Mork Powe! aS In the late 1980's I was elected a Plainfield Township Supervisor on a promise to address the issue of a then planned Grand Central Sanitary Landfill expansion... I was barely 30 years old and had lived in the township less than 2 years and yet I won out in the general election over the incumbent, who was a lifelong resident of Plainfield Township... Let that sink in a little bit. I think it is safe to conclude that a great number of Plainfield ‘Township residents were concerned about the tons upon tons of solid waste, coming from distant cities, into their community every day... Ultimately we could not stop that expansion because the application had already been accepted for consideration by the previous board of supervisors. A landfill was, at that time, an allowed and legal land use in the Farm and Forest Zoning District by Special Exception. Locally owned and operated Grand Central Sanitary Landfill was able to meet those requirements, so we were legally obligated to approve it. ‘What we were able to do, was to create a Solid Waste Zoning District... to allow for that legal land use, Solid Waste Processing, in that zoning district, and (this is important) in that zoning district only!! Not in Farm and Forest, not in Industrial/Commercial, only in the Solid Waste Zoning District (This was the reason why Synagro had to pack up their feces and leave... Synagro was ultimately unable to shochorn their human waste sludge processing plant into the Solid Waste zoning district... and because that is the only zoning district where solid waste land use is legal, there was nowhere else in Plainfield ‘Township to go.) Plainfield Township has absolutely *NO OBLIGATION * to amend their zoning ordinance to expand the Solid Waste District so Waste Management can continue to expand their pile of solid waste. We have already allowed for that land use, so much so that pile has altered the horizon and our view of the Blue Mountain! and... well, now Waste Management has used it all uy ‘We owe them nothing!If Plainfield Township even CONSIDERS this application it will be a slap in the face and a betrayal ofits citizens. We went through hell in the late 1980s to amend and craft our zoning ordinance so that Plainfield Township would not have to tolerate expansion after expansion after expansion of the garbage dump for ever.... We knew this day was coming, now is the time to realize the future we envisioned in 32 years ago in 1988. The Slate Belt must begin to rise up from serving as a dumping ground for multi-million dollar national companies like Waste Management. I, and many others, believe Plainfield Township should move away from hosting landfills and towards developing clean and viable land uses for a better tomorrow. We urge The Plainfield Township Board of Supervisors to exercise their discretion, and their right, to reject Waste Management's request to rezone 211 acres of land currently zoned as Farm and Forest to Solid Waste.D, hoore, Plainfield Township's plans «Allow for landfill expansions, and a variety of permitted and post-closure uses Restrict solid waste uses to a maximum area of 2% of township in order to reduce impacts of these uses on citizens and neighboring uses ‘© Define boundaries of SW district with roadways to limit impacts on neighboring uses Preserve agricultural lands and areas with natural features such as creeks, intermittent streams, floodplains and wetlands Establish a Trust Fund to delay and/or soften impact ‘© Setbacks will protect neighboring uses — but those from 1988 have been reduced to almost meaningless amounts. If the proposed plan for the east side of Pen Argyl Road were approved under our current zoning, riding along Pen Argyl Road after an expansion would take motorists and pedestrians through a giant smelly butt crack. ‘Northampton County's plan # Act 101 requires a Municipal Solid Waste Management Plan that lays out the county's short term needs ‘© The 2010 Plan found that 5x the needs of the county for disposal are a Minimal township resources should be invested in consideration of WM’s proposal Synagro land development proposal submitted by WM cost taxpayers over $200,000 * WM’s refusal to be responsive to the planning commission's requests and required zoning variances resulted in 1000’s of wasted man-hours by township consultants, staff, planning commission members and residents. WM did not want a lawsuit, they wanted the township to blink because they knew that this was coming next, and that is why the Synagro proposal had a deadline. But why so soon, when they can not apply to DEP for an expansion until 2023? I will address this in a moment. ‘© Ifthe BOS entertains this proposal beyond a few weeks or a month, a study group such as that formed in 1987 should do the bulk of the work, not a regular committee of the township. These committees already have a full workload. If WM were serious about its proposal ‘Submit an Environmental Impact Statement per the township's specifications for the BOS to use in making their decision, to evaluate the impact of this rezoning on each of the three communities affected © Would have proposed increasing the tipping fees, in recogni nuisance the landfill is By $1.30 per ton for Plainfield Twp (48%) By $0.80 per ton for Pen Argyl (62%) By $0.80 per ton for Wind Gap (100%) This amounts to $3.10 per ton. Consider that WM charges by far the highest per ton disposal fees in the county - $15 and greater, than others n of how much a 0000‘* Extinguish ROW easement over the township's Recreation Trail, for which Grand Central has not paid compensation for in 23 years, no later than the end of 2028 Transfer ownership of Grand Central Woods to Plainfield Twp Alternatives to expansion «Eliminate acceptance of out of state garbage, extending life of landfill by 10 years © A 2004 article states that 60% of waste going into GCSL is from out of state ‘© Saying no to the rezoning would reduce the ways in which WM can attempt to improve its balance sheet in the future to either a curative amendment or inviting Synagro back — which could be what the next 3 years hold in store © If rezoned, all of the permitted uses in the SW district are eligible - WM does not have to pursue the specific plan that they have outlined in the added area ‘Comments on the application There are leaf-on and leaf-off pictures of various locations in the application. Why aren't there glossy photos of leaf-on and leaf-off pictures of the landfill from Pen Argyl Rd? © The sightline analysis is inadequate. A significant portion of the landfill elevation is clearly seen from over 5-1/2 miles away in the township, leaf- on or leaf-off. The landfill looks like a giant brown pyramid in the afternoon sun from two locations in my area, ‘4 mile apart. ‘© The presence of a sightline analysis leads one to ask where is the smelleline analysis? This is at least as important. © Where is the analysis that justifies the need for the expansion to meet, ‘Northampton County’s needs? ‘© Where are the alternatives for other communities to step up and do their fair share, ifthe landfill closes as planned? ‘© There is macroinvertebrate testing being done, but GC fairly recently p DEP to cancel this requirement «There has never been water quality testing done at the landfill’s interface with surface waters (wetlands and tributaries of the Little Bushkill Creek) of the accepted suite of standards: pH, nitrates, phosphates, Dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, water temperature, air temperature, oxygen saturation, conductivity, turbidity, fecal colifirm, ecoli and additional bacteria and other pathogens ioned We have no idea what effect the landfill has had on these water quality parameters. Recommendations for the BOS + Immediately reinstitute a 500 foot setback for landfills from property lines and roads to reduce the impact in the event the rezoning ultimately is pursued and approved. «Reject this request as soon as possible so that we can continue to move this township forward, while keeping to the schedule of the anticipated and planned shutdown of our largest nuisance industry.