Quarry expansion request near Hawley jars residents. How to file a complaint with DEP

Blasting from Leeward Middle Creek Quarry, which has jarred some residents of Hawley Borough and the Marble Hill section of Palmyra Township for years, has reached a point where loud and concerted complaints are being made— with the encouragement of borough council.

The residents have been motivated by a request being made to Palmyra Township by E.R. Linde Construction Corporation (companion to Leeward Construction Company), owner of the stone quarry, to expand mining to another 5.4 acres on their site on top of the ridge. The numerous residents who spoke up at the September 14 council meeting are outraged both by the noise and effects on their homes they blame on the quarry, from associated vibrations and plumes of dust.

E.R. Linde, of Honesdale, is asking for a "Special Exception" from Palmyra Township's Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) which would allow the company to extract stone from the parcel, alongside the 87.3 acres designated for industrial land use, which was approved by Palmyra Township in 2002.

Proposed mining area brings potential of blasting near Hawley

The extra acreage is on the side towards Hawley. The newly-proposed mining area brings the potential for blasting about twice as close to the nearest houses, and a bit further down the ridge. Judging from the township's most recent map, presently mining is done as close as about 800 feet from homes at the upper end of Keystone Street and along Wangum Avenue; the expanded mining would come roughly another 400 feet closer.

The entire, approximately 277-acre property owned by Linde is sandwiched between Owego Turnpike to the west, and on the east side, Marble Hill, Palmyra Township and Hawley Borough.

The ZHB has not yet announced a date for the public hearing.

The matter came before the township planning commission on September 12. The commission made a non-binding recommendation to the ZHB to not allow further expansion of the acreage where extraction is allowed. The commission advised that Linde can use other portions within the 87.3 acres already approved, that have not been utilized. Planning vice-chairperson Andrea Whyte said that the meeting was very well attended, and residents complained about quarry impacts.

What is a 'Special Exception'?

Paul Natale, Palmyra's Zoning Officer and Planning Commission Secretary, said the ZHB meeting most likely will be held at the Hawley fire station where there is more room. The 2002 hearing was held there as well due to the size of the crowd.

Natale explained by nature of a "Special Exception," as long as the applicant is complying with regulations the request would normally be granted; it remains to the "protesters" to prove otherwise.

"And that is a hard sell," he added.

The Planning Commission, Natale said, represents the township, and if there is a strong opinion from residents to say "no," the commission would likely vote "no" to recommend approval.

Linde is not asking to change the zoning, only to be permitted to mine additional acreage in the Rural Residential Zone, Natale said. This was granted in 2002 by way of a conditional use hearing. Linde has complied with boundary setbacks, he stated; the proposed additional acreage also is within setbacks.

Linde also calls the township in advance of blasting, as required by the 2002 conditions, Natale said. He added he was unsure as to what the Zoning Hearing Board is bound by.

How to document blasts to inform DEP

Borough solicitor Robert Bernathy stressed at the Hawley Council meeting the importance to the residents documenting each time they are affected by a blast, recording when it occurred and what happened. Photographs are recommended of any effects residents feel were caused by quarry operations, such as: a crack in the wall, something that fell from a wall, sediments in their water and dust residents believe may be related to blasting.

He said that detailed notes with dates are important for residents to refresh their memory when making testimony. He said the more residents do that, the more impact they will have. Bernathy advised residents to contact the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to lodge a formal complaint.

DEP's District Mining Office in Pottsville covers Wayne County. DEP allows complaints to be made confidentially.Bernathy also suggested that residents could pursue a private lawsuit. He said residents may want to join together and consult a private attorney to see if they have a case.

'Shaken to their foundations'

Alan Feinstein of Columbus Avenue commented: "They sometimes start their operation processing their rock as early as quarter after four in the morning; I know because I am out there walking my dog… It wakes my dog up and I have to take him out."

He questioned when their permitted hours of operation are, and seismic monitoring requirements.

"At times over the course of the last six weeks, our houses are shaken to their foundations every time they blast off over there," Feinstein said.

"You're entitled to the peaceable and quiet enjoyment of your property and certainly this is a residential area," Bernathy said, who cautioned that the borough can only do so much to help, because the quarry is in Palmyra Township and not in the borough's legal jurisdiction. The council can't formally act as a group, but they can do so individually as concerned citizens.

"Anything we can do to help, I'm certain borough council will do," Bernathy said.

Post blasting schedule

Michael Kudrich, who lives on top of Keystone Street, said he lives at "ground zero", close to the "blast zone". He asked if the borough can be notified of when the blasting is supposed to be taking place so that the public can be alerted.

"That way if we are going to do any monitoring ourselves… windows vibrating or house shaking, we can be prepared with videos and stuff like that." He said the day before, a blast shook his house so much, "it almost took me off my feet." He said it was accompanied by a dust cloud coming down.

DEP requires that the quarry owner notify the township of their blasting schedule. Bernathy suggested that the borough request Palmyra Township to share that information.

Mayor John Nichols, who has been posting information and taking people's comments about quarry concerns on his Facebook page, "The Mayor's Corner", agreed he would post the blasting schedule. Council President Michele Rojas said it could be put on the borough's website.

Charlene Feinstein said that their water tank in their Columbus Avenue house moves, and pictures fall off the wall (when blasting occurs). "This life-altering and is affecting us big time," she said.

Steve Wanamaker offered to help organize concerned residents, whether in an email chain or a Facebook group.Terry Fletcher, Columbus Avenue, asked what senior citizens can do if they can't attend the township meeting. Bernathy said it is up to Palmyra, but anyone who can't attend could write a letter to be taken to the township.

"Maybe we can come up with a plan," Rojas said, referring to intentions to have council representation at the upcoming Palmyra ZHB hearing. "Perhaps you can have various neighbors in various sections of the town— not everyone hears it at the same time… If we can document that and have something we can present as far as data to see of DEP regulations are being followed."

Hawley Councilmembers also impacted by quarry blasting

Some council members are personally impacted as well. "I have a brand-new home, it has a crack in it," Councilmember Mary Sanders of Keystone Street, said. She stated she had made a complaint to DEP and was frustrated to hear everything was normal.

"It is one thing if we all complain to each other; it is different thing if every one of us starts calling DEP and makes more and more complaints," Sanders said. "The more people that will do it, the more impact it will make." She said 20 years ago when the quarry was first approved by the township, the borough was granted "standing" by the township to testify at the hearing. She said at that time they only had "predictions" of what would happen, but now with all the testimony and evidence of impacts, they will be armed with "facts."

Will Wykoff, of Keystone Street, asked the council how many are willing to attend the Palmyra hearing. Each of the council members present raised a hand.

"It is impacting all of us," councilmember Elaine Herzog said.

Messages left for Gary Linde, president of E.R. Linde, inviting comments, but were not returned by story deadline.After two years of debate, in December 2002 the township approved the conditional use for the quarry, for the original owner, Malti, Malti & Goodwin (Leeward was hired to do the mining). A group of residents appealed to the ZHB and also to the Wayne County Court.

In addition to extracting stone, Linde also processes it at their plant and makes asphalt on the 87.3-acre section. The additional 5.4 acres would be for extraction only. The stone and asphalt are used for Leeward's many construction projects in Wayne, Lackawanna and Pike Counties.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Quarry expansion request jars Hawley residents