Landfill Fees Help Establish Environmental Endowment Fund

Danielle Jackson

Allentown, Pa. -- Schuylkill County, Pa., has announced that it will use $750,000 that came from landfill tipping fees to create the Schuylkill County Conservation and Environmental Improvement Endowment Fund, designed to be a perpetual source of grants for local environmental projects.

The $750,000 is part of $1.1 million that the state collected from county landfills during the 1980s and 1990s. The money, which came from a 25-cent-per-ton tipping fee, was turned over to county governments last year following passage of 1999 Growing Greener legislation.

Only the proceeds, such as interest and investment income, will be used to manage the fund and provide the grants, according to Therese Sadusky, director of the Schuylkill Area Community Foundation. While the annual earnings will depend on interest rates and the stock market, Sadusky estimates that earnings could be anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000 per year to fund the projects.