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The wetlands and woodlands of the Upper Tohickon Creek watershed are near the proposed quarry site in Springfield, Bucks County. (Courtesy pf the Upper Tohickon Watershed Association)
After months of hearings, contentious debate continues over a quarry operation proposed for Springfield Township, in Upper Bucks County.
The hearings arise from an application to the township Board of Supervisors for conditional-use approval of a non-coal surface mining project. Skippack-based developer H&K Group continues to press the proposal along, while local residents allege that the quarry’s mining activities will affect their health, drive down their property values, and damage surrounding forest and wetlands.
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The wetlands and woodlands of the Upper Tohickon Creek watershed are near the proposed quarry site in Springfield, Bucks County. (Courtesy pf the Upper Tohickon Watershed Association)
The sixth hearing on a conditional-use application for a proposed surface mining quarry in Upper Bucks County brought continued cross-examination from community stakeholders and Springfield Township residents on everything from well replacement to dinosaur prints.
The range of questions indicated a variety of reasons for residents’ opposition some that could surface in later arguments this year, and some that could simply go extinct.
The proposed project, a two-pit quarry that would extract 500,000 tons of stone annually from a site covering 196 acres of wetlands and forest, is led by local developer H&K Group. The plan has been met with widespread disapproval from residents, who worry about lost housing value and potential environmental harm. After all arguments, testimony and cross-ex
A conditional use hearing for a proposed 196-acre quarry in Springfield will continue next month as opponents of the plan got their first chance to cross examine the project s lead engineer Tuesday night.
Alex Bomstein, an attorney for the Clear Air Council, began an hours-long cross examination of H&K engineering manager Scott Drumbore at the township board of supervisors meeting.
The proposed quarry near Springfield Street, Mine Road and state Route 309 is in the township s Planned Industrial zoning district, which allows a quarry with certain conditions set by the board.
Those conditions would be the end result of these hearings, which began in September, assuming the township does ultimately grant H&K s application.