Five locals, a township manufacturer and the Clean Air Council have banded together to challenge the decision to approve the H&K quarry off Route 309 in Springfield Township.
In their appeal filed in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas last week, the plaintiffs, which include Spear Products and three neighbors granted party status during the hearings, urge the court to overturn the unanimous April decision by township supervisors, accusing the board of ignoring the law and prejudicing H&K testimony over citizens’ and their experts’ testimony.
They contend the project should not have been granted a conditional use approval because it failed to meet all the application requirements of the zoning ordinance for a quarry use. The filing faults township supervisors for not ensuring compliance with all environmental and site regulations set out in the ordinance, including submission of an environmental impact statement.
The plaintiffs accuse the board of supervisors of dismissing “extensive weight of testimony” that the quarry would harm their lives and livelihoods, ignoring flaws in a traffic impact study as well as violations at other H&K sites “resulting in dangerous flyrock, damaged residential water wells and other hazards.”
In its April decision, the township imposed more than more than two dozen conditions on the company covering water quality, traffic regulations and noise compliance. The 196-acre site would operate for up to 40 years.
Separately, a petition signed by more than 240 people on change.org is calling on the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to hold a public hearing on the quarry.
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