Looming expansion of Montgomery County chemical plant near school worries residents
LIMERICK — A company off Airport Road has applied for a zoning special exception to allow it to expand and produce a chemical used in pools and road salt, which has some nearby residents worried about the impacts it could have on them and the elementary school located within a mile of the facility.
The company is called Buckman Enterprises LLC and, according to the application it filed with the township, it currently manufactures pool chemicals and stores ski equipment.
According to the company website, Buckman’s Inc. is “one of the largest ice melt suppliers and ice melt distributors on the East Coast, shipping to over 38 U.S. states and Canada.” The site also notes: “We are a top supplier and distributor of ice melt products such as bagged and bulk rock salt, magnesium chloride (flake and pellets), as well as calcium chloride (flake and pellets).”
Additionally, Buckman’s is “a top supplier and distributor of water treatment chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite, hydrochloric acid (muriatic acid), soda ash, sodium thiosulfate, sodium bicarbonate, calcium chloride, diatomaceous earth (DE), hydrogen peroxide, and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda)….”
According to the application filed on April 11, the company is seeking a special exception to allow for “bulk storage of hazardous chemicals or substances.”
The company “currently operates a hypochlorite processing plant on the property. To increase production and storage capacity and improve efficiency,” the company seeks to construct “a second 54,400-square-foot hypochlorite manufacturing plant, a 30,000-square-foot storage area and a 10,000-square-foot building for the storage of salt.”
Hypochlorite is a chemical name for bleach and bleach-related substances.
The application also notes that “the proposed use involves the bulk storage or bulk manufacturing of highly hazardous chemicals,” adding it will comply with all of the requirements of the zoning ordinance. The 72-acre site at 105 Airport Road where this is proposed to be built is in Limerick’s “office/limited industrial” zone.
The zoning hearing on the project was held on May 22 and the next zoning board meeting is scheduled for June 26 at 6:30 p.m.
This proposal is concerning some of the 82 residents of the area officially notified about the proposal due to their proximity, and they have brought their concerns to both the Limerick Township Supervisors and to the Spring-Ford Area School Board.
At the May 28 school board meeting, Bayberry Drive resident Debbie Cancro said “I wanted to let the board know of the community’s concerns and that Limerick Township, we feel, is not protecting the children or the residents from potential harm.”
Beth Studt, also a resident of Bayberry Drive, told the school board that at the May 22 zoning hearing “there were no experts, no EPA, no studies presented about how this could affect our kids.”
Ted Studt said “as someone being trained in public health, I’m really concerned about information available to the public and accessibility, and the way this is currently being processed by Buckman’s LLC and the zoning board, it is not accessible to the public, to residents or to parents.”
School Board President Erica Hermans said “this is the first time that I am hearing about it and yeah, personally I do find it concerning. It wouldn’t be the first time that Limerick Township has gone forward with something — we have a vape shop next to our high school.”
Some of the same residents addressed those same concerns to the Limerick Township Supervisors at the June 4 meeting, and were told the matter currently rests with the zoning board, which is independent of the supervisors. Township officials said they would get the residents the information they need.
The supervisors do not get involved in such issues until the land development process, when the site plan has been reviewed by the planning commission but after the question of use has already been decided by the zoning board.
The may decision may be announced soon.
David Allebach, attorney for Buckman’s, replied to a query from MediaNews Group by writing, “the application for a special exception was heard by the zoning hearing board on May 22, the record was closed, and a decision is expected on June 26. Although several residents expressed some concern about the operation, no one actually entered their appearance and provided evidence that the proposal did not meet the standards for the granting of the special exception. There is already a manufacturing plant on the property which received prior approval by the zoning hearing board based on the same criteria being considered for the current application. The current plant has been operating since approximately 2010 without any incidents or violations.”
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