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Planning commission tables Daniels' concrete batch plant application after residents raise noise, traffic and water concerns
Summary
Salem Township Planning Commission members voted unanimously to table a land‑development application for a storage yard and concrete batch plant at 1855 State Route 819 after residents reported noise at early hours, traffic safety worries, dust and possible groundwater impacts; the application remains incomplete pending required permits and plan revisions.
The Salem Township Planning Commission voted on July 3 to table the land‑development application by James Daniels for a storage yard and concrete batch plant at 1855 State Route 819 after multiple residents raised safety, noise, traffic and environmental concerns and the commission identified missing plan information and outstanding agency approvals.
Holly Lorenzo, senior project engineer for Apex Companies LLC, told the commission that the submitted plan lacks required items including deed/tax references, a statement of purpose, total acreage, topographic contours, locations of existing buildings and water lines, frontage dimensions, setback lines, parking calculations, ingress/egress details and several required permits. Lorenzo listed agency approvals and permits that must be obtained or documented: stormwater management review by the township engineer, SEO/DEP approval for on‑lot sanitary facilities, Westmoreland County District (WCD)/DEP Erosion & Sedimentation Control Plan/NPDES approval, and a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit for access to SR 819. Lorenzo said the plan sheets need revision numbers, accurate general notes, and proper seals and certification language for the county planning department and township recording.
Residents at the meeting said the site has generated early‑morning and late‑evening truck traffic and loud noises from forms and mixer trucks. Lisa Segina said she was concerned about trucks exiting onto heavily traveled SR 819 and reported noise, dust, and possible contaminants from millings entering springs and wells. "It looks like a cover up and clean up," Segina said, and she asked who would pay legal and planning fees tied to the matter. Resident Ron Muir said he heard a cement mixer running for 20–30 minutes at 5:08 a.m. on multiple mornings.
Holly Lorenzo said DEP requires a six‑month sampling protocol for the site and reported that, since the permit was issued, there has been no contamination in runoff submitted to DEP. James Daniels (also referred to as Jim Daniels in the meeting) said DEP informed him that millings cannot sit for more than two years and that material at the site is rotated regularly. Carmine Pontillo asked whether an environmental impact study had been performed; Lorenzo said DEP addressed the operations in a July 5, 2022 report that concluded the concrete plant was exempt from plan approval and operating permit requirements based on the calculation of dust emissions and noted a dust collector on site.
Connie Mattei, planning commission chair, and other commissioners noted that supervisors can give final approval with some third‑party requirements outstanding but that the plan mylar will not be signed and recorded until requirements are satisfied. After discussion, Paul Holleran moved and John Durco seconded a motion to table the application "due to the various issues noted above." The motion passed unanimously with Mattei, Holleran and Durco voting in favor.
The commission also advised residents to bring permitting and taxation concerns to the board of supervisors at their July 17 meeting. The application will remain on hold until the applicant submits the required documentation and obtains outstanding agency approvals.
