Elcon Land Development Comes Before Falls Twp. Supervisors On Tuesday

Five years since it was announced, Elcon’s plans for a hazardous waste treatment facility will come before the Falls Township Board of Supervisors at what is expected to be a packed meeting on Tuesday evening.

The Board of Supervisors will host a special meeting Tuesday starting at 7 p.m. at Keller Hall at Pennsbury High School’s West Campus.

The Supervisors are expected to vote on Elcon’s controversial land development application that shows the company proposing construction of a hazardous waste treatment facility on a 22-acre portion of a 33-acre property at 100 Dean Sievers Place in the Keystone Industrial Port Complex.

In March, the Falls Township Planning Commission voted 4-0 to not recommend the Supervisors approve preliminary land development. While the planners decision was cheered at the time, their decision was only advisory to the Supervisors.

If the land development plan is approved by the Supervisors, Elcon still faces the ongoing approval process from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and other possible hurdles.

If the Supervisors shoot down the plans Tuesday evening, it is likely that Elcon’s attorneys will appeal the decision.

Israel-based Elcon has said they plan to employ about 55 people at the automated facility that can handle about 410 metric tons of waste a day. The facility is expected to process 150,000 to 210,000 tons of pharmaceutical manufacturing, petroleum refining, chemical, and semiconductor manufacturing waste that would be transported to the facility every year, according to filings with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Elcon has proposed treating hazardous wastewater through evaporation after being placed into an indoor closed-loop system. The process would use chemicals, sludge filtration, thermal treatment, steam stripping, distillation, salt concentration, salt crystallization, and salt drying processes. The leftover distilled water would be reused to cool equipment at the facility. Elcon calls their process “thermal oxidation.” Solid waste leftover would be transported by truck to an off-site permitted hazardous waste landfill outside of the area.

In past DEP filings, Elcon noted they have an agreement to purchase the 33-acre lot at 100 Dean Sievers Place for $2.9 million. The land is owned by U.S. Steel and was previously part of the massive Fairless Plant.

Residents in Bucks County and across the river in New Jersey have spent the past five years campaigning against Elcon. They’ve shed a spotlight on concerns, raised funds to fight the plan, reached out to neighbors, and made their voices heard at public meetings and DEP hearings.

The Supervisors have said for years they would not talk about their feelings on the plans at the advice of their solicitor, who warned the statements could open Falls Township to “significant liability.” Public comments made by the elected Supervisors about their support or opposition to the plans could hurt the township in possible future appeals or litigation.

“We hear you. We see you,” Vice Chairman Jeff Dence told residents who spoke against the plan at a meeting earlier this year.

Supervisors Chairman Bob Harvie, who is running as a Democratic candidate for Bucks County Commissioner, said that the township has a “legal obligation to review” the plans for Elcon.

Joan Graves, who spoke before the Supervisors last week, suggested that the Supervisors put a question on the ballot to ask if residents were in support of Elcon. Michael Clarke, the solicitor for Falls Township, said land development issues fall under the discretion of the Supervisors and could not be put up for referendum.

Local residents and activists have sounded the alarm over concerns about spills, a notable letter by the Philadelphia Water Department, potential fire risks at the facility, proximity to waterways, crashes involving trucks carrying hazardous waste, and air emissions. They have been supported by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Penn Environment, New Jersey Sierra Club, Protect Our Water and Air, Clean Air Council, Bucks Environmental Action, and Clean Air and Water Council.

Over the years, there have been public meetings, rallies, hundreds – if not thousands – of anti-Elcon signs, T-shirts, and buttons printed, and dozens of public speakers at DEP hearings and municipal meetings.

Steve Cikay, a Newtown resident who has long been opposed to Elcon’s proposal, joked last week that he hopes the Supervisors turn down the application so that those who opposed the plan had not wasted their time.

“My wife is sick of me coming here, so I hope you guys vote against this thing and drive a stake through its heart soon,” Cikay said. “It will make my wife happy.”

At all the meetings and events, comments from residents in favor of Elcon have been few and far between. However, Elcon officials early on made a push to meet with residents and even made some changes to their plans after public backlash.

Despite the backlash to the plans, Elcon officials have repeatedly said their proposed facility would be safe and include many safety features.

At a recent DEP hearing, Elcon representatives did state that they were willing to make adjustments to plans to meet some concerns.

In 2015, Elcon altered their plan in to remove a pipeline that would supply water purified by their sanitation process to nearby businesses.

In recent years, Bristol Borough, Middletown, Morrisville, Newtown Township, Tullytown, Upper Makefield and Yardley have approved resolutions opposing the proposed Elcon facility. The Bucks County Commissioners said they trusted the DEP process.

No matter what happens at Tuesday’s meeting, the Elcon debate and proposal is far from being over.

At the last Supervisors meeting, Cikay had one word of advice for Falls Township’s elected leadership: “listen to the people.”

Related:

• Falls Twp. Planners Turn Down Elcon’s Plan
• Falls Twp. Supervisors Schedule Special Meeting On Elcon Plans
• Residents Come Out In Droves To Speak Against Elcon; Township To Hold Special Meeting
• 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