BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The City of Bethlehem will not seek a role in zoning hearings about Bethlehem Landfill’s planned expansion, officials confirmed Tuesday.
- The City of Bethlehem will not join ongoing hearings on whether Bethlehem Landfill is allowed to expand
- If the expansion is approved, the landfill would roughly double in size
- The City of Easton, Hellertown Borough, Bethlehem Township and the Borough of Freemansburg, among others, already are parties to the hearings
“I've probably spent more time on this particular issue now — researching, looking through it — than probably any other issue … in the 14 months I’ve been here because obviously it is a serious one,” Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds said.
Despite Reynolds' concerns about the proposed expansion, he said “it isn’t about” what he wants the landfill to do. “It's about what is the advice of the legal bureau,” he said.
City solicitor John Spirk said that while Bethlehem could seek party status in ongoing zoning hearings, it would not be a worthwhile use of municipal resources.
Entities granted party status are given an official role in zoning proceedings, including the rights to introduce evidence, question witnesses and file an appeal.
“I just don't think that will help the cause much.”Bethlehem solicitor John Spirk
Other nearby municipalities, including Hellertown Borough, Bethlehem Township, Freemansburg Borough and the City of Easton, already have been designated as parties to the hearing.
Northampton County also will seek party status after the county council voted last week to join the hearings.
“I just don't think that will help the cause much,” Spirk said at Tuesday’s city council meeting, addressing opponents of expansion seated in the audience.
Two of them addressed the council earlier in the evening, asking city officials to join the hearings.
He said that the city’s best argument for party status hinges on the city’s wastewater facility, which treats water that filters through the landfill, picking up contaminants along the way.
However, the city is contracted to accept many times more wastewater from the landfill than it produces, which Spirk said negates that argument.
Both Reynolds and Spirk said the city will follow the expansion’s approval as it unfolds, and look for an opportunity to intervene later in the process.
