Note: The following is not a verbatim transcript of the Zoning Hearing Board meeting; it is simply one person’s summary of the major points made by those involved in the hearing process.  For that reason, quotation marks are not used unless a direct quote was recorded.  For information about obtaining an official ZHB transcript, contact the New Hanover Township office.

Agenda: Continuance of previous hearings to hear testimony on behalf of Gibraltar Rock for proposed quarry operation.

 Attorney Harris representing Gibraltar Rock provided information requested at last hearing meeting on acreage involved in LI (light industrial) and HI (heavy industrial zones as follows:

                                                                                     LI                            HI

             Area north of Hoffmansville Road                  20.2 acres                  13.75 acres

             Area south of Hoffmansville Road                  61.4 acres                  65.35 acres

Attorney Harris withdrew Paul White of Walter B. Satterthwaite Assocs., Inc. as an expert witness for environmental site assessment of geology and hydrogeology.  He replaced him with Walter B. Satterthwaite. President and CEO of Walter B. Satterthwaite Assocs., Inc.  Mr. Satterthwaite presented himself as a qualified expert in local jurisdictions as well as commonwealth and federal courts.  He stated that he had personally inspected the Silvi property both prior to and after the sale for the land was completed.

Paul B. Satterthwaite was cross-examined by attorneys Bob Brant (representing the New Hanover Board of Supervisors), Francis Recchuiti (representing land owner, Robert Connolly) and David Davis (representing the Paradise Watch Dogs).

The New Hanover Zoning Board accepted Mr. Satterthwaite as an expert witness in his three areas of expertise:

Phase I – Environmental Site Assessment

Mr. Satterthwaite stated that his evaluation of records included those that were already available on site; review of federal and state records of site inspection, a review with the land owner and risk monitory review.  No on-site review is required.  He also noted suspect areas where environmental incursions may have occurred.

Phase II – Investigative Phase (based on findings and areas of possible problems are investigated)

Mr. Satterthwaite testified that he investigated corings, soil sampling and other investigative measures; e.g, air emissions, spills, etc.

Phase III – Remediation of Problems

Mr. Satterthwaite testified that his firm did only Phase I and Phase II investigations.  He does not believe that Phase III is justified.  Further testimony included:

During Phase I site visits, he had concerns regarding the hospital waste incinerator on site and the adjacent areas.  He reviewed reports conducted from 1988-1990 of wells drilled and corings as well as an assessment done for the former property owner and environmental data prepared by the DEP. 

Mr. Satterthwaite also cited his other concerns: the area of the entrance to the incinerator off Church Road, trailers and trucks that were parked near the incinerator, the barn and the house on the property. The entire area was of concern due to overflow of the incinerator wastewater and possible contamination of ground water and the watercourse across the property that could impact future use of the facility.  He also noted waste materials that were on the property.  His studies also gave consideration to wetlands plants on the property.

His greatest concerns were the incinerator and the ground water (low levels of volatiles in one well).

 The scope of Phase II specified what needed to be done:

There is an underground fuel storage tank; the area in and around the incinerator was evaluated; the wetlands were reviewed; soil testing was done to determine whether there were any environmental issues.  A series of water samples were collected.  There are a series of wells on the property and they were tested for contamination.  Water quality tests were done on those wells that are easily accessible.

His conclusion was that the site was not significantly impacted and does not pose major environmental problems--with the caveat: need testing of soil samples when the incinerator is removed to make certain there is no contamination underneath and the incinerator must be removed safely to a landfill.

He recommended to Gibraltar that the site could safely be used for a quarry.

After purchase of the property, Gibraltar Rock did a geological study to define the geology of the site with precision.  They did core borings to the depth of 400 feet for geological studies.

The remainder of his testimony dealt with the quality of the stone and whether it was suitable for road materials, met PenDot specifications, etc.

Hearing will be continued with the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, November 28, 7:00 P.M. at Boyertown Jr. H.S.-East.

A tentative meeting has also been scheduled for Wednesday, December 19.

The meeting ended.

The next ZHB meeting is November 28 at 7:00 PM Boyertown Jr. High East.

See also:
Summary of the previous meeting (9/6/01)