L. Saucon Residents Demand Action on Odor Issue

Several residents of Steel City–fed up with a foul odor that is under investigation by the Department of Environmental Protection–demanded swift action from Lower Saucon Township Council Wednesday.

The intersection of Johnston and Fritz avenues in Steel City, Lower Saucon Township

They also pointed the finger at IESI Bethlehem Landfill, even though the source of the odor hasn’t been positively identified.

“I know where there’s a smoking barrel. Some people have been fined,” said Donna Louder–a landfill committee member who is running for township council–in apparent reference to an Aug. 23, 2014 DEP inspection report that noted violations at IESI.

“We’ve been going back and forth for three years, and it’s time we put a stop to the dance of the almighty dollar,” she said.

Resident John Hulsizer told council members that “IESI doesn’t care.”

“I plan on dying in Steel City and I’m gonna die from old age, not from a gas that’s coming over a hill,” he said.

Louder told council she has contacted the offices of Governor Tom Wolf about the odor problem, and said elected officials need to “step up” to help the residents who say their quality of life is being undermined and their health threatened by the mysterious smell.

So far no evidence of adverse health effects has been presented.

Matt McClarin of Steel City said he never smelled the odor until March 2012.

Since then he’s become an active participant in township council meetings and a frequent critic of the landfill.

“We’re the most densely populated place of Lower Saucon Township,” he said, referring to Steel City. “You have 200 homes next to a landfill now… I hope that you guys continue to fight for what’s right.”

Council ultimately voted 4-0 to send an urgent letter to DEP and local elected officials such as state Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-18) requesting a program of ambient air sampling and testing to identify the level and frequency of any offsite landfill gases.

The letter will also be forwarded to IESI and is a follow-up to a similar request made last September. This time, council requested a response by April 14.

DeLeon also reiterated a request that township police officers on patrol in the area of Steel City and the landfill report any odors they encounter.

Township manager Jack Cahalan said the request had been forwarded to police chief Guy Lesser, but he was uncertain about whether anything has been done with it.

“I don’t have a response (from Lesser),” he told deLeon.

Another issue raised during the discussion was the disposition of waste at the landfill from coastal areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012.

DeLeon said she wants to see a map that shows which parts of the landfill the waste was placed into.

The reasoning behind the request is that gypsum–which is used in some building materials–produces hydrogen sulfide gas as a byproduct of its decay.

DeLeon said the gas, according to her research, is known to have a sweet smell.

Several residents including deLeon have commented that recently the odor has taken on a sickly sweet-smelling characteristic.

IESI is currently proposing to expand its Applebutter Road facility within its zoned footprint in order to extend the landfill’s lifespan by an estimated five or six years.

The application for the proposed Southeastern Realignment was recently accepted by DEP, which is one of the first steps in the approval process.

Last week, it was announced by IESI that the district manager who had overseen operations at the Lower Saucon landfill had stepped down.

Sam Donato left to pursue other career opportunities, the company said.