The former Occidental Chemical property off Armand Hammer Boulevard in Lower Pottsgrove is being re-made into the Tri-County Commerce Park.
SANATOGA PA – Glenn Springs Holdings Inc., the Occidental Chemical Corp. subsidiary that is helping transform the company’s properties on Armand Hammer Boulevard into a commercial and industrial park, won approval Monday (July 19, 2010) from the Lower Pottsgrove Planning Commission to remove an on-site reservoir built decades ago for firefighting purposes.
The planners’ agreement to recommend to the township Board of Commissioners that the reservoir be emptied and removed sets the stage for that governing body’s public conditional use hearing on the matter during its meeting Thursday (July 22) at 6:45 p.m. in the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA.
Glenn Springs representatives, though, set the record straight on just how much water – which has been tested and is known to be clean – will be released to the nearby Schuylkill River when the concrete-lined reservoir’s dam is opened. Rather than as much as 5 million gallons, which was the speculative number discussed by planners last month and reported in The Post, the release involves no more than 450,000 gallons, they said.
“The level is down significantly from in the past,” planners were told, because no additional water has been added to the pond for about a year and much of what remained has evaporated. Modern fire hydrants and other systems make the reservoir unnecessary.
“We don’t think removal of the reservoir has any impact on the health, welfare, or safety of township residents,” a member of Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, representing Glenn Springs, told board members. Township engineer Chad Camburn of Bursich Associates agreed: “There are no concerns on our part,” he said. The project also is supported by Montgomery County planners.
Planners enjoyed a light agenda Monday. The only other scheduled item was acceptance of an application for a permit to begin grading at Ringing Rocks Elementary School, Kauffman Road, Pottstown PA, as part of that building’s reconstruction. The permit, which will not be issued until all necessary paperwork has been completed, was conditionally approved. The board’s meeting ended 22 minutes after its start.
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