Un-Intelligent Design

Amish are not above the law § Proper permits needed for all activities

© The Tribune-Democrat / http://www.tribune-democrat.com/editorials/local_story_058114935.htm

Johnstown, Pennsylvania

2/27/08

We can learn a lot from the Amish about religious conviction and strong morals, about family values, and about forgiveness and love, as seen in the aftermath of the 2006 Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, massacre of five Amish schoolgirls.

But that doesn't exempt our Amish neighbors, including members of a sect in northern Cambria County, from laws established to protect the quality of life for all of us.

Barr Township and county officials unfortunately have found themselves at odds recently with several Amish families who moved here about a decade ago.

The debate centers on housing construction being done without building permits and with improper disposal of human waste – more specifically, dumping excrement from illegal outhouses onto farm fields.

Neither can or should be tolerated.

Perhaps Deborah Sedlmeyer, executive director of the Cambria County Sewage Enforcement Agency, said it best:

"We respect the religious beliefs of the Amish. But the agency expects the Amish to honor and respect our state laws."

And so do others who have made their homes in our region.

The outhouses are situated near a schoolhouse, and instead of being over a tank that is legally emptied, plastic buckets have been placed under the seats and the waste is dumped on farm fields.

That's a proven health hazard and must be stopped.

The Amish families of the ultraconservative Swartzentruber sect built the schoolhouse in 2006 on a 76-acre parcel owned by Andy Swartzentruber of Cambria Township. Understandably, the sewage agency has received numerous complaints from neighbors in a residential area across the road.

Unlike a similar situation earlier in Cambria Township, efforts to resolve the situation amicably with Amish elders in Barr Township have been unproductive.

Citations have been filed with a district judge, with the law providing fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.

The same sect has also been ordered to stop work on building a house without construction or sewage permits.

Amish communities choose a simple life with as little intrusion from the modern world as possible.

But this certainly isn't the first time long-practiced Amish customs and religious beliefs have clashed with today's health standards.

Other tiffs with our region's Amish – and with some sects of Mennonites also – during the past few years have involved the use of fluorescent orange on the rear of buggies and on clothing while hunting.

Use of fluorescent orange clashes with some sects' religious principles, and officials and elders were able to work out solutions in those cases.

We're not confident there is room for debate in the latest wrangling.

When a family chooses to become part of a community, that family is, in essence, agreeing to abide by the laws, ordinances and codes of that community. That includes our good neighbors, the Amish.