Proposed Gateway Warehouse/Distribution Center

Proposed Gateway Warehouse/Distribution Center

What you need to know about the impact on Monocacy Creek

 and

How to make your voice heard

The Short version:

A  new warehouse is proposed on the site of a current SureStay + Hotel at Rt 22 and Rt 512.  The new warehouse would expand on the current footprint of the Hotel into an undeveloped lot to the West.  The plans call for storm-water to be routed to detention basins and then to an existing culvert under Rt 22 and into the creek.  If you would like to voice your concerns, email PA DEP :

RA-EPWW-NERO@pa.gov and include a cc to pkania@pa.gov

Reference to the Arcadia/Gateway Warehouse Distribution Center Proposal

DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS: Monday, January 8, 2024

The Whole Story:

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) public comment period is now open for the Gateway Warehouse/Distribution Center proposed for the property located on Gateway Drive in Hanover Township near the intersection of 512 and Route 22. In addition to concerns about truck traffic creating air- and sound-pollution in an already congested area, storm-water runoff from the proposed use also threatens our High-Quality (HQ) designated Monocacy Creek in Hanover Township in Northampton County.

 The presence of an HQ waterway in a densely populated, urbanized community like the Lehigh Valley is exceptionally rare and precious. Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life have access to an incredible resource. The Monocacy Creek has borne the brunt of warehouse development over the last decade. The creek has proven to be resilient, but it's unclear how much more stress it can handle.

 The DEP is accepting written comments and concerns until January 8, 2024. This is your chance to urge the DEP to prioritize and protect one of our local special-protection streams from harmful degradation by denying this proposal that would send storm-water runoff that carries pollutants and damages our precious wild trout ecosystem.

 

Written comments and concerns must be submitted to DEP by January 8, 2024. 

 

WHAT: DEP comment period on a distribution center threatening the High Quality (HQ) Monocacy Creek in Northampton County, PA.

 

DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS: Monday, January 8, 2024

 

Send your comments and include a reference to the Arcadia/Gateway Warehouse Distribution Center Proposal by email or mail:

 

By email:

 

 RA-EPWW-NERO@pa.gov and include a cc to pkania@pa.gov

 

Or mail:

 

Pamela Kania

DEP Northeast Regional Office (NERO)

2 Public Square

Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701-1915 

Background on the Warehouse/Distribution Center

The proposed project will be a 250,000+ square-foot warehouse/distribution center located on Gateway Drive in Hanover Township near the intersection of 512 and Route 22. The project site is currently a hotel plus an additional lot adjacent to the hotel. It will affect the High Quality (HQ) Monocacy Creek, which is also designated as a Class A wild trout stream by the PA Department of Environmental Protection. The proposed building, associated parking lots, and storm-water facilities are located only 1000 feet uphill of the creek. Storm-water runoff will pass through culverts under the building, parking lots and roadways, directing the runoff to an existing culvert built nearly 60 years ago that passes under route 22. The water will then cut through an eroding ravine that leads directly into the Monocacy Creek.

Background on Special Protection Waters

This DEP permit deals with storm-water impacts from this warehouse/distribution center project, your comments should focus on water quality impacts and/or your experience with the Monocacy Creek. Personal stories, experiences, and recommendations are most important for DEP’s consideration.

 The DEP is responsible for providing designations for all the water bodies in the state. These designations are determined by several considerations, including aquatic life, primary use, chemical composition, etc. High Quality (HQ) is the second-highest classification that DEP can provide. HQ streams are a unique and valuable community resource, offering not only outstanding trout fisheries and opportunities for recreation, tourism, and aesthetic enjoyment, but also can provide billions of dollars in value to the local economy through both revenue generation and cost savings thanks to flood mitigation, carbon sequestration, and more.

  We’ve seen countless warehouse/distribution center projects proposed or constructed in the Monocacy Creek watershed in recent years. These projects – like the one proposed here – risk degrading our local streams by changing natural drainage patterns, clear cutting swaths of forested lands, dramatically increasing impervious surfaces, and creating more cumulative impacts from storm-water runoff. This runoff contains pollutants such as heat, salt, and sediment that cannot always be appropriately mitigated through built storm-water controls and best management practices. In addition to jeopardizing the water quality of our creek by dramatically changing the landscape and increasing impervious surface and polluted runoff, warehouse/distribution centers are threatening the health and safety of our communities through increased tractor trailer traffic, air quality concerns, and noise and lighting impacts, just to name a few. 

 

Thank you for joining us in sending your concerns to DEP.

 

Monocacy Creek Watershed Association

100 Illick’s Mill Roa

Bethlehem PA 18017

Email: monocacycrkwa@gmail.com

 

 

Jane Cook

MCWA secretary/treasurer

610-216-2322

Bethlehem Climate Action Plan DRAFT Complete

The city has completed its DRAFT Climate Action Plan (CAP) and public comment is encouraged through January 6th. See homepage for more info. Thank you to the numerous organizations that have assisted in the development of this plan: Bethlehem Mayor Donchez, city council members, EAC liaison William Reynolds, community organizations and environmental groups, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, Nurture Nature Center, consultant WSP who put the whole CAP together and numerous citizens and stakeholder groups! Thank you! Implementation has started and will continue to occur with hopes to make Bethlehem an environmental beacon in the region!

Click here to see the plan:

https://www.bethlehem-pa.gov/CityOfBethlehem/media/AdminMediaFolder/PDFForms/BethlehemDraftCAP_ForPublicComment_12-11-2020.pdf

Forester Secures 850 Native Tree Seedlings for Spring 2021 Planting!

The City Forester has obtained approval for a host of native tree seedlings from the PPL Community Roots program. 850 small seedlings will be planted at yet to be determined locations in April. The city Forester has chosen native trees and include Swamp White Oak, Eastern Sycamore, Eastern Redbud, River Birch, Smooth Alder, Winterberry, Serviceberry and Arrowood! Please keep an eye out in Spring for our announcements with seedling planting help from community members.

Wawa proposed in Flood Plain Along Saucon Creek

Wawa is proposing a Wawa in a flood plain along the Saucon Creek at the former Chris’s Restaurant in Bethlehem along 412 across from Commerce Blvd.

There are several environmental concerns with the project including flood plain development, stormwater runoff and along a high quality watershed portion of the Saucon creek.

https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/wawa-planning-another-store-in-bethlehem/article_61d92e7c-f3cb-11ea-ab0e-53b0e763f784.html

Moravian Green Team Essay - Limiting Use of Plastics in Bethlehem

This essay by Moravian Academy’s Green Team was generated as part of Touchstone Theatre's Festival UnBound's Sustainability Forum and is part of an ongoing initiative to stir our community, young and old, black and white, rich and poor, to think creatively about how we can make our home, our community, a better place to live. It is a challenge we can only successfully accomplish together.

Bill George, Touchstone Theatre

 

Limiting the Use of Plastic in Bethlehem

One issue that is prevalent in our community is single-use plastic pollution and waste, especially surrounding grocery store policies relating to food preservation. Our perspective on the issue is that our community could do a better job of cutting down on plastic use. This would help the environment by limiting the exposure to pollution from the plastic itself and the chemicals used in or on plastic. Is it possible to completely stop using plastic? In today’s world, maybe not, but it is not only possible but plausible to limit the use of plastic and to use more ecologically friendly options whenever possible. Imagine walking into a grocery store and going to the produce section to get some fruit. When you get there, there is plastic everywhere. Plastic bags to hold the fruit, prepackaged vegetables wrapped in plastic, even bundles of bananas held together by and wrapped in plastic. Why is so much plastic packaging necessary in our grocery stores when nature has already provided a natural package? There are such excessive uses of plastic in our community as wrapping bananas together even though they already have peels, unpeeling an orange and packaging it in plastic, or giving out single-use plastic bags in which to carry produce. These can contribute significantly to plastic pollution that can severely harm our environment.

In order to cut down on our community’s plastic use, grocery stores could provide more environmentally friendly options. These options could include having giveaways of free reusable bags for store members, charging extra for using a plastic bag (something that is already done in some places in the U.S.), using paper bags at the checkout instead, having recycling centers in the store for used plastic bags, and giving customers who bring in their own bags or pre-approved containers a small discount from their purchase. U.S. Senator Tom Udall and U.S. Representative Alan Lowenthal are both members of our government that have been pushing for legislation that addresses our country's plastic pollution problems, specifically in relation to marine, waterway, and landscape pollution. Also, organizations like the Plastic Pollution Coalition seek to end plastic pollution through education of the public and encouragement of people to be more aware of their plastic consumer consumption as well as to encourage eateries worldwide to end their use of single-use plastics. The Bethlehem Environmental Advisory Council also submitted a proposal to the City Council in February of 2019 asking the city of Bethlehem to place a ban on all single-use plastic bags and to enforce a ten-cent fee on paper bags.

One reason plastic pollution has become a big problem is because it poses a chemical danger to our environment. When plastic bags are left undisposed of in waterways like rivers, streams, or the ocean, they can leach toxic chemicals into the water and soil and damage surrounding plants and animals, affecting whole ecosystems and the water we drink. Additionally, in marine environments specifically, the plastic in our water can release odors that mimic those of some species’ food. This draws wildlife towards pollution and can cause entanglement and consumption, killing the animals. The microplastics consumed by organisms at the bottom of the food chain accumulate all the way to the top, resulting in our personal consumption of about 120-140 plastic particles a day.

A resolution to the plastic pollution problem requires action from all levels of our community from personal to corporate. We each must take personal responsibility for our contribution towards plastic use and consumption. By being increasingly aware of what we are purchasing and decreasing our use of single-use plastics by using reusable bags, jars, or containers, we can hope to reduce overall single-use plastic waste. We can also reduce our plastic use by buying from local and small business establishments to avoid large-scale plastic use from the shipping and packaging industries. Individuals can also use reusable water bottles instead of plastic ones.

On a business level, it is necessary to create anti-plastic policies to reinforce the benefits of sustainable action. In grocery stores, deterrents should be implemented against the use of plastic by utilizing a baseline monetary penalty for the use of plastic bags. To reduce plastic use, grocery stores can also invest in bulk food sections where the consumer can bring reusable containers or bags to get what they need. This method of purchase also decreases food waste since consumers only take what they need because the price would be based on weight and not what is cheaper, whether it be more than they need or not. Additionally, we believe that grocery stores should advertise and promote proper recycling and anti-food waste practices to the wider community. For example, stores should encourage the use of plastic bag recycling programs to which most people already have access by providing information about their locations, purposes, and benefits. At restaurants an effort should be made to not offer plastic straws or to, instead, offer a biodegradable or reusable option such as paper or metal straws. Restaurants can also replace styrofoam or plastic take-out containers with biodegradable containers.

Not only are personal responsibility and improved corporate policies necessary to reach a true solution but so is reaching out to our local legislatures and such government officials as Pennsylvania Senators Pat Toomey and Bob Casey, Jr., to implement laws to protect our environment, health, and natural resources. We must appeal to local governmental bodies like the Bethlehem Environmental Advisory Council to promote and to continue to protect the environment with legislation like their single plastic reducing ordinance created by the Waste Reduction Task Force. It all starts with voting for those who endorse environmental policies and limiting our plastic production or use.

Green Team
Moravian Academy
Advisor: Cole Wisdo