Fitzpatrick urges EPA to permanently close quarry
EAST ROCKHILL >> Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st Dist., is asking the federal Environmental Protection Agency to permanently close the Rockhill Quarry.
The call came along with a March 11 letter to new EPA Administrator Michael Regan that also informed Regan about the “critical, ongoing environmental issues” surrounding the quarry, a release from Fitzpatrick’s office said. Regan was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 10 to be the EPA administrator under the Biden administration.
The quarry on Rockhill Road in East Rockhill is owned by Hanson Aggregates Pennsylvania. Quarrying at the site had appeared to have ceased in the 1980s, but attempts to resume in recent years led to legal battles with the township and protests from residents.
Naturally occurring asbestos was detected there in December of 2018, leading to a temporary order from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection that all quarrying operations be halted. That order remains in effect, but leaves unanswered the question of whether quarrying could resume in the future.
“At this time, the longterm future of the Rock Hill Quarry is still undetermined. DEP must work with the property owner to assess potential future options for the site, while continuing to investigate and assess the presence of Naturally Occurring Asbestos,” information on the DEP’s
website says.
The presence of asbestos meets the threshold for the federal EPA to become involved, Fitzpatrick said.
“Just over a year ago, I stood with local officials and residents who have been directly impacted by naturally occurring asbestos (NOA), to call on Hanson Aggregates, the EPA, and the DEP to conduct a multi-year investigation to fully understand the true health impacts of NOA. Earlier tests conducted have shown that Hanson used modified testing procedures that have been deemed unacceptable by EPA and United States Geological Survey (USGS) standards, so direct intervention is without question justified,” Fitzpatrick said. “Throughout the course of the past year, we have seen constant delays and inaction from all parties involved.
Since no action has been taken in conducting a multi-year investigation, the only way to ensure there is no threat to human health, and those living and attending school in the area, is to enact a permanent closure of the Rockhill Quarry.”
In February of last year, Fitzpatrick was one of the speakers at a press conference with residents and state and local officials at the quarry gates calling for the quarry to be permanently closed.
In a letter sent March 5 of this year to the DEP and copied to local, state and federal officials including Fitzpatrick and Gov. Tom Wolf, the Rockhill Environmental Preservation Alliance wrote that, “It is abundantly clear ... that there is no safe way to conduct mining operations in the Rockhill quarry where NOA can be found throughout the rock,” and asked, “Who will be liable for asbestos related illnesses or death in the community, even if contaminated rock is only sold or transported?”
“REPA and others have provided the Department with more than sufficient cause to close the quarry,” Mark Freed, REPA’s attorney wrote in a separate March 4 letter to the DEP and copied to Fitzpatrick and state and
county officials.
“Instead, we understand that despite the clear confirmation of NOA at the site, and the undisputed fact that no one has removed 500 tons of material from the site in over the past year, PA DEP is still considering
whether to allow Hanson to continue to remove materials from the site. Such a result would be unwarranted and unacceptable,” Freed wrote.
The 500 tons refers to the amount of stone that must be removed from the
quarry each year in order for it to retain its existing mining permits. The quarry says it has done so each of the years in which there appeared to be no activity at the site. Opponents of the quarry, however, question if that requirement was met.