Nov 7 2018 DEP Hearing Transcript

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
* * * * * * * * *
IN RE: SLATE BELT HEAT RECOVERY CENTER PROJECT,
SYNAGRO
PUBLIC HEARING
* * * * * * * * *
BEFORE: COLLEEN CON OLLY, Community Relations
Coordinator
Christopher Solloway, Member
Roger Bellas, Member
Mark Wejkszner, Member
Amy Bellanca, Member
HEARING: Wednesday, November 7, 2018
8:34 p.m.
LOCATION: Wind Gap Middle School
1620 Teels Road
Pen Argyl, PA 18072
Reporter: Kayla Keating
Any reproduction of this transcript
is prohibited without authorization
by the certifying agency
Sargent's Court Reporting Service, Inc.

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1 WIT N E SSE S
3 Senator Mario Stabello
4 Peter C. Layman
5 Tracy Carluccio
6 Jeanne Blicharz
7 Jack Embick
8 M~chael Brunamonti
9 E. Demaris
10 Jason Smith
11 Trudy Johnston
12 Kelly Giamoni
13 Dr. Luther Bond
14 Justin Huratiak
15 Rob Uliana
16 Ian Robinson
17 Tom Carlo
18 Nolin Peron
19 Howard Klein
20 Sherry Acevedo
21 Ron Juan
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1 I o E X
3 OPENING REMARKS
4 By Ms. Connolly 5 - 6
5 PUBLIC COMMENT 6 - 60
6 CERTIFICATE 62
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1 E X H I BIT S
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1 PRO C E E DIN G S
2 ----------------------------------------------------
3 MS. CONNOLLY: Okay.
4 We're on the record now. It is
5 approximately 8:34 p.m. on Wednesday, November 7,
6 2018.
7 We're going to begin the public
8 hearing session of the Slate Belt Heat Recovery
9 Center Application for its four permits from the
10 Department of Environmental Protection operating
11 Slate Belt Recovery Center.
12 Again, we already have our list of
13 participants. I want to go over some - over ground
14 rules for the public hearing. Please turn off your
15 cell phones, put them on vibrate.
16 Each person will be allowed five
17 minutes of testimony to speak. I will time them.
18 When I call your name, come up to the microphone,
19 state your name, spell it so the stenographer can
20 get your name on the record.
21 Please don't go out of place or
22 anything. If we have time, if you didn't sign up, I
23 will ask you to come up to the microphone
24 afterwards, after I call the 20 or so people who
25 have already signed up.

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1 Again, just for the record, I want to
2 repeat that the company has applied to DEP for an
3 air quality plan approval for construction and

4 operation of the biosolid processing facility, a
5 Waste Management permit to dry biosolids to create a
6 Class A product, a Waste Management permit
7 application to existing permits to physically
8 construct a heat recovery center on the site of
9 Grand Central Landfill in Plainfield Township, and a
10 National Pollution Discharge and Elimination System,
11 NPDES, permit for discharging wastewater - storm
12 water, excuse me, discharging storm water.
13 I'm going to call your name on the
14 list in the order they signed up, so we'll move this
15 along as expeditiously as possible.
16 Senator Stabello has asked that he go
17 first, so before I get to the public, I'm going to
18 have Senator Stabello.
19 Please come up to the microphone,
20 state and spell your name.
21 Thank you, Senator Stabello.
22 SENATOR STABELLO: Thank you, Colleen.
23 I'm Senator Mario Stabello, M-A-R-I-O,
24 S-T-A-B-E-L-L-O. You know, you're doing a pretty
25 good job facilitating this. I know i t ' s not an easy

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1 task. I believe that some of their questions were
2 not answered properly. They were getting different
3 comments back, and I am requesting that you bold
4 another hearing to hear them out and hopefully - one
5 day that I'm going to ask - the residents here not
6 to - you did a pretty good job. No applauding, none
7 of that stuff. Let's get this - let's get our
8 questions answered properly.
9 I think that's professional - because
10 from what I observed anyway, I think they're asking
11 the question, and the folks at the top there are not
12 understanding the question that they're asking. And
13 some of them say they walk away from the mic
14 confused. So if we could have another hearing and
15 have everyone have another opportunity to ask some
16 questions, we'd truly appreciate it, and I ' l l leave
17 that up to you and when you can schedule it.
18 Thank you.
19 MS. CONNELLY: Thank you, Senator.
20 Peter Layman.
21 ATTORNEY LAYMAN: Close.
22 MS. CONNELLY: Close? I apologize.
23 Peter Layman.
24 ATTORNEY LAYMAN: That's all right.
25 Even when I print, my printing is not always good.

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1 Peter Layman, solicitor, Pen Argyl
2 Borough. I'm changing my testimony a little bit
3 based on the answers to my questions. I will try to
4 keep it within five minutes and we'll be submitting
5 additional comments within the 14-day period.
6 First, even though, at the outset of
7 the hearing, you, again, stated this was residual
8 waste, it seems to me i t ' s been acknowledged by
9 everybody that it really is municipal waste, that
10 it's anticipated to be municipal waste. I will
11 expect we'll see that in writing clarified.
12 Second, we are greatly concerned about
13 the fact that under the general permit, as it was
14 submitted, there was no harms benefit analysis,
15 there was no environmental assessment.
16 Now, I understand why that might be
17 the case if it was truly a general permit
18 application. Because if you look at the
19 environmental assessment regulations, which I'm sure
20 everybody at the table is more familiar with than
21 even I or anybody sitting here, they're very site
22 specific.
23 They require identification of the

24 specific harms; traffic, noise, odors, other harms,
25 and allaying them up against the purported benefits,

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1 and that, by its nature, has to be site specific.
2 It can't really be addressed in a general permit, if
3 that permit is generally applicable statewide.
4 So we feel very strongly - and we'll
5 address these in comments, that the general permit
6 is inappropriate for this very site specific use
7 with site specific harms and benefits.
8 Okay?
9 An application, for example, in
10 Philadelphia for Synagro where, as I understand it,
11 for one customer in the City of Philadelphia, the
12 sludge is actually piped from the nearby sewer
13 treatment plant to the waste facility, even though
14 it's a closed system, very different than here, a
15 site which would be located not near any inhabited
16 areas, and might have very different harms benefits.
17 One size does not fit all. So we feel
18 very, very strongly, and we ask that you do not
19 accept it as a general permit and require the
20 Applicant to submit the harms benefit analysis and
21 the environmental assessment that - for example, the
22 landfil_ that other facilities passed.
23 Now, going beyond that, a couple

24 things that I didn't address in my questions,
25 because I have two of them that we think i t ' s

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1 important DEP understands.
2 When Synagro made their presentation,
3 they have touted that the building will have
4 negative air pressure and that no odors will escape.
5 Initially, it was our impression that
6 even the loading and unloading would occur at the
7 building. But it has come out of the Planning
8 Commission meetings that the unloading, the
9 discharge begins - although it takes place under a
10 covered awning and although there's a path below to
11 supposedly capture the storm water runoff, it is in
12 the open air. It's impossible, I presume, to have
13 negative air pressure in that open facility, open to
14 the sides. It's inevitable that in the discharge
15 process, there will be odors. That's of grave
16 concern to the Borough for the road is - borders on
17 the other side of Pen Argyl Road, this facility.
18 There are inhabited dwellings within
19 reasonably close proximity to this proposed
20 facility.
21 So i t ' s those nuisance issues that
22 concern us. And again, the more that has come out
23 in the very thorough planning commission meetings,
24 the more it seems to us that this would be better
25 identified if a harms benefit analysis was required,

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1 that there are many potential nuisance issues that
2 we could address.
3 At a minimum there needs to be - if

4 any permit would ever - extremely tight, extremely
5 rigid nuisance mitigation requirements.
6 MS. CONNELLY: One minute.
7 ATTORNEY LAYMAN: Okay.
8 That's essentially it. You'll have
9 more comments from us, we promise, within the 14-day
10 period.
11 MS. CONNELLY: Thank you, sir.
12 Tracy Carluccio.
13 MS. CARLUCCIO: Tracy Carluccio,
14 Deputy Director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network.
15 First, I'd like to say we're
16 disappointed that DEP has squeezed four different
17 permits into one short period. Three of the four
18 applicants are not here today.
19 This is not enough time for the public
20 to participate fully, and I get the impression that
21 DEP is rushing the project through the approval
22 process.
23 Additionally, detailed information is

24 not readily available to permits and applications,
25 making it even harder for people to participate. It

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1 shouldn't be a struggle to find out what is going on
2 with the project that could potentially and
3 substantially impact people's lives, the air and
4 water you use to live and drink.
5 The proposed sludge pond plan is
6 misnamed by DEP as the Slate Belt Heat Recovery

7 Center. It's actually the opposite. It's an
8 intense industrial sludge processing plant that will
9 consume energy, using imported gas as well as emit
10 gas. It will produce heat and it will release
11 chemicals into the environ ent locally and
12 regionally. That's verified by the applications
13 themselves.
14 It is a proposal to spread an enormous
15 amount of wastewater into another spot that is
16 already being used by Green Knight and Grand Central
17 Landfill. And this abandoned water pond is legally
18 guarded water by DEP, and i t ' s connected to the
19 Little Bushkill Creek.
20 And the proposed site just drains off
21 into Little Bushkill Creek, and even directly to the
22 pond itself without any storm water absorption.
23 Little Bushkill Creek and Elk Creek are high quality

24 cold water streams, protected by state regulations.
25 The pond is also connected to groundwater, directly

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1 impacting the aquifers and the headwaters of these
2 two creeks.
3 Impact: Plainfield Township, the
4 removal of the current riparian b ffer pond.
5 Substantial preservation can occur to this important
6 water system.
7 In truth, the application for the
8 storm water permit and the wastewater permits should
9 be rejected outright, because the information on the
10 applications are false.
11 There are so many unaddressed issues
12 with this proposal. The toxic wastewater, how much
13 it will be, where exactly this will go. The
14 polluted storm water, regional environment, noxious
15 odors, and air pollution and toxic dust, noise,
16 traffic that all of these four permits must be
17 halted.
18 It's powerfully and painfully true
19 that the proposed sludge plan is the wrong project
20 in the wrong place. It's adding insult to injury
21 for a community already bearing the unjust burden of
22 an enormous landfill, and it should be rejected,
23 based on the information already at hand.

24 Thank you.
25 MS. CONNELLY: Jeanne Blicharz.

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1 MS. BLICHARZ: I'm a mom an -.
2 MS. CONNELLY: Ms. Blicharz, just
3 state and spell your name.
4 MS. BLICHARZ: Oh, I'm sorry. My name
5 is Jeanne Blicharz, and what do you want to know?
6 I'm a mom, I have a 16-year-old boy, and I'm very
7 concerned about the health and the environment that
8 he lives in.
9 The other day I had to tell him,
10 Steve, you can't play out in the yard, it stinks out
11 here. The smell is nasty. You're going to get like
12 5 toes, 10 toes and 11 toes whatever. Get your butt
13 in here. He goes, no, Mom - no, you don't - you're
14 going to die, you got to come in here. I shut up
15 the house, I had a wood stove going, and I was like
16 Jesus. I got all the windows shut, i t ' s not
17 acceptable.
18 You guys are with the DEP. I called
19 you guys like seven times ~n the past three weeks,
20 and I got the response - somebody called back, we're
21 working on the tap. And Waste Management cannot
22 tell me 48 states, including Puerto Rico dumped into
23 Waste Management, including medical waste and
24 medical isotopes.
25 I went to all the meetings. I know

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1 what's in that landfill. You can't tell me - and
2 you can't tell me that that's emissions that's
3 coming out of those stinky smoke stacks and that
4 awful thing - you're going to drill holes. Don't
5 worry, Ms. Blicharz, we're on top of it. We're
6 drilling holes to capture the gas.
7 Why is it in my back yard? And what
8 happens when I want to retire and sell my property?
9 I'm not going to be able to. Nobody's going to buy
10 it. Oh, you guys got a beautiful orchard over
11 there. It stinks like garbage. And i t ' s cancerous
12 fumes, and it is unacceptable.
13 But anyway, my friend is a
14 microbiologist and used to work for a water - place
15 where you can access water, and he got paid to go to
16 Pocono Resort - it's a famous one, I won't name it,
17 but he tested their pool water, and he told me -
18 like he got pa~d to pass these inspections. And I
19 hope you guys aren't getting paid to pass this,
20 because that's totally unacceptable. And that's not
21 what the DEP stands for, and that's not what i t ' s
22 all about.
23 I hope you guys have some integrity

24 and decency and really realize that, you know,
25 you're working for the people, you're not working

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1 for big corporations.
2 Thank you.
3 MS. CONNELLY: Trudy Johnston? Okay.

4 Jack Embick?
5 MR. EMBICK: My name is Jack Embick,
6 E-M-B-I-C-K. I'm Counsel for Plainfield Township
7 Planning Commission, and with me tonight are
8 committee members of the planning commission -
9 MS. CONNELLY: Okay.
10 You have to move closer to the mic.

11 MR. EMBICK: Plainfield Township Board
12 of Supervisors as well as our consultants. We have
13 three consultants who will speak today, Mike
14 Brunamonti, from BCM, Jason Smith, from Hanover
15 Engineering, and Trudy Johnston from Material
16 Matters.
17 I just wanted to make you aware that
18 many of these proceedings are underway in Plainfield
19 Township.
20 It's in the form of a land development
21 and subdivision, a major subdivision application
22 under our township zoning ordinance. Hearings are
23 scheduled and they're still proceeding.

24 Synagro has substantially modified its
25 land use application several times in order to meet

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1 various zoning issues, and thus far they have not
2 all been resolved. Additional variances or waivers
3 will be required.
4 At all of the meetings of the PTB, we
5 take public comment. Many of the members of the
6 public are here. These people have expressed a wide
7 range of concerns about this project, as well as the
8 municipal sludge management and residual sludge
9 management regulatory programming, which - a
10 majority of the public comments have been negative,
11 strongly negative.
12 Tonight the Township's consultants
13 will address a number of technical issues and
14 nuisance control issues.
15 I want to focus on a few of the
16 important nuisance concerns raised by the project in
17 the standards for the township, and the DEP should
18 evaluate them.
19 We call them nuisance issues, but this

20 label sometimes trivializes the importance. These
21 issues have a significant impact on the safety,
22 health and welfare on the citizens and residents of
23 our community. They are very, very important issues

24 and they must all be rethought.
25 During the PC hearings, the Planning

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1 Commission members have heard the landfill has been
2 in operation for many years, and the citizens and
3 the residents in the adjacent communities in the
4 region have had to bear the burden presented by a
5 large operating landfill for decades; truck traffic,
6 congestion, noise, vibration, glare, dust, litter,
7 vectors, malodors, scenic deterioration, aesthetic
8 deterioration and the deprivation of various other
9 environmental issues.
10 The other problems associated with the
11 landfill have persisted for decades. They can't be
12 controlled. They aren't being controlled. My
13 prediction is they will never be controlled. This
14 project - this project is likely to add to those
15 burdens in a significant way.
16 There will be more truck traffic,
17 there will be more congestion, more dust, more
18 malodors, more noise, more vibration, more glare and
19 more risk from accidents.
20 The township has undertaken to
21 evaluate these issues in addition to the other
22 technical issues, concerns, raised in the following
23 way, which we think is required by Commonwealth law,

24 and which we think is required by the constitution
25 of Pennsylvania. And I'm talking about our Article

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1 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, that
2 people have a right to clean air and pure water.
3 By the way, these rights are in
4 Article 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, and this
5 takes place where our forefathers and mothers could
6 - all the indivisible rights; freedom of speech,
7 freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, freedom
8 of religion. These rights have not been taken away.
9 So the Department and Synagro have to comply.
10 These are separate obligations that
11 are required in addition to the many rules and
12 regulations that govern these operations.
13 So Synagro has conducted a study in
14 advance and it identified current, cumulative and
15 future effects of adverse environment -
16 MS. CONNELLY: Thirty (30) seconds.
17 Mr. EMBICK: - of all activities
18 associated with the proposed use. The study was
19 identified and - the steps of direct and indirect
20 environmental effects that can be negative or
21 positive identified and assessed impacts that are
22 immediate, short-term or long-term, and which
23 impacts can be deemed -

24 MS. CONNELLY: Please wrap it up.
25 MR. EMBICK: Compounding over time and

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1 developed over the past two years.
2 MS. CONNELLY: Your time is up.
3 MR. EMBICK: So far Synagro has not

4 complied.
5 One last item. Synagro has said that
6 tarping the inbound trucks is the industry standard.
7 The industry standard isn't adequate. Technology
8 exists for sludge containments to have tight-fitting
9 metal lids.
10 The Department should require it. It
11 should be used for all the dump trucks.
12 Next Mr. Brunamonti will testify on
13 behalf of Plainfield Township.
14 MS. CONNELLY: Mike Brunamonti.
15 MR. BRUNAMONTI: My name is Michael
16 Brunamonti, spelled, B-R-U-N-A-M-O-N-T-I.
17 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Can't hear you.
18 MR. BRUNAMONTI: My name is Mike
19 Brunamonti. The spelling is, B-R-U-N-A-M-O-N-T-I.
20 I work for ATC Group Services/BCM in Clarks Summit,
21 Pennsylvania. ATC/BCM were retained by Plainfield
22 Township for review of the permit applications
23 submitted to the Pennsylvania DEP in March of 2018
24 for construction and operation of proposed biosolids
25 processing facility.

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1 The subject permit application we
2 reviewed included the application for municipal or
3 residual waste permits, submitted by Slate Belt Heat

4 Recovery Center, LLC, the national discharge
5 elimination system application or individual permit
6 to discharge industrial storm water submitted by
7 Slate Belt Heat Recovery Center, the application for
8 their Air Quality Plan Approval submitted by Slate
9 Belt Heat Recovery Center and the application of
10 minor modification, municipal waste landfill permit
11 submitted by Grand Central Landfill.
12 In regards to our request for
13 determination of changes of minor significance, an
14 exemption from plan approval and operating permit
15 submitted by Green Knight Economic Development
16 Corporation, ATC/BCM completed its review of the
17 permit application and submitted a copy to
18 Plainfield Township in May of 2018.
19 We received a response to our comments
20 on October 26, 2018 from Bert Gross, the consultant
21 for Synagro.
22 ATC/BCM also addressed the permit to
23 Slate Belt Heat Recovery Center by DEP, September

24 18, 2018, and we've prepared comments pertaining to
25 t0at permit.

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1 On behalf of Plainfield Township,
2 ATC/SCM will be submitting its comments to DEP for
3 consideration by DEP to review applications.
4 Although there's not enough time
5 available to summarize all of the comments, I do
6 want to mention some of our concerns.
7 Number one, the proposed discharge of

8 storm water to sedimentation basin number two.
9 Sedimentation basin number two originated from an
10 abandoned quarry, and is directly connected to
11 groundwater.
12 Pennsylvania Code and Regulation 525,
13 Chapter 91.5(a) states in part, quote, the
14 Department will accept and otherwise provide an
15 intersection, consider disposal of waste, including
16 storm water into the underground, essentially
17 polluting it unless the disposal is close enough to
18 the surface, so that the waste would be absorbed
19 into the soil before reaching the underground or
20 surface waters.
21 Sedimentation basin number two does
22 not meet the Department's requirements for storm
23 water filtration basins contained in the

24 Pennsylvania's DEP storm water testing and practice
25 manual.

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1 The permit application does not
2 include, effectively all the evaluation, and it
3 lacks information required to demonstrate a proposed
4 storm water discharge to sedimentation basin two.
5 It would meet water quality standards necessary to
6 protect groundwater use.
8 MR. BRUNAMONTI: Oh, boy.
9 Just bear with me a minute.
10 Detailed information - this is number
11 two. Detailed information provided regarding two,
12 regarding the type of vehicle that was proposed to
13 be used - I'm not going to get into that. I don't
14 have time for it. It was already mentioned.
15 There was a concern about tarping the
16 trailer to control odors. There was some concern
17 about odors. That's the industry standard. We're
18 wondering if DEP would grant that.
19 The proposed benefit is close to
20 300,000 gallons of wastewater sourcing. We're
21 providing comments where we believe there's a
22 necessity for a standard operating procedure to make
23 sure that tanks are monitored closely, so that a
24 tank captures the storm water from the site. In
25 addition you have the wastewater sources.

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1 MS. CONNELLY: Time is up.
2 Mr. BRU AMONT I : Regarding the request
3 for termination, we know there was no survey done,
4 and we believe that i t is a defect and that already
5 has been approved. The approval of that pump was
6 certified in studies based on science.
7 PA DEP has revoked the approval and
8 requests that monitoring be performed.
9 MS. CO ELLY: Thank you.
10 MR. DEMARIS: E. Demaris?
11 MR. DEMARIS: Yes.
13 State and spell your name.
14 He's next on the list. Go ahead.
15 MR. DEMARIS: Okay.
16 I'd like to start off with the
17 application. On the application they submitted,
18 they sa~d a separation facility, and I'm assuming
19 that you heard them say exactly, you can't have
20 both. There's either separation or evaporation.
21 The 503 regulation, let's regulate this, says
22 reduction. When you reduce something, you got the
23 same chemicals. It doesn't change.
24 You have the same capacity. You have
25 A, B, whatever i t is. Therefore, they falsified the

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1 documents, and under the law they have to be denied
2 because there's a violation of the Act.
3 I'd like to discuss the 503 regulation
4 that regulates these people. Okay. It says that
5 there's no medical waste, and that was an outright
6 lie. They come from all the different treatment
7 facilities, from a hundred miles away. The
8 treatment facilities are not designed to make
9 fertilizer. They never were. The process is not to
10 separate the medical waste.
11 Therefore - and another fact, they're
12 allowed to dump 32 pounds a month in industrial
13 waste into sewer lines without reporting it. So
14 they can't say there's not medical waste in there.
15 The fact is - and I hate to say this -
16 you guys make it even harder for us people who try
17 to make sure everything is followed right.
18 You write the regulations, you enforce
19 it, right, and you distribute the fines. That's
20 unheard of. That's illegal. You're in control of
21 the whole entire process. It's a control issue. To
22 me, i t ' s been proven that federal regulation - the
23 EPA falsified the 503 regulations.
24 These documents prove that. It was
25 stated in Congress that these guys falsified the

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1 documents to get you through. It was done by your
2 peers, who said that this - this is sewage waste,
3 i t ' s hazardous. The people haven't even gotten it.
4 You guys covered it up. You falsified information.
5 You sleep with these guys. They pay your bills,
6 they contribute to your funds. To me, you're just
7 as crooked as them.
8 These documents prove it, and you
9 should have them in your records.
10 MS. CO NELLY: You only have one
11 minute, sir.
12 MS. DEMARIS: Therefore, this plant
13 can't be in our town at all, unless they can
14 establish that their safety is up to par, which they
15 refuse. They refused to do an impact study, which
16 against, even your rules. DEP requires that impact
17 study be done in approximately one mile of the site.
18 Everything has to be taken into consideration. They
19 refuse.
20 This refusal is an automatic denial of
21 their permit.
23 MR. DEMARIS: You can have it.
24 MS. CONNELLY: Thank you.
25 MR. EMBICK: Plainfield Township calls

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1 next Jason Smith from Hanover Engineering to testify
2 about some groundwater issues, followed by Ms.
3 Johnston from Material Matters.
4 MR. SMITH: My name is Jason Smith.
5 It's, J-A-S-O-N, S-M-I-T-H. I am a senior scientist
6 at Hanover Engineering and we're retained by
7 Plainfield Township.
8 MS. CONNELLY: Can't hear you, Jason.
9 Hold the mic closer.
10 MR. SMITH: We were retained by
11 Plainfield Township to a - review applications that
12 were submitted to the township and the Pennsylvania
13 Department of Environmental Protection for the
14 construction and operation of a biosolid processing
15 facility on land owned by Grand Central Landfill in
16 Pennsylvania.
17 The subject permit application is
18 included in the national discharge system
19 application permit, storm water discharge, company
20 materials. Letters from Pennsylvania DEP to the
21 Grand Central Sanitary Landfill, a letter from
22 Pennsylvania DEP to explain about the recovery
23 center, and the draft individual NPDES permits that
24 was issued on industrial storm water.
25 Hanover Engineering completed its

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1 review of the records and materials and associated
2 with the planning from Plainfield Township, and that
3 was passed along to the consultants for the project.
4 We have received some comments. On
5 behalf of Plainfield Township, Hanover Engineering
6 has prepared updated comments for DEP for
7 consideration during the proceeding for the
8 above-mentioned permit applications.
9 At this time, we would like to have
10 some of the items contained in various comments
11 letters.
12 Number one, the applicant and the
13 Pennsylvania DEP have indicated that the pond onsite
14 is regulated as waters of the Commonwealth and as
15 such all state regulations have been applied.
16 The township has concern with water
17 being regulated as water in the United States, which
18 has now affected Pennsylvania, and the township is
19 asking the application to provide jurisdiction to
20 clarify that concern.
21 Number three, the pond that's current
22 in chapter 93 designation, cold water fishery. And
23 number four, the pond - the township does not feel
24 that the pond has been engineered and maintained the
25 sediment basin for the storm water facility that the

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1 pond developed naturally over the years from a small
2 quarry. And it was not designed or created as a
3 sediment basin for storm water at the facility. It
4 does not meet the requirements normally associated
5 with the chapter for sediment basin. Further,
6 there's no record of any subsequent meeting activity
7 that were provided to the township to support normal
8 use as a sediment basin.
9 The township does understand that if
10 the pond is approved, the function is part of the
11 permitting activity for the Grand Central Landfill
12 requiring the treatment for storm water and to
13 protect the water quality of the pond, as should be
14 done for proposed discharge on regulated waters in
15 the pond.
16 Number five, the concern that the pond
17 is connected to the creek by a service connection,
18 and therefore will be subject to the same standard
19 and protection.
20 Number six, the township is concerned
21 that the line is likely connected by ground waters
22 of the Little Bushkill Creek, Waltz Creek by a well.
23 This concern is well supported by position of the
24 pond is not discharging storm events.
25 Based on the concern with the

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1 connection of ponds to groundwater and surface
2 water, the township feels that hydrogeological
3 studies should be performed and required to document
4 what is happening to water that is entering and
5 leaving the pond.
6 Number seven, the township feels that
7 with the proposed significant filling in, storm
8 water discharge of the pond should not be - per the
9 permit requirements of chapter 105.12(a). Based on
10 the proposed industrial activities on the site, and
11 identifying the potential connection of the pond to
12 surface waters and groundwater, the township feels
13 that the proposed project represents a valid
14 concern, potential effects upon safety, the
15 progression of environment effects provided in
16 chapter 105.2 (a) .
18 MR. SMITH: The current design shows
19 two storm water discharges from onsite areas without
20 pre-treatment for water quality improvements before
21 going to the pond. Pre-treatment should be required
22 for discharges per industry standards.
23 Based on current application materials
24 provided to the township, the project does not
25 adequately meet state and federal requirements or

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31
1 compliance with protection of endangered species,
2 reporting of materials affecting endangered species,
3 habitat on the site and within 300 feet of the
4 proposed activities, as required for the species
5 listed for potential impacts.
7 MR. SMITH: Necessary studies involve
8 reporting and applicable correspondence with the
9 United States Fish and Wildlife Service should be
10 provided to local state and federal requirements.
11 Lastly, Bushkill Creek is part of the
12 township municipal sewer system and sewer. The
13 township is concerned about additional impacts of
14 normal operations and potential leaks and spills.
15 MS. CONNELLY: Time's up.
16 MR. SMITH: Impairment issues as well
17 as current and future restoration efforts that's
18 required by the township to address these
19 impairments. Thank you.
20 MS. CONNELL _ : Thank you, sir.
21 MS. JOHNSTON: Trudy Johnston from
22 Material Matters. The spelling of my name is,
23 T-R-U-O-Y.
24 MS. CONNELLY: We can't hear you.
25 MS. JOHNSTON: T-R-U-O-Y,

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1 J-O-H-N-S-T-O-N.
2 The comments provided are related to
3 the Waste Management permit application submitted to

4 DEP on March 20th, 2018 by the Applicant, Synagro.
5 The testimony given this evening is based on - we
6 received comments provided to DEP by Plainfield
7 Township on October 17, 2018 regarding technical
8 contents of the permit application.
9 We believe - this has already been
10 covered, but we believe the application was
11 incorrectly submitted as a residual waste permit
12 application instead of a municipal waste permit
13 application.
14 This was based on information provided
15 by the Applicant. This facility is clearly intended
16 for municipal waste and there are several direct
17 references in the application provided relative to
18 municipal waste.
19 We suggest a permit application to be
20 submitted and processed by DEP municipal waste
21 permits.
22 They also submitted a general permit,
23 we believe an individual permit, and in that case
24 preparation inclusion of environmental assessment
25 performed be necessary. But regardless, the

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33
1 township asserts that the Plainfield Recovery Center
2 will have a significant impact on the community
3 relative to truck traffic, noises and the potential
4 for leaks and spills.
5 Therefore, we suggest the Township
6 encourage DEP require the Applicant to prepare
7 environmental, PA municipal waste and air quality
8 permits preventing nuisances and control associated
9 with dust and odors. And we know the standard.
10 There are no valid emissions that can be detected on
11 the property.
12 The township believes the Applicant
13 did not provide a fully developed waste control plan
14 per the application submittal that addresses and
15 controls and influences information provided.
16 Incorrect information is not sufficient in
17 determining monitoring dust and noise beyond the
18 property, and if so, how is this going to be
19 accomplished?
20 In order to ensure that the facility
21 honors their commitments relative to odors, a fully
22 developed - or I'm sorry, municipal control plan
23 with routine monitoring of odors documented properly

24 is critical, such as plan and documentation that -
25 management practices to prevent odors. The Act

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34
1 required the Applicant to monitor and protect the
2 property lines.
3 The township urges DEP to require a
4 robust and comprehensive nuisance control plan.
5 Notably the township is currently
6 working on a comprehensive plan at the suggestion of
7 the township. The submission was received by the
8 township on Thursday, November 1st, and the township
9 review is currently in progress. Synagro has agreed
10 to work with the township to develop a nuisance
11 control plan with these provisions specified in the
12 township ordinances, and that addresses the
13 concerns.
14 The township strongly encourages DEP
15 to incorporate this final nuisance control plan in
16 its entirety in the Waste Management permit.
18 MS. JOH STON: Several odors were
19 listed and identified in the Waste Management
20 application, which are contrary to our initial
21 belief that all of the activities were taking place
22 within the bui-ding. Rather, now we have a tipping
23 area where there is recovery at the receiving area.
24 The practice is open, and wastewater material could
25 slide off, and we believe this needs ventilated and

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1 needs reported.
2 This receiving area is washed down so
3 is particularly vulnerable to fugitive odors, which
4 was clearly de-articulated in the emissions control
5 plan.
6 We also provided comments on the
7 emergency response and spill control plans, which
8 were - submitted the application. We recognize the
9 itemized plan. There were a significant number of
10 comments in the provided plan, and for example,
11 there are few comments about the potential for
12 environment sludge.
13 Just one more comment. We did provide
14 additional comments on compliance history and a
15 classification plan. And also, that is included in
16 the letter. Thank you.
18 Kelly Giamoni.
19 MS. GIAMONI: Giamoni (corrects
20 pronunciation)
21 Can everybody hear me?
22 MS. CONNELLY: Stenographer, can you
23 hear her?
24 COURT REPORTER: Kind of. Can you
25 repeat your name?

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1 MS. GIAMONI: Kelly, K-E-L-L-Y,
2 Giamoni, G-I-A-M-O-N-I.
3 I live within walking distance from

4 here. And i t is very sad that I grew up on a farm
5 where I was allowed to ride bikes and play outside
6 any day of the week. However, my children have to
7 stay inside several days with the smell that's
8 outside, because it does burn our eyes and they are
9 coughing way more than any child should ever ave
10 to.
11 Now, we're talking about this plant
12 moving in here, which I've read the last few days
13 over and over stories, she said there was no smells.
14 The newspaper reports - time after time, they would
15 call for the reports in Florida, please don't lie to
16 our community. We need the truth.
17 We love our children, we love our
18 families. You cannot sit up there and look out to
19 the faces of all these people who are concerned for
20 our properties, our lives, our health and tell these
21 lies. As a matter of fact, as I look here there was
22 a man that died in January, your place settled a
23 lawsuit with the family in New Hampshire. The man
24 died from respiratory problems days after being
25 exposed to sludge.

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1 You need to look up facts, people.
2 And I cannot believe that all of you sit up there
3 and tell us we don't have any word on what goes on
4 in our community. How can you do that? We pay
5 taxes. We pay for our property. We're not living
6 there free to die.
7 Can you tell me, anyone - please, how
8 do you go to bed at night knowing that we're putting
9 our children in dangerous sludge? And it has a
10 biohazardous name, but i t ' s s t i l l sludge. It
11 contains mercury and things that we try to keep away
12 from our children, but now you're putting it back
13 into our environment. We're eating food that is -
14 it is not acceptable. Not today, not tomorrow, not
15 any time in my lifetime, and that is all I have to
16 say.
17 MS. CONNELLY: The next name is Yuriy
18 Byulyukov.
19 Luther Bond.
20 MR. BOND: Hello. Dr. Luther Bond,
21 I'm a resident of Pen Argyl. I refer you to the
22 black binder I gave you for admission into evidence.
23 It supports what I'm about to say. What I
24 researched.
25 I've been a medical professional for

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1 about over 23 years. Substantial for the entirety
2 of that duration. They have been sued for - they
3 filled the air with - and surrounding towns with
4 noxious fumes.
5 Now, this is a company that has no
6 regard to land. They have a history of lying to
7 government officials. Had a hefty fine levied
8 against them for utilizing faulty equipment, such as
9 broken faulty trucks and having bad air quality.
10 Synagro has no concern for the public
11 health and property values for townships such as
12 Plainfield.
13 An example of their disingenuity, as
14 stated today, the sludge prior to transport is
15 sterilized. This is far from being true. There are
16 several ways to sterilize, radiation as well as
17 steam.
18 Synagro, has not irradiated it. It's
19 unthinkable, not to mention the new generations are
20 not to be sterilized. Sterilization requires high
21 temperature and high pressure over a prescribed
22 time. Synagro does not meet the necessary
23 temperature, either during which process before

24 drying the sludge or pressure requirements.
25 Additionally, the sterilization

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1 standard is 253 at 15 psi for 15 minutes.
2 In all other areas i t ' s well
3 documented, the high quality streams and the
4 tributaries to the Little Bushkill, as well as the
5 groundwater.
6 Sewer sludge findings are extremely
7 toxic hazardous waste. Now, I'm going to give you
8 what it contains. It contains pharmaceuticals,
9 unregulated medical waste, agents such as viruses
10 like hepatitis, flu, resistant bacteria, such as
11 E.coli and Methicillin-resistant staphyloccus,
12 otherwise known as MRSA, spores, organic and
13 inorganic such as hydrochloric acid phenol
14 carcinogens, such as arsenic, lead, mercury,
15 chromium, palladium, cadmium, zinc, nickel, and far
16 too many other ones that are simply unknown.
17 Synagro has stated on several
18 occasions they would monitor a few of these agents,
19 but not a vast majority of them. They even gone as
20 far as to state that that type of particular load is
21 above the allotted amount of certain material.
22 The toxicity of the sludge is well
23 documented and other communities noted bronchospasm,
24 asthma, cancer, et cetera. They have been
25 documented and directly related to the use of

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1 sludge.
2 The trucks proposed to be used are
3 dump style with the tarp covering. These trucks
4 will go along Wind Gap, which has restaurants, food
5 and other sources being exposed to sludge. Private

6 residences, the school, nursing homes and other
7 senior living will have exposure to these trucks.
8 They are not even close to a controlled system.
9 On rainy days, the worst snow date, I
10 believe it showed exposure and sludge. The roadway

11 and air quality will suffer tremendously. And more
12 significantly, driving conditions happen here, many
13 times in the Poconos. Incidents of sludge spill are
14 extremely high.
16 DR. BOND: Synagro responded, we only
17 hire very good drivers. They bring the trucks into
18 a facility. They have been tarped, wet and filled
19 with sludge, and dump material into a hopper. This
20 will activate the sludge and decrease air quality.
21 Next, they use high pressure hoses to
22 wash the trucks, and the trucks then exit the
23 facility.
25 DR. BOND: The storm water will be

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41
1 handling the sludge. The trucks will be in and out
2 of the facility. The storm water will contain
3 sludge, and it will drain into the pond, and then
4 contaminated storm water will find its way into the
5 wells and Little Bushkill.
6 Thank you.
7 MS. CONNELLY: Mr. Huratiak.
8 MR. HURATIAK: Justin Huratiak,
9 H-U-R-A-T-I-A-K. I just wanted to say I'm a
10 lifelong resident of Washington County. I have
11 several properties. I'm also on the Washington
12 Township Recreation Committee. Several properties,
13 one is at a 50-acre farm in Washington Township.
14 So I'd just like to say first and
15 foremost to Plainfield Township, you're doing a
16 great job - a thorough job of looking out for the
17 interest of the community.
18 I believe the other communities around
19 us in surrounding townships are showing their
20 interest in the allegation and we appreciate their
21 thoroughness in that aspect.
22 Most our comments address the issues
23 on hand with the permit process itself, that I

24 believe tonight we have seen several key factors
25 that we need to address for the permits to be

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42
1 processed.
2 So one of which I'm going to say is
3 the smell and Synagro itself, green facility - you
4 know, i t ' s been falsely presented as a green
5 application, maybe new technology. Maybe i t ' s been
6 compromised along the way. However these two years
7 prior to this facility is not the first we've seen
8 Synagro. We've been fighting Synagro for over ten
9 years with their applications for local farm fields,
10 and their deviation of the truth and deception of
11 those facts, to have proof, and have untrustworthy
12 to us as a community.
13 And then we go to Waste Management,
14 and again, I mean no disrespect, because I have a
15 high regard and much respect for what he has done
16 for this community and it has put a lot of food at
17 these tables, created a lot of jobs, and I think
18 that we have accepted the fact that the garbage has
19 to go somewhere, and we realize that.
20 And it doesn't stay there for a long
21 time, but the dump is supposed to be. And Waste
22 Management has now presented itself as the fueling
23 fire to this facility, and I think as we've spoken -
24 my question to the Board was you can't have it both
25 ways. This facility can't be under the umbrella of

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1 Waste Management, under one permit, the general
2 permit and then be set individually under the
3 subdivision factor, because i t ' s been asking to go
4 through this process in order to comply.
5 DEP is doing their job, so I'm going
6 to say that, you know, Mr. Stabello has taken the
7 time to explain things to me, because I'm not an
8 engineer, I'm not an attorney, but I'm trying to
9 educate myself in this process. DEP and everyone
10 has done their job in trying to help educate us.
11 But let's face it. We're not lawyers.

12 We're not here to fight this fight. They're doing
13 their job, Plainfield is doing their job, and I
14 think that as a community we need to step up and do
15 our job. So I think i t ' s time for a class action
16 lawsuit, and I think i t ' s time - We figure out the
17 problem, we fix the problem before there's a new
18 problem.
19 I'm going to tell you that I reached
20 to the DEP water quality department about the
21 testing of Waltz Creek. Each department within the
22 DEP has their hands tied. The health department has
23 not done test studies on this facility. Even though

24 we've done rigorous testing expansion, you know,
25 they have taken our means for our standards, and

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1 this proves that we're not going to stand for this
2 anymore.
3 So as a community -
5 MR. HURATIAK: - we should stand up.
6 I'd address the citizens of advisory council for DEP
7 that the next meeting out in Harrisburg, the
8 environmental quality board meetings, we'll also ask
9 to participate in that, so that we can do that.
10 Once we get the health study done, we figure out the
11 air quality problem we currently have, then we can
12 talk about permits for new air quality for the
13 proposed facility.
14 Thank you.
16 Rob Uliana, come on up.
17 MR. ULIANA: It's Rob Uliana. It's,
18 U-L-I-A-N-A. Justin and I grew up in the area. We
19 were actually friends growing up. I was born and
20 raised here until I was about 18 when I moved down
21 south for college.
22 About 20 years later, now two decades
23 later, both of my parents passed and I inherited
24 their house and came back to live in the area. I
25 was shocked to find the smell of the dump every

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1 morning when I wake up and walk out my door. It was
2 never like that growing up as a child. I don't
3 remember that ever.
4 Maybe when you drive by it sometimes
5 you would, but now i t ' s like everyone's saying here
6 tonight. A real nuisance. And the closer you get,
7 the worse it is.
8 So my question - well, my statement
9 would be how can you expect us to believe that Waste
10 Management and Synagro are going to make sure that
11 these odor controls are in place? And as Justin
12 said, they have been able to do it with Waste
13 Management to date.
14 And I think that's the bridge you need
15 to cross first. Get that under control before you
16 go ahead and approve a new addition coming in. And
17 as you kind of say, they're not the same thing. The
18 signs and stuff there from Synagro is saying, you
19 know, this is two separate entities, i t ' s not.
20 We're going to be here working together. It's going
21 to be under the same - as you said under the same
22 permi t.
23 I think that we need to address all of

24 the issues with the odor that we're having now and
25 the possible cancer risks and everything else that

(814) 536-8908
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1 might be coming out of this dump, and the smell.
2 And we don't know what it is, but I did lose both of
3 my parents in one year to cancer and they live
4 pretty close to the dump.
5 And so I think we really need to focus
6 on those issues before moving on.
7 Thank you.
8 MS. CONNELLY: Jason Smith?
9 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Jason already
10 testified.
12 Ian Robinson.
13 MR. ROBINSON: My name is Ian
14 Robinson. I'm a retired professional engineer.
15 MS. CONNELLY: Can you speak up a
16 little, sir?
17 MR. ROBINSON: My name is Ian
18 Robinson.
20 MR. ROBINSON: I'm a retired
21 professional engineer, currently inactive. The way
22 this is going, I may become active again.
23 However, I would like to find out from
24 DEP exactly what sort of testing criteria exactly is
25 going to take place.

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1 I heard tonight you would send
2 experienced people with experience in those - based
3 on that, what would have - whether it covers the
4 landfill or this proposed facility. I'm a pretty
5 short guy, but that fence at the facility is going
6 to be way over my head. It is going to be more, so
7 the chances of you getting an overview by a person
8 standing on the ground is really absurd. There
9 needs to be a measurement on that.
10 Now, as far as what's been submitted,
11 I've heard various things can be in sludge material.
12 Primarily, sulfide and ammonia. I would like to
13 know, how are you going to detect those? Also, who
14 will conduct the test? If DEP is doing the testing
15 or an independent contractor, that's fine.
16 But if you're going to be relying on
17 facilities, you have to look - question as to how
18 much accuracy or validity in their test.
19 Now, as far as the testing on
20 frequency, we heard tonight the testing of either
21 incoming sludge, possibly air tests, I'm not sure,
22 will be done on a monthly basis.
23 ow, if you're accepting this plan of

24 400 times a day, if you go 30 days, that's 1,200
25 tons of material that is not subjected to tests.

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1 That doesn't take into account what happens if the
2 tests are not in compliance.
3 It is quite feasible you may go a
4 month and a half, two months before you actually
5 know what you're dealing with and how to react to
6 it.
7 Now, in terms of the remedies for
8 noncompliance, I assume that someone would be
9 testing for compliance, shut downs. So I'd like to
10 ask DEP, what kind of a waiver does a person have in
11 noncompliance?
12 Now, from the power industry, it is
13 quite common that if we get a piece of equipment
14 that broke down in order to generate electricity, we
15 continue to operate that power plant. And we would
16 get whatever came out of the stack, whether it was
17 soot, arsenic, heavy metals.
18 I'd like DEP to actually address, at
19 some point, what is the period of compliance. Is it
20 a day, is i t a week or a month? That basically
21 concludes my testimony. Thank you.
22 MS. CONNELLY: Tom Carlo.
23 MR. CARLO: Tom Carlo. We spoke about
24 testing. We've asked three state representatives
25 for water testing. We've gotten three different

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1 answers. I was asked by a board member about
2 testing. He followed up with results. It had to be
3 treated. We don't know the stuff they're treating.
4 It takes a week to get the results back and stuff.
5 They say we'll fix it and send you a letter.
6 We also got - we take samples of the
7 area. Another Commissioner said we don't test it at
8 all. Ask your wastewater treatment facility, you're
9 not going to get a straight answer. We've asked
10 numerous questions.
11 Bring up the Philadelphia plan, well,
12 if you're at 50 percent or 60 percent, why is there
13 a need to build the facility in our community, aside
14 from the fact that Waste Management is looking for a
15 permit to get money and bringing in their garbage?
16 And as far as Waste Management, they
17 did studies on this, studies on that and none of
18 this makes sense. The trucks are coming through the
19 wastewater treatment facility. The trucks, are they
20 getting washed up before they come into the
21 facility?
22 We want answers, not just a song and
23 dance. We can't have that. I have a question for
24 you guys, would you want this in your town? Would
25 you want to live within less than a thousand feet of

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1 the facility, half a mile? Your reservoir within a
2 mile of it? That's what we have.
3 Senator Stabello, we approached him
4 two years ago about this. Why won't you deal with
5 the people you're representing, to come out against
6 this? That's all.
8 Nolin Peron.
9 MR. PERON: Good evening. My name is
10 Nolin Peron, and I reside at 253 Meadow Lane, Pen
11 Argyl, Pennsylvania about a mile or so southeast
12 from the proposed facility.
13 I have a lifelong involvement with the
14 waste industry, landfill and waste hauling side of
15 the business. We only have a few options now. We
16 can recycle, have direct contact with the land as
17 was done with mine reclamation. We can landfill it,
18 or we can recycle it and turn it into useful
19 products. While the last works fairly, well, it is
20 limited to about half the days of the year due to
21 weather consideration.
22 And the sheer amount of materials -
23 excuse me a minute. And the sheer amount of land

24 necessary for the landfill creates some other
25 issues, exposing that water to the landfill and

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1 making it more contaminated. My professional
2 opinion is recycle material. These types of
3 facilities reverse the process.
4 My home is close to the proposed
5 facility, and I have no personal objection to it
6 being built, nor do I state an objection.
7 In regard to health issues, I do not
8 think the proposed facility is a threat. That
9 facility has nothing to do with our communities.
10 Our friends and neighbors are working the sewage
11 treatment plants, and we have several septic tanks
12 in the area. Who's getting sick? What is being
13 handled is raw sewage. I don't see anyone getting

14 sick.
15 Thank you.
17 Howard Klein.
18 MR. KLEIN: Howard Klein. I was a
19 supervisor for 18 years. We have over a thousand
20 acres of land and we'll have sewage, sludge on our
21 property. So I have some experience as far as this
22 property is concerned.
23 Let me go over a couple things. As

24 far as the nuisance control plan, i t ' s my
25 understanding that there's a one-year cushion that

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52
1 nuisance lawsuits can be brought upon Synagro. So
2 what they intend to do is they intend to be a good
3 neighbor for the first year, and then they minimize
4 the effect on the adjoining communities, because
5 they know they have that one year cushion.
6 And you can check a lawyer on this.
7 But after that first year, wow, because they know
8 they can't touch them in a lawsuit. That's number
9 one.
10 Number two, the consistency of the
11 product. Their target area is in north New Jersey.
12 There is a big difference in any kind of sludge that
13 comes from the wastewater treatment plant rurally
14 next to the Merck facility versus north New Jersey
15 where maybe the emergency medical center is located.
16 So the idea that this is consistent
17 product - thus it needs to be tested to develop what
18 is in this stuff. And DEP is not - well, there's a
19 lot of things to be said.
20 I was at a conference just last week
21 up in the Poconos. The Poconos water conference,
22 and the Waltz Creek, the Bushkill - and by the way,
23 the sludge is coming into the Poconos. It is. On

24 East Penn Township, I passed Pocono Township. It's
25 happening. It's going to affect their waterways.

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1 And $22 billion is generated from
2 outdoor activities with the canoeing or the kayaking
3 or recreation or fishing of these streams. You need
4 to protect them. The generation of this product
5 doesn't protect anything.
6 Dealing with the DEP, you call the
7 DEP, what they're going to tell you, no matter what
8 your complaint is, they're following the rules,
9 they're following the regulations, there's nothing
10 you can do. This is the DEP. Talk to your
11 representatives, change the rules, change the
12 regulations.
13 You have no idea how frustrating that
14 is, when - I mean, I can empathize with you. I
15 smell it. It's terrible. And yet DEP will just say
16 call your representative. Am I wrong? Isn't this
17 usually what you tell people?
18 They follow the rules. So now is the
19 time to do something about it, because if this ever
20 goes through, you got a big problem on your hands.
21 I mean, a class action lawsuit is
22 probably a really good idea.
23 MS. CONNELLY: Russell Zerbo?
24 Sherry Acevedo?
25 MS. ACEVEDO: My name is Sherry

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1 Acevedo, A-C-E-V-E-D-O.
2 I would like to address the study
3 regarding the permitting process, specifically about
4 further environmental assessment, health assessment,
5 especially current.
6 We have regulations that have changed.
7 A lot of different things have changed. We heard
8 the testimony today about odor issues, lung and
9 respiratory issues, cancer. There's something going
10 on that needs to be addressed. We need to take care
11 of what's existing.
12 In addition, emergency responses, they
13 have to have some kind of scrubber that's onsite.
14 What happens if there's a spill? What happens if
15 there is a general emergency? What's going to
16 happen? We experienced that in the community. Five
17 or six years ago we had to be evacuated, a truck
18 spilled.
19 What do you do in those situations?
20 Is there an emergency plan that's enacted with
21 emergency management as well?
22 Looking at the existing township
23 plans, I have worked with them for the past 20
24 years. It's one of the communities that I used to
25 work with, in _ooking at ordinances. They're

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1 progressive in their own community with ordinances
2 and regulations in place to promote the quality of
3 life for residents for this region, but also
4 requiring preservation in addition to the
5 environmental qualities that this area has.
6 We are a trail community, we are a
7 trail town. The Borough of Wind Gap. The
8 Appalachian Trail takes you to the top of the
9 mountains. We have the local level, the town level
10 and the state level, Conservation Act resources.
11 In addition, there are the landscapes,
12 the environmental habitat, endangered species that
13 exist in this region, especially these headwaters,
14 this mountain, and the headwaters and mountain
15 waters.
16 We're concerned about the water
17 quality. We are part of the team in the watershed.
18 We have the Little Bushkill that's already been
19 compromised. It's an H2 designation, however, we've
20 already seen degradation.
21 So we're looking at the air quality,
22 the quality of life, and the impacts to water -
23 watershed.
24 I ' l l also take you back to the heavy
25 metals. Heavy metals are going to be existing in

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56
1 this material. Look at Palmerton with the pollution
2 that existed. Chromium, one of the heavy metals
3 that exist in one of the biggest Superfund sites In
4 the history of this country.
6 MS. ACEVEDO: As a result of that, we
7 look at the degradation of the environment. We
8 don't want to have that happen in our area and our
9 community. That is a big factor when nothing grows,
10 but i t grows below the surface, that those heavy
11 metals will always stay.
12 Storm water runoff, how is that
13 impacting the quarry? How does it impact all of our
14 environment, plus our health?
15 MS. CON ELLY: Thirty (30) seconds.
16 MS. ACEVEDO: So I encourage you to
17 consider that. This is not a facility, a potential
18 Superfund site, we want in this a~ea.
19 Thank you.
21 It is 9:55. That concludes our
22 testimony section.
23 MR. JUA : Look at that picture and
24 look at the line that's in the yellow. That's the
25 existing pond - from the water barrier.

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1 They build - they're proposing all
2 this in yellow, and they separate it. We're going
3 to do that anyways just to be nice. Why do it just
4 to be nice? And they're saying they meet the
5 requirement of building it and then afterwards
6 saying look at that, which is not shown on this
7 picture. In the last two months, they said that's
8 our protection for the zoning. And they said
9 they're going to put a heater across it, because
10 they couldn't use it. It's like an emergency exit.
11 That's nonsense.
12 Now, my understanding was the zoning
13 code was in effect before an application went into
14 the DEP, and if that is not the case, I want to make
15 it clear that there's two - at least two zoning
16 issues that need to be resolved.
17 Mr. Huratiak, excuse the
18 pronunciation, I really like what he said, and I,
19 too, compliment Waste Management. Waste Management
20 has been good in some ways to the communities. But
21 I think this is implied - I think this is kind of
22 implied. We're done with trash here in
23 Pennsylvania. We're done with garbage, including

24 sludge. We're done.
25 The understanding when we had that

(814) 536-8908
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1 landfill agreement - and I think several people in
2 this room were there, and they know, and I've asked
3 Waste Management, and I've asked Green Knight,

4 explain why you're going to back out of that
5 agreement. You're going to break your agreement.

6 Everyone understood, even the Chairman of the Board
7 who signed the agreement for the township - and this
8 would be regarding our trails, which is shown on the
9 diagram.
10 Thirty (30) years. This is being used
11 as an excuse now, this 30 year limit. If they can
12 prove that they can't get all parts of the landfill
13 that need to be, then I might listen. I haven't
14 seen that proven yet. I think that's an excuse.
15 Let's talk about economics. I saw an
16 analysis of a sewer system. The waste energy, they
17 pretty much stated they're going to get up to
18 $100,000 a year, $100,000 a year for this
19 partnership. That's about $87 at that time. It's

20 more than 20 times the amount, which is about $2.8
21 million. Let's get a calculation here.
22 Mr. Huratiak stated - 100 percent
23 natural gas under the rate services. Well, you said

24 there's millions of dollars extra. Where is that
25 going? Is Waste Management getting - are they

(814) 536-8908
59
1 profit sharing? The more sludge they process, are
2 they going to get more income?
3 And I believe they're supposed to be
4 nice. I think you're doing this, quite honestly, to
5 keep this facility generating a lot of income for
6 the next number of decades. And they're taking our
7 property to do it, which is wrong.
8 Mr. Zerbo, he was going to testify to
9 a couple health issues, and issues he was going to
10 testify to are air quality, and he believes that
11 because of the permit that's required -
13 MR. JUAN: - the level will decrease
14 in air quality. And he cited an EPA document on
15 that.
16 The other point is this. Synagro
17 applied for a single-source permit to air quality,
18 and you heard discussion related to this earlier
19 tonight. These three plants - the Synagro plant,
20 the-
22 MS. CONNELLY: - landfill gas permit
23 and the landfill are all one - these are all - these
24 are all operated on the same property. They're all
25 related. They use the same property and just go on

(814) 536-8908
60
1 to the next. This should be a single-source permit.
2 I'm not a professional. I'm an engineer, but I
3 think i t ' s quite obvious, you can't make an argument
4 that this thing is independent on its own and it has
5 an independent air quality.
6 This is the permitted use - Mr.
7 Stabello-
8 MS. CONNELLY: Sir.
9 MR. JUAN: Just quickly. However,
10 he's pointed out that DEP will not hold a hearing,
11 such as this one, on activation that they haven't
12 appealed on. If there's never going to be a
13 discussion - excuse me, I'm speaking.
14 MS. CONNELLY: Sir, keep your
15 testimony-
16 MR. JUAN: We need the DEP to come
17 back here and talk about this. Thank you.
18 MS. CONNELLY: The time now is ten
19 o'clock. Thank you for coming out tonight. That
20 concludes our testimony.
21 AUDIENCE MEMBER: I didn't get my
22 second comments.
23 MS. CONNELLY: You can submit them. I
24 have to end this hearing. It is ten o'clock. That
25 concludes our public hearing.

(814) 536-8908
61
1 * * * * * * * *
2 HEARING CONCLUDED AT 10:02 P.M.
3 * * * * * * * *
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1 CERTIFICATE
2 I hereby certify that the foregoing
3 proceedings, hearing held before Colleen Connolly,
4 Community Relations Coordinator, was reported by me
5 on 11-07-18 and that I, Kayla Marie Keating, read
6 this transcript, and that I attest that this
7 transcript is a true and accurate record of the
8 proceed~ng.
9 Dated the 6th day of December, 20_8
10
#r--~'~1f11l
11
12 Ke ti ,
K Y ~ Mar i e
13 Court Reporter
14
15
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(814) 536-8908

Nov 7 2018 DEP Hearing Transcript

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Nov 7 2018 DEP Hearing Transcript

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

IN RE: SLATE BELT HEAT RECOVERY CENTER PROJECT,

BEFORE: COLLEEN CON OLLY, Community Relations

Christopher Solloway, Member

Roger Bellas, Member

Mark Wejkszner, Member

Amy Bellanca, Member

HEARING: Wednesday, November 7, 2018

LOCATION: Wind Gap Middle School

1620 Teels Road

Pen Argyl, PA 18072

Reporter: Kayla Keating

Any reproduction of this transcript

is prohibited without authorization

by the certifying agency

Sargent's Court Reporting Service, Inc.

3 Senator Mario Stabello

13 Dr. Luther Bond

Sargent's Court Reporting Service, Inc.

Sargent's Court Reporting Service, Inc.

Sargent's Court Reporting Service, Inc.

3 MS. CONNOLLY: Okay.

4 We're on the record now. It is

5 approximately 8:34 p.m. on Wednesday, November 7,

7 We're going to begin the public

8 hearing session of the Slate Belt Heat Recovery

9 Center Application for its four permits from the

10 Department of Environmental Protection operating

11 Slate Belt Recovery Center.

12 Again, we already have our list of

13 participants. I want to go over some - over ground

14 rules for the public hearing. Please turn off your

15 cell phones, put them on vibrate.

16 Each person will be allowed five

17 minutes of testimony to speak. I will time them.

18 When I call your name, come up to the microphone,

19 state your name, spell it so the stenographer can

20 get your name on the record.

21 Please don't go out of place or

22 anything. If we have time, if you didn't sign up, I

23 will ask you to come up to the microphone

24 afterwards, after I call the 20 or so people who

25 have already signed up.

Sargent's Court Reporting Service, Inc.

2 repeat that the company has applied to DEP for an

3 air quality plan approval for construction and

5 Waste Management permit to dry biosolids to create a

6 Class A product, a Waste Management permit

7 application to existing permits to physically

8 construct a heat recovery center on the site of

9 Grand Central Landfill in Plainfield Township, and a

10 National Pollution Discharge and Elimination System,

11 NPDES, permit for discharging wastewater - storm

12 water, excuse me, discharging storm water.

13 I'm going to call your name on the

14 list in the order they signed up, so we'll move this

15 along as expeditiously as possible.

16 Senator Stabello has asked that he go

17 first, so before I get to the public, I'm going to

18 have Senator Stabello.

19 Please come up to the microphone,

20 state and spell your name.

21 Thank you, Senator Stabello.

22 SENATOR STABELLO: Thank you, Colleen.