PA-DEP Must Stop Toxic Dumping in Palmerton!

With many thanks to Save Carbon County supporters, our concerns about Northface Development's growing mountain of toxic waste in Palmerton are being heard! Northface Development gets paid for accepting toxic fill from places like New York's Gowanus Canal Superfund Site. Quarterly reports indicate the owners of the site will gross over a million dollars this year. Nearby residents are complaining that truck traffic at the site has increased dramatically over the past few weeks and shows no sign of slowing down. We must stop being the dumping ground for waste that is too toxic for other states. Earlier this year, Save Carbon County submitted a Right-to-Know request to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP). Due to the volume of records, the request was constrained to just the traffic in 2025 which resulted in 236 files documenting the toxic fill that is being deposited along the banks of the Lehigh River by Northface Development. The chain of custody for the samples is verified, and the documentation is complete. The toxic fill (aka regulated soil) that is being dumped on an almost daily basis is composed of toxic and BANNED substances including:

Volatile Organic Compounds like Benzene and Tuolene

Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds like Carbazole (toxic to aquatic life, suspected of causing genetic defects, suspected carcinogen).

Metals like arsenic, lead, vanadium.

Petroleum Hydrocarbons (Major contaminants when released through spills or leaking underground storage tanks. They can contaminate soil and water and are harmful to human health).

PCBS like Arochlor 1242 a synthetic commercial mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) containing 42% chlorine by weight. It is a colorless to light-yellow, viscous liquid (CAS # 53469-21-9) known to cause skin irritation (chloracne), liver damage, and potential reproductive effects in humans. PCBS were banned in the 1970s due to toxicity, persistence in the environment, and carcinogenic potential.

Pesticides like Heptachlor a manufactured, persistent organic pollutant (POP) and organochlorine insectide formerly used for termite control and on crops. Banned for most uses in the U.S. by 1988, it is a probable human carcinogen that persists in soil and breaks down into the more toxic and persistent byproduct, heptachlor epoxide.

Inorganics and Miscellaneous like cyanide.

Members of Save Carbon County are scheduled to meet with the PA-DEP at their Wilkes-Barre office in November. At the meeting, Save Carbon County will outline our concerns about the project and push for increased oversight and soil testing at the site. The Save Carbon County Northface Project Committee will also ask for time-limited dumping permits going forward. Northface Development plans to request another 5-year permit to dump, and the Save Carbon County Northface Project Committee is asking the PA-DEP to deny their request. We believe Northface Development's owners are rushing to beat an expected change in Pennsylvania regulations that will mandate less toxic fill. BRC13 recently broadcast an insightful update which is available on our home page at www.savecarboncounty.com - please take a couple of minutes to watch the video.