Northhampton News

The House has approved legislation authored by Representative Zach Mako, aimed at improving communication regarding environmental violations at quarries and landfills. The bill seeks to address delays in notifying municipalities and citizens about such issues.

This legislative effort follows a significant delay in 2018 when Whitehall Township and its residents were not promptly informed about a notice of non-compliance issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to a local landfill for high levels of PCBs.

"While I am pleased that I am unaware of any further environmental violations at the quarry, I continue to push for this legislation so residents can be assured that they are alerted to anything that could possibly negatively affect their health or safety," said Mako. "Quarry and landfill operators should be good neighbors to those living close by. This bill will help do that. I'm hopeful the Senate will consider the legislation quickly so that delayed notification doesn't occur in the future."

House Bill 718 mandates the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to forward noncompliance notifications from the EPA within 14 days for violations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and Solid Waste Management Act (SWMA) to municipalities.

The bill now awaits consideration by the Senate.

The 183rd House District represented by Mako includes Lowhill and North Whitehall townships, Slatington Borough in Lehigh County, as well as Allen, East Allen, Lehigh, Moore townships, Bath, North Catasauqua, Northampton, and Walnutport boroughs in Northampton County.