Milford, September 6, 2023

Information: ChristaKickoff@gmail.com or 646-642-4915

Christa Caceres, the endorsed Democratic nominee for Pike County Commissioner, issued a statement today concerning the:

• Mega-warehouse issue;

• A better way to address Pike County’s economic development efforts; and

• Steps the Pike County Commissioners can take now to protect the Milford aquifer.

I unequivocally oppose the proposed warehouse project in Milford Township. With nearly 17 acres of warehouse and parking lot, it is as large as 12 ½ football fields. The residents of Pike County don’t need tens of thousands of additional tractor-trailers each year, damaging our roads, eroding our quality of life and harming our tourism-based economy.

But most importantly, siting this facility directly on top of a highly-sensitive aquifer, one that provides Milford Borough and parts of Dingman and Milford Townships with a pristine water supply, is short-sighted and prioritizes short-term profit for a few over the impact on all of us.

Communities across the country are suffering from diminished or degraded water supplies; why are we risking the same fate in Pike County? Is it wise to put an irreplaceable supply of drinking water at profound risk in order to create a handful of low-paying jobs? Our focus should always be on the long-term effects to communities--especially children and our seniors—and the people we ask for permission to serve on Election Day.

There is irony in the Commissioners’ enthusiastic promotion of this warehouse project, yet the Pike County Conservation District, which they oversee, notes prominently on its website that just one quart of motor oil can contaminate a million gallons of water. They should trust their own agency and look at the bigger picture in terms of the loss of quality of life resulting from this project .

I urge the Commissioners to reverse course and do everything in their power to stop the Milford Township mega-warehouse—which is really a distribution center, promising 24-7 truck traffic, air pollution and noise—and call on Pike County Economic Development Agency (EDA) to increase proactive efforts to entice the right kind of economic development to Pike County that will benefit us all.

Instead of prioritizing mega-warehouses and distribution centers, the EDA should prioritize information technology, financial services, manufacturing and other sectors, and support expansion of vocational and technical learning, to provide well-paying jobs and careers, creating a brighter future for Pike County.

To attract these kinds of low-impact, high-paying jobs, we need a long-term economic development strategy, sophisticated marketing, and proactive leadership that is directly engaged in recruiting those companies.

As Commissioner, I will provide that leadership, making good job creation a priority for Pike County. But most importantly, and key to attracting the right kind of jobs, is the fierce advocacy for and protection of our environmental resources, especially our drinking water and our quality of life.

As Commissioner, I would see my job as protecting our water supply, not potentially putting it at risk.

-Christa Caceres, candidate for Pike County Commissioner

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 Caceres lists a number of steps she will take or support when elected Commissioner:

1. Use her bully pulpit to unequivocally speak out against the aquifer-damaging warehouse proposed in Milford Township;

2. Propose funding from the Pike County Scenic Rural Character Preservation Bond Fund to support the Milford Water Authority’s unbudgeted legal expenses incurred in the protection of the aquifer;

3. Direct the Pike County Planning Department to create a much-needed overlay map, showing both the tax parcels and the aquifer, to inform property owners if their property is on the aquifer or not;

4. Direct the Pike County Economic Development Authority—which Commissioner Osterberg chairs—to suspend marketing of potential warehouse sites in Pike County (including those at the Milford, Lords Valley and Greentown I-84 exits) until municipal ordinances can be reviewed to make sure they provide adequate watershed protection;

5. Request that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) appoint a “local government liaison” to provide assistance in addressing multi-jurisdictional issues, as provided for in the DEP guidelines.

Authorized by Christa For Pike, Michael Weinstein and Roseann VanWhy, Co-Chairs