UPDATED: Elcon Withdraws Controversial Waste Treatment Facility Proposal

UPDATED: 11:51 p.m., Friday: 

Untolds sums of money were spent by Elcon Recycling Services in their quest to build a hazardous waste facility on an industrial tract in Falls Township.

But after years of going through the permitting and land development process, Elcon yanked their plans Friday morning.

“Elcon Recycling Services is announcing that it has decided not to proceed with its proposed project in Falls Township, Pennsylvania. The current business climate, including the impacts of COVID-19, has forced Elcon to re-evaluate its plans for expanding its hazardous waste treatment business into the United States,” company CEO Dr. Zvi Elgat said in a memo to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Falls Township said in a statement that an official from U.S. Steel, which owns the land Elcon wanted to build on, told them they dissolved the sale option with the company. Elcon had an agreement to purchase the site if they received needed approvals.

Elcon, an Israel-based company, looked to construct the 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 Fairless Works site. The Elcon facility at 100 Dean Sievers Place would accept only liquid waste via truck from pharmaceutical manufacturing, petroleum refineries, chemical facilities, and semiconductor manufacturing. It was planned to 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 was planned to be transported by truck to an off-site permitted hazardous waste landfill.

There were cheers in 2019 when the Falls Township Board of Supervisor denied Elcon’s land development plans for the proposed hazardous waste treatment facility.

Elcon filed an appeal to the decision and that court battle was still winding through the courts as of this week. However, Elcon plans to withdraw the case.

The plan was deeply unpopular in Bucks County and in riverfront towns in New Jersey.

Since LevittownNow.com broke the news of the proposal in 2014, residents and advocacy groups have fought against the plan. Hundreds of people have shown up to oppose the plans at public meetings over the years.

Those against the plan rang the alarm over potential air pollution, risks of spills, and an increase of truck traffic to the area.

Elcon assured the public their facility would be safe, but did alter their plans in 2015 after outcry to remove a pipeline that would supply water purified by their sanitation process to nearby businesses.

“On behalf of the Falls Township Board of Supervisors, I am pleased with Elcon’s decision to withdraw its application. This plan was not a good fit for our community, which is why our board unanimously rejected the application last year,” Falls Township Supervisors Chairman Jeff Dence said.

“The withdrawal of Elcon’s applications for a proposed project in Falls Township is a win for both local residents and the environment,” said State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, a Democrat from Lower Makefield. “I have been opposed to Elcon’s proposal from the beginning and have worked, alongside residents and activists, to advocate for DEP to reject Elcon’s proposal. Today’s announcement is a victory in a hard-fought battle, led by concerned residents, to protect the health and safety of our entire community.”

In Elcon’s Friday memo to the state, they didn’t close out the possibility of attempting to open a facility in America down the road.

“It is entirely possible that Elcon will seek to expand its treatment business into the U.S at some point in the future, especially if the U.S increases pharmaceutical manufacturing in response to COVID-19, with the corresponding need to increase the capacity for treating the liquid hazardous waste that is generated,” the memo said.

Elcon and several advocacy groups reached on the decision did not return comment.

Original Story: 

Elcon, the firm that has proposed building a waste facility in Falls Township, has withdrawn their plans for review by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

The company said the business climate and COVID-19 impacts caused them to reconsider.

The controversial plans called for a “state-of-the-art” facility on a 22-acre portion of a 33-acre property at 100 Dean Sievers Place in the Keystone Industrial Port Complex. According to past filings with the DEP, Elcon expects to employ about 55 people at the automated facility that can handle about 410 metric tons of waste a day. The facility has been expected to process 150,000 to 210,000 tons of chemical and pharmaceutical waste that would be transported to the facility via area roads every year.

Following the township’s April 2019 rejection of the plan, Elcon filed an appeal in county court later that spring. The appeal was making its way through the courts.

Related:

• Elcon Case Could See Courtroom By Spring, Solicitor Says
• Elcon Appeals Falls Twp.’s Denial
• Regulators Issue Notice Of Intent To Deny To Elcon Application
• Falls Twp. Supervisors Deny Elcon Hazardous Waste Treatment Proposal
• Elcon Land Development Comes Before Falls Twp. Supervisors On Tuesday
• 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

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