancaster city and eastern suburbs supplied with city water have in the past week been drinking, washing and showering in water purified with the same technology as commercially bottled water.Lancaster cit......
2010-01-01 22:26:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Four years ago — when times were good — a proposal was made to build a downtown retail and condominium tower as many as 27 stories tall.There was one hitch. The city would have to do the environmental cleanup of the former gas station site.Then Rick Gray became mayor. Su......
2009-12-18 00:01:00
AD CRABLE
The state's top environmental official said here Thursday that the state must make tough decisions that result in cleaner water flowing into the Chesapeake Bay or face unwanted dictates from the federal government or a judge.John Hanger, Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental P......
2009-12-11 07:22:00
AD CRABLE
Pennsylvania faces tougher anti-pollution regulations as part of a new federal mandate to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.But local and state officials complain that not enough credit is being given to projects that already are making a difference.On Thursday, a few of those grass-roots......
2009-12-09 06:43:00
LEE NOBLE
Issues surrounding Martic Township's so-called Hess Mess might soon be winding down.On Monday, the board of supervisors approved a motion to direct the township solicitor to begin the process for a sheriff's sale on property at 1146 Marticville Road, owned by Donald Hess of Lancast......
2009-11-29 00:18:00
JON RUTTER
Thirty years after the nation's worst nuclear disaster unfolded at Three Mile Island, any unusual event at the nuclear power plant is still hot news. And so delayed reporting of an accident there last weekend has the governor — and others — steaming. The incident happene......
2009-11-27 08:13:00
JAMES BUESCHER
In a move sure to surprise many who live in southern Lancaster County, a Commonwealth Court judge in Harrisburg has sided with the developer of a controversial Buck-area shopping hub widely rumored to contain a Walmart, thereby reversing the December 2008 ruling of a Lancaster County judge....
2009-11-25 06:17:00
TOM KNAPP
Elizabethtown Area Water Authority will pay a $12,280 fine for failing to alert state authorities in a timely manner about a contamination in the water supply.Water samples taken in the borough on Aug. 21 tested positive for the E. coli bacteria.State regulations require the authori......
2009-11-24 08:18:00
P.J. REILLY
In 1950, 8 million people lived in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.Today, 17 million people live there, with 130,000 new residents moving in each year.According to Bob Koroncai of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, each and every one of those residents is responsible for nearly ......
2009-11-19 00:01:00
AD CRABLE
Saying "clean water must start here," a state environmental group is threatening to sue five small southern Lancaster County farmers over alleged manure and soil runoff into local streams and the Chesapeake Bay."Farming doesn't give anyone a license to pollute, and there are plenty of reso......
2009-11-18 06:41:00
TIM MEKEEL
Two municipalities, a college and a non-profit organization here will share $665,000 in state grants to save energy, it was announced Tuesday.They're among 99 statewide to get $22 million under the Conservation Works! program, financed by federal economic-stimulus funds.The bigg......
2009-11-13 06:09:00
P.J. REILLY
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued a news release announcing it had cited 14 municipalities in Pennsylvania and Maryland for stormwater violations.On that list were five Lancaster County municipalities — Akron and Terre Hill boroughs and East Earl, East Donegal an......
2009-11-11 07:34:00
AD CRABLE
The state has fined candy maker Mars Snackfood US $165,572 for operating roasting equipment longer than permitted at its Elizabethtown plant.By exceeding its permitted hours of operation, the plant "risked" emissions of volatile organic compounds in excess of federal air pollutio......
2009-11-10 08:17:00
AD CRABLE
Federal officials, acting on President Barrack Obama's recent executive order to get serious about cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, announced a draft strategy Monday that makes Lancaster County a linchpin in the plan.Local farms, sewage plants and runoff from urban and suburban landscap......
2009-09-30 06:54:00
AD CRABLE
Large-scale livestock farming in the Octoraro watershed of Lancaster and Chester counties is producing "staggering" amounts of manure in an already overloaded area, despite efforts to limit it, according to a new study by the environmental advocacy group PennFuture.The study of t......
2009-09-18 08:56:00
AD CRABLE
The controversial Veolia Landfill in Mount Joy Township has gotten key preliminary approval to expand from the state Department of Environmental Protection.DEP said its environmental assessment concluded that the benefits of allowing the landfill expansion "outweigh the known and pote......
2009-09-16 05:49:00
JAMES BUESCHER
The mysterious appearance of documents regarding plans for a levee to protect Marietta Borough prompted officials Sept. 8 to denounce unattributed criticism of council.Mayor Oliver Overlander said at the Sept. 8 meeting, "There are too many things going on in this town. It's fooli......
2009-09-10 08:47:00
TOM KNAPP
When traces of the E. coli bacteria were found last month in the Elizabethtown area water supply, word of the contamination spread slowly.But when the "boil water" advisory was lifted four days later, it took little more than the push of a button to reach nearly all of the Elizab......
2009-08-28 00:02:00
P.J. REILLY
Elizabethtown Area Water Authority on Thursday announced its water had been deemed clear of contamination by the state Department of Environmental Protection.And at 12:30 p.m., the authority ended its advisory that customers should boil their tap water before drinking it.The advisor......
2009-08-27 00:07:00
P.J. REILLY
Water samples from Elizabethtown Area Water Authority have indicated the system is clear of contamination, but a boil-water advisory remains in effect until Friday, officials said Wednesday.Tests results on a second set of water samples that were taken Wednesday are expected this evening....
2009-08-26 06:14:00
JAMES BUESCHER
After more than a decade of work, it appears that plans have run aground for a new two-mile, $3 million to $6 million levee system to protect Marietta Borough from Susquehanna River floods.Now, residents and officials are wondering who caused the failure, especially because someone has dis......
2009-08-21 10:00:00
AD CRABLE
This time the federal government means business about cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, and the imminent "big stick" should not be ignored by local farmers, officials and residents. That's the view of a key state legislator and state and federal environmental officials who were brou......
2009-08-18 00:01:00
JEFF HAWKES
It was mostly sunny in Annville on Monday, and solar rays were doing their thing on Philip Morgan's roof: heating his water.Fourteen rooftop vacuum tubes, each 5 feet long, had reached 130 degrees.An antifreeze solution, circulating in pipes, was transferring the heat to 80 gall......
2009-08-13 10:47:00
P.J. REILLY
Two giant steam generators destined for Three Mile Island are expected to begin their long journey from France any day now.The cargo ship carrying the generators for the Unit 1 reactor at the TMI nuclear power plant are expected to glide through the mouth of the Susquehanna River to a ship......
2009-07-28 10:34:00
TIM MEKEEL
The beginning of the Turkey Hill Experience project has changed.But the end will be the same.With two problems solved in imaginative ways, site work for the agri-tourism venture in Columbia Borough started last week.That keeps the Third and Linden streets project, anchored by......
2009-06-30 20:30:00
JAMES BUESCHER
It's a part of the "green revolution" that local governments are only starting to look at now: with urban areas being well-served by train, bus and public transportation options, what about rural areas where depending on the family car is a daily necessity?"In Lancaster ......
2009-06-26 00:16:00
ROCHELLE A. SHENK
Manheim Borough Authority invites the public to hear about expenses relating to the sewer plant at 7 p.m. Monday in Manheim Central Middle School auditorium, 261 White Oak Road.Matt Parido, authority administrator and borough manager, said Thursday the discussion will review the Chesapeake......
2009-06-16 22:46:00
MICHAEL C. UPTON
Developers of a proposed shopping center that would bring dozens of stores and a handful of restaurants to East Cocalico Township were granted final plan approval June 3.Attached to the plan were 16 conditions the developer must satisfy to recoup a $6.5 million improvement guarantee held i......
2009-06-09 20:12:00
P.J. REILLY
Correction — The story below, posted on LancasterOnline Tuesday, incorrectly stated the location of the tunnels on Route 272. They are in Providence Township.•••Pequea Townshi......
2009-06-02 22:23:00
JAMES BUESCHER
This time, it all comes down to the Drumore Township supervisors.Last week, officials began what promises to be several rounds of conditional-use hearings on whether to allow an East Drumore Township developer to construct a 21,000-square-foot shopping center near the proposed site of the ......
2009-06-01 11:07:00
CHAD UMBLE
The fire is out of the hole. After almost two months, crews finally dug down to the bottom of a former Caernarvon Township limestone quarry and extinguished a smoldering fire that had been burning there since at least January. For the last 20 years, the Maxwells Hill Quarry along Route 23 ......
2009-05-29 10:20:00
AD CRABLE
"Extensive" testing shows the air outside Locust Grove Mennonite School in East Lampeter Township is safe, the state Department of Environmental Protection says. Air testing had been ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in March after a study by the newspaper USA Today listed the......
2009-05-27 18:49:00
P.J. REILLY
Correction — An article posted on LancasterOnline Wednesday incorrectly stated who is operating the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island. The plant is operated by Exelon Nuclear.•••...
2009-05-13 01:01:00
SUSAN E. LINDT
Providence Township zoning board has 45 days to decide whether to approve an existing kennel that scores of residents said they oppose Tuesday night.This time when kennel owner Jonas J. Esch came before the zoning board for a hearing continued from last month, he brought attorney James Cly......
2009-05-07 23:57:00
JACK BRUBAKER
The attorney for residents who oppose construction of a new Norfolk Southern freight rail yard on top of a restored dump site in Manheim Township is concerned and angry. Bill Cluck claims to have found multiple "misstatements'' and other irregularities associated with the ent......
2009-05-07 01:01:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Manheim Township High School is touted as one of the most energy-efficient schools in Lancaster County.The sprawling building is cooled and heated with a geothermal/radiant system and boasts energy-efficient windows, roofing and wall insulation, a rooftop solar water heater and self-dimmin......
2009-04-23 00:51:00
P.J. REILLY
Trash, tires and other debris illegally dumped on two Lancaster County properties will be cleaned up thanks to state grants announced Wednesday in honor of Earth Day.The local grants were part of a pool of money doled out by the state Department of Environmental Protection through its Comm......
2009-04-18 00:01:00
Pennsylvania's three-month-old Right-to-Know law, after a seemingly quiet start, may be on the brink of its first real tests.In one matter, a state agency said it will appeal to court a decision by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records that it must copy and mail out records to people......
2009-04-10 01:01:00
PATRICK BURNS
PPL Electric Utilities said Thursday that it will seek federal stimulus money to resurrect an expansion project at its hydroelectric plant at the Holtwood Dam.In December, the electric utility scrapped a plan to more than double electric output from its Holtwood hydroelectric plant on the ......
2009-04-02 10:32:00
AD CRABLE
It's been almost 10 years since doubts about the real dangers of radon gas began nagging Dr. William K. Grosh, then a family doctor in Akron. "I had talked with some of our local oncologists and radiologists and was surprised to learn that in spite of high levels of radon in the Readin......
2009-04-01 00:01:00
JOHN FRIEL
Finally, someone said no.State-licensed kennels have operated in Lancaster County for years without municipal permission. Now that state law requires kennel operators to seek local approval, several owners are asking for special exceptions and variances to allow them to continue to sell pu......
2009-03-10 01:31:00
SUSAN E. LINDT
A Monday afternoon barn fire in Brecknock Township totaled a tobacco shed and threatened to take out several surrounding buildings.Deputy Chief Glenn Mains of Fivepointville Fire Company said the call came in at about 2:30 p.m. and eventually involved at least 75 emergency personnel from s......
2009-03-09 00:07:00
BRIAN WALLACE
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has announced a plan to test air quality at schools nationwide to determine if students are at risk from airborne pollutants.But whether that testing will include schools in Lancaster County is not known.EPA administrator Lisa Jackso......
2009-03-04 10:41:00
AD CRABLE
Concerned about toxic pollutants falling on playgrounds, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will require Pennsylvania and other states to test the air quality near schools. At least one local school is already being tested because of those pollution concerns: Locust Grove, a campus of ......
2009-03-03 19:44:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Correction — Ann Breslin, project manager for the Strube Inc. environmental cleanup project, is employed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her place of employment was misidentified in the article below, posted on LancasterOnline S......
2009-02-28 00:40:00
STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
State officials said recent air-quality tests gave reason to doubt USA Today's claim that many schools are "toxic hot spots."The state Department of Environmental Protection has cast doubt on a newspaper's report that labeled hundreds of schools in America — includi......
2009-02-26 11:00:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Work began this morning on the controversial project that would move the Dillerville rail yard west from Lancaster City into Manheim Township and near upscale housing developments. Workers began cutting trees at about 8 a.m. at a former city dump behind the Lancaster Main Post Office, 1400 Harr......
2009-02-24 10:00:00
JACK BRUBAKER
Three Manheim Township commissioners have urged their state lawmakers to oppose further state funding for the $46 million project to relocate the Norfolk Southern rail yard. But the lawmakers say they support the project and, in any case, state funding decisions are settled. The governor p......
2009-02-10 10:02:00
AD CRABLE
The federal-state emergency cleanup of hundreds of thousands of World War II aircraft instruments with radioactive dials in warehouses in Columbia, Marietta, Maytown and Mount Joy is 90 percent complete. But the cost of the removal has mushroomed from an initial ceiling of $250,000 in January 2......
2009-01-30 00:23:00
TOM KNAPP
A state initiative for clean and sustainable energy programs has benefited three Lancaster County projects that are trying a greener approach to business.The biggest chunk locally goes to the Lancaster Family YMCA, which will get $500,000 toward the cost of designing and building a 42,000-......
2009-01-29 10:25:00
AD CRABLE
State dam inspectors today proclaimed a 40-acre coal ash basin near Holtwood Dam safe and in no danger of collapse. The state Department of Environmental Protection had promised to immediately reinspect all five of Pennsylvania's coal slurry basins with "high-hazard" dams, including PPL's close......
2009-01-29 00:28:00
MICHAEL YODER
Stricter standards on farm pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed take effect in less than a year. State agencies are looking for innovative ways for Pennsylvania to meet them.That's where Bion Environmental Technologies Inc. comes in. The New York-based firm received a $7.8 million......
2009-01-26 00:03:00
P.J. REILLY
The state Department of Environmental Protection is taking steps to make sure a coal-ash impoundment failure that devastated Kingston, Tenn., last month doesn't happen here.By the end of this month, DEP officials plan to have examined the 10 coal-ash slurry basins in Pennsylvania that ......
2009-01-16 01:04:00
P.J. REILLY
Barack Obama is scheduled to be sworn in Tuesday as the 44th President of the United States.Though he's not in office yet, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission this week began pressing him to fund a critical flood-warning system."We know this is going to be a challenging ......
2009-01-15 09:50:00
AD CRABLE
Remember radon? Not enough people do, according to a new federal government report that says more people than ever are living in homes with the cancer-causing gas. Studies have found Pennsylvania — where the radon scare originated in 1984 — with some of the most elevated levels......
2009-01-13 01:23:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
The Crossings at Conestoga Creek cleared its first hurdle Monday when Manheim Township Board of Commissioners approved its stormwater runoff plan.The $100 million, 650,000-square-foot shopping complex is proposed for a former 90-acre farm across Harrisburg Pike from Long's Park.......
2009-01-08 00:22:00
BILL HANNEGAN
The former operator of Penn Township's wastewater treatment plant was fined $1,000 Wednesday for falsifying reports by using paper towels to filter water samples from April 2005 to October 2007.J. Scott Shank was ordered to pay the fine to the state Solid Waste Abatement Fund, which fi......
2009-01-07 00:05:00
STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Federal regulators are proposing a $65,000 fine against the operator of a York County nuclear plant where security guards routinely napped on the job.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced the fine against Exelon Nuclear on Tuesday after completing a special investigation of the Peach......
2008-12-11 00:38:00
P.J. REILLY
A new pest is on the rise in Lancaster County.It's aggressive, fond of human blood and known to carry the deadly West Nile virus.It's the Asian tiger mosquito, an invasive species that showed up in the county in larger numbers this year than ever before."There no......
2008-12-10 00:55:00
BRIAN WALLACE
A cluster of schools near some of the most pristine farmland in Lancaster County may be harboring hidden health hazards, according to USA Today.In a special report running this week, the newspaper identified Locust Grove Mennonite School as one of 435 schools in America that might be expos......
2008-12-06 01:14:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Gov. Ed Rendell has thrown his support behind the project to move Norfolk Southern's Dillerville Yard from Lancaster city into Manheim Township.The governor announced a $10 million grant for the relocation Friday. As part of Lancaster's "Northwest Gateway Project," the ra......
2008-12-04 00:44:00
P.J. REILLY
Each resident of Lancaster County generates about 1 ton of trash per year.That's according to Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority officials, who base the figure on the fact the authority takes in about 500,000 tons of waste each year and there are about 500,000 county res......
2008-12-03 00:31:00
MICHAEL YODER
For 33 years, Don Ranck only worried about two products from his cow herd: milk to sell and manure to dispose of.But the owner of Verdant View Farm in Paradise Township fears that in the near future he and other farmers may have to worry about another emission from their animals — gr......
2008-11-23 00:20:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Lionel Caldwell says he has no idea what made 70 of the 90 people who visited his Christiana dinner theater sick earlier this month. But he's convinced it had nothing to do with the food they ate before watching "Amish Family Christmas." Caldwell is co-owner of the Freedom Ch......
2008-11-14 01:17:00
MICHAEL YODER
The relocation of a portion of the Norfolk Southern rail yard is ready to begin, but many of its potential neighbors still feel they are not getting answers from the project's backers and government officials.More than 100 concerned residents listened Thursday night as state officials ......
2008-11-12 01:36:00
MICHAEL YODER
A local community organization's objections to moving a portion of the Norfolk Southern rail yard has landed in the state court system.On Thursday Bill Cluck, a Harrisburg environmental lawyer representing The Rail Road Action and Advisory Committee, or TRRAAC, filed a notice of appeal......
2008-11-07 11:20:00
JACK BRUBAKER
Opponents of Franklin & Marshall College's proposal to move the Norfolk Southern rail yard have argued there was insufficient public participation in the plan. So on Thursday they filed an appeal of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's October approval of the project on......
2008-10-26 00:08:00
JON RUTTER
The sixth annual Lancaster/Lebanon County Watershed Forum was held Saturday in Quentin, a southern Lebanon County community where E. coli was recently discovered in the water. Irony? Not really. According to environmental scientists, water pollution remains a big problem here. Ci......
2008-10-22 10:30:00
BERNARD HARRIS
A battle of words is being waged between Franklin & Marshall College officials and an attorney representing property owners opposed to plans to move the Norfolk Southern rail yard into their neighborhood. And the next battlefield will be in legal documents. The latest salvo was fired b......
2008-10-22 01:43:00
MICHAEL YODER
Another salvo has been fired in the battle over the relocation of a portion of the Norfolk Southern rail yard in Lancaster.An environmental lawyer hired by a group critical of the Dillerville rail yard plan is defending himself from criticisms leveled by Franklin & Marshall College, a ......
2008-10-13 00:01:00
KRISTY BULLER
Volunteers took Lititz by foot Sunday, asking residents an important question: Is your drinking water safe?Although it's a query some locals have heard before, it's one that members of The Sierra Club and The League of Humane Voters of Central Pennsylvania think is worth posing aga......
2008-10-12 00:19:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
John Fox watched the trees turn brown and die. It freaked him out a little. "Perhaps it's nothing," said Fox, president of the Iron Compass Map Co., in Liberty Place in Lancaster. But because of where the trees were, he thought it might be something. They lined a fence along ......
2008-10-10 01:55:00
MICHAEL YODER
Franklin & Marshall College officials have taken exception to statements made at a community meeting Tuesday regarding the relocation of a portion of Norfolk Southern's rail yard to a former dump site.More than 100 people turned out Tuesday night to listen to a presentation by The ......
2008-10-08 01:45:00
MICHAEL YODER
Some residents of Barrcrest and School Lane Hills aren't giving up their fight to keep the Dillerville rail yard away from their homes.More than 100 people turned out Tuesday night at Grace Baptist Church on Marietta Avenue to listen to a presentation by The Rail Road Action and Adviso......
2008-10-07 01:52:00
BILL HANNEGAN
Large-scale Lancaster County livestock farmers have found themselves caught in a dispute between an environmental group and the state Department of Environmental Protection regarding paperwork needed for operational permits.This disagreement led PennFuture to list more than half the farms ......
2008-10-02 00:22:00
P.J. REILLY
Lancaster Area Habitat for Humanity wants nearly 10 acres of wooded, county-owned land on the west side of South Broad Street in the city's southeast to build affordable housing.The nonprofit Hand's WOODS Foundation — for Wild Outdoor Observatory Designed by Students — ......
2008-10-01 00:14:00
P.J. REILLY
The Susquehanna River Flood Forecast and Warning System will remain intact — for now.At an emergency meeting in central Pennsylvania on Monday of the multiagency committee that funds and oversees the system, members pledged to plug a budget shortfall that threatened to shut down toda......
2008-09-23 01:14:00
JENNIFER TODD
Trash hauler Willie Shell Sr. has been issued a fine by the state for sorting recyclables from trash at his firm's Lancaster city property, officials said Monday. The Department of Environmental Protection levied the $13,000 fine Saturday, 10 days after Shell was ordered by the state to cease t......
2008-09-18 01:16:00
MICHAEL YODER
Lax state oversight of large-scale livestock farms in Lancaster County is abetting the pollution of the Susquehanna River, an environmental advocacy group charges.More than half of the county's industrial farms, known as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, are out of comp......
2008-09-11 01:23:00
JENNIFER TODD
Lancaster trash hauler Willie Shell Sr. has come under fire from the state for using his property to sort trash from recyclables.Officials from the Department of Environmental Protection said the practice is creating unsanitary conditions at Shell's Disposal and Recycling, 640 S. Frank......
2008-09-05 01:22:00
PATRICK BURNS
A former supervisor of Penn Township's sewage treatment plant is accused of falsifying data and altering wastewater samples submitted to state environmental officials.J. Scott Shank, former superintendent of Northwestern Lancaster County Water and Sewer Authority, was arraigned Thursda......
2008-09-04 11:40:00
JANET KELLEY and AD CRABLE
The former head of Northwest Lancaster County's wastewater treatment plant has been charged by the state attorney general with falsifying nearly three years worth of samples — with a paper towel. J. Scott Shank allegedly used a paper towel to filter sewage water and reduce solids in th......
2008-09-04 00:58:00
TIM STUHLDREHER
After two discoveries of mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus at Lancaster Stockyards, city officials completed negotiations Wednesday to have the buildings and debris there removed within four to six weeks.Stockyard owners and a potential developer of the property assured the city that all......
2008-08-22 00:52:00
MICHAEL YODER
Strasburg has repaired a break, but customers must boil water until tests confirm safe conditions, officials said Thursday.•••Residents and business owners in Strasburg are still feeling the effects of a Wednesday night water main break......
2008-08-20 01:02:00
PATRICK BURNS
UGI Inc. workers are going door to door in certain neighborhoods in the county looking for homes with gas regulators that contain mercury.Gas companies installed the mercury regulators from the 1940s to the mid-1960s as a safety device that monitored gas flow in some homes, UGI spokeswoman......
2008-08-15 00:44:00
SUSAN E. LINDT
For the first time in five years, a mosquito carrying the West Nile virus was found in Lancaster city July 23.Still, it's been a slow start for the virus, with positive mosquito samples found so far this year only in East Drumore and East Hempfield townships and Mount Joy Borough....
2008-08-14 11:21:00
BERNARD HARRIS
A mosquito carrying West Nile virus was found in Lancaster City last month, the first finding of the virus in the city in five years. State Department of Environmental Protection officials are reporting that a mosquito caught in one of its traps July 23 and tested in a laboratory was found t......
2008-08-13 00:38:00
JOHN WALK
A proposal by Conestoga Landfill in Berks County to pipe landfill gas to Lancaster County — where it would be used to help power local industry — has been given the green light.The state Department of Environmental Protection's Southcentral Regional office approved the plan......
2008-08-12 01:40:00
MICHAEL YODER
A local animal-rights and environmental group has adopted the cause of monitoring issues surrounding the Lititz watershed, including nitrate levels and farming operations.The League of Humane Voters of Central Pennsylvania on Monday morning debuted its Web site, ...
2008-08-03 00:10:00
JON RUTTER
You're not imagining it: Those ozone air pollution warnings out of Harrisburg have been coming faster and more furiously this year. But, no, the air itself has not grown that much hotter or goopier. "The [pollution] standards have been made more stringent," said Kevi......
2008-07-21 11:10:00
AD CRABLE
The state has fined PPL for two fish kills at its Brunner Island power plant along the Susquehanna River in York County, across from Bainbridge. Previous fish kills had occurred at Brunner Island in 2002, 2005 and 2006. In addition to a $77,500 fine for the two fish kills in October 200......
2008-07-17 00:55:00
JAMES BUESCHER
After more than a decade of waiting, about 100 Marietta residents got a peek at plans Wednesday to construct a two-mile, $3 million to $6 million levee system that would protect their town from Susquehanna River flooding.Now, the decision about whether to construct the levee rests in the h......
2008-07-16 01:43:00
SUSAN E. LINDT
Lancaster is one of the few counties in the state to show evidence already of West Nile Virus this season.The virus showed up in an East Hempfield Township mosquito sampling tested June 10.Tonight in West Lampeter Township, the state Department of Environmental Protection will condu......
2008-07-15 01:59:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
Developers and opponents of a proposed shopping center along Harrisburg Pike engaged in a bout of water wars Monday during a meeting of the Manheim Township commissioners.Representatives of High Family Partnership, which wants to develop The Crossings at Conestoga Creek on a former 90-acre......
2008-07-12 01:37:00
JOHN WALK
Strasburg Borough officials say rust in a 110-year-old pipeline is to blame for several complaints received this year about orange-tinted water.•••Since January, Strasburg Borough has been getting occasional calls from residents complai......
2008-07-10 00:42:00
DAVE PIDGEON
A Lancaster County dam deemed hazardous by the state could be in line for funding under a $35 million program signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Ed Rendell.Whether the Speedwell Forge Dam will receive any money to improve it remains to be seen.The dam is considered structurally sound......
2008-07-03 01:08:00
JAMES BUESCHER
Once again, it comes down to the sewer.On Wednesday, Lancaster County Judge James P. Cullen issued a ruling on a proposed Buck-area shopping hub known as Drumore Crossings that's been a source of controversy for more than five years.In his 12-page opinion, Cullen wrote that the ......
2008-07-01 23:46:00
JAMES BUESCHER
One year ago, Marietta's "green" initiatives were the talk of local governments around the state. Now, it seems the borough's environmental efforts are being ignored, the victim of gross mismanagement and neglect.Marietta resident Stacey VonStein criticized the borough......
2008-06-25 00:03:00
STEPHANIE WEAVER
Mount Joy's Risser Mill Bridge, burned down by an arsonist six years ago, will be replaced by two bridges — one covered and one modern — according to plans.A hearing on the plans for the modern concrete bridge will be held at 7 p.m. tonight at the Mount Joy Campus of t......
2008-06-24 01:17:00
JENNIFER TODD
More than 50 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the Susquehanna River on Monday evening after two tractor-trailers collided on the Route 30 Wrights Ferry Bridge.One of the trucks was carrying approximately 200 gallons of fuel, of which 50 to 75 spilled into the river, Columbia No. 1 fire ......
2008-05-27 11:05:00
AD CRABLE
The roller-coaster saga over whether a Lebanon County township can build a sewage treatment plant and discharge wastewater into trout streams flowing through northern Lancaster County has taken yet another dramatic plot twist. After facing strong opposition 20 years ago, Heidelberg Township was......
2008-05-14 01:12:00
JAMES BUESCHER
The cost of a proposed Marietta levee system would be a lot higher than previously discussed. However, there is no guarantee the structure would protect the borough from another tropical storm like Agnes.After more than 12 years of discussions, those were the two main issues residents lear......
2008-05-13 00:31:00
P.J. REILLY
Lancaster County is as "prepared as we can be, given the resources we have" to deal with a health pandemic, Randy Gockley, the county's emergency management director, said.But that doesn't mean the county could handle a crisis, he said."We could be overwhelmed......
2008-05-08 01:16:00
MICHAEL YODER
A vat of sunflower oil fell off a truck traveling on South Queen Street Wednesday afternoon, forcing motorists following in its wake to navigate a slick, sticky roadway.A city official said the vat was not secured when it broke through the door of the truck and crashed onto the street, spi......
2008-05-02 02:51:00
MICHAEL YODER
A celebration of everything environmental is gearing up for its return this weekend to the grounds of the Mount Hope Estate & Winery.For the second year in a row the site of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire north of Manheim will be transformed into a conservation mecca as part of The......
2008-05-02 01:05:00
P.J. REILLY
It's been four years since the state Department of Environmental Protection placed the Speedwell Forge Lake dam on Hammer Creek in Elizabeth Township on its list of "unsafe, high-hazard dams," but nothing has happened yet to move the structure off that list.That's unaccep......
2008-04-26 01:50:00
BILL HANNEGAN
While Lititz Borough's water sources are back at full capacity, signs of an E. coli problem have been discovered.••• Water sources for Lititz Borough customers returned to full capacity in April, three months after......
2008-04-24 11:25:00
DAVID O’CONNOR
This time, there were plenty of seats to go around. And the discussion was all civil ... even light-hearted. Two-plus weeks after a mini-army of Manor Township homeowners stormed a township supervisors' meeting to angrily complain about expensive, state-mandated sewer upgrades, the ......
2008-04-24 11:00:00
AD CRABLE
Despite a pair of court challenges, the state says it's full steam ahead for its nutrient-trading program in which farmers are paid by developers and municipal sewage-plant owners for conservation measures. Pennsylvania's nutrient-trading program, the most ambitious in the nation, was u......
2008-04-23 01:10:00
MADELYN PENNINO
Instead of retrieving lost recess balls in the stream behind Fritz Elementary School on Tuesday, students picked up plastic bags, cardboard boxes and cans.Fritz students in fourth and sixth grades cleaned up a section of the East Lampeter Township stream as the first step in creating an ou......
2008-04-19 00:36:00
PATRICK BURNS
An ethanol plant like the controversial corn distillery proposed in Conoy Township won't produce the biofuel that eliminates our dependency on fossil fuels, but it is a start.That's was the message from Kathleen A. McGinty, state secretary of Environmental Protection, in Lancaster ......
2008-04-17 12:02:00
AD CRABLE
On the last day possible, the owners of Nissley Vineyards have filed a legal challenge to Conoy Township's granting of a conditional-use permit for a $120-million ethanol plant. A&R Nissley's appeal, which was filed Monday in Lancaster County Court, maintains township supervisors "capriciou......
2008-04-17 00:40:00
PATRICK BURNS
Conoy Township's approval of an application to build a $120 million ethanol gas plant doesn't pass muster with business owners near the proposed site.A&R Nissley Inc. and the owners of Nissley Vineyards & Winery Estate filed an appeal Tuesday in Lancaster County Court chall......
2008-04-17 14:22:00
AD CRABLE
The state will soon begin spraying waterways used for recreation around the state to kill the larvae of biting black flies. Thirty-four counties have enrolled in the spraying program. For the sixth straight year, Lancaster is not among them. From 1990 through 2002, DEP sprayed a black fly-......
2008-04-07 11:10:00
RYAN ROBINSON
Strasburg Township Supervisors tonight are expected to approve spending $2.15 million for a 129-acre farm to be turned into a township park. Closing of the deal for the 1323 Beaver Valley Pike (Route 222) property is scheduled for Thursday, township secretary Judy Willig said today. She sa......
2008-04-04 00:02:00
CLAUDIA W. ESBENSHADE
By not fixing those dripping faucets, homeowners could be watching their money go down the drain.Educating yourself about water conservation is one of the first steps to stopping that money from washing away.Simple things, such as replacing old toilets or going to the......
2008-03-28 00:01:00
ROXANNE McROBERTS
Tossing a pair of batteries into the kitchen trash can can't be that big of a deal. What's wrong with pouring a cupful of used paint thinner down the drain?I even remember dropping an old glass thermometer or two on the bathroom floor and watching, and apparently breathing in, some......
2008-03-16 00:04:00
CRIS FOEHLINGER
Dwain Goretzke fulfilled a lifelong dream of owning his own business when he bought A.S.A.P. Auto Repair Center in Elizabethtown in 1984. Never did he imagine he would buy it twice. Like many small-gas-station owners, Goretzke discovered the gas tanks he purchased with his business had lea......
2008-03-16 00:02:00
STAFF REPORT
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, along with the state departments of Environmental Protection, Agriculture and Health, will maintain updated advisories regarding eating fish caught from state waterways. "Eat fish, but choose wisely," PFBC Executive Director Douglas Austen sa......
2008-03-14 01:02:00
JENNIFER TODD
Strube Inc., the Marietta-based firm ordered in January to remove radioactive aircraft dials from several of its Lancaster County warehouses, has been ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take over cleanup operations at its headquarters.An order issued Wednesday by EPA re......
2008-03-07 01:58:00
MICHAEL YODER
A smoldering heap of melted, twisted metal is all that's left of a 10-bay garage after a fire ravaged the structure outside Columbia on Thursday afternoon.Nearly 100 firefighters responded to the blaze at River Valley Disposal, 100 Deascenti Drive. It was ruled accidental by a state po......
2008-03-04 00:58:00
P.J. REILLY
At least two municipal groups from Lancaster County are among the dozens that have sued the state government over the cost to upgrade wastewater plants as part of a strategy to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.The lawsuit, filed in Commonwealth Court Friday by Capital Region Council of Governme......
2008-02-27 01:57:00
MICHAEL YODER
Sewer infrastructure failed and polluted the public water supply, officials say.•••Lititz Borough residents will pay at least a portion of what it costs to fix a problem with a leak from a mouthwash-bottling facility. The leak polluted ......
2008-02-20 01:38:00
DAVE PIDGEON
Lawmakers in Harrisburg will try to figure out this week how to keep municipalities from being bankrupted by the cost of cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay.Under a federal mandate, municipalities in the bay's watershed, which includes the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, have just tw......
2008-02-19 01:50:00
CINDY HUMMEL
Strasburg Township residents Monday night demanded to know why their elected officials did not tell them in advance about its plans to buy a 129-acre farm along Beaver Valley Pike (Route 222) to be used for parkland.The township offered $2.15 million for the High Farm, and officials said t......
2008-02-12 11:34:00
AD CRABLE
The privilege of having Susquehanna riverfront or island property on popular Lake Clarke is about to come with a higher price. To prevent sewage pollution of the river and Chesapeake Bay, Safe Harbor Water Power Corp. is requiring all 72 renters on five islands in Lancaster County below Columbi......
2008-02-12 01:30:00
BILL HANNEGAN
Wastewater leaking from a pharmaceutical firm that manufactures mouthwash in Lititz caused the "minty" taste or odor in the borough's water during the week of Jan. 7, forcing the shutdown of four borough wells, a state official said Monday.Water samples identified the presenc......
2008-02-06 02:32:00
TOM KNAPP
Conoy Township Planning Commission said Tuesday it is unable to recommend approval of plans to build the state's first corn-to-ethanol production facility on the banks of the Susquehanna River.But it won't recommend denial, either."We can't endorse this proposal bec......
2008-02-06 02:17:00
JENNIFER TODD
After weeks of legal wrangling, federal officials have been permitted to access the warehouses belonging to Strube Inc. of Marietta that contain radioactive material.According to Roy Seneca, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection, Strube agreed Tuesday to allow EPA......
2008-02-01 01:58:00
BILL HANNEGAN
Leaks have been found in two sewer lines serving a pharmaceutical firm that manufactures mouthwash in Lititz, where reports of a "minty" taste or odor in the borough's water surfaced Jan. 7, forcing the shutdown of four borough wells.The leaking sewer lines on company propert......
2008-01-30 12:01:00
JUSTIN STOLTZFUS
The case of SteelFab and property owner S.S. Fisher is still before Pequea Township's zoning hearing board, and the use of alternates to replace recused zoning hearing board members is still a hot topic. The next hearing on the matter will take place at 7 p.m. Monday at the Pequea Township ......
2008-01-26 01:43:00
SUSAN E. LINDT
The feds are stepping in to take over removal of radioactive instrument dials from seven Strube Inc. sites in western Lancaster County.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officially took on the job at the request of the state Department of Environmental Protection after Strube Inc. of......
2008-01-24 12:09:00
AD CRABLE
The state Department of Environmental Protection Wednesday ordered a Marietta company to begin around-the-clock guarding of seven warehouses containing World War II dials with small amounts of radioactive paint. DEP said Strube Inc.'s current security for the warehouses containing at least ......
2008-01-19 02:33:00
BILL HANNEGAN
A mysterious appearance of rust-colored water in Lititz Run was investigated by state and industry officials late Friday afternoon.The discovery was made barely a week after Lititz Borough tap water was tested for an unexplained minty odor and taste and officials took four wells out of ser......
2008-01-18 02:41:00
DAVE PIDGEON
PPL officials announced Thursday that the company would petition a federal agency to approve plans for substantial additions to the Holtwood Dam.During a news conference at the dam in southern Lancaster County, PPL and state officials said that by asking for the Federal Energy Regulatory C......
2008-01-18 02:32:00
JENNIFER TODD
A Lancaster County firm is under 24-hour surveillance by representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency while radioactive material is removed from seven of its warehouses.Strube Inc., of Marietta, was ordered Monday by the state Department of Environmental Protection to remo......
2008-01-17 12:02:00
AD CRABLE
Pennsylvania's environmental secretary today called a planned $275 million expansion of PPL's Holtwood Dam "a milestone in Pennsylvania's pursuit of clean energy production." "Clean energy is an imperative for our environment, our economy and our security," Kathleen McGinty said in prepared rem......
2008-01-15 01:44:00
MICHAEL YODER
The "minty-fresh taste" in the Lititz water has gone away, but the state Department of Environmental Protection is continuing an investigation into the source of last week's flavor.A DEP inspection report issued Thursday calls the episode "reminiscent" of a 1997 leak from the Johnson &......
2008-01-13 00:18:00
GIL SMART
The water in Martin Kapell's well is foul and nasty. He wouldn't dream of drinking the stuff, and it's been years since he's had to. "It's great for flushing the toilet," said Kapell, owner of Reynolds Heating & Air Conditioning on Dillerville Road. But his pro......
2008-01-09 12:07:00
JENNA SPINELLE
At a place where animals are king, sitting down at a computer for a few minutes might seem a little strange. But that is what the state Department of Environmental Protection is asking Farm Show patrons to do this week. The DEP set up a booth called "The Green Side" that allows p......
2007-12-19 01:37:00
TOM KNAPP
Even as Conoy Township supervisors are hearing arguments on an ethanol plant planned along the Susquehanna River, the township planning commission is gearing up to play its own part in the complicated review process.Supervisors will hold the seventh in a series of conditional-use hearings ......
2007-12-15 01:07:00
BILL HANNEGAN
Agents from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took water samples Tuesday from a Penn Township hog farm, eight neighboring wells and a residence served by Lititz Borough Water System. The samples will be tested for nitrate and fecal coliform, EPA spokesman David Sternberg said Thursday. H......
2007-12-08 11:51:00
CINDY STAUFFER
Dermatology Physicians Inc., a local dermatology practice, has been fined by a state agency for equipment violations. The state Department of Environmental Protection fined the practice $5,475 for failing to register X-ray equipment as required under the Radiation Protection Act. The fine ......
2007-12-07 02:08:00
SUSAN E. LINDT
Another area medical care provider has been fined by a state agency for equipment violations.The state Department of Environmental Protection, which enforces quality requirements on some types of medical equipment, fined Dermatology Physicians Inc. for failing to register X-ray equipment a......
2007-12-05 02:35:00
SUSAN E. LINDT
A state agency has fined Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center $15,000 for performing mammograms with equipment that failed required weekly tests from June to September 2006.The state Department of Environmental Protection announced the fine Tuesday.A DEP inspection at the medi......
2007-11-27 01:11:00
TOM KNAPP
The fate of a landfill expansion plan in Mount Joy Township lies in the hands of the state Department of Environmental Protection, representatives of which will visit the township next month to hear the community's views.DEP has scheduled a public meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 to consider an a......
2007-11-22 00:05:00
MICHAEL YODER
About 50 gallons of diesel fuel leaked through a storm drain into Lititz Run when a tractor-trailer crashed in Lititz Square before dawn Tuesday and one of its tanks ruptured.Fuel slicks were visible running downstream Wednesday, although two cleanup companies contracted by the state Depar......
2007-11-21 01:21:00
MICHAEL YODER
Local farmers can soon "REAP" the benefits of new Pennsylvania legislation aimed at cleaning up the environment through economic incentives.More than 100 farmers and business owners turned out Tuesday morning at the Lancaster Farm and Home Center for a forum to discuss the new Resource Enh......
2007-11-14 03:40:00
MICHAEL YODER
Much of Hand's Woods, an 11-acre tract of land with numerous trails, is covered in trees and low-lying vegetation behind Hand Middle School in Lancaster city. Also covering the wooded land are piles of garbage, including discarded tires, beer bottles and other assorted pieces of trash....
2007-10-27 12:10:00
JAMES BUESCHER
The coming of the railroads, the heyday of the 19th century iron industry and the devastating damage Hurricane Agnes caused in June 1972 mark Marietta Borough's history. Determined not to let storm history repeat itself, the state is proposing to build a protective levee along the town's Susque......
2007-10-24 01:00:00
MICHAEL YODER
The president of Lancaster Biofuels finished his testimony Tuesday night on the proposed ethanol plant in Conoy Township.Seth Obetz, president of Worley & Obetz and the new biofuels company, was questioned for more than an hour during the conditional-use hearing at the Bainbridge Fire ......
2007-10-17 02:11:00
TOM KNAPP
The future roof of a suburban Philadelphia residential and commercial complex is spread over the fields and greenhouse tables of a Manheim-area nursery.On Tuesday, representatives of the Lancaster County Roof Greening Project showed off the living-roof materials at Creek Hill Nursery, wher......
2007-10-16 11:23:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Walkers, bird-watchers, joggers and people who may come just to see the colors of the changing leaves should be able to enjoy the complete Conestoga Greenway trail a year from now. Construction of the long-planned recreational trail on the north bank of the Conestoga River is due to begin next ......
2007-10-12 01:29:00
GENARO C. ARMAS
(AP)Penn State University has reported a minor leak of "slightly radioactive water" at its Breazeale nuclear research reactor but said Thursday the leak poses no risk to workers, the community or the environment.Workers on Tuesday discovered water leaking from the pool in which the reactor......
2007-10-12 01:13:00
JENNIFER TODD
Though the path has been long and sometimes bumpy, an interpretive trail at Long's Park is nearly complete.The 4-acre passive recreation area features wetlands, a one-mile grass walking trail, three footbridges and benches. It is built around an unnamed tributary to Little Conestoga Cr......
2007-10-11 02:23:00
CARLA DI FONZO
Would Lancaster County benefit from having it's own local public health department? One area health coalition thinks so, and it wants the chance to prove it to residents.Wednesday, the Partnership for a County Public Health Department addressed the issue during a forum at Best Western Eden......
2007-10-10 21:25:00
GIL WELLIVER
Matt Witmer, representing the Durlach & Mt. Airy Fire Company, appeared before Clay Township supervisors Monday to share the fire company's situation as it copes with replacing equipment that does not meet National Fire Protection Association standards.Witmer said that in March, th......
2007-10-10 18:35:00
ROCHELLE A. SHENK
A residential development on a 60.6-acre tract along Pinch Road received conditional approval from Rapho Township supervisors Oct. 4.Quail Creek will contain 29 single-family home lots; 26 of those lots are new lots. The new lots are approximately 1-acre each. The development will have one......
2007-10-10 01:58:00
CARLA DI FONZO
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday its investigation into sleeping security officers at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant showed the problem, while "inexcusable," was isolated and not a direct threat to security.NRC officials spoke about the investigation at a public me......
2007-10-06 11:35:00
BERNARD HARRIS
How dry are we? Farmers bringing in corn around Lancaster County are stirring clouds of dust. Leaves, usually going yellow and red this time of year, are turning straight to brown. And the state Department of Environmental Protection on Friday included Lancaster County along with near......
2007-10-01 00:12:00
BRIAN WALLACE
Tim Wanner may never look at the Ephrata Fair in the same way.Wanner was among the Ephrata High School students in Josh Shortuse's environmental science class who attended the borough's annual festival of food, agriculture and games Wednesday.While enjoying the goodies &mdas......
2007-09-26 19:24:00
MARCELLA PEYRE-FERRY
Fulton Township supervisors recently denied a couple's request for a waiver to place a second home on their farm.Instead, the board told Benjamin and Kathy Esh to proceed with subdivision plans for the 99.5-acre farm at Rigby and Cherry Hill roads.The Eshes would be allowed to a......
2007-09-26 01:10:00
TOM KNAPP
Route 222 was closed for several hours Tuesday morning after a truck dumped 7,000 pounds of refinery sludge on the busy highway.The tractor-trailer was hauling sludge from a Sunoco refinery in Philadelphia when the driver braked and spilled about half of his cargo over both southbound lane......
2007-09-12 01:10:00
JOHN JASCOLL
A curious anomaly came to light at the Sept. 6 meeting of the Upper Leacock supervisors over the township's proposed new burning ordinance, which in its draft form, could put an end to firing up an outside grill to barbecue a juicy T-bone steaks.Leola resident Eric Stark asked if it was tr......
2007-09-12 00:58:00
CINDY HUMMEL
Strasburg Township supervisors Sept. 4 approved a conditional use for the subdivision of three lots off a 96.9-acre farm.In the process of settling an estate, the John Fisher family requested the conditional use for three 2-acre lots on which to build homes. The parent tract has an address......
2007-09-11 01:25:00
TOM KNAPP
A Conoy Township citizens' group is gearing up for battle — again — against plans to build an ethanol plant within township borders."I feel like I've been there, done that," said group co-founder Judith Nissley, an owner of Nissley Vineyards, about a mile from......
2007-08-29 02:32:00
MICHAEL YODER
Members of Lititz Borough Council are confident the town's water supply is safe to drink.And at Tuesday night's meeting, council members stood behind the work of the borough's water-treatment-plant employees.Officials responded to questions raised by residents at council meetings in......
2007-08-29 00:46:00
LAURA KNOWLES
With changes on the horizon for the Warwick Township burning ordinance, residents will have an alternative to burning leaves, branches and other wood materials.Warwick plans to open a leaf and woody material drop-off site on Stauffer Road just in time for the fall season.Supervisors......
2007-08-28 01:38:00
BILL HANNEGAN
Lititz Borough water customers drew tap water untreated for nitrates for three days after a power failure disabled equipment in the water-treatment plant in August 2002, state records show.And two times earlier in that year, nitrates in the water exceeded 10 parts per million, the maximum ......
2007-08-23 01:54:00
STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
A bag of Fast Fixin' frozen chicken strips purchased by a family at The Sharp Shopper grocery store in Ephrata contained mercury and glass shards, but tests on other bags from the same lot showed no contaminants, state officials said.As a result, the state Department of Agriculture is taki......
2007-08-15 00:06:00
CINDY HUMMEL
After much debate, a Strasburg Township family may be able to get a permit to replace its septic system.Carol Pfenninger and her son, Steve, of Village Road, agreed during an Aug. 6 township meeting to remove a second kitchen from their home. The move will return the house to a single-fami......
2007-08-14 01:08:00
MARC LEVY
(AP)Gov. Ed Rendell, who has been outspoken on the need to limit emissions of global warming gases, has not delivered on a promise to come up with his own strategy for Pennsylvania.Administration spokesmen would give no reason for the delay, other than to say a plan is still being worked o......
2007-08-08 00:24:00
KIMBERLY MARSELAS
Residents' claims of an unsightly, odor-producing, home-based kennel may lead Earl Township supervisors to consider a property maintenance ordinance allowing officials to condemn dilapidated properties.Neighbors have repeatedly complained to the township about Hutchinson Kennel, 329 Re......
2007-08-08 00:21:00
JAMES BUESCHER
The state Department of Environmental Protection has completed preliminary designs for a 2-mile levee project along the Susquehanna River in Marietta Borough, giving residents some idea of what to expect when the project is completed sometime in the middle of the next decade.And once the p......
2007-08-08 00:05:00
MARCELLA PEYRE-FERRY
Bart Township supervisors at their Aug. 1 meeting said they are trying to set up a meeting of township solicitor Ken Shirk and local bank officials to discuss the township's microflush-toilet ordinance.A time and date for the meeting was not announced.When a parcel has high nitrate ......
2007-08-07 11:29:00
AD CRABLE
Today may well be the hottest day of the year here. The temperature was expected to climb to between 94 and 98 degrees this afternoon. The previous high for 2007 was 93 on June 8. When combined with the high humidity in the air, the heat index shows it may feel like it's more than 1......
2007-08-07 01:31:00
MICHAEL YODER
As farmers and homeowners in most of Pennsylvania deal with a lack of rain, Lancaster County has come through the summer months relatively unscathed.State officials Monday declared a drought watch for most of Pennsylvania, with the exception of nine counties in the southeast region, includ......
2007-08-03 01:30:00
MICHAEL YODER
Members of Lititz Borough Council announced at Tuesday night's meeting they were ending an investigation into the construction of a hog-farm operation west of town in Penn Township and into allegations a borough employee made false statements about it.Council looked at several issues s......
2007-08-02 01:25:00
PATRICK BURNS
A chemical leak Wednesday brought hazmat teams and firefighters to a railway tanker car along Harrisburg Pike east of Long's Park.Workers at the Norfolk Southern switching station called authorities about 6:30 p.m. after detecting what they said smelled like lighter fluid.Lancaster ......
2007-08-01 00:01:00
JAMES BUESCHER
From tankless water heaters to rooftop gardens, energy-smart light bulbs, water-saving plumbing and solar panels on the roof, Marietta Borough is creating buzz for its plans to begin undertaking pro-environment efforts.Similar efforts in Media, Delaware County, caught the attention of Mari......
2007-07-31 01:10:00
MICHAEL YODER
For more than a hundred years, the borough of Lititz has been known for its abundance of water, with visitors coming to admire the springs bubbling in the middle of town.But Lititz also has struggled to maintain the safety of its water supply, which has high nitrate levels, and borough cou......
2007-07-28 00:12:00
ERIC HUGHES
Col. Xavier Stewart bent down next to the "victim" and applied a deep red substance to her skin.He took his time, careful to make it appear the "victim" was in fact injured. When satisfied, he stood up and went back to his microphone."Anybody else need any m......
2007-07-19 01:05:00
P.J. REILLY
Residents in and around the Southgate development in East and West Lampeter townships might see some unusual activity tonight.A state Department of Environmental Protection truck fitted with a tank and a large sprayer is scheduled to cruise through the neighborhoods spraying chemicals into......
2007-07-18 11:08:00
AD CRABLE
The state will deploy its first Lancaster County mosquito spraying of the year Thursday in West and East Lampeter townships, hoping to control mosquitoes that could carry the West Nile virus. Samples of mosquitoes taken in areas of the two townships have turned up specific species that can carr......
