Black-lettered signs reading “No signs in the Auditorium” greeted visitors outside the Bangor Area High School Performing Arts Theater.
“That was just for logistics purposes, so no one’s view was blocked,” said Colleen Connolly, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. “And we wanted to keep this hearing as neutral as possible.”
What Connolly and other officials heard during Monday night’s two-hour public hearing over a proposed massive logistics center in northern Northampton County was not neutral. Verbal signs of discord were evident, as about two dozen residents and representatives from various organizations urged officials to deny permits for the planned sprawling industrial development called River Pointe.
“I hope whatever you can do to slow down the project and do the right thing will be greatly appreciated,” said Michael Onufrak of Upper Mount Bethel Township, the community where Bethlehem developer Lou Pektor wants to build the campus.
Monday’s Department of Environmental Protection hearing was narrowly focused on an application by Pektor for stormwater discharge leading to the Delaware River and wetlands, and related approvals on part of the development with three industrial buildings totaling nearly 2 million square feet.
But some opponents used the session to renew many of the concerns residents, politicians and groups such as the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission have raised about the project, and to address recent developments.
Onufrak said he and others believe the size and scope of the proposed development is too massive in the mostly rural community of about 6,500 residents.
Those who spoke said DEP, in denying the request, should look at the entire project.
“The site, to me … is clearly incompatible for the intended use of an industrial park of this scale,” said township resident Charles Cole, who is also an environmental scientist and engineer.
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Charles Cole speaks Monday, Nov. 13, 2024, during a public hearing held at Bangor Area High School. “The site, to me … is clearly incompatible for the intended use of an industrial park of this scale,” said township resident Charles Cole, who is also an environmental scientist and engineer. The hearing spotlights a sprawling commercial building plan of nearly 6 million square feet in the Slate Belt along the Delaware River. The River Pointe Logistics project has pitted supporters, who tout the project’s economic benefits, against opponents, who foresee environmental degradation and an erosion of quality of life in their rural communities. (Monica Cabrera/The Morning Call)
Some residents made emotional pleas.
“This is our home; we care deeply about this,” resident Sharon Duffield said, citing various wildlife that relies on nearby wetlands for survival. The birds and animals, trees and streams need DEP oversight, she said.
“I am concerned about who will be out there verifying what will be done,” Duffield said. “Once things are disturbed or disappear, it will be too late.”
Sarah Hare, who lives in Hope, in neighboring Warren County, New Jersey, noted New Jersey recently announced its intent to buy and preserve hundreds of acres of farmland from Lehigh Valley developer David Jaindl in rural White Township, where Jaindl had proposed building warehouses on the site.
“And now the Pennsylvania DEP has the ability to stop the decisions that could reverse the effects of New Jersey’s step,” she said.
There is urgency in thinking regionally, Hare said.
“Any environmental impacts from construction in Pennsylvania affects residents on both sides of the [Delaware] river,” she said.
Edward Stierli of the National Park Conservation Association, said the full buildout of River Pointe would be the equivalent of 66 Walmarts. He said the association has concern for the millions of people who rely on the Delaware for their drinking water and concern for what the viewshed from large buildings would mean to the region.
“We urge you to reject this application,” he said.
Pektor: ‘vital economic development’
No one from River Pointe spoke, including Pektor, who attended the hearing. On Tuesday, he said in a statement the company has invested millions of dollars and more than three years performing detailed environmental studies and planning. He said River Pointe officials have worked closely with DEP and other regulatory agencies and will continue to do so.
“This property has long been zoned industrial for the explicit purpose of generating tax revenue for the township and represents only 2% of the landmass of the township,” Pektor said.
If completed, River Pointe, which is just south of Portland, would cover about 800 acres and have 12 buildings totaling 5.8 million square feet. It includes eight proposed buildings totaling 4 million square feet in the main, undeveloped part of River Pointe, and two additional ones across River Road at the site of the former Portland Generating Station electric plant that total 1.5 million square feet.
Pektor said the planned development is also allowing River Pointe to dismantle, demolish and remediate the former electric generating facility, which closed about 10 years ago, and “was once the largest polluter in the region.”
“As such, River Pointe brings with it once-in-a-lifetime economic, environmental, and employment opportunities desperately needed for the region and the Commonwealth,” he said. “We look forward to continuing the process and making this vital economic development project a reality.”
At least two DEP administrators were in attendance, including Pamela Kania, waterways and wetlands program director. To one speaker’s comments that River Pointe’s permit application contained 47 deficiencies, Kania said DEP notified River Pointe officials and has provided the developer with a chance to respond. She also said the agency could grant an extension to file revisions, or could withdraw the permit application if River Pointe officials do not respond.
Pektor has said the project, which is near Route 611 and Interstate 80, offers strategic proximity to ports in New York, and New Jersey. He has said this provides River Point the potential to draw large manufacturers. So far, however, he has not named any prospective occupants.
DEP spokesperson Colleen Connolly said comments will be accepted through Nov. 28. They can be emailed to Connolly at [email protected].
She said after the hearing the agency will issue a document responding to the comments and continue to review the permit application. She said a decision could be by the end of the year or early 2024.
Asked what happens if DEP denies the permit, Connolly said Pektor could appeal to the independent Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board.
The DEP last year approved a separate permit application by River Pointe that was appealed to the hearing board by members of the grassroots group Concerned Citizens of Upper Mount Bethel, Cole said. He thinks DEP is now beginning to see the development “is bigger than what anyone is thinking, and it’s time to start looking at the whole thing.”
Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone can be reached at [email protected].
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