Falls Township officials will not be taking action against Elcon’s proposed plans, at least not before Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has their ruling, according to a statement made by Chairman Bob Harvie Tuesday evening.
Elcon is the proposed builder of a liquid hazardous waste treatment facility has long-proposed a plant for Falls’ Keystone Industrial Port Complex. Their facility would take in several loads of hazardous liquid waste daily (mainly from pharmaceutical facilities) to treat. Elcon currently awaits as the Phase II portion of their application is approved or denied by the state DEP.
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A few residents and non residents approached the board during the public comment portion of their Board of Supervisors meeting, calling residential dismay not the result of N.I.M.B.Y (Not In My Back Yard), and purely opinions made on concern of the environment, claiming that Elcon will distribute 596 of the 608 harmful chemicals into Pennsylvania and New Jersey air, and citing reports made by the Philadelphia Water Department which claimed a cleanup from an Elcon spill could disrupt water service for more than four days.
Appreciative of the local area’s comments and concerns, Falls officials say the deal isn’t on the table yet. Township solicitor Michael Clarke called any action by Falls officials to be “premature and ill-advised”.
“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.”
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Harvie assured area residents that enacting a resolution that would ban Elcon from coming to the area before they had made a direct presentation to local government could put the township at a severe litigation risk.
