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Hanover Township Residents Fighting Frackwater Treatment Plant

HANOVER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- In the front yard of Pam Chappell's house there's a sign asking Hanover Township supervisors to say "no" to something she says will change her neighborhood forever.

"They say there's going to be anywhere from 150 to 200 trucks a day. That's basically in my backyard," says Chappell.

She and a group of her neighbors are fighting a proposed frack water treatment plant like the one currently operating in New Stanton, Westmoreland County.

Like that plant, 150 trucks a day would come to the proposed site hauling frack or flow back water from Marcellus Shale drilling to be treated and recycled.

But Chappell and her neighbors say the plant will endanger the health and safety of their children who play at the playground near the site entrance.

"The kids are always there playing," said Chappell. "We have football games and baseball games at my house all the time. We won't be able to do that anymore."

But the company HydroRecovery has a sale agreement on the land, which is zoned industrial. HydroRecovery says the impact will be minimal.

In a statement, they say: "The Hydro treatment process will not produce vibration, noise or odor. The Hydro site will not adversely impact wetlands and/or waters of the Commonwealth."

While 150 trucks may sound like a lot, the company says PennDOT did not require a traffic impact study because the number was so low.

Cyndy Triebsch, the owner of a nearby apartment complex, disagrees.

"We are concerned about the trucks with the exhaust and the diesel fuel. We know for fact that it can cause cancer," she said.

Residents say the plant would be far better across town at the Starpointe Industrial Park, but the company says the township opposed its efforts to locate there.

Some want the commissioners to reconsider.

"We're not opposed to progress. We know it's zoned industrial, but we can't imagine why they would want to put this type of facility in this community," said Triebsch.

But the township's hands may be tied. HydroRecovery says it has the right to build the plant, even if the resident say it will change their town forever.

RELATED LINKS:
More Hanover Township News
More Reports by Andy Sheehan

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