In response to a request for revisions by Highway Materials to its Perkiomenville Quarry mining permit and subsequent concerns expressed by Marlborough Township, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will hold a public meeting and a public hearing Monday  in the Marlborough Township meeting room, located at 6040 Upper Ridge Road.

            Highway Materials, Inc. – now owned by Heidelberg Materials, headquartered in Germany – wants to expand its surface mining permit by 1.3 acres and add mine reclamation fill as an option to its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit at the quarry.

            Once the request became public, township officials and residents wrote the DEP to object to the request. Their concerns mainly centered on reclamation and the use of the land after mining is completed; the interpretation of zoning laws; stormwater runoff; and the inconveniences caused to nearby residents of the quarry because of noise, blasting and truck traffic.

           In a letter to the DEP dated March 5, Skelly and Loy, Inc., an engineering firm working for Heidelberg Materials, responded to Marlborough's concerns. The firm cited the Noncoal Surface Mining Act several times to support its claim that Marlborough lacks jurisdiction. 

            Marlborough Solicitor Mark Cappuccio, township engineer Chad Camburn and resident Bruce Jackson objected to the change in the quarry's fill, or reclamation, content, which was going to be water. Heidelberg Materials is now requesting the dumping of solid material for reclamation.

            Skelly and Loy Mining Group Manager Laura Berra and senior associate Brent Sapen responded in the letter to the DEP that "the use of Reclamation Fill Material is expressly authorized by the mining permit."

             Berra and Sapen wrote, "Mine reclamation does not constitute a landfill," and listed several requirements for the materials that allegedly ensure "no contamination of groundwater will occur." They estimated it would take 40 years to fill the quarry with water.

            The letter also claimed that, because reclamation is an "operational issue," courts have found that it "is preempted from regulation by local zoning ordinances" under the Noncoal Act.

            Cappuccio, Camburn and resident Marya Schoenholtz contend that the proposed changes conflict with Marlborough's zoning laws.

            At the Marlborough supervisors meeting on Wednesday, March 12, Cappuccio explained, "Quarries are controlled by the Noncoal Surface Mining Act, and that, in itself, says that municipalities…cannot interfere with the use of the property. DEP controls the uses."

            Responding to Schoenholtz's view that the proposed expansion goes into residential zoning (R-1), Skelly and Loy conceded that a mistake was made on the Heidelberg application and that the expansion does indeed enter R-1 zoning. They claim, however, that mining is permitted there "as a lawful non-conforming use."

            Schoenholtz argued that the reclamation fill constitutes commercial use of the land instead of heavy industrial.

            "None of our zoning allows for commercial use," Schoenholtz said at the supervisors meeting.

            Cappuccio responded, "It's going to be interesting. Where does DEP come down on that issue?"

            The letter from Skelly and Loy downplayed environmental concerns noting that the project area has undergone numerous reviews by several environment-related agencies and stating that runoff flowing onto Ridge Road or into the Unami Creek "will be clean."

            Highway Materials, before it was purchased by Heidelberg Materials, had requested a similar change in zoning last spring. But after public opposition, the Marlborough supervisors negated the proposal by not taking a vote on the request.

            The letter from Heidelberg's engineering firm stated that Highway Materials had proposed paying the township $50,000 per year during the quarry's existence as "an incentive to adopt the Ordinance…since residents are always asking what is in it for the township."

            Skelly and Loy contend that "the Township's [past] decision…has no effect on the current application."

            This Monday, DEP representatives will answer questions beginning at 6 p.m. The hearing begins at 7. There will be ground rules to follow. Three minutes will be allotted for individuals to speak; relinquishing of time will not be permitted; groups must designate one speaker. Written comments can also be submitted.