Planned Middle Creek Quarry work would reclaim ridge view

Middle Creek Quarry, so plainly seen from part of downtown Hawley where gradual stone mining has created its extended rock cliff face, plans to increase its work area within the approved industrial zone, Palmyra Township supervisors heard on April 1. The purpose is for reclamation of the scarred land.

Township officials spoke at length at the meeting with Edward (Ned) Sader, representing the firm owning the quarry E.R. Linde Construction Corporation, a subsidiary of Leeward Construction, Inc., who recommended a workshop session with parties concerned to resolve township questions and concerns.

Township Solicitor Jeffrey Treat received affirmation from the company engineering firm for the quarry, Earthres, that the proposed work does not seek to go beyond the previously approved boundary for the 87.3-acre industrial zone. Sader was emphatic that this is so.

Township officials, as well as numerous township and Hawley Borough residents, have been sensitive to any possibility of the quarry industrial boundary expanding and further impacting the nearby community in proximity to the mining on the ridge line. The stone quarrying is visible especially from Main Avenue alongside Bingham Park in Hawley and Columbus Avenue and other streets in the Marble Hill neighborhood of Palmyra Township just beyond borough limits.

Blasting, with noise and vibrations attributed to Middle Creek Quarry, has been a source of complaints periodically voiced by residents, mostly at borough meetings.

In 2022, the township rejected a proposed project by E.R. Linde Construction to expand the industrial zone.

"We are 100% within the industrial zone, as approved by the township," Sader said, adding the township's regulatory oversight remains firm. He stated that the company only wants to make use of more of the allowable acreage where mining is allowed. The purpose, Sader said, is allow Leeward to bring in dirt from other job sites for use in reclaiming mined land.

"Because one of the things everybody talks about is Main Avenue, Hawley, looking up at that hillside," Sader said. He added that the company owners want to reclaim that area, "so there is no longer an eyesore."

Sader and the township officials agreed that there needs to be better communication about quarry plans with the township. The letter that went out from the engineer about the project, Sader noted, uses the word "expansion," but in the very next line states that the work will not exceed the present industrial zone boundary. "But they still use that word, and 'expansion' and 'quarry' in Palmyra Township, they don't really go together," Sader said.

That wording raised concern with the township officials. Treat advised that the average person focuses only on one word, expansion, and doesn't see the rest.

Zoning Officer Paul Natale also asked for clarification about discrepancies in total acreage, as seen comparing the quarry project map in 2015 and the 2022 maps. Sader said he would check on that.

The entire area on the ridge — sandwiched between Columbus Avenue in Palmyra Township on the north side, Wangum Avenue in Hawley Borough on the east side and Owego Turnpike on the south side — owned by Leeward is 94.3 acres. Sader stated that the company's present mining limit within the 87.3-acre industrial zone is 55.8 acres. The company wishes to increase that mining limit to 59.6 acres, still well within the zone.

Treat requested township officials meet on site with Gary Linde, president of Leeward Construction, to see what is being done there. Natale suggested that he and supervisor Jospeh Kmetz attend and asked that a representative of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection also be there. Sader agreed to request the site meeting and advised also having the engineering firm present.

Treat stressed that the township needs to do its due diligence to be able to answer questions from the public about what is planned and what, if anything, would be visible from the town below.

Sader assured that Linde wants to make sure the township gets the information it needs.

In addition to extracting stone at Middle Creek Quarry, Linde also processes it at its plant and makes asphalt. The stone and asphalt are used for the company’s many construction projects in Wayne, Lackawanna and Pike counties.

Palmyra supervisors meet on the first Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the offices at 219 Oak St., Marble Hill, near Hawley.

Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Planned Middle Creek Quarry work would reclaim ridge view