- Members of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's Comprehensive Planning Committee voted Tuesday to advance a letter opposing Bethlehem Landfill's planned expansion
- The landfill in Lower Saucon Township is on track to expand to 86 acres of new disposal area, most of which is currently covered by forest
- A second attempt to expand the landfill is underway after a Northampton County judge earlier this year threw out zoning changes enabling the first set of plans
HANOVER TWP., Pa. — The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission is on track to “strongly discourage” a proposed expansion to Bethlehem Landfill after a preliminary vote in a committee meeting Tuesday.
A letter written by LVPC planners, which the commission's comprehensive planning committee voted to move forward on Tuesday, determines that the project is out of line with land development goals and plans for both Lower Saucon Township and the region.
Bethlehem Landfill’s owners are pursuing an 86-acre expansion to the landfill in Lower Saucon, which they say will add about 20 years to its useful lifespan.
The expansion plan has drawn fierce opposition from township residents who live near the site. LVPC reviewed plans for the expansion originally put forward last year.
However, when a Northampton County judge threw out zoning changes underpinning the whole project, the development approval process started over, and landfill representatives submitted a new plan. The LVPC now needs to make a new recommendation on the new proposal.
The review letter said that most of the land slated to become landfill was part of a “character-defining area” of the Valley, and qualifies as a high priority for preservation because of its woodlands, steep slopes, location along the Lehigh River and other features.
It also contains the “core habitat” of the Bull Run Natural Heritage Area, part of a state program to recognize places of particular natural value. As a result, “maintaining the current hydrologic regime is critical to the persistence of the community and rare species at this site,” the LVPC’s letter says.
Leaving the site forested also provides many other benefits in terms of runoff control, air quality and water quality, according to the commission.
“One of the impacts that I haven't heard much talk about is visual. In fact, we can see the scar from the existing landfill from Bethlehem Township," said planning commission member John Gallagher, also a Bethlehem Township supervisor. “If this expands, that scar is going to get bigger.”
The LVPC's review letter also raised the question of conservation easements on the site. A legal battle over whether conservation easements initially placed on the land set to become a landfill would block the expansion is ongoing. The Lower Saucon Township Council voted to remove those easements from the properties earlier this month.
“The conservation easement is a covenant that's made with the public. And when you attempt to move that conservation to another area or to another space, or when you infringe upon it, that violates that covenant."Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Vice Chair Chris Amato
“The conservation easement is a covenant that's made with the public. And when you attempt to move that conservation to another area or to another space, or when you infringe upon it, that violates that covenant,” said Planning Commission Vice Chairman Chris Amato, who represents Northampton County on the planning commission.
“That's something that we as a region have as a resource, and I think it would be a travesty if they diminish the quality of that easement in any way.”
The full planning commission will vote on Thursday on whether to adopt the proposed letter as their recommendation for the project.
