DEP wants more details
on recycler’s request to boost capacity

By Diane Villano-Prokop
Times Staff Writer

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently sent a technical deficiency letter to David Newman regarding U.S. Recycling’s permit modification application to increase its maximum handling of municipal solid waste from 380 tons per day to 2,000 tons per day.
U.S. Recycling, at 6101 Tacony St., is located on property owned by Newman & Co. Inc, a paperboard manufacturer that has operated at that location for almost 100 years. It is a separate entity but owned by the Newmans.
The letter, dated April 25, incorporates DEP comments to U.S. Recycling’s application as well as comments received from the public concerning the application. The company has 90 days to respond.
"Frankly, we have serious concerns regarding your application as proposed," the letter says in part. "These concerns center on two main areas. One is the environmental assessment and a complete and accurate evaluation of benefits and harms directly related to the project. The other is the capability of the facility, a facility originally permitted for 380 tons per day and not proposed to be updated, modified, or improved in any way, to handle more than five times the currently approved maximum daily volume. It is incumbent upon USRI to not just request an increase in its maximum daily volume, but to justify why the increase should be approved . . ."
The seven-page letter goes on to list application omissions, such as two notices of violation issued by the DEP to USRI and Newman & Company in 2000, which should have been reported in the compliance history, as well as a letter dated Sept. 13, 2006 from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regarding traffic-related issues.
The DEP letter questioned numerous traffic issues, as well, such as why there was a change of vehicle size used to calculate traffic count.
USRI used 5.5 tons per collection vehicle in its original submission but 11 tons per collection vehicle in a revised submission, cutting the traffic count from 364 to 182.
The letter also asked Newman to identify sections of roadway expected to be congested within the next 10 years and identify the impact increased facility traffic would have on traffic flow, as well as mitigation measures. While the plant itself is situated in Wissinoming, it is only one block from the Tacony line, which is looking forward to riverfront development.
The DEP letter also addressed the impact increased traffic would have on residences on Tacony Street at Homestead and Aramingo Avenue, as well as ambient air quality. It questioned how USRI would prevent overweight or non-compliant vehicles from utilizing the facility, where trucks would wait to enter or exit the facility, how and where transfer trailers would be tarped, and a justification of hours of operation.
The Tacony Civic Association has led the fight against the permit modification.
"We are encouraged (the DEP) is taking a harder look. Reading through it, our input certainly carried some significant weight," said civic association vice president Lou Iatarola.
The East Frankford, Northwood, Mayfair, Holmesburg and Upper Holmesburg civic associations, along with the Mayfair and Tacony community development corporations, joined Tacony Civic in petitioning the DEP to deny the permit modification.
"It’s bad not just for Tacony and the Lower Northeast but for anybody who uses (the Tacony Palmyra) bridge," Iatarola said.
He also claimed that if a fire took place at USRI, located just one block north of the recent six-alarmer at the LR Shipping Supply Co., the results could be devastating.
"Talk about toxins — fluorescent bulbs, municipal waste — toxic pollution for all of us to breathe. I don’t believe there’s been any discussion of that at all," Iatarola said.
Owner David Newman said the technical deficiency letter sent by DEP is just part of the normal permitting process.
"I think they’ve embodied some of the concerns of the public and their own regarding technical and traffic studies, the facility and flow queue . . . all within the framework of what our engineers will respond to," Newman said. ••
Reporter Diane Villano-Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dvillano@phillynews.com