Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility Proposal Could Come Back To Falls Twp.

The liquid hazardous waste treatment facility that was proposed for Falls Township at the tail-end of last year and denied by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection back in February, may soon be seeing new light.

In late May, Elcon submitted a second Phase I exclusionary siting application, which the DEP reviewed and determined complete on June 19.

According to DEP representatives, the new application provides a more thorough evaluation of the proposed site, particularly with respect due to the facility’s proposed conformance with the flood of record.

Back in February, the Department of Environmental Protection announced they had denied the Israeli company’s Phase I siting application. “After a complete review of the application and supplemental information from Elcon, and upon consideration of the public comments received, we concluded that the company has not demonstrated conformance with the exclusionary criteria for flood hazard areas,” Southeast Regional Director and Siting Team Leader Cosmo Servidio said. “We therefore denied the application. Should Elcon choose to resubmit its application with additional information, the Phase I process would begin anew.”

The previous application, which showed the facility to be outside the 100 year floodplain, did not demonstrate proper compliance with the flood of record. According to the DEP, the original application did not demonstrate that the site would not be located in an area that the flood of record had inundated.

According to the township, Elcon did submit “information” to the township regarding their new plans, however no information had been proposed for any future agenda items. The township would not comment if the new “information” submitted was indeed an application.

The earlier plans had received much backlash from Falls Township and New Jersey residents, who were worried about the potential pollution that the treatment facility could bring to their neighborhoods.

Elcon which held an informational meeting and hearing for the public at the Falls Township Municipal Building on December 10, hoped to use a site at the Keystone Industrial Port Complex. The public provided comments at the hearing, and during the public comment period, which was later extended to Jan. 9.

LevittownNow.com will update this story as more information becomes available.