Riverkeeper reflections |
 A large number of residents attend a Planning Commission Meeting for rezoning in Danville. Montour County solicitor Mike Dennehy responded via email on Nov. 24, 2025, to the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association's letter submitted at the Nov. 18, 2025, Montour County Commissioner meeting, concerning details for a rezoning hearing for Talen Energy, which requested parcels of land currently zoned agricultural and semi-public be rezoned industrial.
The hearing "is a legislative hearing, not a quasi-judicial hearing," he shared. An agenda will be shared on the county's website well in advance of the hearing, which was scheduled for Dec. 17, 2025, but will now be postponed until late January 2026 after county commissioners unanimously voted on Nov. 25, 2025, to move it after a request earlier that morning from Talen Energy's attorney, Erich Shock. A reason for postponing the hearing was not provided. According to Dennehy, when the hearing does happen, there will be a record made of it, and the comments and recommendations received from the Anthony Township Supervisors and the Montour County Planning Commission will be placed into the record at the hearing.
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 A small wetland is seen on a parcel of land being considered for rezoning in Montour County near the Montour Preserve. The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association submitted a public request for better clarification on the definition for the Dec. 17 public hearing/meeting of Talen Energy and the Montour County commissioners in relation to a rezoning request impacting upwards of 1,300 acres from agricultural to industrial use.
The request came via a letter handed to each of the commissioners during their monthly meeting on Nov. 18, 2025, with a short verbal explanation of what was in the letter, that it would be asking for a true definition of whether this would be a public meeting, a quasi-judicial hearing or some other sort of gathering and how that was defined under the state's Municipalities Planning Code (MPC). That definition would then, per the MPC, dictate how people can participate in the meeting so that their voices are heard and properly added to the record. It was explained that in the letter, additional concern was shared about the concept of pre-submitted written comments and questions and that the MPC doesn't define these under things like quasi-judicial hearings and there was concern those voices would not be included.  After a lengthy process of stabilization, permitting, construction and final details, the $60,000 Muskrat Blind resurrection project has recently been completed via the Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership, a subsidiary of the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association, in collaboration with work with the Montour Area Recreation Commission.
“The name doesn’t necessarily do it justice. It is more an educational observatory than simply a wildlife blind, and that is exactly the value we saw in it when we decided to salvage it before it fell into the lake as one of several major deferred projects MARC was weighed down by back in mid-2023,” said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. “The goal of the Vernal School has been to intentionally connect people to nature, to inspire new stewards, and this building located in the protected nature preserve section of the preserve is perfect for that.” During the summer of 2023, MARC was struggling to cover a growing number of major deferred projects around the Montour Preserve due to funding concerns. The Muskrat Blind had been lifted off its then-wooden piers by a high-water event and when it shifted back onto them, it started leaning more and was about to fall into Lake Chillisquaque. |
AuthorsRiverkeeper John Zaktansky is an award-winning journalist and avid promoter of the outdoors who loves camping, kayaking, fishing and hunting with the family. Archives
December 2025
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