Elcon Attempts To Clean Up Narrative Regarding Proposed Facility Near Delaware River

Hundreds – both for and against Elcon’s proposed hazardous waste treatment facility – gathered at the Sheraton Hotel in Falls Township Tuesday evening for a mandatory pre-application community information session and public meeting.

Elcon, now equipped with a public relations professional, held the meeting not only as part of regulations designation by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, but in an effort to clean up the narrative and dissect fact from fiction regarding their facility, it’s processes and the safety of their technology.

Union workers, most of which were part of the Philadelphia & Construction Building Trades Council, armed with ‘Build It Now’ and ‘Jobs For Bucks County Residents’ signs, stood alongside environmentalists in hazmat suits from both Protect Our Water & Air (POWA) and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. Both sides, cheering and booing, remained passionate about their cause through the four-hour-long presentation and question and answer session in the University Ballroom.

Elcon began it’s session Tuesday evening informally, with an opportunity for people to connect with the company’s leadership and receive pamphlets and information detailing the plans. Shortly after 7 p.m. hundreds gathered in the downstairs ballroom to hear a presentation on behalf of Elcon officials, where they addressed common rumors about the facility before taking questions from dozens of concerned and supportive local citizens.

Elcon officials first took the time to clarify the facilities size and it’s process. The facility, which will start at 70,000 square feet and could expand by an additional 70,000 square feet in it’s second phase, will be located on 22 developed acres of a larger 33 acre property inside the Keystone Industrial Port Complex in Falls. Despite rumors otherwise, the planned facility would be roughly one mile away from the river and no treated water would be released into the waterway.

The Israeli company, which proposes to accept hazardous liquid waste streams by truck only from a variety of industries, will not treat waste from radioactive activities or fracking, according to officials. They added that the facility will primarily treat waste-water within the tri-state area of the Delaware Valley, with 20-30 percent of it’s customers estimated to come directly from inside the KIPC.  The process of treating the water will not include deep well injection or incineration, and will instead, according to Dr. Rengarajan Ramesh, provide a third way for treatment. The process, known as thermal oxidation, one that Ramesh has repeatedly called, “clean, green and sustainable”.

“Thermal oxidation technology for air pollution control is not waste incineration,” Elcon officials posted on their website. “Air emissions from the plant will be well below PA regulatory standards for air emissions from a non-residential source. The emissions will also meet the Federal National Ambient Air Quality Standards and PA and NJ ambient air guidelines. Elcon will use appropriate monitoring systems to document our ongoing compliance with all air quality regulations and permit requirements.”

Elcon has also agreed that all development of the property will occur outside wetlands and the flood of record, even outside the 500 year flood plane when development is completed and that no discharge of waste-water will be discharged into the Delaware River or elsewhere.

One of the largest concerns from both Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents is the issue of an accidental spill and how the area could severely suffer during an extended period without clean and safe drinking water.

While Elcon said it could not guarantee 100 percent that a spill would not occur, they promised that prevention would cover 99 percent of the possibility.

To protect the Delaware River from potential impacts due to unforeseen human error or circumstances, Elcon will meet or exceed all state and federal requirements for containment in the areas where waste materials will be stored, treated or transferred to prevent accidental releases. Additionally, the facility will have alarms and other indicators to prevent the overfill of tanks,” said Elcon officials.

The company confirmed that all tanks that contain waste-water will have a backup secondary containment location. Marge Fitzpatrick, a Elcon representative, also commented that all truck drivers transporting the waste will be specifically trained to manage a spill shall it occur on the road.  

While Bristol Township has issued a resolution asking Elcon trucks to avoid the up and coming revitalized Route 13 area, officials have said they have not had time to review their request with traffic engineers. Elcon, however, will be avoiding Pennsylvania Avenue. Elcon has contracted with a private hauling company to transport all hazardous liquid waste streams to its facility.

For some residents, no guarantee that a spill would not occur was not enough to ease their minds, while others feared their children would suffer from conditions caused by contaminants in the air. Elcon has released a statement regarding the issue, claiming all that is emitted will be at least 99.9% pure.

Union workers took the time to speak before Elcon and it’s naysayers, preaching that an influx of manufacturing type jobs would be great for the Bucks County economy. “It’s all about jobs,” said a Bucks County union worker. Elcon has pledged that anywhere from 150 to 200 temporary local labor union jobs will be created during the facility’s hopeful construction and 55 to 120 permanent jobs will be created to assist with the day-to-day facility operations.

While some residents of both Pennsylvania and New Jersey have begun demanding action on behalf of the Falls Board of Supervisors, township officials have said there’s nothing for them to do at the moment. Chairman Bob Harvie assured residents that enacting a resolution that would ban Elcon from coming to the area before they had the chance to make a direct presentation to officials would out the township at a severe litigation risk.

“It could take Elcon a year or more for approval of their Phase II application and there’s a very good chance the project won’t be approved by DEP,” said Harvie. “If they do get approved then they will come to us and local governmental control will kick in; but if you’re for or against it, please look at facts.”

Elcon is now expected to submit their detailed Phase II plans to the Pennsylvania DEP for review.

Elcon says they have pollution insurance which would provide drinking water in the event of a spill.

— Amanda Kuehnle (@amandaMkuehnle) February 24, 2016