Falls Township Board of Supervisors Chair Bob Harvie made a clarification ahead of public comment this week regarding the controversial Elcon hazardous waste treatment facility plan.
Harvie’s clarification was made to address what the elected official called an incorrect statement made by Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials at the recent Elcon meeting at the Sheraton.
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According to Harvie, a statement by the DEP said Falls Township officials have the ability to change the zoning on a property – which could, in theory, forbid Elcon from building at the Keystone Industrial Port Complex U.S. Steel site. Harvie noted the township does not have the authority to “randomly change the zoning on a private piece of property.”
Property owners, of course, do have the ability to ask that their zoning is changed, and it would be the township’s authority to admit that change or not but such a change cannot be done without the property owner’s approval and input.
Numerous residents gathered after Harvie’s statement to once again pledge their disapproval for the hazardous waste recycling facility. Most of which called the companies use of the term recycling is nothing but a ploy to hide their polluting system.
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Other residents spoke of the financial ruin that could come back on the township if Elcon were to have a spill. They raised concern that area businesses would be forced to close for several days due to lack of water, and those affected could potentially sue the township for the hardship. A resident even cited that Elcon wouldn’t be responsible if a spill occurred off property, leading to potential catastrophic issues for the Philadelphia area.
DEP officials are continuing to review Elcon’s lengthy application for construction of a facility on a 22-acre portion of a 33-acre property in the Keystone Industrial Port Complex, which is made up of U.S. Steel’s massive Fairless Works site. The Israel-based company has applied for a Solid Waste Management Permit for a Commercial Hazardous Waste Treatment and Storage Facility, an Air Quality Plan Approval, and a General Stormwater Discharge permit.
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According to officials, the facility will only accept liquid waste via truck from pharmaceutical manufacturing, petroleum refineries, chemical facilities, and semiconductor manufacturing. It will process between 150,000 to 210,000 tons a year of wastewater using chemicals, sludge filtration, thermal treatment, steam stripping, distillation, salt concentration, salt crystallization, and salt drying processes. The leftover solid waste will be transported by truck to an off-site permitted hazardous waste landfill.
Waste Management landfills in Falls Township are not permitted to accept waste from Elcon and can only take what is termed municipal refuse.
Elcon officials have previously said the water processed at their proposed facility will be clean, but it will not be released into area waterways or water systems. Instead, the treated water will be used to cool the facility’s equipment or evaporated through a closed-loop system.
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The Planning Commission will hear a proposal by Elcon next week. The planning commission, unlike the Zoning Hearing Board, does not have legal stance over issues and only acts as an advisory board to make recommendations. The Elcon matter is the only item on the commission’s agenda.
Falls Township will hold a special meeting on April 30 for the public to provide comment on the issue. A location for that meeting has not yet been determined but it will likely be held at a school within the Pennsbury School District.
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Related:
- Residents Sound Off To State Regulators About Elcon Plan
- Activists Hosting Meeting On Elcon In Fallsington
- At NJ Meeting, Activists Raise Alarm Over Elcon Facility
- Elcon Plans Undergoing Technical Review
- PA DEP Returns Elcon Phase II Application
- Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility Plans To Again Undergo State Review Process
- Elcon Phase II Application Returned By State Officials
- ‘Fridays With Fitzpatrick’ Rally Takes Environmental Focus
- Phase II Application Submitted For Proposed Elcon Facility
- Elcon Moving Forward With Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility Development Plans
- Bristol, Middletown Pass Resolutions Opposing Elcon
- County Commissioners Say They Trust DEP With Elcon Process
- Elcon To Submit Documentation To State Within 70 Days
- Elcon Presents To Lower Makefield & Tullytown Stresses Opposition to Falls
- Elcon Attempts To Clean Up Narrative Regarding Proposed Facility Near Delaware River
- Public Meeting On Proposed Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility Set For Tuesday
- Falls Will Not Take Action To Prevent Elcon
- Opponents Of Proposed Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility Work On Battle Plan
- Proposed Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility Passes Phase I Of DEP Application
- Opponents Speak Against Proposed Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility At Commissioners Meeting
- Bristol Twp. Officials Don’t Want Hazardous Waste Trucks Trucks On Township Roads
- Philadelphia Water Department Study Says Proposed Facility Could Put “Millions At Risk”
- Dozens Come Out To Public Hearing For Proposed Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility
- Company Promises Residents Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility Will Be “Clean, Green & Sustainable”
- Public Does Not Seem Impressed With Proposed Liquid Hazardous Waste Treatment Plant
- Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility Proposal Could Come Back To Falls Twp.
- Plans For Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility In Falls Get Denied By DEP
- N.J. Towns Oppose Proposed Falls Twp. Hazardous Waste Treatment Center
- Company Hoping To Build Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility Cancels Next Meeting in Falls
- Residents Voice Concerns On Hazardous Waste Facility in Falls
