Dive Brief:
- The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is holding a hearing tonight in Langhorne on Israel-based Elcon Recycling Services' request to build an industrial waste treatment plant on 32 acres in Bucks County. Elcon processes hazardous waste produced by pharmaceutical, chemical, and other companies.
- Earlier this year, the DEP denied Elcon's request to construct a facility in the Keystone Industrial Port Complex in Falls. Residents along the Delaware River in Bucks County and New Jersey opposed the facility over concerns it could pollute the water. This time around, the DEP will determine if the proposed location for the plant is appropriate — previously, Elcon had "failed to show how it cold conform with the DEP's required flood hazard criteria," according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
- "They were able to resubmit the application with additional information because the DEP did not determine that the site did not conform, but rather that the applicant did not provide sufficient information," said DEP spokeswoman Virginia Cain. Elcon projects to process 150,000 to 175,000 tons of hazardous waste annually.
Dive Insight:
Similar plants have popped-up throughout the area. Republic Environmental Systems operates a commercial waste treatment and storage facility in Hatfield, and Safety-Kleen, which processes used oil, has commercial storage facilities in Falls and West Goshen, Philadelphia Business Journal reported. Cain said while "none of these facilities utilize the same type of treatment processes that Elcon proposes," they do accept waste from off-site sources by truck and store it before it gets shipped out for disposal or recycling.
Bucks County is no stranger to environmental concerns caused by the waste industry. The DEP recently fined Waste Management $500,000 for failing to contain odors at the Tullytown Landfill, which prompted complaints from residents across the Delaware River in Florence, NJ.
The DEP must first decide by November on whether the site meets its requirements. The next step would lead to more public hearings.