House Majority Leader Todd A. Eachus (D-Luzerne) has called on the Department of Environmental Protection to consider the potential risks involved with a proposed project by Hazleton Creek Properties LLC that would dump more than 2 million tons of an experimental mixture of river dredge and construction and demolition materials in an abandoned mine without critical environmental safeguards.

Rep. Eachus sent a letter to DEP Secretary John Hanger detailing his concerns about the project, including the lack of a public comment period or public hearings and a lack of scientific data supporting the safe use of this mixture for abandoned mine reclamation.

"From what I’ve learned about this project, I have very real health and safety concerns that I believe must be answered before this project can move forward," Rep. Eachus said. "At the very least, DEP should postpone its decision on this project until the public has had ample opportunity to hear the facts and to make their concerns known."

Rep. Eachus said Hazleton Creek Properties submitted an application for a Special Conditions General Permit for a "research and development" project at the same abandoned mine site where it already has an active permit to use imported river dredge materials mixed with kiln dust and fly ash. The company has not used this mixture to fill the mine to date, and now wants approval to use a different, experimental mixture for the project.

The new permit, if approved by DEP, would allow the developer to use a new mixture of river dredge materials and powdered construction and demolition materials, which can include high levels of toxic compounds, such as arsenic, lead, mercury, Beryllium, asbestos, PCBs and other lethal chemicals. Eachus said the presence of these hazardous chemicals is why C&D materials are typically required to be disposed of in lined landfills with key environmental safeguards in place.

Under the Special Conditions General Permit, research and development projects are typically limited to no more than 50 tons of material. The Hazleton Creek project would far exceed that limit to allow for 2 million tons of this material to be dumped into the abandoned mine – 40,000 times the limit under this permit.

If approved, this would be the largest research and development project ever granted a permit by DEP, Rep. Eachus said.

Even worse, DEP has acknowledged that this mixture of river dredge and C&D materials has never been used as a land-filling or mine-filling substance anywhere in the United States. There are no studies and no scientific data available to determine if using this mixture is safe for the general public.

Rep. Eachus called on DEP to conduct a thorough analysis, with extensive public input, before approving Hazleton Creek Properties’ permit application. He said the unanswered health and safety questions that exist, as well as the massive size and scope of the project, are cause for serious concern. He also requested that the agency institute a public comment period so local residents would have ample opportunity to voice their concerns and learn more about the project.

"The people of Hazleton deserve better than to have a potentially hazardous waste-dumping site approved without their knowledge or their input," Rep. Eachus said. "This application is considerably different than the one that was approved several years ago by DEP, and it would add a new mixture of potentially toxic materials. These changes should not go without public comment and public review. That wemust demand.”