LOWER SAUCON TWP., Pa. – Dozens of Lower Saucon Township residents gathered in a Steel City church Wednesday night to decide how to fight a plan that would double the size of a nearby landfill and extend its remaining life from six years to 20 or 30.
In October, lawyers for Bethlehem Landfill’s owners asked the township in a letter to rezone more than 200 acres of farmland for light industrial use and grant an exception to limits on maximum buildable area.
Many of the people assembled Wednesday said they fear the expansion would only worsen the problems they already experience: foul smells, truck traffic and pollution.
Lower Saucon Township Council is scheduled to hold a hearing on the proposed amendments at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21.
Despite the downsides, the landfill is a major financial boon for the township’s government, accounting for about 20% of its general fund revenue in the 2022 budget, and 25% in 2023.
The landfill’s parent company also asked the township council to make future expansions easier by removing oversight steps such as site plan requirements, township planning commission review or zoning board hearings for future requests.
Doing that would effectively concentrate control over the landfill’s future into the hands of the township council.
Last year, radio station WLVR reported that a political action committee founded by an executive of the landfill’s Texas-based parent company poured tens of thousands of dollars into the township council races in support of three Republican candidates. All three won; two are still members.
Even the most ardent opponents of the zoning changes expect them to pass.
“So the honest answer to your question is we're not going to stop anything on Wednesday,” said Andrea Wittchen, an organizer of the community meeting. “What we are going to do is to get on the record all of the reasons why this is the wrong decision.”
What they said
Many of the community members who spoke sought to reassure each other that there was, in fact, something they could do. They saw themselves in a room full of Davids, facing off against a $35 billion Goliath with support from four of the five township council members.
“These guys are not fooling around,” said Lawrence Opthof, who lives near the landfill. “They intend to expand that dump and use their money as power. And it's up to us to stop them.”
Another resident, who did not give his name, said, “Don’t give up. Do not give up. It's time to stand up and put our foot down and say ‘No.’ I'm going to be 48 years old tomorrow. I want my kids to grow up in an environment that's safe for them.”
Brit Kondravy, a township resident and conservation coordinator for the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, said, “What creates that community character or creates a sense of place is having those natural features protected.
“So it's really important, no matter what the outcome is, we've got to come together and make a stand up as a priority and that we value that.”
Even if the expansion process is streamlined, there still are many steps between the township council meeting and the landfill actually expanding.
Organizers of Wednesday night’s community meeting asked attendees to show up ready to speak – and to bring a few friends.
