Commission to send consistency letter to DEP over proposed Glass Bagging Enterprises mine expansion near Rolling Hills neighborhood

The planning commission authorized staff to prepare and send a letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) expressing county consistency concerns about a proposed Glass Bagging Enterprises (MyTech) open-pit mining expansion in Frankstown Township.

Speaker 5 described the proposal as a multi-phase plan on roughly 123 acres with about 26 acres proposed in phase one, and said the limit of disturbance approaches the Rolling Hills neighborhood. "This is a 123 acres, right under the Rolling Hills neighborhood in Frankstown Township," Speaker 5 said, noting the proposed open pit and phase details.

Commissioners expressed concern about the project's proximity — repeatedly cited at about 300 feet from the nearest homes — and potential impacts on private wells, vibration from blasting, and home foundations. Speaker 3 said, "I mean, you'd have, looks like, 60 houses that all of a sudden wouldn't have water," stressing the potential public-health and property-value consequences. Speaker 6 noted a past blasting complaint on Sandback Road had been investigated by DEP and found unfounded but acknowledged monitoring and permit conditions are important.

After weighing the competing policy and economic arguments (jobs vs. neighborhood risk), the commission directed staff to prepare a formal letter of consistency to DEP that would outline concerns and any ways the application might be made more consistent with the county's comprehensive plan (referred to in discussion as "Allegheny's Ahead"). Speaker 7 moved that Mackenzie prepare and send the consistency letter; the motion was seconded by Speaker 3 and passed with no recorded nays.

The commission did not adopt a regulatory prohibition at the meeting; its action authorizes staff to articulate county policy concerns to DEP as part of the intergovernmental review process. The letter is meant to evaluate whether the permit application is consistent with county planning objectives and to document the issues raised by commissioners, including buffers, monitoring, and protections for private wells.