Save Carbon County has pleaded with Palmerton borough officials to not grant an extension to the Northface Project on its current permit set to expire next year.

Linda Christman, president, Save Carbon County, on behalf of the Save Carbon County Northface Project Committee, was among several president who addressed borough council on Thursday to discuss the Northface Project.

Christman explained that the goals of the Save Carbon County Northface Project Committee are to assure that the project is meeting the requirements of the permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to ensure that the DEP is providing adequate oversight of the project, to prevent any further extension of the current permit which expires June 28, 2027, and to ensure that the project is leading to a development project to the benefit of Palmerton.

“The goal is to make sure they do get an extension on their current permit,” Christman said. “They need to start making this project come to an end.”

Christman noted that the fill limit set by the permit is 4,190,537 compacted cubic yards, and that as of the end of last year, the project had placed 2,771,410 compacted cubic yards, which leaves 1,419,127 compacted cubic yards to be placed in the next 18 months.

She added that the project would have to fill at least 78,840 compacted cubic yards per month to finish, and that the 2025 average of fill placed was only 12,949 compacted cubic yards per month.

Christman complimented the borough office staff, whom she said has been very cooperative with them, and that “Information is the tool to make this thing (work properly).”

Councilman Kris Hoffner said the fill permit was issued in 2010, and was up in 2020.

Hoffner said the borough has expressed its concerns, but “that fell on deaf ears.”

He added the borough had multiple meeting with DEP, “and we have not gotten anywhere.”

Palmerton loss

Dan Kunkle, retired executive director, Lehigh Gap Nature Center, didn’t hold back in his assessment of the situation.

“Northface has been bringing you toxic fill every day for the past 16 years,” Kunkle said. “What’s Palmerton getting from Northface?

Councilman Andrew Hollywood said the borough was left holding the bill.

Kunkle said there’s a new sheriff in town in Harrisburg at DEP.

He labeled the situation as an “environmental injustice.”

“I’m encouraging you to keep up the fight,” Kunkle said.

Hollywood said he understood, but offered the borough’s perspective.

“We’re concerned about wasting more money on this,” Hollywood said. “Because it fell on deaf ears.”

No development in sight

Save Carbon County argues the Palmerton Business Park project remains years from completion and has called for the site to be finished before the current permit expires on June 28, 2027. The group says nearby residents have endured years of truck traffic, road damage, odors and visual impacts from the growing fill mound. The project stems from a 2009 agreement to remediate lead-contaminated land at the former Palmerton Zinc West Plant under state oversight.

The plan called for importing regulated fill, capping the site with clean fill and preparing it for a high-tech business park. Over the past 16 years, about 2.7 million cubic yards of fill have been placed, with approval for up to 4.1 million cubic yards.

Developers previously told residents the site would rise no more than 10 feet above ground level and that portions would soon be ready for development. However, no development has occurred, and parts of the site exceed the promised height.

Efforts to attract tenants have also stalled. A $2.4 million state transportation grant awarded in 2022 for road improvements serving the proposed business park was placed in jeopardy after a prospective tenant withdrew.

PennDOT officials said the funding was contingent on securing a tenant and could be rescinded if none is found. The project has also faced local opposition. In 2021, Palmerton Borough, the Palmerton Area School District and Carbon County rejected a tax-abatement request tied to a proposed warehouse development.

Developers had proposed up to 2 million square feet of warehouse and logistics space, projecting hundreds of construction jobs and about 1,500 permanent positions.

Despite more than $20 million invested in remediation and infrastructure planning, no tenants had committed to the site as of 2025.