Residents Voice Concerns Over Proposed Landfill Expansion

At a Feb. 15 meeting at Saucon Valley High School, representatives for IESI Bethlehem Landfill and Lower Saucon Township Council members heard an earful from township residents concerned about the landfill's proposed "western expansion" plan.

Sixty to 70 residents--including many who had been notified by mail--attended the meeting, which was held in the high school cafeteria to accommodate the larger-than-normal turnout.

The expansion would increase the total land area of the Applebutter Road facility by 83 acres, district manager for IESI Bethlehem Sam Donato told council during a presentation that preceded a public comment period.

The lined area that is used for the disposal of garbage would increase by approximately 45 acres, Donato said.

If the western expansion plan is ultimately approved, Donato said that "some blasting" will likely be done as part of the expansion. He added that the current entrance to the landfill on Applebutter Road is not expected to change.

He also noted that IESI has already purchased a number of properties to the west of the current landfill, and said the company is in talks with other neighbors.

In addition to expanding its land area, Donato told council members that the landfill wants to increase the daily tonnage limit on garbage that it is able to accept, pending the results of an ongoing traffic study, DEP permission and approval from the township.

The landfill's average daily vehicle load limit is currently 1,375 tons, but Donato said IESI would like to increase it to 1,800 tons, although he conceded that "1,800 tons a day is just a number we threw out there."

However, "we are looking for an increase," he affirmed.

Council president Glenn Kern stated that, regardless of whether or not council ultimately approves the expansion plan, he would not be in favor of increasing the average daily vehicle load limit for the landfill.

"And that would be for a number of reasons," he said.

Donato, who was accompanied at the meeting by IESI representatives Rick Bodner, of the engineering firm Martin & Martin, and attorney Maryanne Starr Garber, of Land Air Water Legal Solutions LLC, told council that as of January the remaining lifespan of the landfill was approximately 4.1 years.

"We will need to get our approvals and our permit in about three-and-a-half years because it's going to take us about six months for a buildout...on our western expansion," he said.

At a planning meeting in January, Donato said the completion of the western expansion could potentially extend the life of the landfill by 12 to 16 years.

Some township residents who spoke at the meeting, however, did not appear particularly eager to see that happen.

Harry Gerstenberg Jr., of Applebutter Road, was the first resident to take the podium during the public comment period that followed IESI's presentation.

Gerstenberg told council members and IESI representatives that he is concerned about drainage and odor issues near his home.

"They're gonna put runoff in the same natural stream that has flooded me twice," he said, adding that his home has been surrounded by a "moat" following two large storms over the years.

Gerstenberg explained that he lives across the road from a small stream that flows parallel to and just south of Applebutter Road.

"I want to make sure it's documented that there's a concern, because I was flooded out twice," he said.

Responding directly to Gerstenberg's concern about the potential for flooding, Bodner said the landfill would "limit the runoff to be no greater than what it is now."

Gerstenberg also said that in the past he has caught a "whiff" of something near the landfill.

"Once you smell something, it's already done some sort of damage," he said.

"We are hearing complaints about smelling methane, so that needs to be looked into," councilwoman Priscilla deLeon then said to the IESI representatives.

Another resident, George Steckel Jr., of Jefferson Avenue, Steel City, said he has also been dealing with a noxious odor within the past year.

"The smell is terrible, currently," he said. "There's days when you don't even want to go outside."

DeLeon asked Steckel to contact the township the next time he smells the odor, and Donato said he was not aware of issues in that area, which is to the northwest of the landfill.

"We'll come over and investigate this," he said. "This is the first time it was brought to our attention."

Another township resident, Charles Lapinski, of Skyline Drive, told council that following large storms there is so much runoff from the area of the landfill that his street is sometimes inaccessible.

The plan that was presented calls for vacating much of Skyline Drive, which is a one-way road that intersects with Applebutter Road west of the landfill.

Lapinski also questioned how the expansion might affect the ultimate height of the landfill mound, and asked representatives about the possiblity of supplying methane gas--a natural byproduct of the decomposition process that occurs in landfills--to a generating station on the other side of Applebutter Road.

Donato said that because the landfill is such "a small generator" of methane, he didn't think Calpine Corporation's Bethlehem Energy Center would be interested in purchasing it.

Excess methane gas is currently burned off with the use of a flare at the landfill.

Steel City resident Matt McClarin, of Riverside Drive, was one of the most emotional residents to speak at the meeting, and he, like Lapinski, questioned the height of the landfill mound.

"You have a gigantic mound of trash that's over a mountain," he said. "Do I want that stuff running onto my property, off of that gigantic pile of trash? No."

McClarin also questioned how the expansion could affect property values in the area, and said he has concerns for the future of his 10-year-old son.

Resident Kelly Schoch, of Nemeth Drive, Steel City, questioned why township residents don't have free garbage hauling or waste disposal when residents of some municipalities that host landfills do.

Specifically, Schoch said that her parents live in Earl Township, Berks County, where she said their garbage is hauled for free because of an agreement the municipality has with the local landfill.

"The residents of Earl Township have not paid for trash for years," Schoch said.

DeLeon said such an arrangement might be complicated by the fact that Lower Saucon residents do not use a single hauler, but added that it could be discussed by officials as part of a harms-benefit analysis that will be conducted.

"Right now, we're just listening," she said. "Everybody's listening."