Firm Also Questions Rep. Todd Eachus’ Use of Taxpayer Dollars To Fight Project

HAZLETON, PA  – Officials of Hazleton Creek Properties (HCP), owners and operators of a major mine reclamation project in the former coal mining center of Hazleton, PA, will discuss and answer residents’ questions tonight in a public meeting about its new Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Permit Application.  The event is being hosted by the DEP at Hazleton High School.  HCP’s new Permit Application seeks to use dry flue gas desulfurization (FGD) materials as a source of fill for the numerous, abandoned deep pit mines that pose a continuing health and safety threat to area residents.  FGD is a widely used technology that removes sulfur dioxide from the exhaust flue gases in power plants that burn coal or oil to produce steam for the steam turbines that drive their electricity generators.  FGD materials have been successfully used in other mine reclamation projects around the country.

“We are proud of the fact that our project is one of the most environmentally vetted and scrutinized of its kind in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” says William F. Rinaldi, HCP co-founder.  “We welcome the public’s ongoing interest in and questions of our project, which will create many jobs in the Hazleton region and improve the overall health and safety of its residents.  Tonight’s public meeting is another important step in the permit application process and we look forward to educating residents about the beneficial and environmentally safe re-use of FGD materials in mine reclamation work.”

Rinaldi also questioned the ethics of State Representative Todd Eachus’ use of taxpayer money in his continuing efforts to stop the project.  Earlier this year, Eachus’ state office mailed a biased, anti-HCP “survey” to Hazleton residents that was intended to create fear and uncertainty about the mine reclamation project.

“We’re proud of the fact that there are no state taxpayer funds in our project,” adds Rinaldi.  “I don’t understand how Rep. Eachus can justify using taxpayer dollars to fund an anti-HCP propaganda campaign.  

“With the state facing huge budget deficits and with many people hurting in this economy, it’s unconscionable for him to use taxpayer dollars to unfairly malign HCP.”

The Hazleton Creek Properties’ reclamation site is an abandoned mine site located directly off Interstate 81 and bounded by Routes 924, 309 and Broad Street.  The site has been severely impacted by past deep and surface mining practices and encompasses more than 277 acres of un-reclaimed, abandoned mine pits and spoil piles. Portions of the site (approximately 50 acres) were previously used for disposal of municipal and industrial waste in several mine pits. The area is a Brownfield site and has been certified as a Designated Special Industrial Area (SIA) by the Governor of Pennsylvania, giving the site priority attention for remediation.  The site has the capacity to accept over 10 million cubic yards of residual materials to complete the reclamation. 

HCP is authorized to conduct the site reclamation/remediation using DEP-approved residual materials, including regulated fill, clean-fill from construction activities, and river dredge materials.   

Once the primary site is reclaimed, HCP will engage in a larger effort to reclaim 250 acres of abandoned mine land adjacent to the city of Hazleton upon which the company plans to build the Hazleton Performing Arts Center.  The Center will occupy approximately 80 acres in the middle of this site with other commercial development to the north and south. The Performing Arts Center will be a 20,000 seat facility (16,000 fixed, 4,000 lawn) with state-of-the-art offices, crew and dressing / lounge space for artists and their staff. Additionally, the Center will include 50,000 square feet of vendor/commercial space that is under roof in order to be convertible to convention space. This new venue will serve as a catalyst for the city of Hazleton for new economic development and generate increased tourism to Hazleton.  For more information, visit www.hazletoncreekproperties.com.

HAZLETON, PA  – Hazleton Creek Properties LLC (HCP), the firm that is presently engaged in a major mine reclamation project in Hazleton, Luzerne County, PA, has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to complete the second phase of a planned four phase project that entails the construction of train tracks for the transportation of clean and safe dredge material disposal to a current brownfield site slated for redevelopment. The announcement was made last week by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell.  The Commonwealth committed a total of $24.5 million for rail investments in 31 counties across Pennsylvania.

“Upgrading and expanding our freight rail lines helps maintain service and also opens the door to grater business opportunities,” the Governor said in a statement.  “These investments will help meet growing demand for freight rail service and also help ease highway congestion by reducing the number of trucks on our roadways.”

The quarter million dollar grant to HCP was welcome news for the company’s President, William F. Rinaldi.  “I want to personally thank Governor Rendell for his unwavering support of this important redevelopment project that will improve the safety and quality of life for the residents of Hazleton.  This company is committed, first and foremost, to protecting the environment and enhancing the natural beauty of this proud community.  Securing the funding support from the state to build the rail infrastructure to transport the clean dredge materials needed to reclaim the dangerous, abandoned mine sites was a critical step in this process.”

The Hazleton Reclamation site is an abandoned mine site located directly off Interstate 81 and bounded by Routes 924, 309 and Broad Street.  The site has been severely impacted by past deep and surface mining practices and encompasses more than 277 acres of un-reclaimed, abandoned mine pits and spoil piles. Portions of the site (approximately 50 acres) were previously used for disposal of municipal and industrial waste in several mine pits.

The area is a Brownfield site and has been certified as a Designated Special Industrial Area (SIA) by the Governor of Pennsylvania, giving the site priority attention for remediation.  The site has the capacity to accept over 10 million cubic yards of residual materials to complete the site reclamation.  HCP is authorized to conduct the site reclamation/remediation using DEP-approved residual materials, including regulated fill, clean-fill from construction activities, and river dredge materials.   

Once the primary site is reclaimed, HCP will engage in a larger effort to reclaim 250 acres of abandoned mine land adjacent to the city of Hazleton upon which the company plans to build the Hazleton Performing Arts Center.  The Center will occupy approximately 80 acres in the middle of this site with other commercial development to the north and south. The Performing Arts Center will be a 20,000 seat facility (16,000 fixed, 4,000 lawn) with state-of-the-art offices, crew and dressing / lounge space for artists and their staff. Additionally, the Center will include 50,000 square feet of vendor/commercial space that is under roof in order to be convertible to convention space. This new venue will serve as a catalyst for the city of Hazleton for new economic development and generate increased tourism to Hazleton.

For more information, visit www.hazletoncreekproperties.com.

By Elizabeth McGowan

Day after day, neighbors in Hazleton, Pa, are starkly reminded of their city’s 150-year tradition of coal extraction. It is, after all, nearly impossible to avoid a crater as massive as 300 contiguous football fields in your own backyard.

To William Rinaldi, however, the gaping maw represents nothing less than a gold mine. The risk-taker is ushering his company, Mark Development, into a first-time venture. He’s investing big dollars toward reinventing this defunct coal mine as a retail center complete with a hotel and an outdoor amphitheater – all accessible to visitors by train.

The entrepreneur expects to start building in about 5 years. It will take that long to fill such a gargantuan hole with 10 million to 15 million cubic yards of mixed byproducts. In September, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection granted Rinaldi’s company permission to use a combination of coal ash, cement kiln dust, lime kiln dust and dredge material.

“The connotation of these materials as waste needs to change,” project consultant Mike McClellan explained during a presentation at the Byproducts Beneficial Use Summit held Nov. 29-30 in Philadelphia.

McClellan, president of Evergreen Environmental Inc., is aware the project has detractors who claim certain materials belong in landfills because they can be environmental and health hazards. But McClellan lauded the Pennsylvania DEP for propelling the Hazleton project forward by acting in 2004 to make coal ash, cement kiln dust, and lime kiln dust and dredge material acceptable statewide for use in mine reclamation. He emphasized that the state is seven years away from maxing out its landfills and lacks the money to restore its 250,000 acres of abandoned mines single-handedly.

“This is not just an environmental project,” McClellan said. “At its core, this is an economic development project. And the beauty of it is that it’s a public-private partnership. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for what a company did in 1950.”

Three key ingredients – a can-do mayor, a willing private investor and a progressive regulatory agency – helped to launch the Hazleton project, McClellan said. The price tag could ring in at $50 million, he said.

Under the name Hazleton Creek Properties, Mark Development is leasing the 300-acre site from a newly formed public entity, the Hazleton Redevelopment Authority.

Mayor Louis Barletta is intent on changing the direction of down-on-its-luck, Hazleton, a hardscrabble city of about 25,000 near where Interstates 80 and 81 cross. Right now, its most abundant export is young people in search of employment.

Barletta wants the gateway to his city to be a job magnet instead of a giant scar with vertical pits up to 150 feet deep and tunnels 600 feet below the surface. Mining ceased in the 1960’s, before legislation was adopted making companies liable for cleanup. Later the site became a municipal landfill and a dumping ground for toxic soup of industrial waste.

In addition to filling the hole over the next 5 years, contractors will cap the landfills, restore a creek and wetlands, and halt “acid mine drainage” by keeping surface water out of the pit. Rinaldi and McClellan are installing an on-site laboratory to monitor groundwater. They have vowed to share all test results with the city.

“We’re building a rapport with the community,” McClellan said. “Independent oversight is vital and transparency is key.”

Dredged material from harbors and rivers in Baltimore, New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia will be carted to the site in rail cars. As part of the deal, the city will receive $1 for every cubic yard of dredge. The mayor has earmarked those funds for police and fire protection. After the dredge is hauled in, the railroad tracks will carry commuters, shoppers, and tourists.

“These are people who have a vision,” McClellan said. “They’re taking a liability and turning it into an opportunity.”