Residents to Be Notified of Upcoming Landfill Presentation

Lower Saucon Township Council members decided at their Jan. 18 meeting that some township residents will receive advance notification of an upcoming presentation about IESI Bethlehem Landfill's proposed "western expansion" plan.

The presentation is scheduled to occur at council's Wednesday, Feb. 15 meeting, and will be the first major presentation of the plan by landfill officials before council.

At their Jan. 18 meeting, council members discussed several options for notifying residents who live near the landfill about the meeting, including sending letters to residents who live within a quarter mile, a half mile, or a one mile radius, respectively, of the Applebutter Road facility.

Township Manager noted that all of Steel City--which is the township's most densely populated section--is located within a one-mile radius of the landfill, and said there are a total of 540 residences within that radius.

Citing the need for "transparency," representatives of the landfill who were at the meeting said they would be willing to pay for the mailings.

Council members expressed satisfaction with that arrangement, but councilwoman Priscilla deLeon said that if the township won't be footing the bill, the mailings on township letterhead should indicate that they were paid for by IESI.

"To me, the most important residents (to notify) are the ones on Applebutter Road and Ringhoffer Road," she said.

Council ultimately decided to notify all township residents who live within a mile of the landfill, as well as some residents who live further east on Applebutter Road, outside that radius.

Council solicitor B. Lincoln Treadwell also asked council members if they wanted to consider holding the Feb. 15 meeting in an alternate location.

"It's possible that you will get a lot of people to come to the Feb. 15 meeting," he said.

In the past, meetings that have had the potential to attract a large number of attendees have been held in the Audion room at .

Council president Glenn Kern acknowledged that the potential for a big turnout will likely exist on Feb. 15, and directed Treadwell to look into moving the location of the meeting.

Council meetings are typically held on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7pm.