Chester residents and environmental groups press DEP to require VOC monitoring, stronger controls at Delcora incinerator

At a public hearing hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in Chester, residents, local advocates and environmental groups urged the agency to require tougher pollution controls and air monitoring for the Delcora sewage- and industrial-waste incinerator.

Speakers including Lauren Minsky and representatives of the Clean Air Council and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network told DEP staff the facility contributes to an exceptional cumulative pollution burden in southeastern Delaware County. Minsky cited cancer-rate comparisons she said cover 2002–2021 and told the hearing the area has ‘‘79% higher than the Pennsylvania average for liver and bowel cancer’’ among adults and higher childhood cancer rates as well. Clean Air Council representatives pressed DEP to require Delcora to conduct VOC air monitoring and to adopt best-available control technologies rather than rely on infrequent wastewater tests or plant self-reporting.

"We know that Chester lies at the epicenter of 1 of the most prominent environmental justice regions in the country," Minsky said, arguing the community’s high asthma and cancer rates show the need for rigorous monitoring and stronger controls. Clean Air Council speaker Alyssa Felix said neither DEP nor Delcora currently use air monitoring technology for VOCs at the site and called for technologies such as gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

Zulene Mayfield of Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living criticized DEP’s outreach and the Office of Environmental Justice, saying the community received roughly six weeks’ notice and inadequate plain-language materials. "They are poisoning us. They are killing us. It is environmental genocide," Mayfield said, adding the group will pursue litigation if DEP does not change its practice.

Fred Stein of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network asked how DEP determines whether a control is ‘‘technically practicable’’ or ‘‘too costly’’ and said Delcora’s permit application proposes no emissions reductions. He urged DEP to push for the best available technologies to protect both local residents and the Delaware River, which provides drinking water to millions.

The hearing was a listening session; DEP staff reiterated that it does not respond during the proceeding and that all formal comments will be addressed in writing in a comment-and-response document. The hearing official closed the Delcora segment and reminded the public that written testimony is due by 11:59 PM on 12/12/2025 to Jillian Gallagher, Environmental Program Manager, PA DEP Southeast Regional Office, Norristown, PA, or electronically at ra-epseroaqpubcom@pa.gov.

The DEP identified the matter as a Title V operating-permit significant modification (permit 23-00038) and said RACT (Reasonably Available Control Technology) obligations require the agency to weigh technology availability and cost when setting requirements.