A group of West Penn Township citizens are organizing in opposition to a proposed water extraction operation in their neighborhood.

They say they're weary of the existing truck traffic from a nearby water extraction operation in East Brunswick Township, and that they're also concerned about any long-term effects to the area's water resource."We can live with roads that are bad, but we can't live without water," said Fran Kovaleski of Blue Mountain Drive in New Ringgold, during a residents' meeting last week. "What are we going to do, supply the world with water?"Residents plan to raise the issue again during the township's meeting at 7 o'clock tonight.Building a second operationJay Land, who manages the existing water extraction operation in neighboring East Brunswick Township, under the name MC Resource Development Co., wants to open another in West Penn.So far, at the proposed West Penn site on One Fort Franklin Road under the name Ringgold Acquisition Group II LLC the township has issued zoning permits for two accessory buildings, a driveway on Fort Franklin Road, and water harvesting in the name of Mr. and Mrs. David Knoedler, the landowners, and Ringgold Acquisition Group.Ringgold Acquisition Group is registered since Nov. 21, 2014, with the Pennsylvania Department of State, and located at the residence of James Land, 251 Brandon Court, Blue Bell.Land said in a phone interview that he knows the truck traffic is a concern and he wants to continue to meet with people who live in the neighborhood."This is not a battle I want to talk to people and see what they ask me to do, and I'll continue to do that," Land said. "I want there to be an ongoing dialogue with the goal of finding the best way for all of us to work through the road issue."Blue Mountain Drive is one of the main roads that could be affected by truck traffic, along with Dorset and Retreat roads. During the township meeting last month, supervisors directed the township's engineering firm, Alfred Benesch & Co., to drill test cores at the township's expense at sites on those roads to determine their suitability for heavy truck traffic."I contend that there is no reason that any costs associated with any private, for-profit business should be paid for by West Penn Township taxpayers," said Ted Luhowy, Fort Franklin Road, Andreas.Luhowy attended the residents' meeting, and he has also sent a letter to the supervisors detailing his concerns."Road damage caused by tractor-trailers, overweight or otherwise, using weight-restricted rural back roads, should not be the responsibility of West Penn Township taxpayers and the repair costs should be paid in full by the commercial business creating the damage."DEP gets involvedDuring the West Penn Township meeting last month, Land said that the East Brunswick Township operation, under the name MC Resource Development Co., has operated since 2002. He said the company has not had reports of any instances of area homeowners having problems with their wells as a result.But Colleen Connolly, community relations coordinator for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Northeast Regional Office, said that DEP has taken legal action against Land, but she could not elaborate."Mr. Land (Wissahickon) is involved in legal action with DEP," Connolly said. "I am not at liberty to discuss them because legal proceedings are confidential."Connolly said that Land does not currently have any applications for water extraction with DEP in West Penn Township. She said a water extraction company is required to keep track of the water amounts and report those figures to DEP."Any company that holds a permit with DEP has to keep track of the water extraction it completes and send reports to the DEP," Connolly said. "The company that holds the permit has to submit accurate reports to DEP or that company could face fines or other civil penalties for violating the terms of its permit."Some companies utilize a meter to keep tabs on extraction and the company has to designate someone to monitor that meter," she said. "The company would also be subject to regular DEP inspections and sometimes unannounced inspections to see if it is complying with any permit it might have with DEP, and part of those inspections involves reviewing the company's records for accuracy."Residents weigh inDuring their organizational meeting, residents said that they believe Land is exceeding the allowed number of gallons extracted at MC Resource Development Co. A neighbor who declined to be named said that a group of residents has been counting the trucks that exit the facility."They (the trucks) are stacked sometimes five at a time, waiting to be loaded," the neighbor said. "And there's at least one and sometimes two loaded every hour."There are two sizes of the water tanker trucks. The trucks with two-axle trailers can haul 6,500 gallons; the trucks with an extra third axle on the trailer can haul 7,800 gallons.Extraction operationsThe Delaware River Basin Commission is another agency that oversees water extraction. West Penn Township is part of the Delaware River Basin; in total, 15 million people get their drinking water from the Delaware River and its watershed. According to the Delaware River Basin Commission, water extraction operations of less than 100,000 gallons per day on average don't require a permit from the DRBC.The MC Resource Development renewed its permit with the DRBC in 2011 (it expires in 2021).Land said that according to the permit, MC Resource Development can withdraw 230,400 gallons per day."I've printed the permit dockets and made them available to the (West Penn Township) supervisors," Land said. "There's no hide-and-seek here, and I don't dispute the truck counts."Land's grandfather Maurice Land founded Wissahickon Spring Water Company in 1926.In 1961, his son James Land took over company operations, and in 2006 Jay Land became president and chief operating officer.