Elcon Recycling, which has long-proposed a hazardous waste treatment facility at the Keystone Industrial Port Complex in Falls Township, met with Lower Makefiled Township residents and officials this week to answer questions and common concerns about the facility and it’s processes.
The meeting, which followed the application presentation at the Sheraton Hotel in Falls just last week, was a far calmer approach to addressing the issues that residents and officials say that Elcon has proposed.
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By the end of the hours-long meeting, Lower Makefield officials did not take a stand for or against the proposed hazardous waste treatment facility at their meeting this week.
While Dr. Rengarajan Ramesh stated that the company does have the option to use rail cars in the future for transporting waste to it’s facility, with permission of course, none of Elcon’s customers have requested to ship that way, leaving rail, a concern for some, off the table. The waste treated by the company will be transported 100 percent by truck, with 20-30 percent of Elcon’s customers coming from inside the KIPC. While Elcon representatives say they have received requests for different traveling arrangements from both Bristol Township and Bristol Borough, currently Elcon’s trucks plan to travel from I-95 to Route 413 to Route 13 to Tyburn Road to New Ford Road to West Steel Road, then South Steel Road and finally to Dean Sievers Place.
Elcon Attempts To Clean Up Narrative Regarding Proposed Facility Near Delaware River
Another concern for township board members and for residents, was the statement that Elcon will process 596 of 600 harmful chemicals designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Dr. Ramesh said that while many have become hung-up on that number, the number isn’t necessarily a definite one. He noted that since companies don’t release their product’s formula, 596 is an estimation of possible chemicals such companies would use in manufacturing their products. Any and all chemicals that Elcon has not agreed to accept would be shipped back to it’s manufacturer.
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While some residents in the audience had questions regarding the landfill that Elcon would chose to transport cleaned waste to, Dr. Ramesh noted he’s not sure that landfill would be located less than 20 miles from the KIPC Elcon site.
Perhaps one of the largest concerns of residents close to Elcon’s facility is the chances of an accident or leak and how Elcon would respond to such a situation. While Elcon has stated before all of it’s truck drivers and facility staff will be well trained, and that the company does have pollution insurance, Ramesh noted that 100 percent of Elcon’s processes will be enclosed within a building, with a polymer lined, concrete tank being the secondary containment system in case of an accident.
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Former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio, who lawyer who also served in the congress, spoke out against the proposed facility. He said raised concerns about possible by-products of the treatment process and where any remaining toxic waste would go.
“It’s your job and our job to keep our communities safe,” Fred Stine of Bristol Borough-based Delaware Riverkeeper Network told the board.
One Lower Makefield resident questioned if having a facility near her home would impact the value.
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While neighboring Falls Township has stated they will not take action against Elcon before hearing a formal presentation on Tuesday evening, Tullytown Borough Council earlier this week agreed to forward a letter to Falls about the Elcon project. The letter will put the council’s opposition to the facility in writing. “Falls Township needs to say no,” council member Holly Ketter said. “They’re going to destroy us and our planet if we continue to allow it.”
Elcon would still need approval from the state and township before they can even more forward on construction of a facility.
