LOWER SAUCON TWP., Pa. — Victoria Opthof-Cordaro and the dozens of residents who oppose the Bethlehem Landfill expansion know the fight’s not over.
“In the meantime, we are also assessing our options and how we can further protect the land that is there,” Opthof-Cordaro said in a phone interview last week.
“There are options and certainly, from our perspective, we're not going away.”
- The Bethlehem Landfill Company has until June 8 to appeal a judge’s ruling deeming the landfill’s expansion void
- The township has chosen not to appeal
- Landfill opponents said they’ll continue to fight the expansion
The landfill’s proposal for a 275 acre-expansion has been paused since early May when a Northampton County judge ruled a zoning ordinance void.
While the township has decided not to appeal, landfill officials have been quiet on their plans.
But with less than a week left for the landfill to file an appeal, opponents of the expansion said they don’t think the fight is over.
“The matter is dead unless the landfill appeals to a higher court.”Gary Asteak, lawyer for many of the residents who oppose the landfill expansion
“The matter is dead unless the landfill appeals to a higher court,” said Gary Asteak, the lawyer for many of the residents who oppose the expansion.
Conditional use hearings would cease and landfill officials and the township council would have to start the process all over again.
‘I will not be doing that’
Landfill District Manager Astor Lawson said the operation is “evaluating our options for moving forward,” but neither confirmed nor denied the company’s plans to appeal.
“We provide safe and environmentally responsible essential waste disposal services to the community. We think it is clear that the large majority of the township agrees.”Astor Lawson, Bethlehem Landfill Company district manager
“We provide safe and environmentally responsible essential waste disposal services to the community,” Lawson said in an email. “We think it is clear that the large majority of the township agrees.”
Maryanne Garber, legal counsel for the landfill, did not respond to a phone call seeking comment.
Back when the case was deemed void, Garber said, "While we are disappointed in the court’s decision, we are confident that at the end of the day, we will continue to be the trusted neighbor that has operated in Lower Saucon Township with integrity and the highest standards for over the past three decades."
When Lower Saucon Township Council voted 3-2 in December to approve landfill expansion measures to rezone nearby farmland for landfill use, some residents came out to speak in opposition.
Council President Jason Banonis, Vice President Mark Inglis and Councilman Thomas Carocci voted in favor. Councilwomen Sandra Yerger and Priscilla deLeon voted against it.
LehighValleyNews.com reached out to all members of the township council, asking whether they would support the landfill’s expansion should the issue come before the council again.
Only deLeon responded.
“I can't speak for the whole council, but I will not be doing that,” she said.
‘Why should we be the garbage pit?’
It’s been less than six months since the township council voted to approve rezoning for the expansion process.
Since then, residents have rallied against it, and conditional use hearings have taken place.
Among the issues cited by residents and involved counsel are:
- Environmental impacts, endangered plants and animals nearby
- Traffic and area roadway safety
- The nearby endangered Lehigh River
- Potential impact on the Redington Historic District
- Potential impact on the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor
- Council member integrity
- Placement near St. Luke’s Anderson campus and helipad
Steel City resident Russ Sutton said one of the primary reasons he moved to the neighborhood was the scenery.
And with Calpine Bethlehem Energy Center and the Bethlehem Wastewater Treatment Plant located close by to the south of his neighborhood, he said industrial uses such as the landfill have taken over the area.
"How many insults do we need?"Russ Sutton, Steel City resident
“How many insults do we need?” Sutton said.
With trash currently coming into the landfill from not only the nearby area but also New York and New Jersey, he said it isn’t fair to the residents to only be allowed a part of the dump’s use.
“Why should we be the garbage pit of the Northeast?” he said.
He said that in his experience photographing the landfill and its progressive growth over the years, he’s been able to see it from as far away as Bangor.
On May 8, Northampton County Judge Abraham Kassis rendered the zoning ordinance void, citing improper public notice of rezoning intentions, along with issues regarding the council's actions and vote.
The landfill has until June 8 to submit an appeal to Kassis’ ruling, according to the respective planning code.
‘They should stay in their box’
Scott MacNair, a Doylestown attorney, was called in to serve as a special solicitor and conditional use hearing officer. He’s been tasked with hearing the presented evidence and advising Lower Saucon Township Council on the legal matters involved.
MacNair said he’s only heard half of the case so far considering the judge’s ruling.
“I’ve only heard the applicant’s case, and then we got to a point where the applicant rested,” MacNair said. “There are some opponents to it that would have the opportunity to present their case."
“But the whole thing has been stayed, of course, because the ordinance that allowed for this hearing to take place has been deemed to be invalid due to the fact that there were some procedural deficiencies.”
“Our objective is to preserve the land for all time and so we will continue to advocate and promote different things to ensure that the property is never developed into a landfill."Victoria Opthof-Cordaro, Citizens for Responsible Redevelopment-Lower Saucon Township
If the landfill doesn’t appeal, the council must reintroduce the zoning ordinance that would allow for the expansion. Officials would have to follow the steps to adopt the ordinance, changing the zoning classification of the properties.
“I feel that the landfill has a box, and they should stay in their box,” deLeon said. “And if it's filled, then they should move on to another place, not in our township.”
Opthof-Cordaro, coordinator for all the people who obtained party status in cases against the expansion, said they’ll keep fighting.
“Our objective is to preserve the land for all time and so we will continue to advocate and promote different things to ensure that the property is never developed into a landfill,” she said.
“We have every intent of growing the coalition of organizations involved and continuing to speak about the concern and the problems that are involved."
“And also educating the public about the concerns with a landfill expansion and educating about other alternatives that the community could consider as a whole in the Lehigh Valley, or wherever, about alternatives to what we would consider outdated ways to get rid of garbage.”
