SUNBURY – Mixed reviews from attendees at Monday night’s environmental agencies forum at Shikellamy High School. It was held by State Senator Lynda Schelgel Culver (R-27th, Sunbury) and State Representative Mike Stender (R-108th, Sunbury).
Robert Phillips of Shamokin, from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers had a positive opinion on the forum, “It was all good information as far as I was concerned. I think it will ease the minds of a lot of people that were worried about stuff from previous meetings.”
While the event included information regarding environmental permits required for construction, those attending the event found a lack of information on projects like Encina.
Bucknell Environmental Science professor, Andrew Stuhl, said that the forum didn’t delve into the effects of Encina quite like he’d had hoped, “I was a little disappointed that there really wasn’t much open discussion. A lot of my neighbors are concerned about it.”
Senator Culver told WKOK the purpose of the forum was to educate the public on how these regulatory agencies work and not about certain projects, like Encina, which has brought a lot of controversy.
But Stuhl was also concerned about the low attendance of the event, “I counted heads and there were 71 people. That’s not a great turnout.”
Participating agencies included the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission.
