Residents press township over Rockhill Quarry litigation; solicitor outlines court schedule and DEP appeals

Multiple residents raised concerns about the Rockhill Quarry case during public comment at the East Rockhill Township Board meeting on Jan. 22, 2019. Dr. Ken Holtje asked what residents could do to assist in the federal litigation; Solicitor John Rice responded with procedural information and noted a federal hearing was scheduled for Jan. 28–29 at the Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia but that the judge might postpone the dates due to a current criminal case.

Rice said the township’s position is that the matter should be heard by the Zoning Hearing Board; the quarry applicant has taken the position that the issue is pre‑empted. Rice added the township had appealed the DEP NPDES permit and the DEP Air Quality Crusher permit to the State Environmental Hearing Board. He also said DEP had required the quarry applicant to prepare an asbestos abatement plan, which the applicant should submit to the township for review.

Residents asked procedural questions — including whether they could send correspondence to the judge and whether the township could provide a witness list — and staff noted that the judge had already received resident correspondence and that the township could not provide an official witness list; property owners with long tenure were asked to provide contact information to the township manager.

The minutes record expressions of concern about inspector oversight and DEP involvement; no formal township action on the litigation was taken at the meeting, though Rice outlined the appeals and permit review actions already underway.