(Camden, NJ) – The Camden County Board of Freeholders submitted public comment today supporting the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) draft denial of Elcon Recycling, LLC’s, proposed waste recycling facility to be located next to the Delaware River.
Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. applauded the preliminary ruling, and condemned the proposed project for the risk it posed to Camden County residents.
“The Freeholder Board commends DEP for its thorough review and initial ruling on the Elcon application,” Cappelli said. “The proposed facility represents an acute risk to the air quality, water quality, and environmental health of our region, and the public health of our residents. The Delaware River is a drinking water source for millions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey citizens, and is therefore too vital to be put at risk of contamination.”
Elcon originally proposed to process nearly 600 different types of chemical wastes at one site, located next to the Delaware River in Falls Township, Pennsylvania. That waste would be transported at high-risk between 17 and 25 times per day through residential neighborhoods and highways used by Camden County residents.
The facility would add to Bucks County’s poor air quality, which currently fails for ground-level ozone pollution. Air pollutants can travel many miles, affecting the health of New Jersey residents and contributing to problems such as asthma, breathing difficulties, cancer, COPD, emphysema, and heart and lung ailments.
“We remain greatly concerned about the potential impacts of this facility on the health and safety of our residents, as well as on the preservation of our natural resources,” Cappelli said. “We hope the DEP recognizes that the deficiencies in this application cannot be explained piecemeal and that it is ultimately denied.”
The DEP issued its draft denial of the application on May 15, 2019. Today, July 15, the Freeholders submitted public comment to the agency supporting its decision and calling for the ultimate formal denial of the project.