Birch Knoll resident alarmed by blasting notice

May 16—Lisa Racosky thought she found the ideal home 25 years ago in Hazleton's Birch Knoll development.

Her home at 175 Birch Knoll Drive is at the southern end of the development, where residents relied for years on a wooded area to shield their houses from wind and pooling storm water, as well as noise from a nearby busy stretch of Route 309.

But a new neighbor has her thinking otherwise.

The nearly 110-acre wooded area behind her home has since been cleared for an estimated 1.2 million square-foot warehouse/distribution center that Blue Creek Investments expects to have standing by December and available for operation by spring 2022.

Since the property has been cleared, Racosky said water pools on land behind her home. She fears the conditions will create a breeding ground for mosquitoes and attract snakes.

A water line was recently damaged at the site while work was underway, and land where water hasn't pooled has been a draw for some all-terrain vehicles, she said.

Some small trees that the developers planted as a buffer do nothing to curb noise as groundwork continues, and a fence that was promised has yet to materialize, she said.

"My quality of life is gone," Racosky said. "Everybody's is up there. It's all gone. It's just a big mess up there. It's very frustrating."

Blasting concerns

The latest development at the site has her fearful of the future.

Just over a week ago, a site superintendent with Liberty Excavators Inc. left notices informing residents that intermittent blasting will occur at the site. Blasting was originally planned for a 90-day period that was to begin May 10.

Although blasting hasn't occurred yet, Racosky fears that tremors and vibrations will damage her mobile home, which does not have a traditional foundation.

She brought a copy of the notice to a recent city council meeting, where she explained her plight and looked to city leaders for help.

"I'm not here to be nasty," Racosky said at the meeting. "I just want you people to put yourself in my place. I paid for that house to have peace and quiet. I just want my house in one piece. I just want to know who's going to protect me from more damage?"

Council members and administrators said they were not aware of any planned blasting until Racosky brought it to their attention.

As long as the developers have proper approvals, there's little the city can do, Mayor Jeff Cusat said.

"I feel bad that the people are upset, but, again, progress has some drawbacks," Cusat said Thursday. "When we approve (developers') plans, you do what you need to do to get it done. I'm sure they're going to follow all precautions and protocols."

Councilwoman Lauren Sacco suggested having Racosky speak with neighbors and possibly work as a group to have their concerns addressed.

Racosky, however, said that most people on her street keep to themselves and the few who keep up on issues are either elderly or have health issues.

Developer responds

Thomas Meagher, executive vice president with Blue Rock Construction, the development arm for Blue Creek, and Blue Creek attorney Conrad Falvello contend that the developer has been and will continue to be a good neighbor.

Meagher said Thursday that concerns raised by residents will be resolved as work progresses.

"The uncertainty is more of an issue than the reality of it," Meagher said. "I understand that during this period of time, they're going to see a lot of equipment, they're going to have unusual noises because there's going to be large equipment out there doing big things."

Blasting will not begin until later in the month and will be performed within a "very controlled and monitored" process for creating storm water detention basins at the site, he said.

"That field up there had basically no real direction in terms of the way the storm water would leave the site and the rate that it would leave," Meagher said. "What we're doing is going to be installing storm water management efforts and that includes detention ponds. Unfortunately, just because of the elevation of the rock, some of it needs to be blasted."

Letters were left at households as part of the notification process, he said.

Meagher downplayed impacts of the planned blasting, saying most residents who work during the day would not be aware of it.

"If people are at home, they might hear the rumble," he said. "They might feel a little tremor."

The state Department of Environmental Protection approved a blasting permit for the site on April 29, according to agency spokesperson Colleen Connolly. A state official visited the site before the permit was approved, she said.

"According to the maps they only anticipate blasting in two small retention ponds with cuts depths around 10 (feet) or so," Connolly said Thursday in an email. "The permit was issued for the entire project."

The state agency issued a blasting activity permit to Maurer & Scott Sales Inc., of Coopersburg, for the project, according to a document released by Connolly.

That firm, however, will not be doing the blasting work, said Dan Gray, a site superintendent for Liberty Excavators.

"They did pull the permit," Gray said Friday. "They won't be doing the blasting."

He said that developers are working to get a different company to perform that work. He would not elaborate about reasons for the change.

Gray said developers are considering the week of May 24 to "try and start drilling and blasting."

"All the blasting is regulated by DEP," he said. "Everything will be monitored by seismographs."

An open line

Falvello, meanwhile, said residents who have concerns about the project are welcome to contact him directly.

He called blasting a "temporary situation" that he does not expect will occur every day of the 90-day period referenced in the notices.

"They do not want to hurt anybody nor damage any property," Falvello said. "Do I think it's going to be 90 days, every day? No."

Falvello said Blue Creek wants to continue working with residents, as it has in the past when the firm realized that sheds and pools encroached on its property.

"I think it all worked out," he said. "We're happy to work with them directly."

As for concerns about pooling water and noise, both Falvello and Meagher said those issues are temporary and will be addressed as the site is developed.

Meagher said the water line issue was an accidental break and was quickly repaired.

"Nobody claimed ownership of that line, including the water authority," he said.

The site, known as Hazleton Logistics Park, will house an estimated 1.2 million-square-foot building that will be designed to hold two tenants, but will likely be used by one, Meagher said. It should be mostly built by December and available for operation by April 2022, he estimates.

A slightly larger building was originally estimated.

A traffic light will be installed at the driveway, which will be built near a sewage pumping station off Route 309, which will be expanded and have turning lanes added, he said.

"We're going to be developing a beautiful 1.2 million-square-foot building," Meagher said. "(People) have to understand this is a construction project and construction projects are allowed. This is progress. We want to bring jobs to the area and be a good neighbor. But we have to do our business, too."

Contact the writer: sgalski@standardspeaker.com; 570-501-3586