March 31, 2001

Those in favor of destroying Brush Valley claim that the Natalie East site is unacceptable to the Bureau of Prisons because of past mining in the area. BVPA has proven, however, that there is adequate land at Natalie East that has no mining problems whatsoever. It now seems that this may not be a valid concern anyway because BVPA has found examples of the BOP actually reclaiming heavily mined land for building prisons. A few of the many cases we have discovered follow.

In Martin County Kentucky, $40 million is being spent to prepare a former mountain top strip mine, with deep mines underneath, for construction of a federal prison. U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, credited with bringing in the project, was quoted as saying, "It's costly, but it's not prohibitive, I would recommend this again, yes". Using Natalie East surely would be a great bargain compared to this!

Near Manchester Kentucky $2 million was spent in 1992 to reclaim a strip mine in 1992 where a federal prison was then constructed.

A proposed prison in Mcdowell County, West Virginia will be part of a new industrial park. Where will some of the funds come from to prepare the site? Interestingly enough some of the costs will be partially deferred by the revenue generated from selling the coal that lies beneath the site. Seems logical and efficient compared to anything our leaders have proposed.

Perhaps our elected officials, business leaders, and chamber of commerce officers should pay particular attention to these and other prison construction projects because they often combine the prison construction, on reclaimed land, with other industrial site development, (something we need even more than prisons). In Kentucky at least three industrial sites are built on abandoned mountain top removal mines. Even more importantly, all these examples, and many more reclamation projects, have received substantial government funding. All of the above proves beyond any doubt that Brush Valley need not be destroyed for a prison, (or anything else), and Natalie East should be developed.

While on the subject of the Natalie East site, BVPA would like to quote from a letter sent to Rep. Merle Philips by the Pa. Historical and Museum Commission. It reads in part "Both the Coal Township (Brush Valley) and Mt.Carmel Township (near Coal Run) sites are located in areas in which our staff has determined there is a high probability that significant archaeological sites are located that could be adversely affected by project activities (a prison)". "As regards the Natalie East site, no archaeological investigations are necessary. No archaeological sites are located in this area, and the soil type, topographical setting, and distance to water are such that none are likely to be found".

This is just another plus for developing Natalie East while preserving Brush Valley.

As to the issue of how well received prisons are by the communities that host them, BVPA has found that they may not always live up to the hype. In Lompoc California, the Bureau of Prison (BOP) was hit with "unprecedented opposition" according to the Lompoc Record. This was in response to the BOP's plan to expand a 41 year old facility there. The BOP said that it was "disappointed" and that it's "feelings were hurt' by the 40 page city response to their draft Environmental Impact Statement containing a never before seen 250 separate comments. Obviously Lompoc is not that pleased with their prisons.

Much closer to home we have the comments of the Mayor of Minersville about nearby FCI Schuykill. Mayor George Clark stated in a Scranton Times article that "Most people expected more than we got." "A lot of people are probably a little disappointed." He said he personally knows about 12 of the 350 people who work at the nearby facility. "We thought more jobs would be provided," he said. Mr. Clark also stated "Business people thought they would get more money, they're disappointed." According to the article he also said that the prison has had negative effects on Minersville quality of life, but did not elaborate on how.

The above paragraphs illustrate how some people, including those with first hand experience, do not believe that prisons totally live up to the exaggerated claims that are made about them. This should serve as a call for real public debate and awareness about the proposed Brush Valley project. When armed with facts, instead of spoon fed hype and propaganda, BVPA believes that most people will feel the same way. The limited gains of a new prison sited in an acceptable area are welcome, but can never justify the destruction of Brush Valley.

John R. Faraguna/President