7 Toxic Substances

Are you aware that these 7 TOXIC SUBSTANCES are released from an asphalt plant?

ARSENIC
BENZENE
CADMIUM
CHROMIUM
FORMALDEHYDE
HYDROGEN SULFIDE
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS

The asphalt plant proposed by Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. will burn SOFT COAL which releases another known toxin, SULPHUR DIOXIDE.

These chemicals are released into the air and attach to small dust particles which we breathe in, posting a great risk to our children, elderly residents, and those residents with asthma or chronic lung or heart disease.

They can cause the following ailments:

CANCER (esp. Lung Cancer)

Respiratory Distress

Nervous System Damage

Pulmonary Edema

Anemia

Headaches

Nausea

Impaired Memory and Motor Function

Irritation to Eyes, Nose, Lungs, Skin, which can result in various Cancers!

ANY amount of these toxic emissions released into our community is an Unacceptable Risk to our community!

A Closer Look

Updated Shot of Proposed Asphalt Plant Site

This updated shot clearly shows a new road cut from the site of the Asphalt Plant to Lattimer Road. Take a close look at the location of the new road in relation to the Lattimer Monument. Can you imagine the noise from trucks taveling at all hours???? Would you feel safe with this kind of traffic in your neighborhood????

The Zoning Board Hearing is Monday October 15th 6PM

Please come and show your support!

Hazle Township, 101 W. 27th Street, Hazle Township, PA 18202

asphalt plant tour

Well, I just completed the tour of the asphalt plant site. When I arrived just after 2 pm I was greeted by Tim Barletta, Hawbaker's customer service manager. It was a miserable day and he told me that they would be having tours on Monday. He told me it was ok to dislike his company, but i should at least have something to eat. I declined as I was not too keen on having what could end up being a meal that ultimately costs me several thousand dollars. So, I began to leave and soon realized Monday is the same day of the zoning board hearing. I turned around and went back to request a tour.

They summoned a gentleman named Jeff who said he was in charge of the Hazleton quarry and another. He took me in an F150 that had a layer of black dust so thick on the dash that I wondered if the inside of Jeff's lungs look the same way as his dusty dashboard.

In any case, he showed me the earthen berm the company had built. I still hear the noise, so obviously it doesn't work. All of the breaker chutes rise higher than the berm stands so it is impossible for it to block all the noise.

He had a worker he called mountain demonstrate a new backup alarm which sounds like static from a snowy TV station. However, i still hear traditional backup alarms, so there is still equipment back there that has them. Also, when the triaxles begin to roll through there for the asphalt plant, they will all have traditional backup alarms.

Jeff took the fifth when I asked as to whether or not I would be able to smell asphalt once the mixing starts, stating he was the breaker guy not an asphalt guy. That wasn't very reassuring to me.

He also relucted to answer whether the breakers would run at night, but did mention that the operation had no restrictions. Again, that wasn't very reassuring.

I did not get to see the breaker running as it had broken down this morning. He did point out the water sprayer on the top of the chutes which are meant to keep the dust minimal. They weren't running and it was raining anyhow, so i didn't get to see how well they work.

He pointed out that some portions of the metal breakers had been covered with rubber to cover the noise. I still hear the process at home so i question its effectiveness.

After the tour, I still neglect to see any real benefits for local residents. Masking and reducing problems do not qualify as benefits.

In conclusion, i was opposed to the construction of this asphalt plant before the tour and remain so now. I believe we will continue realize a reduction in the quality of our lives. Probably even more so when the plant is constructed. We will hear more noise. We will hear it even during the evening and night hours. We will probably smell asphalt burning. We will deal with more dust. We will deal with truck traffic. We will worry about and maybe acquire health problems.

There are too many residences too near the proposed site for this monstrosity. Put it somewhere remote, where it wont affect so many people so profoundly.

The tour is scheduled for 2-6PM Thurs Oct 11

Public Tour Announced

News 13 announced today that Hawbaker has scheduled a tour for the public on Thursday, October 11th from 3 to 7 PM. The tour will be held at the site.

Hawbaker announces news conference

According to Local News 13 (ssptv.com), Hawbaker has announced a news conference for Thursday morning to address allegations that they began construction plans without a permit. VP Michael Hawbaker will make remarks and do a tour of the site.

They state the conference is not open to the public, but Hawbaker will be holding a public meeting in October.

Remember The Bus Trip To Pleasant Gap

Guess what??? Remember when Schiavo and Hawbaker officials agreed to take people to their Pleasant Gap asphalt plant on a tour during the informational session back in July? And no one that was on the list ever got called for the tour.

Drum roll please......
Back on June 26 and 27 Hawbaker's Pleasant Gap facility received 9 DEP violations. With, get this, violation id 519097 on 6-26-07 - Standards for Contaminants, Fugitive Emissions, Prohibition of certain fugitive emissions. Failure to take resonable actions to prevent particulate matter from becoming airborne.

This is exactly the kind of thing we do not want in our villages!

Hawbaker has numerous DEP violations

After doing several hours of research last night on the DEP's eFacts website, I was really appalled to find the numerous violations against Hawbaker. Click here to see Hawbaker's Department of Environmental Protection violations. These span over the course of several years for a variety of differents reasons related to their blasting, quarrying, mining, and emissions. I've counted some 240 violations.

Quoting the Times Leader, Lach, Hawbaker's attorney, said one needs to “look at the big picture” when it comes to violations, considering the number of Hawbaker facilities, the volume of production and the company’s cooperation with DEP.

Well...that's the equivalent of saying that,"because we are big, it's ok to suck sometimes." I say,"Because you are big, that gives you less of an excuse to suck."

Judging from their violations, Hawbaker seems to have a hard time learning from their mistakes. In fact, they seem very arrogant when they commit the same violations over and over again. And, nothing against the DEP, but I'll bet that many of the fines imposed are nothing more than a slap on the hands. This figures to be even more true when you compare the amounts of fines (up to $9500) to the amount their contracts are worth:

1. PennDOT – Lycoming SR 405
$8,582,669.00
2. PennDOT – Centre GR 2-07-ST1
$4,082,007.00
3. PennDOT – Jefferson SIA
$4,512,007.00
4. PennDOT – Venango SR 80
$9,892,007.00
5. PennDOT – Columbia T-572
$755,485.00
6. PennDOT – Potter GR 2-07-ST6
$4,692,807.00
7. PennDOT – Columbia SR 11
$5,115,115.11
8. PennDOT – Columbia SR 80 (M03)
$6,522,735.36
9. PennDOT – Huntingdon SR 22
(Million Dollar Bridge)
$10,997,700.00
10. PennDOT – Crawford SR 79
$1,612,807.00
11. PennDOT – Clarion SR 80
$6,272,807.00
12. Restek – Sitework, Benner Twp.
$640,237.25
13. PennDOT – Centre SR 322 (144)
$2,452,450.00
14. Cleveland Brothers Parts Distribution
Ctr, Benner Twp - Site Development
(complete site package)
$1,130,094.00
15. CCIBC – Rockview Park, Benner Twp.
$1,739,000.00
16. Liberty Hill, Boalsburg
(complete site package)
$7,424,185.75
17. PennDot - Perry Co.
$4,687,787.00

I don't think any of us are against commerce, Schiavo, or Hawbaker, we are just averse to having this monstrosity of an asphalt plant so close to our homes with such a detrimental effect on our everyday lives and perhaps even our health.

Hawbaker Disputes DEP Violation

Well, according to Hawbaker's attorney, Hawbaker just "stored" their asphalt plant equipment at the site as a matter of convenience, as reported by the Times Leader's recent story. Well, if I have all the parts to build a house stored on a lot, would I say that I just have them there as a matter of convenience???

The next Zoning Board hearing is scheduled for October 15, 2007.

Location of the Asphalt Plant

The plant will be located in the strip mines between Pardeesville and Lattimer, about 1,000 feet from the monument in Lattimer. You can see the quarry operations from the light at Sheetz on 309. I have a friend in Milnesville who doesn't think the asphalt plant will affect him, I'm not so sure about that. Note: Roughly, the plant will be located in the center of these pictures (click each photo for larger views):

Look at how many homes surround this area. There are even a few new homes not reflected on the satellite view that have been built in recent months. This is no place for an asphalt plant.

Hawbaker Up To No Good Already

According to the Times Leader:

Company warned of violations
Firm reportedly began building asphalt plant in Lattimer without a permit.
By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.comStaff Writer
HAZLE TWP. – The state has issued a warning to a company that wants to build an asphalt plant in the Lattimer section of the township.
The owners of Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc., a State College-based company, violated the Air Pollution Control Act by beginning construction activities without securing a permit, according to a notice from the state Department of Environmental Protection. The notice was dated Monday – the same day a group of residents from Lattimer and surrounding villages attended a meeting asking township supervisors to join them in their opposition to the asphalt plant.
Hawbaker has been operating a quarry in the area for the past few months. Company officials want to build the asphalt plant next to the quarry, using stone removed in nearby coal-mining operations in the asphalt production.
About 100 residents of the villages of Lattimer, Pardeesville and Milnesville voiced opposition to the plant during a packed meeting at the Township Commons building in July. Landowner Pasco Schiavo arranged the meeting to allow residents to address their concerns.
Residents asked if the plant approval was a “done deal” because the company had already located silos for the plant on the property.
According to the violation notice, DEP officials saw three asphalt silos, a “baghouse,” at least one blower and several sections of duct work onsite during an Aug. 30 inspection of a stone crushing plant being installed nearby.
“The plan approval for this equipment has not yet been issued,” the notice states.
The notice instructs the company to submit an explanation of why construction began and to provide measures that the company will take to ensure further violations don’t occur. The letter also warned that failure to comply with DEP rules and regulations “constitutes unlawful conduct and could result in legal action.”
DEP spokesman Mark Carmon said abatement could include either having the company remove the equipment or ceasing construction activities.
Messages left for three Hawbaker officials were not returned on Thursday.
Michael Gombeda, a Lattimer resident who opposes the plant, said the violation concerns him because quarry officials pledged to be good neighbors, “yet they’re already violating the law.”
Gombeda said residents oppose the plant mainly because of anticipated noise and traffic problems. He said noisy quarry operations are expected to triple in size if the asphalt plant was opened, and company officials “openly admitted there would be 400 to 500 trucks a day coming in and out of the facility.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Glenn O. Hawbaker officials will present information on the plant to the township Zoning Board at an Oct. 15 meeting to determine if the board should grant a special exception that would allow the plant to operate in Lattimer.
Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 459-2005.

Effects?

What effects will this asphalt plant and quarry operation have on the quality of your life? Have you already been affected by what's cuurently going on?

Stop the Hazle Township Asphalt Plant!

Stop the Hazle Township Asphalt Plant!
Do you want 300+ trucks transporting 4000 tons of asphalt per day?
Do you want to deal with the dusty conditions of those trucks, the quarry, and the asphalt plant?
Do you want to hear even more noise pollution as a result of the back up devices on those trucks?
Do you want to hear that noise at night?
Do you want the uncertainty of knowing whether or not you are breathing harmful air pollutants?
Do you want the uncertainty of knowing whether or not you are drinking contaminated water from your well?
Do you want these worries for yourself, your children, and perhaps your children's children for the next 36+ years? The estimated number of years of available rock.