A growing mountain of dirt on a Cassell Road farm has created concerns in Lower Salford. Residents described the mound as a nuisance. Township officials have expressed concerns that runoff from the pile could end up in the Skippack Creek.

            Municipal officials and residents, along with a representative of the Montgomery County Conservation District, gathered around a conference table Tuesday morning at the Lower Salford Township Building to express their concerns to a handful of officials from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

            State Sen. Bob Mensch, R-24^th Dist., and state Rep. Marcy Toepel, R-147^th Dist., also attended the meeting, which considered options to contend with a growing amount of rock and stone removed during the current widening of a seven mile portion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

            Jim Farese, a project manager with R.E. Pierson Construction, the contractor doing the work, identified the current height of the mound as 75 feet. Farese estimated that it would likely grow to 87 feet. Just under 900,000 cubic yards of excess dirt has already been dumped on the property along Cassell Road, according to the project manager. He stated that an additional 450,000 cubic yards from the project would likely end up on the property as the work to expand the toll road between the Lansdale Interchange and Cassel Road continues.

            Supervisor Christopher Canavan described the pile as an eyesore "that has dramatically changed the landscape." He called the hour-long meeting a success, explaining that commission officials were made aware of the township's issues, and residents had the opportunity to voice their concerns.

            Canavan, who ran the meeting, described the amount of fill stored on the property as disconcerting. "What else can be done?" he asked. Canavan said the mound has more impact on his community than the work to widen the highway.

            The Turnpike Commission purchased a pair of Lower Salford parcels in 2012 at 105 Cassell Road and 151 Cassell Road. The commission paid $1 for each, according to Montgomery County property records.

            Since the farmlands were included in the commission's right of way, Lower Salford officials have been excluded from regulating the property, according to Canavan.

            "This is not a good solution," he said during the meeting.

            According to Canavan, two-thirds of the property is located in Franconia. However, he said the large mound is located in his municipality.

            One resident said he felt blindsided by the growth of the mound, which he has watched from Reed Park. "The Turnpike Commission has gone rogue on this," he said. 

            Canavan expressed concerns that potential runoff from the pile could complicate the township's efforts to limit sediment discharges into the creek. What was missing, he argued, was the township's opportunity to provide alternatives for the fill storage.

            "It should have been part of the land development process," Canavan said.

            John Ozimok, a construction engineer manager with the commission who is overseeing the project, told the elected officials they could expect a response within three to four weeks.