Whitehall Township officials have raised concerns over the influx of tri-axle trucks dumping fill, mostly bound from New Jersey, to a quarry outside of Stiles along with Coplay Aggregates Inc. application to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Coplay Aggregates is seeking approval to have controlled fill put into the quarry, off West Coplay Road.

The township board of commissioners on Monday adopted a resolution authorizing Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. and staff to submit comments regarding Coplay Aggregates application to William Tomayko, environmental project manager, Waste Management Program, at the DEP's Northeast Regional Office.

Hozza said the township opposes granting the permit.

Hozza and Frank Clark, township engineer, informed the commissioners the regulated fill must be dumped within a one-year-period and then capped. No persons or activity including playgrounds, may be on the site where the regulated fill is dumped.

Presently the fill going into the quarry hole is classified by DEP as "clean fill." Hozza said the regulated fill could come from gas stations, places where there is oil and from other materials that are not designated as clean fill.

Coplay Aggregates has been operating under a mining reclamation permit granted by DEP, Hozza said. Much of the fill, at least initially, has been generated due Hurricane Sandy Hurricane. The tri-axle trucks still mainly originate in New Jersey, coming off Route 22, onto Route 145, Chestnut Street to West Coplay Road and onto Coplay Aggregates property.

Requests by the township to Coplay Aggregates for copies of the DEP self-testing reports have been ignored.

"We never received one report," Hozza said. The mayor said in contrast, UGI, which has a contractor removing fill for replacement of gas lines, submits quarterly reports.

The township received "numerous complaints" by residents regarding the dumping of fill, Hozza said. Many people living in the Home Park area of Cementon complained of odors. The issue lodged with DEP resulted in an investigation with DEP concluding, "a finding of no findings," according to the mayor.

"There is something disturbing of the regulated fill they [Coplay Aggregates] are proposing, Clark told the commissioners. He said the soils may be contaminated with spills of oil and medical waste. The site for the regulated fill would be the area where the commissioners earlier approved an office and another structure,

"Plenty of red flags," Clark said of the Coplay Aggregates application for a controlled fill permit.

"Can we get a hauling permit?" Commissioner Gerard Palagonia asked of the numerous tri-axle trucks dumping fill.

Deputy Mayor Jack Meyers said the township legally cannot do so. On issues involving the DEP, Clark said, "We usually have to scream."

The police report released Monday for April noted 28 commercial motor vehicles, such as tri-axle trucks, were contacted by the police weight and enforcement team. There were 30 traffic citations issued. Five tri-axle trucks were cited for not having operating authority in Pennsylvania without proper clearance to cross state lines, all New Jersey carriers en route to Coplay Aggregates.