Pennsylvania DEP to host public hearing for NPDES permit
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will have a public hearing to take public comment regarding Arcadia Development Corporation’s application for a National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) for a warehouse project in Hanover Township, Northampton County.
The hearing will take place Monday, April 29, 2024 from 6:00-9:00 PM at Bethlehem School District’s Nitschmann Middle School, located at 1002 West Union Blvd, Bethlehem, PA 18018.
Representatives from the DEP’s Waterways & Wetlands Program, the Northampton County Conservation District and the Arcadia Development Corporation will be in attendance. The DEP’s Waterways & Wetlands Program will be reviewing the permit application.
Arcadia Development of Bethlehem has plans to construct a 250-thousand square-foot warehouse in Hanover Township. The NPDES permit would allow for the discharge of stormwater from construction activities into Monocacy Creek, which receives special protection under the Clean Water Act for its Cold Water Fishes (CWF), and Migratory Fishes (MF) use designations.
Monocacy Creek is also considered to have excellent water quality, with the DEP designating it as High Quality Waters (HQ).
The DEP states in a report that the water quality in an HQ stream can only be lowered if a discharge is the result of necessary social or economic development, the water quality criteria are met, and all existing uses of the stream are protected.
The DEP received the NPDES permit application on May 25, 2023 and it was administratively completed on September 12, 2023.
