To the Honorable Commissioners of Salem County, 
We, the undersigned residents and concerned citizens of Salem County demand you reject the proposal to construct a waste management facility on Tilbury Road in Salem City.  We believe this project poses significant risks to our community's health, environment, and quality of life. 
Environmental Impact: The proposed 100,000 sq. ft. facility located on the banks of the Salem River will process animal manure, slaughterhouse waste, and organic wet materials, impacting air, water, and soil quality.   The site is surrounded by a sensitive wetlands ecosystem and an industrial operation of the proposed scale and nature will disrupt the environment and wildlife. Building a waste management facility on an existing, capped landfill increases the potential environmental risks to Salem County residents. The proposal indicates plans for garbage barges to use the river as one method to deliver waste to the Giordano facility, increasing further pollution and disruption to the environment and wildlife. Public Health Risk: Giordano's proposed facility will bring 100 - 150 large waste trucks daily (7 days a week)  to the proposed Tilbury Rd. facility.  Trucks will travel Hook Rd. (Pennsville), Rte. 540 (Mannington), Rte. 40 (Woodstown), Rte. 49 (Salem, Pennsville, Quinton), Grieves Parkway (Salem) and when Grieves Parkway is flooded, trucks will take the long route through Elsinboro.  Industrial-level trucking on these already strained routes will increase accidents, air pollution, and drop garbage from trucks. Approximately 300 Salem City student pedestrians walk to school each school day and will share the roads with Giordano's industrial-level trucking operation, raising the risk of pedestrian accidents in the immediate area. Exposure to exhaust from trucks is positively associated with cardiovascular mortality, asthma, and lung cancer. According to testimony given to the SWAC board on 3/31 at the Offices of Salem County Improvement Authority by Vineland residents who live near an existing Giordano facility, garbage trucks routinely use prohibited routes through their neighborhoods to reach Giordanos.  These trucks emit large amounts of trash daily into residents' yards.  During resident testimony, Giordano officials laughed in the faces of Vineland residents, even while being confronted with video evidence.5.  Giordano's has a history of multiple fires breaking out at their facilities, further increasing safety risks and pollution to their neighbors.  Economic Consequences: 1.  Proponents of Giordano's facility have promised job creation (40 jobs, most of which will go to existing Giordano employees, friends, and family) The cost of county road maintenance under the strain of an industrial-level trucking operation will fall to the taxpayers.  These roads are not designed for this type of use and Salem County does not have enough money with current-level use to maintain roads. The owners of businesses located adjacent to Giordano's planned facility shared that their long-standing businesses will not survive if Giordano's facility is approved.  Barber's Basin Marina owner stated that the expected logjam of traffic and foul odors emanating from Girodano's will cause boaters to use other locations to store and launch their watercraft.  The owner of Exel Mark VII expressed concern that trucking logjams would also negatively impact his ability to operate his food business, as well as having to manage inevitable rat and other vermin infestations that will occur as the result of the rotting waste that Girodano's facility will process.  Giordano's representatives at the SWAC meeting thought this was hilarious and laughed in the faces of both business owners. Salem County residents along the many truck routes Giordano's will use to deliver waste to the proposed facility and residents located within the "smell zone" are reasonably concerned about their property values plummeting.   Negative value impact is demonstrated by other communities nationwide that have moved industrial waste complexes near residential areas.  It is expected that foul odors will be detected approximately 6-20 miles from Giordano's depending on wind speed and direction. Community Character: 1.  Salem County, NJ is one of the most beautiful areas of our state.  People come to take country drives, visit farm stands, shop consignment and antique stores, participate in birdwatching bald eagles, swans, cranes, and hawks, they come to go hunting, hiking, bicycling, boating, fishing, and crabbing.  They come to enjoy the history and unspoiled open spaces.  We are rapidly losing these qualities to warehouses, proposed solar farms and possibly Giordano's.   Bringing a company like Giordano's which has a history of using unapproved routes for their operations, littering debris and waste from trucks, being unresponsive and mockingly hostile to citizen concerns, and having a history of dangerous fires at their facility will be damaging to the character and culture of our county. 
Giordano's is an operation that requires an industrial park and appropriate infrastructure to function in a way that will minimize negative impacts on surrounding areas.  On all fronts, Giordano's brings many more problems and costs to the county than it does benefits. 
We demand that the Salem County Commissioners permanently halt any plans or approvals for the proposed construction of the waste management facility on Tilbury Road. 
By signing below, we stand united in our commitment to protecting Salem County and ensuring that decisions reflect the best interest of its residents.  Thank you for your attention to this critical matter and for your service to our community.