Lawrence Oberly and residents from the Atlas Road neighborhood appeared before the Allen Township Board of Supervisors Thursday evening to voice complaints regarding fill being dumped into an abandoned quarry near their homes. Oberly and the residents argued the operation is questionable and the township has ignored taking any corrective measures.

Township Solicitor F. Lincoln Treadwell continued to maintain the township's position that the Atlas quarry, which is in an industrial-zoned district, is an extraction project, not a reclamation project, which Oberly contends is the case. Treadwell said he is amenable to meet with Oberly on the issue, but said his position would not change regarding the quarry, which is owned by the Krapf family.

The residents' concerns involve the noise, dirt and trucks bringing in the fill from outside the state. Reportedly trucks from New York and New Jersey arrive at all hours of the night.

Residents mentioned they have been provided conflicting information on when the quarry site will be completed.

Another issue involves the vibrations residents are experiencing from the backfill operations.

Oberly recited a history of the issue, which dates back to 1979 when Howard J.Krapf/Hanover Lines purchased 20 acres, out of 74-plus acres, that were zoned industrial, with the remaining acreage zoned conservation.

Oberly said between 1980 and 2000 "numerous problems arose, not only with zoning, but with the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) violations regarding the use of the quarry."

By 2003, Oberly said the information he obtained shows all the conservation zones were changed and the 74-plus acres are now zoned industrial. In April 2004, Total Recycling Corp. was created with a sister company, Impact Envirinmetal. Its purpose, Oberly stated, was to create and develop a clean fill acceptance plan for classifying construction and demolition debris or soil as clean fill for deposit at the Atlas quarry.

Oberly point-by-point provided correspondence between the township, state DEP and Krapf, including a Sept. 25, 2008 letter DEP sent to Krapf as a notice of a violation at the Atlas quarry. He was informed of 10 infractions and was ordered to cease disposal of solid waste at the site.

In January 2009, the township code enforcement officer to the township supervisors questioned how long it would take to fill the quarry. The inquiry resulted from numerous complaints involving late hours, truck traffic and road cleaning, resulting from spillage of slurry material.

"The answer provided by Randy Krapf was six months to one year," Oberly said of his research.

Oberly also noted on Oct. 29, 2009, an application for a DEP permit was filed by property owner Kay Krapf proposing the reclamation of existing grade utilizing fill from off-site sources, with no development proposed. The township, according to Oberly, was given an opportunity by DEP to submit comments on the Krapf application.

"There is no evidence in the file that the township responded during the 30-day period," Oberly said.

"Of greater significance is the failure of the township to challenge the responses on the perrmit application within the 30-day time limit noted before in the letters from Pennoni [consulting engineer] representing the Krapfs," Oberly said of his research into the quarry issue.

Township supervisors did not comment when Oberly stated, "There appears to be a conclusion that a conduit from the Board of Supervisors to the Krapf enterprises exists based on the lack of written documentation. This means verbal approvals are being granted to the Krapfs – by whom, and why?"

Supervisor William Homes suggested the Krapfs be asked to attend a future session, where all parties could be heard and some agreement reached.

During the meeting, there no action was taken on Homes' recommendation, but the board will again present the quarry issue during an upcoming meeting, with input from Treadwell.