Bill Text: NJ AR175 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Opposes construction of hazardous waste incinerator in Falls Township, Pennsylvania.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-11-14 - Reported out of Assembly Comm. with Amendments, 2nd Reading [AR175 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2016-AR175-Amended.html

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[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 175

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

217th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  TROY SINGLETON

District 7 (Burlington)

Assemblyman  HERB CONAWAY, JR.

District 7 (Burlington)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Howarth

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Opposes construction of hazardous waste incinerator in Falls Township, Pennsylvania.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As reported by the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee on November 14, 2016, with amendments.

  

An Assembly Resolution opposing the construction of a hazardous waste incinerator in Falls Township, Pennsylvania.

 

Whereas, Elcon Recycling Services is an industrial waste treatment service provider based in Israel which processes hazardous waste produced by chemical, pharmaceutical, and other companies; and

Whereas, Elcon Recycling Services is applying a second time to build a hazardous waste incinerator in Falls Township, Pennsylvania to process hazardous industrial, medical, and other waste; and

Whereas, Falls Township ¹, Pennsylvania¹ is located just across the Delaware River from many New Jersey municipalities, including our state capital of Trenton ¹City¹ , Hamilton Township, Bordentown Township ¹,¹ and other nearby communities in Mercer and Burlington counties; and

Whereas, Currently, Elcon Recycling Services only has facilities operating in Israel where its Haifa Bay facility has recently been ordered to shut down and relocate due to its history of violations of air and groundwater emissions standards and its negative impact and pollution to the surrounding environment in Haifa Bay; and

Whereas, Elcon Recycling Services has been denied authorization to build facilities in Italy due to environmental issues created by its treatment facilities; and

Whereas, In 2015, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection denied Elcon's request to construct a facility in the Keystone Industrial Port Complex in Falls Township, Pennsylvania because the business failed to demonstrate compliance with flood-hazard regulations; and

Whereas, In addition, the Delaware River serves as a primary source of drinking water and a popular recreational destination for millions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania residents and visitors; and

Whereas, A hazardous waste treatment facility would likely degrade and pollute the surrounding area and waterways which will be detrimental to residents, the environment, and wildlife; and

Whereas, According to the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Pennsylvania League of Woman Voters ¹,¹ the facility would process hazardous and medical waste including the treatment of 210,000 tons of raw waste per year that would include high levels of mercury, cadmium, and lead; and

Whereas, According to local environmentalists, the incineration treatment process would likely produce over 39 tons of air emissions containing, among other pollutants, nitrous oxide, ammonia, hydrochloric acid, volatile organic compounds, sulfur oxide, and total particulate matter; and

Whereas, In July 2016, the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders adopted a resolution opposing the construction of Elcon's proposal for a hazardous waste incinerator facility in Falls Township ¹, Pennsylvania¹ ; and

Whereas, Due to the high probability of pollution from both permitted and accidental discharges that would affect the air quality in the region and the water quality of the Delaware River, the ¹Delaware Bay, the¹ Chesapeake Bay, and other bodies of water, this House opposes the construction a toxic waste incinerator in Falls Township, Pennsylvania; now, therefore,  

 

     Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    This House opposes the construction of a toxic waste incinerator in Falls Township, Pennsylvania due to the high probability of pollution from both permitted and accidental discharges that would affect air quality in the region and the water quality of the Delaware River, the ¹Delaware Bay, the¹ Chesapeake Bay, and other bodies of water.

 

     2.    Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Commissioner of ¹the New Jersey Department of¹ Environmental Protection, each member of ¹the¹ Falls Township Board of Supervisors, and the Clerk of the Board of Chosen Freeholders in each county in New Jersey.