East Coventry Advocacy really began in September 2022 when a neighbor to 851 Bethel Church Road in East Coventry Township saw silos and buildings being knocked down.
They then went down to the Township building to view the permit applications for the property and saw a folder about an inch thick with correspondence between the Township and the property owner and discovered the term “FPR” for the first time.
Not knowing what FRP stood for, the neighbor googled the phrase and discovered it stood for Food Processing Residue waste (see this website’s FAQ).
As local media were either overwhelmed or uninterested, the neighbor wrote up a flyer and handed it out to those whose land bordered 851 Bethel Church Road. These neighbors began to google ‘FPR Waste Pit’ and discovered news articles about terrible smells and contaminated wells in Antrim Township and Cumberland County that were suspected to be results of FPR Waste Pits and applying FPR to farm fields as “fertilizer.” They also learned that because of concerned about drinking water contamination, Virginia and Maryland had recently banned the use of FPR in waste pits and field application.
Concerned for their own wells and finding out that the final permit would be issued to the current owners of 851 Bethel Church Road at the East Coventry Township Board of Supervisors Meeting on October 24, 2022, the neighbors first organized on Facebook, then created the 501c4 “East Coventry Advocacy” then hired a law firm with experience in FPR regulations to represent them at the 10/24/22 meeting – all inside of 10 days.
While the East Coventry Township Board of Supervisors rescinded the FPR Waste Pit at the 10/24/22 meeting, because the property owners of 851 Bethel Church Road can still inject FPR into the land, the wells and the watershed remain at risk.
Our 501c4 mission statement says: “East Coventry Advocacy raises awareness of township issues, empowering residents to better understand and become involved in their municipal government.”
Right now, FPR is a serious issue that most likely has serious ramifications for those who depend on private wells for their drinking water. We welcome anyone who would like to contribute time, talent and/or financial resources to ensure that East Coventry water resources remain habitat-friendly to wildlife and drinkable to residents.
Join us!