Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners at its Monday night workshop expressed ongoing frustration regarding the continued dumping of fill daily into a huge quarry owned by Coplay Aggregates, prompting Commissioners President Phillips Armstrong to comment, “Our hands are tied behind our backs.” The company has a permit, issued by Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to dump regulated fill at the site.

Adding to the commissioners’ frustration is a letter from state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-18th, sent to a township resident in February, stating the township may have the authority after all to ensure the fill being dumped is within the permit’s parameters, a matter township officials believed was strictly under the domain of the state DEP.

“There is a lot of confusion and misinformation,” said Lee Rackus, township bureau chief, planning, zoning and development, regarding Boscola’s letter and position on the issue.

The commissioners, at their March meeting, called for a discussion with Boscola and a state DEP representative regarding Coplay Aggregates’ permit.

While a meeting date has yet to be set, township Solicitor Charles Fonzone said Monday he has been in contact with an aide to Boscola and will gather documentation on the issue requested by her office.

The former quarry, at 5001 Beekmantown Road, just outside of Stiles, is owned by Coplay Aggregates. Under DEP’s regulated fill definition, brick, historic fill, concrete block from construction, soil, stone and dredged material are permitted to be dumped there.

The township was informed that, during an earlier DEP inspection of the Coplay Aggregates quarry, it was determined medical waste had been dumped there. The company held it was an isolated incident.

Commissioner Philip Ginder said residents living near the quarry had appeared at meetings and complained about the dumping but no longer come because “[the township] can’t do anything about it.”

“We started the process,” Armstrong said about getting the issue resolved.

Boscola’s letter - sent to Chris Feidler, a Fox Hollow resident who voiced concerns last year of a sticky substance covering homes and vehicles in this neighborhood, located in proximity to another quarry - quoted DEP’s General Permit WMGR096: “Nothing in this permit shall be construed to supersede, amend or authorize a violation of any of the provisions of any valid and applicable local law, or ordinance, or regulation, providing that said local law, or ordinance, or regulation is not pre-empted by the Solid Waste Management Act.

“This means that municipal government has oversight of the land development/quarry reclamation site, despite the permit being issued by the state. The permit cannot be used over local law.”

The township seeks clarification if such a position involves all municipalities in the state and if any case law applies.

Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. said the state’s environmental hearing board will hear the township’s case in August over the township’s objection to the fact that it was not notified or involved when the DEP issued Coplay Aggregates the permit for regulated fill dumping.