State regulators will take public comment next month on a proposed $26 million plant in Plainfield Township that would take treated sewage sludge and convert it into granular “biosolids” that can be sold as fertilizer or fuel.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will host a public meeting and take testimony from experts on the project beginning 6 p.m. Nov. 7 at Wind Gap Middle School, 1620 Teels Road in Plainfield. The public meeting will run from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., during which people will be able to ask questions regarding permit applications for the project, which Synagro Technologies wants to build. A hearing will take place from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for the DEP to take testimony.
Synagro, Waste Management, which owns and operates a landfill on the site of the proposed biosolids plant, and a group called Green Knight Economic Development Corp. are behind the plant, called the Slate Belt Heat Recovery Project. Synagro would bring up to 20 truckloads of waste to the landfill per day and dry the treated sludge using waste heat from Green Knight’s methane-to-energy plant on landfill property, or natural gas that is also on site.
Synagro has said it wants to heat treated sludge to produce the so-called Class A granular pellets that can be sold for fertilizer or fuel. Baltimore-based Synagro would make money selling the pellets, while Green Knight, a nonprofit group dedicated to improving the Slate Belt, would receive unspecified revenue for the use of its waste heat.
For months, privately held Synagro has laid out the case to residents and Plainfield Township planners, who must give a recommendation on the project to township supervisors for their approval. The proposed facility has drawn concerns from environmentalists, municipal officials and residents. The plant, which Synagro first proposed in November 2016, would be built near Plainfield and Pen Argyl — and others.
Synagro has applied to the DEP for several permits covering air quality, pollution and waste management, the agency said in a news release. In addition, Waste Management is seeking a “minor modification” to its existing waste management permit. All permits require DEP approval, and the agency said public comments on the permits are being accepted through Nov. 21.
To pre-register for delivering comments at the public hearing, or for those who cannot attend the meeting but wish to submit written testimony, contact Colleen Connolly at coconnolly@pa.gov or call the DEP Northeast Regional Office at 570-826-2035.
SLATE BELT HEARING
WHAT: Public meeting and hearing on the Slate Belt Heat Recovery Center LLC to be built by Synagro Technologies
WHEN: 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Nov. 7
WHERE: Wind Gap Middle School, 1620 Teels Road., Plainfield Township
