The Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners was informed last Monday about a convoy of 80 triaxle trucks traveling through the township.

Whitehall Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. said he was on his way to his office at the municipal building June 8 when he saw 11 triaxle trucks.

"It became apparent to me that large convoys of triaxle trucks, all with New Jersey registrations, were northbound (on MacArthur Road) turning left onto Chestnut Street at Scheetz," Hozza said told the township commissioners at the June 10 meeting.

He followed the trucks to their destination – the Coplay Aggregates/Ciccone reclamation site on West Coplay Road. When he reached the property, he was met by Ciccone's representative Steve Kolbe.

"I asked Mr. Kolbe, 'What is going on?'" said Hozza. "Mr. Kolbe responded, 'This is material from the Hurricane Sandy cleanup. It is a FEMA and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection project.'"

Hozza said he agreed to speak with two men seated at desks and a woman by a counter with a log sheet and papers.

"I asked for federal identification and was told by one man that he didn't directly work for FEMA but for a firm hired by FEMA to monitor the operation," Hozza said. "I asked, 'What is the operation?'"

According to Hozza, the man's response was, "'Mayor, this is Hurricane Sandy dredge material from the New Jersey bays and marinas to reopen the channels after the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.'"

Hozza said he told the man he estimated 100 triaxles were loaded with material to arrive in Whitehall.

Kolbe said that estimate seemed too high. When he asked for clarification, he was told the nuimber of trucks was about 80.

"I told Mr. Kolbe that one phone call to the township to give us a heads up would have been nice," said Hozza.

The state of New Jersey provided Hozza a phone number and the name of someone from a company FEMA retained for the operation. The material, Hozza said, came from 40 different marinas and bay travel channels along the New Jersey coast. The material was tested in Newark before being shipped out.

Hozza said he voiced his displeasure when making another call to the contractor hired by FEMA and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The individual apologized and said the Whitehall site is not the primary location for the material. However, because of flooding June 7, the New Jersey sites were closed.

"I will continue to monitor the situation and make everyone aware with further updates," Hozza said.