National group seeks to squash incinerator

Baltimore-based canvassers visit residents’ homes, meet with Commissioner Hagen

‘‘We’ve been knocking on doors and telling them about the incinerator,” Anne Murphy, of Clean Water Action, said Tuesday. ‘‘We’re asking them to support the effort to stop it.”

Members of Clear Water Action knock on doors around the country all year to discuss a variety of environmental issues. Their goal is to bring an issue to the attention of residents who may be uninformed.

Murphy, one of 12 from the organization who went door-to-door this week in Frederick County to inform residents about the proposed incinerator, canvassed neighborhoods in Lake Linganore and the City of Frederick.

‘‘In the city they were aware [of the incinerator plan], but out in the [Linganore] developments they were not as aware,” she said.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Murphy and the rest of the group gathered at the Pizza Hut on U.S. Route 40 in Frederick to eat dinner and assess the group’s progress.

They also heard a briefing from Commissioner Kai J. Hagen (D).

Hagen, the lone county commissioner vocally against building an incinerator plant, said he was asked by the group to speak about efforts to stop the facility.

Hagen also found himself defending his connection with the group.

The commissioner said he is being accused of bringing Clean Water to the county. His detractors have also accused him of inappropriate behavior as an elected official.

Though Hagen worked for the Minnesota chapter of Clean Water Action from 1981 to 1984, he insists he has no connection with the group’s work this week in Frederick County.

‘‘These [detractors] have been going against me on everything I’ve done since before I was elected,” Hagen said. ‘‘They’ve been against me from the beginning.”

Andrew Gailli, the Maryland program coordinator for Clean Water, said Tuesday at the briefing that Hagen had nothing to do with its decision to canvas Frederick County neighborhoods.

‘‘We contacted Kai,” Gailli said.

Gailli said other incinerator opponents in the county have met with the group in the last week. More than 1,600 members of Clean Water Action live in Frederick County, he said.

The organization is also not new to the incinerator debate in Frederick County. Members testified before commissioners last year on the environmental impacts of incinerators. They also urged commissioners to find a less expensive and more environmentally friendly alternative.

Now they are asking county residents to contact each commissioner and urge them to support a study evaluating the potential health and economic risks of using incineration.

When knocking on doors this week, residents were given a sample letter to send to commissioners as well as other information about incinerators.

‘‘I found plenty of people who are aware of [the incinerator proposal],” said Ken Rossman of Clean Water. ‘‘They get what we’re talking about.”