As elected officials, the Pine Township, Mercer County, supervisors have the right to determine residents' opinion about an issue before establishing their official position. At the same time, as elected officials they shouldn't steer clear of making a decision just because the issue is controversial.

That said, some Pine Township residents suspect that at least part of the reason why two of the three township supervisors are remaining neutral regarding the controversial Tri-County Landfill being planned for Pine and neighboring Liberty townships is a reluctance to involve themselves in the controversy.

If that is in fact true, the two supervisors should rethink that judgment, whether or not they favor the landfill as proposed. They shouldn't need a petition with 51 percent of township residents' signatures to vote yes or no; having a major segment of the population calling for a decision, even if it isn't 51 percent, should be enough.

But, under the current circumstances, saying they would take a stand under that 51 percent condition at least provides an opening for the township government to take an official position for or against the landfill operation being proposed at some time in the future.

A deadline for a decision by the supervisors as to whether to file an appeal in opposition to the landfill is not looming. That's because the window for appeal won't be set until the state Department of Environmental Protection completes a technical review of the landfill proposal, which reportedly still hasn't begun and which carries up to a 200-day time frame, although it could happen more quickly.

If, and only if, DEP approves the technical aspects would the official appeal period then be established.

In September, DEP approved the landfill from a harms-versus-benefits perspective, two years after the state agency found problems with the first submission of that data.

Jack Cline, a Grove City lawyer who is handling legal issues on behalf of a citizens group that opposes the landfill, explained Tuesday that the township has standing on its own to appeal a DEP ruling granting a permit for the waste operation. Currently, a waste transfer station operates at the landfill site, which operated as a landfill until about 1990, when more stringent state landfill regulations went into effect.

Many Pine Township residents fear the landfill operation now in the application stage would endanger groundwater, have other adverse effects on the environment, reduce the value of neighboring properties, and be a public nuisance, since it is intended to operate 24 hours a day on most days of the year.

Equally upsetting for those who oppose the new landfill is that, as proposed, the landfill would establish what they describe as a "trash mountain." The landfill site is along Route 208 near the Grove City Airport and the Prime Outlets.

Tri-County originally submitted its application in August 2004, and the proposal has been under review since that time.

In the Liberty Township part of the proposed landfill, the site has been zoned as industrial to accommodate the waste operation, and unhappiness reportedly is simmering in that municipality over what has been dubbed "spot zoning."

The two Pine Township supervisors who continue to refuse to take a stand for or against the landfill are Tom Paxton and Shirley Vinton. Supervisor Scott Wise is on record as being against the Tri-County plan.

Vinton's term of office runs through 2009. If final DEP approval comes for the Tri-County proposal, it could come either before or after Vinton's term ends, depending on Tri-County's ability to submit landfill data that would warrant granting of a permit to operate.

Whether landfill opponents field a candidate to oppose Vinton in next year's elections, should she decide to seek re-election, is not yet known.

There are people who would judge landfill opponents' position as further evidence of the "not-in-my-backyard" syndrome.

But Tri-County landfill opponents have legitimate concerns, especially regarding the health of their water supply. Therefore, the DEP must not be hasty about a permit approval, without determining that the water supply would not be harmed and without ensuring that other fears have been adequately addressed.

People's life work and life investments are at stake, as well as the landfill company's financial interests.

In choosing to remain neutral for now, refusing to dig more deeply into the issue, Paxton and Vinton are, in effect, ignoring the legitimate concerns that are being expressed. And, whether they favor the landfill or not, that's not the mark of an effective public servant.

In government, when an important, albeit controversial, issue is on the agenda, steering clear of a decision for any reason other than conflict of interest is the least-desired option.

Pine Township government should not be no-backbone government, which, unfortunately, it now gives the appearance of being.